Saint Augustine
Ausgustine (Latin: Aurelius Augustinus) was born on November 13, 354 in Thagaste (today Souk Ahras, in northeastern Algeria, not far from the border with Tunisia), and died on August 28, 430, at the age of 75, in the city of Hippo where he was bishop (today Annaba, in northern Algeria, on the Mediterranean coast). He belonged to a wealthy Berber family. His mother, Monica, was a pious woman, while his father, Patricius, was a Romanized pagan converted to Christianity only on his deathbed. He also has a brother, Navigius, and a sister, who will be superior of the monastery of Hippo. Augustine's father managed to pay him a classical education, particularly in Carthage, where he met the woman with whom he had a son, Adeodatus, and whose life he shared for fifteen years. Having become a teacher, he first practiced his profession as a rhetorician in Carthage, then in Rome, and finally in Milan, where he met Ambrose, the city's Christian bishop, whose homilies he assiduously followed. In 386, at the age of 31, he decided to convert to Christianity. He was baptized by Ambrose at the same time as his son Adeodatus during the Easter vigil of 387. Returning to Africa in 388, the Christians of Hippo proposed him as a priest in 391, then as a bishop in 395. He died in Hippo during the siege of Genseric, leader of the Vandal troops, in 430, leaving behind him a considerable body of work. Among his major writings are the following:
- The Confessions (circa 397 - 400)
- On Christian Doctrine (397 - 426)
- On the Trinity (400 - 416)
- The City of God (413 - 426)
Nineteenth Sermon on the Epiphany of Our Lord
Summary
- Today the One who is called the Day manifested Himself to the Gentiles. Warned by the voice of the Angels, the shepherds of Israel believed, and guided by a star, the Magi worshipped, coming from a distant land. Jesus Christ, for his part, came to announce peace to those who were far away and to those who were near.
- Isaiah had glimpsed this unification of peoples through Jesus Christ. The ox here refers to the Israelites bowed under the yoke of the law; the Gentiles are referred to by the donkey, a filthy animal. Gentiles, like the Jews, were to come to the stable, and after having been purified by the faith of Jesus Christ, to participate at the common table of the body of Jesus Christ.
- In all the books of the Prophets the Jews find Jesus Christ and His Church clearly designated, and yet it is not by them, but by the Gentiles, that Jesus Christ is worshipped. For his part, the ungodly Herod, disappointed in his designs, ordered the immolation of children throughout Judea who might be the same age as Jesus Christ.
- As a little child, Jesus Christ triumphed over a powerful king. Herod, you use cruelty, and among the persecutors of Christ you are in the forefront. But He "who has power to lay down his life" has nothing to fear from your wrath. Jesus Christ came to earth, not to take your throne, but to suffer humiliation of every kind.
- We, my brethren, for whom all things have been done, for whom the Most High has humbled himself so deeply, walk in the deadly footsteps of the humility of Jesus Christ, that we may receive from him the eternal reward.
1. A few days ago we celebrated, as you remember, the birth of the One who is called the Day. At this moment we celebrate the mystery of his manifestation, as he revealed himself to the Gentiles with a ravishing radiance. On that day, according to the Gospel text itself, the Magi came from the East, seeking the King of the Jews who had just been born, and exclaiming, "We saw his star in the East and have come to worship him"1. To proclaim Jesus Christ to the shepherds of Israel, we read that angels had come down from heaven; and to bring the Magi from the far east to the Saviour's birthplace, a star appeared in the sky, shining brightly. Whether the Jews were warned by angels or the Gentiles were guided by a shining star, it is always true to say that "the heavens have declared the glory of God,"2 and it is through these first fruits of the faith of the peoples in the birth of the Savior "that our cornerstone" was made manifest3. They believed, and soon they preached Jesus Christ. Warned by the voice of angels, the shepherds believed; the Magi also worshipped, coming from countries so far away. For his part, Jesus Christ, who had come "to proclaim peace to them that were far off and to them that were near,"4 received each of these peoples "in peace," for "he himself is our peace, having formed unity among them,"5 that is, among all the peoples whose first fruits he had received at the moment of his birth; this unity, however, did not begin to be realized until after the great miracle of the Ascension.
