ROMANS 13:13-14

AWARENESS OF THE END OF TIME

Let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day,

not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity
and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy. But
put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no
provision for the desires of the flesh.
SILENCE
 BREATHE IN ME, O HOLY SPIRIT, THAT
MY THOUGHTS MAY ALL BE HOLY. ACT
IN ME, O HOLY SPIRIT, THAT MY WORK,
TOO, MAY BE HOLY. DRAW MY HEART, O
HOLY SPIRIT, THAT I LOVE BUT WHAT IS
HOLY. STRENGTHEN ME, O HOLY SPIRIT,
TO DEFEND ALL THAT IS HOLY. GUARD
ME, THEN, O HOLY SPIRIT, THAT I
ALWAYS MAY BE HOLY. AMEN.

St. Augustine’s Prayer To

The Holy Spirit
 1. What was the song “Change My
Heart, O God” about?
2. Do you know one person who turns
PONDER away from his sins and converted to
ABOUT THIS: God?
3. In the many stories of conversion,
is it God who call us for change or
is it us who long for God?
 MODULE I
TOPIC 1:
ST. AUGUSTINE AND
THE LIFE AND
TEACHINGS OF ST.
THE BIRTH OF THE
AUGUSTINE AUGUSTINIAN-
RECOLLECT ORDER
TOPIC 1: THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF ST. AUGUSTINE
DOCTRINE:
1. Discuss the life and teachings of St. Augustine
2. Identify salient persons, events and places related to the life of St.
Augustine
MORAL:
1. Value and practice the teachings and virtues of St. Augustine
through concrete actions
WORSHIP:
1. Develop the life of interiority through constant prayer and frequent
reception of the sacraments especially the Holy Eucharist
2. Compose a prayer of thanksgiving to God for His gift of saints who
served as witnesses of faith especially St. Augustine
 Monica was brought into the world in the year 332 in Thagaste, where she
later married. As a mother and as a woman, she is wonderful, remembered,
and honored in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. St. Monica is
recognized as the patron saint of mothers, the dedication to its
motherhood played an essential role in the lives of most brilliant
philosophers and saints. During her earliest stages, Christians were simply
arising out of the period when they maintained their religion a mystery
because of paranoia that they might get abused. There has been a theory
of history regarding whether Monica might have started life as a dissident
Christian within Donatism - known by means of the works of Augustine that
MONICA a portion of her family members were Donatist. At twenty-two years of age,
Monica was married to Patricius, aged 40, one of the city magistrates at
Thagaste, who did not follow any religion, in which Monica unfalteringly
wouldn't offer an approach to misery or harshness. Even though Patricius is
violent and ruthless to Monica, she refuses to give way to sadness or
bitterness. Instead, she worked towards cultivating a gentle,
understanding way with her husband. Monica's distress was aggravated
when Augustine became disrespectful towards her advice. Augustine wrote
about her death in his Confessions, not only as one more demonstration of
his conviction of the providence of God towards him through Monica but
also as a sign of appreciation to her for the years of anxiety that by then he
realized that he had caused her.
 Monica, Augustine’s mother, was evidently an honorable, loving
and self-sacrificing woman. Monica was raised along with her
sisters by an aged enslaved woman on how to be good wives. In
which, when they ate their frugal meals they were forbidden to
drink even water. Monica’s life-long influence on Augustine was a
strong presence during her first thirty-three years, according to
Confessions, the inner life of Augustine was dominated by
MONICA Monica, in which Monica warns him not to go through the path
of sexual sin. It was an advice that he did not follow. Augustine in
AND his late adolescence joined the Manichean sect in Carthage, it
was devastating news for Monica and took her concerns to the
AUGUSTINE Bishop. Augustine having a rhetoric and oratory image, the Bishop
refused to challenge him but sooner was moved by Monica’s tears
and actions. Nevertheless, in the book Confessions, Augustine
reported that Monica dreamt of an angelic figure assuring the
conversion of Augustine. As years passed, she joined him in
Milan, in which she played a role in the approval of Augustine
legally marrying a woman and getting rid of his de facto
partner for 14 years. She later learned the conversion of
Augustine and Alypius and died at the age of 56 years.
 St. Augustine was born on November 13,
354 in a family in North Africa. His father,
Patricius was a pagan while his mother,
Monica was a Christian. He has 2 siblings
namely, Navigius and Perpetua of Hippo.
They belonged to an honorable upper-
