AUGUSTINE 1

LIFE, WORKS, TEACHINGS & SPIRITUALITY

OF ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO

THE SPIRITUAL TEACHINGS

OF ST. AUGUSTINE
 AUGUSTINIAN PRAYER BEFORE CLASS

L: When we live in
unity
A: How good and how
pleasing it is
 AUGUSTINIAN PRAYER BEFORE CLASS

L: Pray for us,

Holy father Augustine
A: That we may dwell
together in peace

L: Let us Pray
God our father,
Your Son promised to be
present in the midst of all
who come together
in His name.
Help us to recognize
His presence among us
and experience in our
hearts the abundance
of Your grace,
Your mercy, and
Your peace, in truth and
in love.
We ask this, through
Christ our Lord.
Amen
L: St. Augustine
A: Pray For us
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lesson, learners will be able to:

1. Recognize and categorize the spiritual
teachings of Saint Augustine, discerning their
relevance and applicability to contemporary
spiritual practice.
2. Acknowledge and appreciate the profound
influence of Saint Augustine on Christian
spirituality, evaluating the enduring impact of his
writings and teachings.
3. Advocate for the significance of prayer as a vital
component in nurturing and enriching the
spiritual life, drawing upon the insights and
teachings of Saint Augustine to emphasize its
importance in personal and communal spiritual
growth.
When was the time that you
prayed sincerely?

What did you pray?

Why did you pray?

What are the difficulties you

encountered in praying?
 Song: Grace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbXbvvBH7ck

1. Acknowledgment of
Weakness and Finding
Strength in Weakness
2. Seeking God's Grace
3. Gratitude for Forgiveness
4. Embracing Transformation
A Reading from the letter of St. Paul to the
Colossians (Col. 3:2)

“Set your minds on things

above, not on earthly things.”
• Spiritual Focus
prioritizing spiritual realities over temporal concerns

• Contrast with Earthly Things

to avoid being consumed by worldly desires and
instead seek treasures in heaven.

• Identity in Christ
rooted in the understanding that believers have been
raised with Christ calls for a transformation in how
they think and live.
 SPIRITUAL TEACHINGS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE

The most important aspect of

Augustine's spiritual teaching is his
doctrine on prayer, which has deeply
influenced many generations.
Although he didn’t write a specific
book on prayer, Augustine explored
its meaning and significance in various
writings.
 He viewed prayer as a transformation
of the heart and a deep desire for God.

• Prayer isn’t about informing God of

what He already knows, but about
preparing our souls to receive what
God wants to give us.

• Necessity of prayer because it

connects us to God's grace, which
is essential in overcoming spiritual
challenges.
• Augustine believed that prayer
not only benefits the individual
but also has a social dimension,
helping others through
intercession.

• Prayer is both a result of grace

and a way to receive more
grace, such as the gift of
perseverance.
 For prayer to be effective, it
must be offered in Christ's
name, aligning with God’s plan
for salvation.
 Augustine summarized the role of
Christ in prayer by saying, “Christ
prays for us, prays in us, and is
prayed to by us.”

“Christ is our Priest when He prays for

us, our Head when He prays within us,
and our God when we pray to Him.We
therefore recognize our voice in him and
his in us”. (In.ps.85,1)
• The most known source about prayer
in Augustine is Letter 130 to Proba,
which progressively goes through the
lines of the Lord’s Prayer.

• Enarrationes in Psalmos gives an insight

into Augustine’s understanding of the
relationship of Christ and the church in
prayer. As well, his Confessions is
regarded as a lengthy written prayer
 PRAYER AS HOLY DESIRE

• Augustine made some distinctions

between types of prayer, such as
• laus (Latin for praise) and
• oratio (Latin for petition).
• He described prayer as a form of desire
or yearning for God. He believed that
simply wanting God is already a form of
prayer, even without words.
 Prayer helps us learn
and grow
• Through prayer, God guides and
strengthens our desire for eternal
life.

• Prayer keeps our focus on that

goal, deepening our longing for
eternal happiness.
 SCRIPTURAL PRAYER

• Augustine believed that reading

and reflecting on Scripture,
especially the Psalms, was a
powerful form of prayer.

• Scripture guides and deepens our

prayer
Prayer requires discipline
• Prayer involves lifting our
hearts to God, and this can be
greatly aided by incorporating
the Word of God into our
prayers.
• Augustine believed that struggling
to control our thoughts during
prayer shows how much we need
God's grace, even when we pray.

• He recommended setting a regular

time and maintaining a consistent
posture to train both the mind and
body to focus on God.
As to posture, he did not suggest that
the knees be bent or arms
outstretched, but the use of a posture
that could be steadily maintained.

He specifically recommended that the

actual time of praying be kept short.
Short prayers frequently repeated
was what he recommended.
 UNCEASING PRAYER

A person has a continuous

desire for God
A clear sign of this unceasing prayer is
when a person's actions consistently align
with Christian principles, specifically loving
God and loving others out of love for
God.
• Augustine emphasized that unceasing
prayer requires aligning one's heart and
actions with the prayers found in
Scripture.

