On Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the book of Job (3:1-26) entitled "Job's lament". Our treasure, which follows, is from the Confessions of Saint Augustine, bishop.
Saint Augustine was born at Tagaste in Africa in 354. He was unsettled and restlessly searched for the truth until he was converted to the faith in Milan and baptized by Ambrose. Returning to his homeland, he embraced an ascetic life and subsequently was elected bishop of Hippo. For thirty-four years he guided his flock, instructing it with sermons and many writings. 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 Confessions of Saint Augustine is a spiritual classic and one of the most read books written by a saint. In the Confessions, Saint Augustine not only shares his deep insights into the faith of the Church, he also does so in a very personal way. His masterpiece has also proven to become a foundation for many teachings of the Catholic Church.
The Book of Job addresses theodicy (why God permits evil in the world) through the experiences of the eponymous (the person, place, or thing that is named after something else) protagonist. Job is a wealthy and God-fearing man with a comfortable life and a large family. God asks Satan ("the adversary'') for his opinion of Job's piety. When Satan states that Job would turn away from God if he were rendered penniless, without his family, and materially uncomfortable, God allows him to do so. The rest of the book deals with Job successfully defending himself against his unsympathetic friends, whom God admonishes, and God's sovereignty over nature.