class family. The childhood of Augustine
AUGUSTINE'S seemed to be happy at home, but
difficult in school due to the cruelty of
CHILDHOOD his teacher. He would often receive
beatings and whippings, which resulted in
the negligence of his studies. At the age of
twelve to fifteen years old, he
transferred his schooling to Madura
when his parents accepted his request to
move.
THE PEAR TREE
• In St. Augustine's book, the Confessions, he unfolded the pear tree
incident. During his teenage years, St. Augustine had a group of
rudimentary friends and found a pear tree that was ripe and rich in
flavor. The boys weren't tempted by the fruit’s qualities, rather they
were persuaded to steal and to throw the fruit to the pigs.
• The pear tree incident was Augustine's first realization of sin. This
was greatly referenced to the first sin done by mankind, which was
taking of the fruit from the tree in the Garden of Eden. Augustine
would not have done this alone but because of him trying to
impress his friends that they have better pear trees, he did it
because of "friendship." He blamed friendship because it made
the sin greater than it should've been.
 Augustine spent his childhood studying at his
hometown, Thagaste, and while he had a natural
inclination for Latin literature, he detested
arithmetic and Greek. His family was not
financially well-off, which led him to postpone his
EDUCATION OF studies for a year, resulting in his involvement
ST. AUGUSTINE towards different endeavors, most of which had
negative undertones. A year later, Augustine
decided to continue his study in Carthage where
he would later learn and master rhetoric. After his
education in Carthage, Augustine returned to
Thagaste where he would later become a teacher.
 Augustine was no exception in experiencing difficulties during his
adolescence. From adolescence to the age of thirty two years, he
always lost in the battle with his sexual passions. It began in his
hometown in Thagaste. He wrote that at the age of sixteen, “passion
gripped me and I surrendered myself entirely to sex”. Augustine noted in
his Confessions that his father, Patricius, was delighted when at the
public baths, he noticed that Augustine had developed the body of an
adult. His father broke the vows of marriage and was amused at the
budding sexual interest of his son. The mother of Augustine, Monica,
did not suggest marriage for quelling the sexual fires and was worried
that a hurried marriage might hinder the career opportunities of his
AUGUSTINE’S talented son. However, she warned Augustine not to seduce any woman
who is a wife. Augustine had a sexual relationship with a woman and
ADOLESCENCE eventually became parents to their son, Adeodatus. Part of Augustine’s
search for the truth during his early years was when he came to briefly
examine the Christian Bible, however, he shunned the teachings that he
had read merely due to it being transcribed in poor Latin in a fit of
pride, considering how it was presented over the innate thought being
conveyed. Augustine then turned to the Manichean religious sect for
spiritual guidance and wisdom, whose patronage lasted for a dozen
years, and he also managed to convince his former pupils Alypius and
Nebridius who eventually became his lifelong friends, to be
Manicheans with him.
 It's about the story of Saint Augustine's years with his
concubine. Taking concubines was an uncertain area of
the law in their society because marriage was an
alliance between family and estates. Augustine and
his concubine stayed and been faithful to one
another. He never includes the name of his concubine
in his voluminous writings. Throughout the late Roman
AUGUSTINE’S imperial period, marriage was strictly regulated by
CONCUBINAGE Roman law, for the purpose of regulation the rights to
citizenship and inheritance. Marriage was forbidden
between persons of different social classes, and some
groups were prevented from marrying at all,
concubinage was accepted as a viable alternative to
traditional marriage.
 Carthage, one of the five great capitals of the
empire, is a place that greatly astounded the
young Augustine. There, Augustine both
finished his formal studies and taught for seven
AUGUSTINE AT
years. This place developed his eloquence for
CARTHAGE
rhetoric, sparked his ambition to become a
famous speaker like the renowned Cicero and
most importantly inspired his love for
philosophy and wisdom.
AUGUSTINE’S FATHER

Augustine's father, Patricius, a town councilor at the time with the duty of collecting taxes, had a minimal impact on Augustine's
character and appeared to be distant because of his infidelity to his wife and the way of disciplining his children.

