Augustine
Presentation: February 2, 2008
Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, PhD
Brief Description of Presentation
What is mysticism and how does it find its way, explicitly and implicitly, into the thought of one of the most influential thinkers in all of history, St. Augustine, 354-430? Next to Jesus, Augustine is arguably the most influential person in Western history. To risk a metaphor: Augustine wrote “Windows 400”, something we simply call common sense, and we still use his categories to think within today.
Where do we see mysticism within his writings? Philosophically, drawing on his Neo-Platonism, we see it in his basic understanding of how we know and what is important in knowing. Theologically we see it particularly in his concept of the Totus Christus, the Body of Christ and our unity and intimacy within that Body.
This session will attempt to do the following:
1. Give
a brief, but necessary, definition and description of mysticism.
2. Give brief introduction to St. Augustine, his life and his importance.
3. Give a brief understanding of his mysticism – philosophically.
4. Give a more detailed presentation on his concept of mysticism within
the Body of Christ.
Prayer Exercise
Centering Prayer
Preparation for Session and Bibliography
For lecture preparation article see Pamela Bright, "The Spirit in the Sevenfold Pattern of The Spiritual Life in the Thought of St. Augustine", STUDIA PATRISTICA, VOL. XLIII. “Papers presented at the Fourteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2003”
1. Any biography
of Augustine; e.g., Frank Sheed’s biography.
2. Augustine of Hippo: Selected Writings, Classics of Western Spirituality,
N.Y., Paulist, 1984.
3. Any brief philosophical outline of his thought. I recommend:
W.T.
Jones, A History of Western Philosophy – section on Augustine, outline of
Augustine’s philosophy.
Frederick Copleston, A History of Philosophy –
volume on Augustine. More developed and synthesized.
4. Johannes Van Bavel, Augustine. (Printed in Belgium in 1980, hard to
find). I will bring a copy.
5. Augustine, The Confessions of St. Augustine
6. Augustine, The City of God.
About Fr. Ron Rolheiser
Ronald Rolheiser, a Roman Catholic priest and member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, is president of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. He is a community-builder, lecturer and writer. His books are popular throughout the English-speaking world and his weekly column is carried by more than sixty newspapers worldwide. For much of his priesthood, he taught theology and philosophy at Newman Theological College in Edmonton Alberta. From 1998–2004 he served his religious community, The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, on their General Administration. In August 2005, he began a five-year assignment as the President of the Oblate School of Theology. Among other degrees, he received a Ph.D/STD University of Louvain, Belgium, 1983. His specializations include systematic theology, philosophy, Augustine, mysticism and spirituality.
His publications include:
Secularity and the Gospel: Being Missionary to our Children, The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York, 2006.
The Restless Heart, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1988. Re-released, Doubleday, New York, 2004, winner of the 1990 Winnifred Sanford Award, for best popular spiritual book in the United Kingdom.
The Holy Longing, Doubleday, New York, 1999, winner of the Catholic Press Book award for 2000, in spirituality.
Against an Infinite Horizon, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1995 and Crossroads, New York, 1996.
The Shattered Lantern, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1994, and Crossroads, New York, 1995, winner of the Catholic Book Award for best paperback spirituality book, USA Catholic Book Awards, 1996.