The Soliloquy of St. Augustine:
Belatedly I loved thee, O Beauty so ancient and so new, belatedly I loved thee. For see, thou wast within and I was without, and I sought thee out there. Unlovely, I rushed heedlessly among the lovely things thou hast made. Thou wast with me, but I was not with thee. These things kept me far from thee; even though they were not at all unless they were in thee. Thou didst call and cry aloud, and didst force open my deafness. Thou didst gleam and shine, and didst chase away my blindness. Thou didst breathe fragrant odors and I drew in my breath; and now I pant for thee. I tasted, and now I hunger and thirst. Thou didst touch me, and I burned for thy peace.
In today's world people are hungry for spirituality, hungry for truth, for beauty. We so often turn to the created things of this world to find them. Augustine, from his own search, tells us to look no further than in ourselves and each other for the God we seek. Learn from the created things of the world as they cry out"God made us." Learn from the human relationships around us that GOD IS LOVE and MERCY, look inside ourselves and listen to the truth, we are created in God's image with God's spirit in us and "YOU ARE VERY GOOD!"
O Lord, you have made us for thyself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you! -St. Augustine
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2 comments:
I still am amazed at how St. Augustine speaks the words from my heart...that same heart which has grown considerably less restless since it has found Him.
~Valorie
Like Valorie, I too am realizing how restless my heart was before learning more of Augustinian Spirituality. The Soliloquy is so beautiful and simple. God is always within, yet, I have been searching "out there" for some time now. I see God's beauty in others and everything God made once again.
Jay D.
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