Augustine lived from 354 to 430. He was born in North Africa, the son of Patricius and Monica (see August 27). He went to university at Carthage to study rhetoric, intending to become a lawyer, but there he became interested in philosophy and literature instead. Searching for an answer to the problem of evil, he became a follower of Mani, a Persian prophet, whose philosophy promised to explain all that exists. While in Carthage, Augustine took a mistress and they had a son, Adeodatus; according to Roman law, they could not marry since they belonged to different social classes.

Augustine taught in North Africa for several years, then opened a school of rhetoric in Rome, moving on to Milan in 384. There he heard the sermons of the great Bishop Ambrose and became convinced of the truth of Christianity; he abandoned Manichaeism and returned to his Christian faith. He, his mother, his brother, his son, and some friends withdrew from the city to live a simpler life based on the evangelical counsels and to prepare for the sacraments; his mistress returned to Africa. At Easter 387, Augustine was baptized by Ambrose, and he and his entourage decided to go to North Africa. His mother died later that year and his son died in 389.

In 391, the people of Hippo, near his home town of Tagaste, insisted Augustine be ordained. Priest and ascetic, he established a religious community and began preaching, with enormous success. In 396, he became Bishop of Hippo, where he spent the rest of his life, working and writing. He was kind and charitable, and although he practised asceticism, he also practised hospitality.

He founded a community for women, headed by his sister. A letter addressed to this community concerning the principles of the religious life (usually referred to as the "so-called Rule of St Augustine") has become the basis of the constitutions of many religious communities.

During his lifetime, Augustine successfully defended the Christian faith against several heresies (Manichaeism, Donatism, Pelagianism). He died on this day in his 76th year, as the Vandals besieged the city of Hippo.

All these events and many more are recounted in Augustine's Confessions, a classic of spiritual autobiography. His other writings include City of God, De Trinitate (On the Trinity), De doctrina christiana (On Christian Doctrine), and hundreds more treatises, sermons and letters. Some of his favourite themes include grace, the Trinity, scripture, history, and the "journey to the mind of God." Augustine's unique combination of intelligence and pastoral concern shaped the thought of Western Christianity and guided the Church for over a thousand years. He is one of the greatest Fathers of the Church, known as the Doctor of Grace.

©2011 Living with Christ, Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/. Reprinted with permission.