St. Augustine, Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church

Augustine, born at Tagaste (Africa) in 354, was the son of St. Monica and of a pagan father, Patricius. His mind was ensnared by errors and his soul and body corrupted by debauchery and impurity. Converted by the prayers of his mother, he became one of the most famous Doctors of the West and a Father of the Church. He died after an episcopate of 36 years at Hippo (Africa) in 430.

In honor of this great Saint's Feast Day, here are some gems from St. Augustine:

"I would not believe in the Gospel myself if the authority of the Catholic Church did not influence me to do so." (Against the letter of Mani, 5,6, 397 A.D.)

"This Church is Holy, the One Church, the True Church, the Catholic Church, fighting as she does against all heresies. She can fight, but she cannot be beaten. All heresies are expelled from her, like the useless loppings pruned from a vine. She remains fixed in her root, in her vine, in her love. The gates of hell shall not conquer her." (Sermon to Catechumens, on the Creed, 6,14, 395 A.D.)

"By the same word, by the same Sacrament you were born, but you will not come to the same inheritance of eternal life, unless you return to the Catholic Church." (Sermons, 3, 391 A.D.)

"Tell us straight out that you do not believe in the Gospel of Christ; for you believe what you want in the Gospel and disbelieve what you want. You believe in yourself rather than in the Gospel." (Against Faustus, 17, 3, 400 A.D.)

"Man, destined to die, labors to avert his dying; and yet man, destined to live in eternity, does not labor to avoid sinning." (Homilies on the Gospel of John, 49,2, 416 A.D.)

"The Catholic Church is the work of Divine Providence, achieved through the prophecies of the prophets, through the Incarnation and the teaching of Christ, through the journeys of the Apostles, through the suffering, the crosses, the blood and the death of the martyrs, through the admirable lives of the saints. When, then, we see so much help on God's part, so much progress and so much fruit, shall we hesitate to bury ourselves in the bosom of that Church? For starting from the Apostolic Chair down through successions of bishops, even unto the open confession of all mankind, it has possessed the crown of teaching authority." (The Advantage of Believing, 391 A.D.)