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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The General Audience on Wednesday, February 27, has also taken place in two phases: first, in the Basilica of St. Peter and later, in the Paul VI Hall, where the Holy Father Benedict XVI concluded his catechesis on St. Augustine. “I encourage you all to grow in charity through concrete gestures in support of the weakest and most in need, whose face is the image of Christ’s,” the Pope told pilgrims in the Basilica of St. Peter, reminding them that, “this time of Lent is characterized by a personal and common effort in adhering to Christ, so as to be witnesses of His love.”
Later, in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope said, “With today’s encounter, I wanted to conclude this presentation on the figure of Saint Augustine. After having meditated on his life, his works, and on some aspects of his thought, today I wanted to revisit his interior experience, that made his one of the greatest converts in Christian history.” Recalling his pilgrimage to Pavia, to venerate the remains of this great Father of the Church, Benedict XVI revealed his own “personal devotion and recognition” of St. Augustine, to whom he feels very closely tied, as he was “theologian, priest, and pastor.”
Whoever reads the Confessions, “can easily see that Augustine’s conversion can be described as a journey that remains a true example for each one of us.” It was a journey that continued with humility until the end of his life. You could say that it had different stages - three stages are easily distinguished - in one great and unique conversion.”
“The first stage of his conversion occurs precisely in his steady approach towards Christianity,” the Pope said, recalling that Augustine, “although he had lived a disordered life as a young man, he had always felt a great attraction towards Christ, having been fed this love for the Lord’s name as a child.” As well, philosophy, especially Plato, lead him to draw closer to Christ later. The decisive step came with his reading of the letters of Saint Paul, that “revealed fully” the truth.
“The African professor of rhetoric arrived at this fundamental stage in his long journey,” the Pope said, thanks to his passion for man and for the truth that lead him to search for God, great and unreachable. “His faith in Christ made him understand that God, seemingly so distant, was in truth not distant at all. In fact he has come near us, becoming one of us. In this sense his faith in Christ allowed Augustine to accomplish his long search for truth.”
Once returned to Africa, after about three years of living a life of contemplation and study, Augustine was ordained a priest in Hippo and sent to serve the faithful. “In this way, renouncing a life of consecration spent only in meditation, Augustine learned, although at times with difficulty, to place his intelligence at the service of others. He learned to communicate the faith to the simple people and thus live for them, in that city that became his own, through his untiring and constant generous activity...However, he took up this responsibility, knowing that it was precisely in this way that he would be closest to Christ. His second conversion consisted in his understanding that the best means to reach others is through simplicity and humility.”
The final stage in the Augustine journey, his third conversion, “was in every day of his life, asking forgiveness from God.” In fact, in the last moments of his life, he understood that “ we always are in need of a cleansing from Christ, that He wash our feet, that we be renewed by Him. We need a permanent conversion. Up to the end we need to demonstrate a humility that acknowledges that we are sinners on a journey, until the Lord gives us his hand and leads us to eternal life. It is with this attitude of humility that Augustine lived out his final days until his death.
In the last part of the catechesis, Benedict XVI spoke of Augustine’s profound humility before the Lord, who introduced him to “the experience of an intellectual humility.” “Converted to Christ, who is truth and love, Augustine served Him his entire life and became a model for every human being, for all of us in search of God. The Pope also spoke of his gratitude to Augustine in the writing of both his encyclicals, as he is now “greatly indebted to Augustine and his encounter with God.” Finally, the Holy Father asked that the faithful pray to God, that we may be “granted the grace every day to follow the example of this great convert, finding the Lord in every moment of our lives, as he did, as He is the only one who can save us, purify us, and give us true happiness, true life.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 28/2/2008; righe 59, parole 812)
