Feast of Saint Augustine

August 28- The Feast of Saint Augustine

Today we celebrate the solemnity of Out Holy Father St Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430), Bishop and Doctor.- Whose rule we follow.
He was born in Thagaste in Africa of a Berber family. He was brought up a Christian but left the Church and embraced the Manichaean heresy, later seeing how nonsensical it was and becoming a Neoplatonist instead. He led a wild and dissolute youth. He took a concubine by whom he had a son, Adeodatus. He had a brilliant legal and academic career. At length, through the prayers of his mother, and the teaching of St Ambrose of Milan, he was converted back to Christanity. He was baptized in 387, shortly before his mother’s death. He returned home to Africa and led an ascetic life. He wrote the “Rule” of life that Norbertine canons and many other religious communities follow. He was elected Bishop of Hippo and spent 34 years looking after his flock, teaching them, strengthening them in the faith and protecting them strenuously against the errors of the time. He wrote an enormous number of works: the Office of Readings has many extracts from them. He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Boniface VIII in 1308.

Renew in Your Church, we pray, O Lord, the spirit with which You imbued Saint Augustine, so that filled with the same spirit, all who follow his Rule might thirst for You, the only source of wisdom,
and seek You, the author of divine love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God forever and ever. Amen.

This is a big day for us Norbertines because we follow the Rule of St. Augustine and most of us took our vows on this date. On this feast we will follow our Sunday schedule – morning prayer at 8:30 AM; Mass at 10:30 AM; vespers at 4:30 PM. Join us if you can.

Speaking of schedules: Starting with Labor Day we will move to what should be our permanent schedule. Sundays stay the same – morning prayer at 8:30 AM; Mass at 10:30 AM; vespers at 4:30 PM. Saturdays stay the same – morning prayer at 8:30 AM; Mass at 9 AM; vespers at 4:30 PM. The Saturday schedule will also be our normal civil holiday schedule – such as Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, etc. It’s the Monday through Friday schedule that is changing — morning prayer at 8:00 AM; Mass at 8:30 AM; vespers at 4:30 PM.