Ad Limina Apostolorum (Blog) | St. Augustine's Library
Saturday, July 03, 2004

Augustine the Lector 

All right, so I lied. I'm back. I rarely blog on weekends, but this is a feature I've been meaning to start for some time, and I got the opportunity today. Since 'John' at Disputations has done such a fine job of dispensing Thomistic wisdom in the blogosphere, and proving especially adept at applying it to current events, I thought someone ought to do the same in the Augustinian tradition. Hence I nominate myself.

As one of my new resolutions is to be more liturgically aware, a convenient platform for the present purposes seems to be the Sunday readings from the lectionary, and in particular the Gospel. For St. Augustine, as for all the Fathers, theology was first of all exegesis, and much fruit might be borne of an Augustinian 'commentary' on the liturgical texts. We'll see how it goes for a couple of weeks, and if it does prove useful, I'll try to do it on a weekly basis. I may be scrounging for this liturgical year, since St. Augustine has written neither commentary nor homilies on St. Luke's Gospel, but I'll see what I can dig up.

The Gospel for the Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time focuses on the commissioning of the seventy-two (or sometimes, the seventy) by Christ, but I want to focus in on their 'debriefing' by Jesus upon their return:

The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Lk. 10:17-20).

St. Augustine, unlike modern theologians, has a great interest in demons, and their cosmological role and significance. He spends some time in his City of God (X, 22) speculating about what gives men power over demons.

He notes that the primary role of demons is to increase sin in the world, and that it is precisely through sin that the demons hold sway over men: "The devil cannot conquer or subdue any but those who are in league with sin." Conversely, men gain power over demons inasmuch as they free themselves of sin: "It is by true piety that men of God cast out the hostile power of the air which opposes godliness." But St. Augustine's vision is always theocentric, and he never lets men imagine that they can free themselves of sin of their own power: "For men are separated from God only by sins, from which we are in this life cleansed not by our own virtue, but by the divine compassion." Thus, in the realm of spiritual warfare, St. Augustine underlines the crucial role of prayer: "They overcome all the temptations of the adversary by praying . . . to their own God against him." In sum, by allowing God to remove them from the reign of sin, and by being "governed by faith" which comes from Christ, men are not only exempted from the devil's power, but in fact gain power over him.

The reason this is so important, in my view, is that it is easy to see spiritual warfare in almost 'magical' terms, as if the key to victory were simply to possess more power than the enemy. This view can even be read into the response of the seventy-two, who seem to be rejoicing in their own power: "Even the demons are subject to us!" St. Augustine emphasizes that the only power which can overcome the demons is moral power, i.e. virtue, and that this is only "vouchsafed to us through the Mediator," Christ Jesus. In other words, St. Augustine moves the entire discussion of spiritual warfare into the moral realm, where the battle is pitched between sin and godliness, vice and virtue, and takes place in the hearts of men. This may have been what Christ was getting at in His response to the seventy-two: "Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

# posted by Jamie : 10:39 AM

|


Under the Patronage of
St. Augustine of Hippo

Contact me:
adliminaapostolorum
[at] hotmail.com

Ad Limina Apostolorum: An ecclesiastical term meaning a pilgrimage to the sepulchres of St. Peter and St. Paul at Rome, i.e., to the Basilica of the Prince of the Apostles and to the Basilica of St. Paul "outside the walls".


"Augustine of Hippo Refuting Heretic"
(illuminated manuscript,
13th century)

"Jamie . . .
I could kill you in three seconds.
"
-Bishop Sheridan

Books Recently Read or Currently Reading

John Milbank's Theology & Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason (next in stack)

Colson Whitehead's Zone One (reading)

Michael Wyschogrod's Body of Faith: God and the People Israel (reading)

J. B. Schneewind's Invention of Autonomy: A History of Modern Moral Philosophy (reading)

Paul Hacker's Ego in Faith: Martin Luther and the Origins of Anthopocentric Religion (finished: 3 stars)

Edward Peter's Modern Guide to Indulgences: Rediscovering this Often-Ministerpreted Teaching (finished: 1 star)

Blogs I Read

Blogroll Me!

Liturgy

Missale Romanum
Parallel Text of Latin Mass
Order of the Mass
Today's Mass Readings
Collect of the Day
Mass Times
Liturgical Calendar
Liturgical Year
Catholic Calendar Page
Church Year.net
Liturgy of the Hours (Universalis)
Liturgy of the Hours (Apostolate)
Parallel Latin/English Psalter
Psalms in Metre
Pope's Commentary on Psalter
Gregorian Chant
More Gregorian Chant
Schola Cantorum Bogotensis
Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music
Monks of Adoration
Catholic Liturgical Library
Treasury of Latin Prayers
Thesaurus Precum Latinarum
Litany Collection
Novena Prayers
Real Presence Association
Liturgy Q&A (Zenit)

Scripture

Bible Gateway
Unbound Bible
New Testament Gateway
NT Gateway (Greek)
Douay-Rheims
Latin Vulgate
More Vulgate Resources
Nova Vulgata
e-catena

Hagiography

Patron Saints Index
Holypersons.org
Doctors of the Church
St. Thomas More (Litany)
Saint Bonaventure
St. Josemaria Escriva
Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
Saint Padre Pio
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
Queen Isabella of Spain
John Henry Newman

Apologetics

Catholic Answers
Biblical Evidence for Catholicism (Dave Armstrong)
Cor ad cor loquitur (Blog)
Nazareth Resource Library (Akin)
Surprised by Truth (Madrid)
Catholic Outlook (Hoge)
Scripture Catholic (Salza)
Defenders of the Faith (Ray)
Envoy Encore (Blog)
Peter Kreeft
Mark Shea
Catholic Apologetics Bible Concordance

Church

Holy See
Pope Benedict XVI Fan Club Catholic Hierarchy
Bishops of the United States
USCCB
Diocese of Arlington

Theology

Catechism of the Catholic Church
Ecumenical Councils and Decrees
Papal Encyclicals
Church Documents (New Advent)
Code of Canon Law
Academic Theology Links (Georgetown)
Modern Theologians (Wabash Center)

MONTHLY ARCHIVES:

03/01/2002 - 04/01/2002
03/01/2004 - 04/01/2004
04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004
05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004
06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004
07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004
08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004
09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004
10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004
11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004
12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005
01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005
02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005
03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005
04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005
05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005
06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005
07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005
08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005
09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005
10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005
11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005
12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006
01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006
02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006
05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006
11/01/2009 - 12/01/2009
08/01/2010 - 09/01/2010
11/01/2010 - 12/01/2010
04/01/2011 - 05/01/2011
09/01/2011 - 10/01/2011
01/01/2012 - 02/01/2012




Buy my Wife's Cabbage Patch Kids!

<< # St. Blog's Parish ? >>

St. Blog's Parish Hall

Weblog Commenting and Trackback by HaloScan.com

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

This site is certified 61% GOOD by the Gematriculator

This page designed by Christopher Blosser
© 2003-2004 Jamie