“Who shall grant me to rest in Thee? By Whose Gift wilt Thou enter into my heart, and fill it so compellingly that I shall turn no more to my sins, but embrace Thee, my only Good?
“What art Thou to me? Have mercy, that I may tell. What rather am I to Thee, that Thou shouldst demand my love, and if I do not love Thee, threaten such great woe? Surely, not to love Thee is already a great woe!”
—St. Augustine
I was reading a book about +Augustine’s prayers, and when I read this, long before I became Catholic, was the moment Christ came into my heart. Still, I almost slipped away, until circumstances brought me to do volunteer work with a very holy nun who became a dear friend and brought me (and my husband and children eventually) into the church.
The moment of reading this bit for the first time was so compelling that I memorized it on the spot. Even now, to write it down, brings back in brilliant memory the shock of the knowledge of the presence of Christ, the incredible breathtaking Love He is, and the utter unshakeable Reality of God.
When I read that +Augustine is the “Father of the Inquisition,” I realize that if it IS so, it is because he first turned the questions on himself, and his relationship to God, and in the light of that truth, helped to define some of the great demonic errors that threatened the Church.
My 2 cents.
Greetings Judith,
Excellent reflection! Thank you for sharing it.
-Theo