St Augustine

Augustine was one of St. Monica’s 3 children. After his father died, his brother and sister joined religious orders and lived lives of holiness, while Augustine chose to live his life for himself. He did not live for others or for Jesus; he lived to entertain himself with sinful parties and the sinful ways of the world. He turned his back on what he had learned from his faithful mother and instead believed in false gods and idols. Even though he was a very smart man, he was living in so much sin and he was so prideful that he could not hear God’s voice speaking to him and loving him. His mother prayed for him to come back to God for 17 years and through the teachings of St. Ambrose, and the life of St. Anthony of the Desert, Augustine finally turned back to God. He was so sorry for his sins, but he didn’t think that he could live a good life, so he did not get baptized right away. He didn’t feel worthy and didn’t realize that God forgave him all his sins and would help him live a good life. He wanted so much to live for Jesus and one day while praying and crying in a garden under a fig tree, he asked God for help and he heard a little child’s voice sing, “Take up and read!” over and over again. So he picked up the Bible and read the words of St. Paul to the Romans in Chapter 13; 13-15 to live our life for Jesus and nothing else, and he decided on that day to be baptized. He was baptized by St. Ambrose and he returned to Africa. He sold everything that belonged to him except for his family’s house, which he turned into a monastery for himself and his friends. He soon became a priest and later he was also made Bishop. He wrote many books teaching us how to live for Jesus and not fall into temptation and sin. He worked very hard to change the hearts of the people that lived in his country so that they would come to know Jesus.