Why you must see “City of Numbers”

City of Numbers

Violence in the City of Brotherly Love

“We live in two worlds—they only notice each other when they collide.” The new play about violence at the Interact Theater is worth attending. Those who are shot to death in Philadelphia and those who shoot them collide these two worlds. The story is told of one young man, who came to Philly last year to be a teacher and was shot to death for his Ipod. It makes one weep. He was white, from Minnesota. His murderer was Black, from a Philly ghetto. Victims and victimizers. Two different worlds. Sometimes.
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January 29th, 2010 in Uncategorized by paul

Together to God: The Augustinian Spiritual Journey

But, Why Not Me?

This question, in the mouth of a friend of Augustine’s, is the key to understanding Augustinian Spirituality. In Book Eight of his Confessions, Augustine describes himself in a garden in Milan before he finally took the step to commit himself wholly to Jesus Christ and to be baptized. In one of the most dramatic conversion stories in Christian history, Augustine describes how he is struggling with all of his sexual passions; he can not become chaste as he wishes. While in the midst of this inner struggle, he tells us, “a mighty storm arose in me, bringing a mighty rain of tears.” He leaps up and runs into a remote section of the garden. While sobbing out of control under a fig tree, he hears a child’s voice singing over and over again, Tolle, lege, tolle lege, which means “Pick it up and read it.” Augustine experiences this as a message to him from God. He returns to the bench where he had been reading St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans. He seized the book, opened it, and read silently the first text he found: Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the flesh in its concupiscenses. (Romans 13:13) “A light of utter confidence shone in my heart,” he tells us. “All the darkness of uncertainty vanished.”

It is a stunning story, perhaps even polished up to grab our attention and lure us in as we read it. Except for the opening line, there is one significant feature left out of this summary. I believe it to be at the heart of understanding Augustine and Augustinian Spirituality. During this dramatic encounter with God, Augustine’s dear friend, Alypius, was sitting on the garden bench nearby. To ignore this, or to erase the conversation between Augustine and Alypius which followed, is to miss the unique gift to the Church that Augustine and Augustinian Spirituality offers.

“Then leaving my finger in the place or marking it by some other sign, I closed the book and in complete calm told the whole thing to Alypius and he similarly told me what had been going on in himself, of which I knew nothing.” And I here paraphrase what Alypius asked his friend in so many words: But, why not me? He asked to see what Augustine had read. Augustine showed him the passage from St. Paul. “He looked further than I had read,” Augustine tells us, “I had not known what followed. And this is what followed: Make room for the person who is weak in faith.” (Romans 14:1, tr. Boulding) Alypius applied this to himself and told Augustine so. “And he was confirmed by this message, and with no trouble wavering gave himself to God’s good will and purpose.” Augustine and Alypius are converted together.

Except possibly for the Emmaus story (Luke 24:13), this is the only story I have heard of where two people are converted together. It offers a model of a spiritual journey that is of great importance to the Church today. In contrast to the individual person or soul’s journey to God–the classic model of the spiritual life made famous by St. Ignatius and St.Teresa of Avila—the Augustinian way is to travel together to God. In fact, Augustine describes earlier in the Book Eight mentioned above how he and Alypius were told a similar story of two young men who were converted by reading the book of St. Antony of the Desert together, and how they had given up everything to follow Christ. It seems very likely that Augustine wanted to evoke the same reaction in the readers of his Confessions. Hearing another person’s story of how God changed his once lost heart can be the flame that ignites the hearer to discover God calling him or herself. This is how the Gospel has moved people through the centuries. It is how Augustine changed. It is even more powerful when two are changed in this way. And so Augustine hopes that in ones and twos we will be touched by his conversion as we hear the story of his exploding heart. Together to God—the Augustinian Way.

