On the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to reflect on a scripture passage from the second book of Samuel (12:1-25) entitled "The repentance of David". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop.
A Bishop in Hippo (near modern-day Annaba, Algeria), Augustine was an influential leader in the African Church. As Christians were growing in their knowledge of God and Christ, Augustine helped to shape Christian theological teachings, particularly those about the role of Divine Grace and the nature of the Holy Trinity. In the process, he combatted many theological errors.
The son of Monica, a holy Christian, and Patricius, a pagan, Augustine was born in 354 in Tagaste (now known as Souk Ahras, Algeria). He was educated in the best secular schools of his day. As a young man, he led a distinctly non-Christian and immoral life. He lived with a young woman without the benefit of marriage. Together they had a son, Adeodatus.
Augustine became a teacher. He first taught Grammar in Tagaste. He then taught Rhetoric in Carthage, and later in Rome and Milan. The young Augustine was continually searching with a restless heart for meaning in life. Each time that he would be attracted to a particular philosophy or group, he would become disillusioned the more familiar he became with its thought.
Finally, he found Jesus Christ, and at last was satisfied. Shortly after his baptism as a Christian in 387, Augustine returned to Tagaste. There he gathered several of his friends together to share a common life of mutual support on their spiritual journey.
At the insistence of the Christians of Hippo, Augustine was ordained a Priest in 391, and Bishop of Hippo in 395. Unwilling to give up his community life, he called the clergy of Hippo to form a community with him.
As Bishop, Augustine ministered to the spiritual and material needs of his people. He wrote extensively. We have today a vast collection of his writing--113 books, 207 letters and more than 500 sermons. His most famous works are The Confessions, City of God and The Trinity. He contributed magnificently to the development of sound theology and was influential in combatting theological errors.
Although he is rightly famous for his roles in settling the theological controversies of his time, Augustine's priorities were the pastoral care of the people of his Church and spiritual growth. He developed a deep spirituality in which love is central. He was particularly concerned with the needs of the poor, and saw to it that the Church welcomed and helped them.
He fought bravely against the errors of his time and explained the Faith carefully and cogently through his writings. He is also a preeminent Catholic Doctor of the Church. His writings influenced the development of western philosophy and western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period. He died in 430
The books of Samuel describe the rise and development of kingship in Israel. Samuel is a pivotal figure. He bridges the gap between the period of the Judges and the monarchy, and guides Israel's transition to kingship.
Each section of these books focuses on a major figure in the development of the monarchy: Samuel, the reluctant king maker; Saul, the king whom the Lord rejects; David, the king after the Lord's own heart. A common theme unites these narratives: Israel's God acts justly, prospering those who remain faithful and destroying those who reject his ways. Along with the rest of the Deuteronomistic History, the Books of Samuel become an object lesson for biblical Israel as it tries to re-establish its religious identity after the destruction of Jerusalem and the loss of its homeland (587/586 B.C.).
