Issue: March 2008: St. Augustine

[1] Gilbert Meilander has let us in on his sustained and even quite personal conversation with Augustine. It is a genuine dialogue in which the views of the two parties concerning the Christian life are sharpened by the exchange. We read in the Preface that Augustine is cast as the teacher to whom the author […]

[1] On the first page of Meilaender’s book, The Way that Leads There, he dedicates the work to Jonathan, Charlotte, Miriam, and Veronika, and just beneath their names he offers a quotation from Augustine-Ibi vacabinums et videbimus, videbimus et amabimus, amabimus et laudabimus[1]–“We shall be still and see, shall see and love, shall love and […]

[1] Gilbert Meilaender begins his engaging reflections on The Way that Leads There by quoting a child’s grave marker: Dear Jesus You know that I love you Take me to yourself (1). With these simple words Meilaender leads readers into a profound discussion of the moral life. The marker, he notes, expresses a human neediness […]

[1] After they’ve read his compelling spiritual autobiography, I ask my students the obvious question: “What is Augustine confessing?” To a person they reply: “His sins.” To be sure, Augustine recounts his sins in vivid detail. But Gilbert Meilaender offers a second answer: “His love of God.” Moreover, Augustine confesses from a nature that is […]