Late have I love you.

Today is the memorial of St. Augustine and although the Sunday takes precedence, I feel Augustine is important enough to merit a post.  Augustine is an interesting character and his lifestyle before his conversion can easily be compared to that of any young person.  Augustine was searching for truth and meaning, much like our young today.  He found it in all the things that really don't satisfy.  If you think about today, many look for meaning to their lives in work, drugs, money, sex and even in false religions.  But none of those things satisfy There is an innate need for God, but so many just don't to realize that it is only with God that true happiness can be found.

It took Augustine 30 years to find out that what he sought was with him all the time. It's like the characters in the Wizard of Oz.  They had to go through all kinds of trials in their search for what they wanted most in life, a brian, a heart, courage and a home, only to find that they possessed them all along.  The Scarecrow, Tin Man, the Lion and Dorothy needed the Wizard to help them realize this.  Augustine had the prayers of his mother Monica, whose memorial was yesterday.  Monica's prayers reached God and Augustine finally recognized that what he was seeking all along was Christ. In his Confessions he wrote of this realization:

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.

These words have so much depth, so much meaning, and express a long for Christ that is an innate part of who we are as human beings created in the image and likeness of God.  There is a lot here to meditate upon as each sentence is a gem in itself.

I would write more but Irene has arrived with a fury and the people across the street have already lost electricity.  It is exciting to see the power of nature, but always aware of the devastation  it can cause.  Oh Lord keep us safe and protect us from all forces that may cause us harm.  With each gust of wind, breath you fragrance over us and let us know that we belong to You and without You we are nothing.