“Are we too saying 'Not yet’?”

The Catholic Church accords a salutary position to Saint Augustine, setting aside a day on the Church Calendar to commemorate the Saint, an esteemed Bishop and Doctor of the Church. The Readings are so arranged that Sundays and feast days present the more important biblical passages. The Readings at Mass are not accidental:

“In general, following the Vatican II call for a ‘ressourcement’ or taking people back to the scriptural sources of our faith, the framers of the Lectionary wished to impart to the faithful a richer fare of readings from the various books of the Bible,” he said. “There is therefore a greater selection of readings than with the selection for the Mass before 1969.” The Vatican II Constitution on the Liturgy ordered that “in sacred celebrations there is to be more reading from holy Scripture and it is to be more varied and apposite”. (n.35.1) “The treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly, so that a richer share in God’s word may be provided for the faithful”. (n.51)

For the Memorial of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, the following Readings have been chosen: 1 Corinthians 1:17-25 - ‘Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom’; the Responsorial Psalm 33:1-2,4-5,10-11; Luke 21:36 for the ‘Alleluia’; and the Gospel Reading Matthew 25:1-13

The reflection that follows shows why that would be the case.

There appear to be parallels between 1 Corinthians 1:17-25 (written in 53-54 AD in the 1^st Century) and St. Augustine's Life. St. Augustine of Hippo was born nearly 300 years later in 354 AD and lived into the 5^th century (died 430 AD). St. Paul was addressing immediate divisions within the local church at Corinth, contrasting worldly philosophy and rhetorical human wisdom with the "folly" of the Cross and the power of God.  While Paul was not speaking of Augustine, Augustine’s life is one of the most vivid historical realisations of Paul's message in 1 Corinthians 1:17-25:

1. Human Eloquence vs. The Power of the Cross (v. 17): Augustine was a master of Roman rhetoric and prized worldly eloquence. In his youth, he found Scripture crude compared to Cicero. However, his intellect and rhetorical mastery could not heal his heart—only the simple grace of the Gospel transformed him.
2. "Where is the Wise Person? Where is the Teacher of the Law?" (v. 20): Augustine spent over nine years adhering to Manichaeism and studying Neoplatonism, seeking truth through human wisdom. Yet, secular philosophy and elite systems failed to bring him inner peace or moral liberation.
3. The Folly and Power of God (v. 23-25): God's grace humbled Augustine's pride, proving that human wisdom is foolishness compared to God's wisdom.

Summary of Saint Augustine of Hippo: Why Could Nothing Satisfy His Restless Heart?

Augustine was born in 354 AD in Tagaste, Roman North Africa. His mother, St. Monica, was a devout Christian who prayed unceasingly for him and taught him about Christ. His father, Patricius, was a pagan who cared primarily for Augustine's career and worldly advancement. Augustine was extremely gifted in rhetoric, literature, and persuasion. He pursued worldly pleasures, ambition, and intellectual status in Carthage. He took a concubine with whom he had a son, Adeodatus. He joined the Manichaean sect for nine years searching for truth, but grew disillusioned.

Then he moved to Milan as a rhetoric professor, where he heard Bishop Ambrose preach. Ambrose showed him the intellectual and spiritual depth of Scripture. Augustine struggled with a divided will and sensuality, praying his famous phrase: "Give me chastity and continence, but not yet." In a Milan Garden, weeping under a fig tree, he heard a child’s voice chanting "Tolle, lege" ("Take up and read").  Opening St. Paul's letters to Romans 13:13-14, the light of certainty filled his heart, ending his hesitation.

He was called to Sainthood and to Vocation. Augustine was baptised by Bishop Ambrose during the Easter Vigil in 387 AD alongside his son Adeodatus and friend Alypius. After his mother, Monica, died in Ostia, he returned to Africa to live a monastic life of prayer and study, was ordained a priest and later became the Bishop of Hippo. Augustine authored monumental works including Confessions and The City of God. He died on August 28, 430 AD, leaving a legacy as one of the Catholic Church’s greatest Doctors of the Church.

We also see parallels to Matthew 25:1-13 (The Parable of the Ten Virgins): The Parable of the Ten Virgins warns of spiritual readiness, lifelong vigilance, and keeping the "oil" of faith, grace, and good deeds in our lamps for the bridegroom’s arrival. For much of his early life, Augustine lived like the foolish virgins—unprepared, wasting time, and delaying his spiritual commitment ("not yet"). His conversion was a shift from squandering grace to filling his lamp with prayer, penance, and total devotion to God. And the ultimate reckoning: Augustine learned that human ambition and physical life are fleeting, and only a heart prepared with divine love is ready when the Lord calls.

Where are we on the journey to spiritual maturity? Do we feel the ‘restlessness’ that St. Augustine felt? He had achieved so much and was slated for greater renown. Yet he was not happy, confronted, as he was, by two conflicting wills:

1.     The Will of Habit (The Old Will): The pull of past sinful attachments, sensual desires, worldly ambition, and comfort. It resisted surrendering control and kept pulling him backwards, saying "Not yet" to God.

2. The Will of Grace (The New Will): The desire for divine truth, holiness, purity, and spiritual obedience. It called him forward to surrender completely to Christ

Augustine experienced this conflict as a divided heart—his intellect recognised God's truth, his ingrained habits and fears of losing pleasure kept him bound until grace broke the impasse in the garden.

We too must examine our hearts and ask the hard question, “Are we too saying 'Not yet’?” Are we fearful of losing what gives us gratification, but not fulfilment, necessarily? Do we shy away from prayer because we feel prayer only brings a life of abstinence? Have we experienced what it is to abstain and be free from what holds us shackled to ingrained habits that persist? For those who have broken free, life is truly divine.

-        Mathew Anthony