Feast day August 28
St. Augustine of Hippo
Doctor of Grace · 354–430
For the seekers — 'Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.'
In their words
Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.
Life
Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, former rhetorician, and one of the great Doctors of the Church. His Confessions and City of God shaped Western theology. His conversion at age 31, described in book VIII of the Confessions, began with a child’s voice chanting "tolle, lege" — "take up and read."
A prayer
Late Have I Loved Thee
Late have I loved thee, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved thee. Thou wert within, and I was outside, and there I sought for thee; and I, in my ugliness, plunged into the beauties thou hast made. Thou wert with me, and I was not with thee. Those things held me far from thee which, unless they were in thee, would not exist at all. 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.