Augustine had two siblings: a brother named Navigius and a sister whose name was never mentioned but was given as Perpetua.
Augustine was the first born and clever, so his parents were eager to provide him a solid future and was sent to Madura at the age
of 12 to begin his studies in rhetoric. However, in the year 370, when he was 16 years old, he had to return home while his father
had to save money for him to complete his studies.

In the year 370, Augustine lived to an act of drunkenness and sexual adventure, which was described in Book 2 of Confessions,
and his father died at this turbulent period in Augustine's life.

Due to Patricous actions, he received a cold treatment from his son, Augustine. Possibly as a result for failing to provide Augustine
with the appropriate guidance and discipline, his son may have looked for substitute fathers throughout his life. Over time,
Augustine's negative sentiments toward his departed father grew more kind and had significantly softened his stance by the time
he completed the Book Nine of the Confessions.
 Augustine's parenthood began when he left Thagaste and went to
study in Carthage where he entered into a relationship with an
unnamed woman who bore his child Adeodatus, which means
"given by God" in Latin. The young family lived in Carthage until
the year 374 when they decided to move back to Thagaste and two
years later in 376, the family moved back to Carthage. By the year
384, Augustine and his family moved to Milan, where his mother
Monica would set him into a marriage with a woman from an
AUGUSTINE THE appropriate social class.
PARENT
Augustine was a very proud parent, and he believed that for a
seventeen-year-old, Adeodatus, was intellectually advanced. Along
with Alypius, Augustine and his son Adeodatus were baptized in 387
by Saint Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan. Through a period of three
years, Augustine lost both his mother and son. Augustine thought
about their dreams with his son and the memories they shared and
remembering his strengths when with him. Augustine suffers like a
lost lamb but Cicero advises him that he can exceed all and his
loved ones are in good hands with the Lord.
 THE MANICHEE AND THE RETURN TO THAGASTE
• In the year 370, Augustine moved to Carthage for his university studies, and it was there that the Manichean sect began its nine-year grip on
him. Augustine's mother, Monica, had raised him as a catechumen of the Christian church. He was fascinated by the problem of the origin of
evil in the New Testament. Instead of embracing the Christian faith, he joined a sect called the Manicheans at the age of 17. Augustine
confesses that he had been seduced by the Manichees for nine years. He now regrets leading others to follow him.

• After 3 to 4 years of completing his formal education in Carthage, in year 374, Augustine returned to his hometown in Thagaste, where he
established his teaching career (Confession 4,4,7) accompanied by his concubine, friends and commitment to the Manichean religion. He
was tortured by the memory of the death of his close friend and was baffled by various unanswered questions as the expected answers from
the Manichean doctrine were nowhere to be found and as he came to admit the truth about that he had mourned the loss of the friendship
more than the loss of the friend himself. He realized that he should have trusted everything to God. As he was living in the house of
Romanianus, a citizen whom he had converted to Manicheanism he was able to write his regret and desire to converting the latter back to
Christianity. His mother, Monica, deeply grieved the person Augustine have become and refused him place in her home along with his
partner, though being able to tolerate the relationship in the coming 11 years. As the years passed, Augustine managed to do his first step in
discarding the Manichean theology through his conclusion that astrology was “utterly bogus”, where he regarded the success of the
prediction and elaborate rituals of astrology due to chance.
 Astronomers now know that Halley's Comet appeared in
the sky over North Africa in 374. Augustine made no
specific note of this comet in his writings. However, some
scholars believe it was a factor in his conversion to
Manichaeism. Augustine claims in his Confessions that
his yearning for otherworldly understanding was a

HALLEY’S COMET precursor to his becoming a Manichean. His conversion

corresponded with Halley's Comet if he read Hortensius in
November 373 and subsequently read Scriptures during
the next four months. The Manicheans' preoccupation
with the heavens influenced Augustine. He later claimed
in De Beata Vita that he had fallen into the Manichaeism
fallacy because he had paid too much attention to the
stars of the heavens.
 Augustine spent many years in teaching before his conversion, however he
was quite ineffective as a teacher because of his thin-toned voice, poor
class management, as well as financial management. Augustine started
teaching grammar, which is a foundation for the study of rhetoric, in
Thagaste in 374, and opened a school of rhetoric when he returned to
Carthage in 376. Several years later, he realized his career was not
improving, therefore he decided to resume his journey to Rome. His friends,
including Alypius, also played important roles in his decision to move. After
TEACHING deceiving his mother, Monica, about his relocation, and suffering from an
illness upon his arrival in Italy, Augustine had to tolerate cheating students

