Rayo, Robert Jonnydel Maningas Section: AUG-L

Master of Arts in Education major in English Augustinian Spirituality

Activity: Write a reaction paper on the movie “Restless Heart: The

Confessions of Augustine.”

The story goes as Augustine was trying to persuade the Vandal king not to
destroy the city of Hippo. Then it continued to the early life of Augustine and his
attitudes towards his mother Monica. During his early years, he is seen as
someone who is rebellious towards his mother, but despite of that, Monica
remained a loving mother throughout Augustine’s early life. As what a mother
seems to be, her love and care towards Augustine were unwavering.

Augustine ventured into different beliefs, even to the point of opposing the
Roman Catholic Church. There is also a moment in the movie where he said,
“…thus the emperor, and not the bishop, shall hear our prayers, our petitions, our
invocations. He is our faith, our comfort, our hope. The fields, houses, also the
churches are his. If the emperor decides to requisition them, no one can oppose
him, not even bishop Ambrose. Because whoever isn't with us is against us. Me,
you, all of us we belong to him (emperor).”

But then, after he was immersed deeply into sin, left his wife, go along with
different prostitutes, and ultimately, casted away his mother, he eventually
realized that his life shouldn’t go that way. He eventually realized that he needs
God more than everything, that what he knows won’t be enough for he to become
happy and contented in life. Eventually, he was converted into Christianity, with
the words, “belatedly I loved thee. Her beauty so ancient and so new, belatedly I
loved thee, thou this to cry loud and force open my deafness, thou didst shine and
chase away my blindness, thou just breathe fragrant odors, and I drew in my
breath, and now I painfully, I tasted, and now I hunger, and thirst thou didst touch
me and I burned for thy peace.” Surely God is with him all the time even through
the times he didn’t belief in Him.

Later, he become a priest whom the people loved. He is eloquent, he surely

knows a lot especially in scriptures, that is why he persuaded people easily with
his charisma.

There was a moment in the movie where the Carthaginians debate over
the purity of the Christian faith. Bishop Donatus debated with Augustine over
the validity of his episcopacy since he was a sinner and a number one contender
of the Catholic faith. But in the end, Donatus and the Donatists conceded the
embraced the argument of Augustine and the Catholics.

Truly faith can move mountains, and even the once sinner like Augustine
can become a saint, once he was touched by the Holy Spirit and will become
transformed into the likeness of God.