Saint Augustine of Hippo

Saint Augustine of Hippo was born in the year 354 in Tagaste, Africa. At age 17, he followed his intellectual pursuits in Carthage to study rhetoric and immersed himself into a worldly and sinful lifestyle, going against everything that his mother, Saint Monica, had taught him. He became a professor of rhetoric in Carthage, opening a school, and later taught in Milan. It was in Milan that Augustine came into contact with St. Ambrose and his life took a turn for the better.

In 386, Augustine had a miraculous conversion when he heard the voice of a child saying: "Take up and read! Take up and read!" He picked up a bible and read the first passage he saw: “Not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarrelling and jealousy, rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh (Romans 13:13-34).” In 387, St. Augustine (and his son) were baptized by Bishop Ambrose of Milan, and he adopted a monastic community lifestyle. He was ordained in 390 and five years later was consecrated Bishop, eventually becoming Bishop of Hippo. He lead his Church, preached, spoke out against the errors of his time, and wrote volumes of influential works. Widely known for writings such as Confessions and The City of God, he is considered a Doctor of the Church and a religious genius who largely shaped western Christianity, establishing core doctrines such as divine grace, original sin and the Trinity. The Feast of St. Augustine is August 28th.

Passion of St. John the Baptist

We recall the decollation, or beheading, of St. John the Baptist today, August 29th. King Herod the Great’s granddaughter, Herodias, married her uncle, Herod Philip, and bore a child whom she named Salome. Subsequently, Herodias divorced Herod Phillip and married his brother, Herod Antipas, who had divorced his wife to take up with her. St. John publicly disapproved of Herod Antipas’ adulterous and incestuous act, which lead to John’s imprisonment and ultimate beheading by order of Herod Antipas, upon the request of his step-daughter Salome.

The life of St. John the Baptist, the forerunner to Christ, can be easily paralleled with the life of our Lord. Both Jesus and John spoke out against those in positions of power who behaved in immoral ways, and suffered greatly for it.