CAREER who disappeared, however a great opportunity came, when Symmachus

appointed him as a professor of rhetoric in Millan. Augustine values the
Bible more than his career as he perceived his work as selfish and shallow,
which prompted him to take a leave of absence after having been appointed
professor of rhetoric to the Imperial Court in Milan. He then spent a period of
reading, discussion and prayer in Cassiciacum. In the year 386, Augustine
and Alypius entertained a visitor who discussed the life of Saint Anthony,
and because of this, he contemplated more about the Christian religion
which led to his conversion and his permanent leave from the teaching
profession.
 AUGUSTINE’S BIBLE
Unlike the era that we live in today, where the Holy Scripture is piled into a single book that we now would call
“the Bible”, St. Augustine had a stack of manuscripts that contained separate books of the Bible; he did not have
access to every book of the Bible simultaneously, nor even to every section within every book. He mostly used
what is termed the Vetus Latina, the “Old Latin” version of Biblical texts – the name used to denote old Latin
translations from the Greek text, which is now called the Vulgate translation by St Jerome. Augustine admitted
that several times he had made incorrect interpretations based on reading imperfect or even false translations; he
was frustrated with 'the endless diversity of the Latin translators'. He remedied it by opting to use translations of
those who keep close to the original. It was when he was thirty years of age that he started reading the bible. He
continued his ministry by sharing small passages of the Scriptures to these small communities in which he lived.
As the bishop at Hippo, during the week after Easter Sunday he was present every day in a room adjoining the
Basilica to answer any questions to the newly-baptized. Augustine devoted a great deal of time and energy to
what would now be called 'spreading the word’.
 LIFE REVIEW
Aurelius Augustine was born in North Africa in the year 354, at the close of the Roman Empire. His hometown
was in Tagaste, from the Mediterranean coast and he lived together with his father, Patricius, and mother,
Monica. He completes his Roman education at Carthage. As a young boy, he was a mischievous young boy
and a troublemaker in school: he was beaten by the teacher because he loved to play and could not see the use
of learning at school; he was also caught stealing pears from their neighbor with his friends and would throw
them to the pigs. By the time he reached 17, he took a concubine for he was, as he wrote, " in love with love”,
and eventually became a father a year later. Few years passed and he eventually graduated at the Capital City
of Carthage and opened his own school in his hometown. In search of philosophy in life, he studied astrology
and joined the Manichees. In Milan, he met St. Ambrose who converted him to Christianity and was baptized
by the age of 33 along with his son and his best friends. That’s when he decided to devote to God and a
celibate life instead of becoming a Provincial Governor.
 LIFE

In 354, St. Augustine was born in Thagaste, South Africa. Just 7 years later, he experienced a serious illness and in 371, his father died but his son,
Adeodatus, was born. A year later he became a Manichee hearer, then in 383, he sailed to Rome where he met Symmachus and appointed him as an
official orator in Milan then 2 years later he converted to the Christian Church in Cassiciacum. Starting year 400-426, he wrote Confessions, attended
Collatio, wrote again for his new book - City of God, then begun writing against Julian of Eclanum and wrote Retractions 4 years before he died.

Named after two Roman Emperors, Aurelius Augustinus (Augustine) was born in Tagaste, North Africa on Sunday, 13th November 354 and his mother,
Monica, was a Catholic Christian while his father, Patricius, was a pagan. Augustine read the letters of Saint Paul in the New Testament and decided to
be baptized at the age of 33 by the Bishop of Italy, Ambrose; after that, he went back to Africa and the people that lived in Hippo wanted him to be a
priest. Five years later, Augustine became a bishop in Hippo and wrote a lot of books; one of these is entitled “Confessions”, then he died at the age of
76 on 28th in August 430.