To make this point unforgettable, in Book Nine of his Confessions, Augustine describes how he had a similarly profound religious experience with his mother, Monica, at his side. They too were near a garden. The famous painting by Ary Scheffer even portrays the two of them hand in hand. Isn’t it clear that, for Augustine, sharing our faith journey together in the deepest way is the path to God? This is the main rationale for the liturgy. We worship together in community to experience God together. There are many other examples of how we are already doing this, but the present moment in our Church’s history seems ready-made to claim the Together to God image for Augustine, and for ourselves as his followers. The more we understand and practice this pathway to continuing conversion, the more we can help others use this image to complement the classic conversion models of an individual soul and God. Finally, for those of us who take vows to live as Augustinians, we have to admit that living together in “community,” and praying together, does not necessarily mean the deep and Scriptural sharing of souls and hearts that Augustine demonstrates in his Confessions—Anima una et cor unum in Deum. But we can identify this path as our ideal, and we can try.

Together to God—but, why not me?

Why not us?

But, Why Not Me?

This question, in the mouth of a friend of Augustine’s, is the key to understanding Augustinian Spirituality. In Book Eight of his Confessions, Augustine describes himself in a garden in Milan before he finally took the step to commit himself wholly to Jesus Christ and to be baptized. In one of the most dramatic conversion stories in Christian history, Augustine describes how he is struggling with all of his sexual passions; he can not become chaste as he wishes. While in the midst of this inner struggle, he tells us, “a mighty storm arose in me, bringing a mighty rain of tears.” He leaps up and runs into a remote section of the garden. While sobbing out of control under a fig tree, he hears a child’s voice singing over and over again, Tolle, lege, tolle lege, which means “Pick it up and read it.” Augustine experiences this as a message to him from God. He returns to the bench where he had been reading St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans. He seized the book, opened it, and read silently the first text he found: Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the flesh in its concupiscenses. (Romans 13:13) “A light of utter confidence shone in my heart,” he tells us. “All the darkness of uncertainty vanished.”

It is a stunning story, perhaps even polished up to grab our attention and lure us in as we read it. Except for the opening line, there is one significant feature left out of this summary. I believe it to be at the heart of understanding Augustine and Augustinian Spirituality. During this dramatic encounter with God, Augustine’s dear friend, Alypius, was sitting on the garden bench nearby. To ignore this, or to erase the conversation between Augustine and Alypius which followed, is to miss the unique gift to the Church that Augustine and Augustinian Spirituality offers.

Spiritual Quotes- Forgiveness

If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him; and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times and says, “I repent,” you must forgive him.

Jesus
Luke 17:3-4

September 9th, 2009 in B) Spiritual Quotes by paul

Spiritual Quotes- Forgiveness

God forgives, but (not without) repentance.

Muhammed
The Sayings of Muhammed, 209

September 2nd, 2009 in B) Spiritual Quotes by paul

Spiritual Quotes- Forgiveness

The unwillingness to admit that we have been hurt is one of the major impediments to forgiving.

Robert D. Enright, PhD
Forgiveness is a Choice, 2001

August 19th, 2009 in B) Spiritual Quotes by paul

Spiritual Quotes- Forgiveness

If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses.

Jesus
Matthew 6:14-15

August 16th, 2009 in B) Spiritual Quotes by paul

Spiritual Quotes- Forgiveness

People will sometimes forgive you the good you have done them, but seldom the harm they have done you.

W. Somerset Maugham
A Writer’s Notebook, 1949

August 12th, 2009 in B) Spiritual Quotes by paul

Spiritual Quotes- Forgiveness

You saw his weakness, that he’l ne’er forgive.

Friedrich von Schiller
William Tell, 3.1, 1804

August 5th, 2009 in B) Spiritual Quotes by paul

Spiritual Quotes- Forgiveness

Ministers ask: Is it possible for God to forgive Man? And when I think of what has been suffered- of the centuries of agony and tears, I ask: Is it possible for man to forgive God?

Robert Ingersoll
The Foundations of Faith

July 29th, 2009 in B) Spiritual Quotes by paul

Spiritual Quotes- Forgiveness

Of God we ask one favor,
That we may be forgiven-
For what, he is presumed to know-
The Crime, from us, is hidden.

Emily Dickinson

July 22nd, 2009 in B) Spiritual Quotes by paul