One of the most celebrated saints in the Catholic faith is Saint Augustine of Hippo. His autobiography is entitled "The Confessions".
Some details of Saint Augustine's life
Although in the book, Saint Augustine's life is not clearly narrated compared to written biographies, there are events in his life that have molded him very well on the road to sanctity.
Saint Augustine was born in Hippo, Africa in the early 4th century. He lived a licentious life in his early years and was involved in the teaching known as Manichaeism. Because of his mother's, [Saint Monica] incessant prayers, he gradually converted to Christianity. The famous story is told about this conversion: it was the sermon of Saint Ambrose, whose words deeply touched his soul. Though Augustine sired a son out of wedlock, after his conversion, he included his son in the community which he started - a community that included his mother, his son, his sister, and his friends. His sister eventually became the abbess of the women, and he became the leader of the men. This community grew and became what we know now as the Augustinians.
A brief review of the autobiography
The book of "The Confessions" is very interesting. In the very first chapters of the book, you will really have a sense that the man is indeed a holy man, and is worthy of sainthood. It is really uncanny for someone who has achieved the status of bishop and doctor of the church to write about the sins of his "infancy and childhood!" This is something one must really read in order to sense the sanctity of the man.
As you read along the following chapters, you will not only read about details of his life, but also excerpts on his gift of wisdom - which are evident from his prayers and reflection. There is a lot of philosophical insights which you can also read and will reveal a lot about the Saint's intelligence and education. And more than these, are his spiritual insights on God and His love for all mankind.
The chapters in the book
There are thirteen 'books' in the book and the following list will give the titles of these thirteen books. One 'book' has as little as thirteen chapters, and another has as many as thirty one chapters.
- Book 1: Childhood
- Book 2: Augustine's Sixteenth Year
- Book 3: Later Youth
- Book 4: Augustine the Manichean
- Book 5: At Rome and Milan
- Book 6: Years of Struggle
- Book 7: Problems of Thought and Belief
- Book 8: The Grace of Faith
- Book 9: The New Catholic
- Book 10: A Philosophy of Memory
- Book 11: Time and Eternity
- Book 12: Form and Matter
- Book 13: The Creation of the World
A classic recommended even by non-Christians
This book is so good that it is recommended by non-Christians who have read it without really knowing about the Christian faith. For those who are busy in their professional lives, this is a book you can read, to reset your mindset from the "ratings race". It will bring you into a world of ideas that are rooted in truths that is fully understood in a time of quiet and silence. It is the first few chapters of the book which are really interesting and easy to read. Towards the latter chapters, when Saint Augustine speaks more on the development of his Christian philosophy, the tone of the language begins to be heavier. You can skip the heavy topics and simply choose the parts of the book which can give you a sense of the greatness of his education and philosophy.