Aurelius Augustinian (Augustine) was born in a Roman colony of Numidia, now named Souk-Ahras. He was baptised shortly before his death in 370
and died in 371 when he was aged. His mother, Monica, was a dedicated Christian who wanted him to find peace with God. Augustine's most famous
book, "Confessions", is written in the year 400. It tells of his conversion to Catholicism and his life in North Africa. He was a brilliant writer who wrote
for years on "City of God," which still exists today. Over 6,000,000 words that he wrote still exist today. In 1,600 years not all his works have been
translated into English. He became a Christian teacher for the entire Western world. His writings also greatly influenced Western culture and education
in many ways.
 CLOSE DEATHS

Augustine wrote an autobiography titled the CONFESSIONS. Augustine had an unnamed

friend who died; his name was not mentioned during his Confessions He later wrote,
"For I thought that my soul and his were but one soul in two bodies." (Confessions 4, 6,
11). He then wrote his Confessions, the death of Monica which is his mother. And
During his Confessions the death of his father Patricius was merely mentioned. In the
first half of Book 9, Augustine mentions the deaths of three members of his circle. All
three deaths namely his rich friend Verecundus, his friend Nebridius, and his son
Adeodatus are presented out of time sequence with the plan of the Confessions.
 HIS CHARACTER

Augustine was a person that was greatly associated with the truth he found delight in truth. He
hated lies, and so he developed a good memory and skill with words. He had a soft place for
friendship and shied away from sorrow and ignorance; he was rarely without his friends because to
him, without their presence he wouldn’t be happy. Friendship was a way for him to heal his wounds
or a way to cope and vent out his problems. He was also an emotional and sensitive person; we
cannot judge him not only in all the words he had written in his Confessions he was an intellectual
but not a dry one. Augustine was a sociable individual, he enjoyed being in the company of others.
They softened his heart as much as sharpened his thinking. He was intellectual and passionate, but
he never questioned life's richness or the world's beauty. Augustine truly lived a life strengthened
by love, friendship, and compassion for humanity.
 • NAME: Aurelius Augustine
• BIRTH: born in Numidia, Tagaste, North Africa on
November 13, 354
• PARENTS: Father - Patricius and Mother - Monica
• AS A YOUNG BOY AT SCHOOL, he was beaten and
BIOGRAPHY AND whipped by the teacher because he loved to play and
IMPORTANT could not see the use of learning at school
EVENTS: • AT SIXTEEN, he and his friends steal from the pear tree
of a neighbor
• AT SEVENTEEN, he takes a concubine whom he called
“the one”
• AT EIGHTEEN, he is the father of a son named
Adeodatus
 • Completed Roman education at the capital city of
Carthage, became a teacher, opened own school in his
home, found the students noisy, frustrating and difficult
• In search of a philosophy of life he studied astrology,
joined a religious sect called Manichees
BIOGRAPHY AND • In Milan, he met Saint Ambrose and was converted to
IMPORTANT the Christian Faith
EVENTS: • At Easter time and at thirty-three, Augustine was
baptized with his son and his best friends Alypius and
Evodius
• Gave up lecturing and ambition to become a Provincial
Governor, chose a celibate life
IMPACT ON EDUCATION
1. AUGUSTINE BELIEVES IN HARD THINKING IN
YOUNG PEOPLE. Students should value their own
intellectual powers, should be critical thinkers and should
question everything with a serious purpose. School
instruction alone is insufficient, therefore, students
should make efforts to learn.

2. EDUCATION IS A QUEST FOR DIVINE TRUTH

AND HAPPINESS. Study must be directed to inner
understanding and confidence.
IMPACT ON EDUCATION
3. THE SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE MUST BE
MATCHED BY LEARNING HOW TO LOVE
WITH THE HEART. Heart and mind work
together.

4. LOVE BELONGS IN THE RELATIONSHIP

OF TEACHER AND PUPIL. Love is necessary to
awaken love. Love seals the work of the teacher.
 5. EDUCATION TAKES PLACE IN A
COMMUNITY. A person is truly known through
friendship and become free through mutual
participation in one another's lives. People gathers
into community not for uniformity but for
knowledge through loving. In community we achieve
IMPACT ON more than we could alone or in isolation.
EDUCATION 6. AUGUSTINE SEES NO VALUE IN SOCIAL OR
RACIAL DIVISIONS AMONG PEOPLE. He is
conscious of the unity of the human race. Everyone is
called to the one dignity, the one destiny, the one
communion of peace. Augustine put forward an ideal
that is communitarian and respectful of every person.
 AUGUSTINIAN
VALUE
• "You have made us for
yourself, O Lord, and our
hearts are restless until they
rest in you." (Confessions,
1,1.)

• Only in God is found the

final happiness of any
person.