2. Isaiah had glimpsed this unification of peoples through Jesus Christ when he cried out, "The ox knows its owner, and the donkey the stable of its master"6. The ox here refers to the Israelites bowed under the yoke of the law; the Gentiles are referred to by the donkey, a filthy animal, because the impurity of idolatry separated these Gentiles from the Israelites worshippers of the true God; and yet these Gentiles, like the Jews, were to come to the stable, and after having been purified by the faith of Jesus Christ, participate at the common table of the body of Jesus Christ. Thus the Lord, speaking to the Church formed by the two peoples, said, "Come to me, all you who suffer and are burdened, and I will make you whole. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me that I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is gentle and my burden is light"7. As if he had said to the ox: "My yoke is easy," and to the donkey: "My burden is light". To the Jews bowed under the crushing yoke of the Law, he said, "My yoke is easy"; to the Gentiles, immersed in natural pleasures and refusing the salutary burden of the commandments, he said, "Why do you remain rebellious; why do you refuse to accept the burden? My burden is light.
3. To the Magi who, upon their arrival, asked where Christ was born, the Jews made known the place of his birth, yet remained motionless. In all the books of the Prophets, the Jews find Jesus Christ and His Church clearly designated, yet it is not by them, but by the Gentiles, that Jesus Christ is worshipped. For his part, the unholy Herod, learning of the birth of the King of the Jews from the Magi, immediately shudders for his crown, and flatters himself, "in spite of the Angel of the Great Council,"8 to triumph over his alarms by the cleverness of his designs, takes two means, in his infallible eyes, to ensure victory: lies and cruelty. First, he lies to the Magi when he says to them: "Go, then, inform yourselves carefully about the child, and when you have found him, hasten to instruct me, that I may go myself and worship him"9; he thus pretends to want to worship the One whom he wanted to kill. Disappointed in his plans, he ordered to immolate, throughout Judea, children who might be the same age as Jesus Christ. Horrible cruelty dictated by ambition, and which caused the unnecessary shedding of innocent blood!
4. You see, my brothers, Jesus Christ is still carried in his Mother's arms, and already he is multiplying prodigies. As a little child, he triumphs over a powerful king; unarmed, he plays with armed force; wrapped in swaddling clothes, he disdains this prince covered in purple; lying in a manger, he plays at the court of a king; silent, he has his heralds; hidden, he finds witnesses. Herod, you use cruelty, and among the persecutors of Christ you are in the forefront. But He "who has power to lay down his life,"10 has nothing to fear from your wrath. The sting of fear may agitate you, you may burn with the fires of fury; but for Jesus Christ the time has not yet come to die. However, if you need to satisfy your awful cruelty, make martyrs of Jesus Christ. Take from the embrace of the nannies those whom you will not take from the embrace of the angels. Let them leave the womb to rise above the stars; let them escape the tears of their mothers to cover themselves with the glory of the martyrs; let them leave the arms of those who bear them, that they may attain the immortal crown; Let them be witnesses, those who cannot yet speak; let them bear witness, those who have not yet the use of the word; and let those who, because of their age, cannot pronounce the name of Jesus Christ, begin, by his grace, to confess Jesus Christ. Herod, you do not know the order of the divine decrees, and this is what troubles you. Jesus Christ came to earth, not to take your throne, but to suffer humiliation of every kind; not to be intoxicated with the flattery of the people and their adulation, but to rise on the cross assigned to Him by the clamor of the Jews; not to have the royal crown glittering on His forehead, but to be despised under a crown of thorns.
5. We, my brethren, for whom everything has been done, for whom the Most High has humbled himself so deeply, for whom a God became man, for whom our Creator was created, for whom our bread has deigned to hunger, and passing over so many other titles, we for whom our life has tasted the horrors of death, live in such a way that at least in some way we make ourselves worthy of such a great benefit; let us walk in the mortal footsteps of the humility of Jesus Christ, that we may receive from him the eternal reward.
10 John 10: 18