• Forgiveness and almsgiving as essential

practices for unceasing prayer;
forgiveness is an internal act, while
almsgiving is external. Both serve as
remedies for sin and promote the
fundamental Christian principle of love.
 THE LORD’S PRAYER AS A MODEL

Augustine’s most direct exposition

on the Lord’s Prayer is found in his
Letter 130, which is often called the
Letter to Proba. Letter 130 is a
significant letter that St. Augustine
wrote to a Roman noblewoman
named Anicia Faltonia Proba, around
412 AD.
In his various works, such as his
Enchiridion, Augustine interprets the
Lord’s Prayer as reflecting his idea of
pilgrimage.
• Each petition in the prayer is directed
to the Father, serving as a reminder
of a person's relationship with God
and others.
• The use of the term "Father"
encourages affection and inspires the
desire to be a worthy child of God.
• In the first three petitions of the
Lord’s Prayer, the pilgrim asks to
become acceptable to God, a
process that begins in this life
and is completed in eternity.

• In the final four petitions, the

pilgrim asks God for everything
needed for the journey to
eternity.
 INTERIORITY IN PRAYER

Interiority - This term, which translates

to interioridad in Spanish and interiorità
in Italian, refers to the inner life of a
person, a core aspect of spiritual
tradition.
• Interiority involves turning inward to
gain a deeper understanding of oneself
and God. It represents our “resting in
God.”
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord,
and our hearts are restless until they
rest in you” (Confessions, 1.1)

• Through our interior life, we can

come to know and love God.
Augustine believes this requires us to
look inward and perfect our hearts
so that we can reach God with a
constant desire.
“Go inside, where the light of reason
is illuminated” (The True Religion, 39.72).

“Enter into your heart (Isaiah

46:8), and if you have faith, you
will find Christ there. He speaks
to you in silence, guiding you more
effectively than words.”
 (3) THREE LAYERS OF INTERIORITY

a. Personal Inward Space: This refers to

the inner self (Confessions, 10.17).

b. Inward Personal Revelation: In this

inner space, a person may feel
restlessness, a spiritual unease in the
search for God. This search is the main
theme of Augustine's Confessions (7.10).
 (3) THREE LAYERS OF INTERIORITY

c. External Signs: Augustine

suggests that external words
and sacraments are signs that
represent inner realities and can
help bring the eternal truth into
the soul.
 In De Magistro ("On the Teacher")
Augustine wrote that no teacher on
earth except Christ could instruct in
the eternal truth, which came directly
through divine illumination.

Interiority denoted a search of the

heart, of the interior of self, of the
very consciousness of a person.
• Jesus as our “interior master,”
emphasizing the need for attentive
inner silence to hear and
understand Him during interior
prayer.
• He used the imagery of developing
the “eyes and ears of the heart” to
perceive what Christ wants to
communicate, highlighting the
importance of purifying these
senses to see God.
Interiority involves spiritually
withdrawing to meet God and
represents a shift in thinking,
suggesting that truth can be
discovered through exploring
one's inner life.
 LECTIO DIVINA

Matthew 6:5-8

5. “When you pray, do not be like the

hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the
synagogues and on street corners so that
others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they
have received their reward.
6. But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in
secret. And your Father who sees in secret
will repay you.
 LECTIO DIVINA

7. In praying, do not babble like the

pagans, who think that they will
be heard because of their many
words.
8. Do not be like them.Your Father
knows what you need before you
ask him.”
 Lectio Divina means “divine reading” in Latin. It’s a meditative way
of reading the Bible in which we let go of our own agendas and
open ourselves to what God is trying to say to us.

 Lectio Divina calls on us to see prayer as a renewal of our

relationship with God through the Word. While Lectio Divina is a
great way to study the Bible, it isn’t the same thing as a Bible study.

 Lectio Divina offers something more specific, more personal to

you, in the moment you are praying. Bible studies lead us to
interpret the Bible by asking questions and at times, doing
research, and looking at the Bible as a whole.
 Lectio Divina asks us to intentionally focus on a short
section of Scripture.This prayerful focus could be one
passage, one verse, or even just one word.

 Why do we pray with Lectio Divina: to become better

listeners and to remember the vitality of the Word.

Pope Benedict said: “It should never be forgotten that the Word
of God is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path.”
 Guide to Augustinian Lectio Divina
(http://fil-osareflection.weebly.com/augustinian-lectio-divina.html)

1. Inviting the Lord and His

Spirit
2. Reading the Text (Lectio)
3. After reading, a moment of
silence has to be observed.
4. Abiding with the Text
(MEDITATIO):
5. Reading the Text the third time
(ORATIO):
6. Sharing what has touched their
life (COLLATIO):
7. Praying together
(CONTEMPLATIO):
8. The facilitator invites the group
to pray
 EXTENDING: ACTIO OF LECTIO DIVINA

Answer the following questions with

utter honesty:
a. How is God challenging me?
b. Is there a good thing God is calling
me to do?
c. Is there a harmful thing God wants
me to stop doing?
d. What is the next step I need to
take?
AUGUSTINE 1
LIFE, WORKS, TEACHINGS & SPIRITUALITY
OF ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO

THE SPIRITUAL TEACHINGS

OF ST. AUGUSTINE
 AUGUSTINIAN PRAYER AFTER CLASS

L: Our help is in the

name of the Lord
A: Who made heaven
and earth

L: Let us Pray
God, the desire of every
human heart, you moved
Saint Augustine to seek
restlessly for truth and
peace.
Touch our hearts with his
burning desire for wisdom,
for the Word made flesh.
We ask this through Christ,
our Lord.
Amen
L: Glory be to the
Father and to the
Son, and to the
Holy Spirit
A: As it was in the
beginning, is now,
and will be forever.
Amen
L: St. Augustine
A: Pray For us
AUGUSTINE 1
LIFE, WORKS, TEACHINGS & SPIRITUALITY
OF ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO

THE SPIRITUAL TEACHINGS

OF ST. AUGUSTINE