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Confessions, the narrative of Augustine’s spiritual journey, has been a source of inspiration to readers through many centuries. It addresses the universal striving of the individual towards a “way of living” characterized by internal coherence and an experience of the transcendent. Augustine, using a method of inquiry and engagement, guides de reader through some fundamental [...]

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Augustine enters into his “inner space “to remember his past and come to terms with himself. Memory is the fundamental resource towards self knowledge. Remembering Augustine recovers the time lived and its meaning. This marks the beginning of his meditative ascent in which he will find his own identity, and a way towards God. Reading [...]

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Remembering brings Augustine face to face with the reality of inner restlessness human beings experience in their search for elusive forms of happiness. A primal and recurrent event associated with a divided will. A change in that predicament requires a serious effort towards a unified, “total will” to accept God in one’s life. Reading aloud: [...]

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Returning to oneself, creates a convergence of a person’s past, present and future in relation with God who calls, inspires and assists with his grace. The dialog with God that emerges within facilitates change, and an experience of transcendence in life. Reading aloud: VII, 10, 16 / VIII, 5, 12; 8, 19 Empathic Guidance Once [...]

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Progress in the ascent depends on the ‘order in love’. A guiding principle at the centre of Augustine’s psychological and spiritual universe. The exercise is about learning how to love and aims at building a relational value system in which God is the definitive gravity. Reading aloud:  III, 1, 1 / IV, 10, 15 Love [...]

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In Augustine’s spiritual journey the milestone between the ancient wisdom and the new is Christ. Consonant with the metaphor of pilgrimage that permeates the Confessions, Christ appears as the Way that once found, centers the life of the seeker giving it a clear direction. Embracing the message that the “true and good Master” teaches by [...]

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Cor unum is a profound dimension of Augustine’s experience. It finds expression through the ordering of love in God and the unity with Christ in the ecclesial and monastic community. The strength and permanency of this relational bond determines a person’s spiritual maturity. Reading aloud: X, 4, 6 / XII, 12, 13. Veracity   Peter Brown [...]

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References Antonaccio, M. (1998). Contemporary forms of askesis and the return of spiritual  exercises. The Annual of the Society of     Christian Ethics, 18 (1), 69-92. Augustine. (397/1997). Confessions. (M. Boulding, Trans.) Hyde Park, NY:New CityPress. Barbour, J. D. (2004). The value of solitude: The ethics and spirituality of aloneness in autobiography Charlottesville / London:UniversityofVirginia [...]

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