O Lord God, the light of the minds that know You, the life of souls that love You, and the strength of the hearts that serve You, give us strength to follow the example of Your servant Augustine of Hippo, so that knowing You we may truly love You and loving You we may fully serve You–for to serve is perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
About Augustine of Hippo, Pastor and Theologian:
Augustine was one of the greatest of the Latin Church Fathers and a significant influence in the formation of Western Christianity, including Lutheranism. Born in AD 354 in North Africa, Augustine’s early life was distinguished by exceptional advancement as a teacher of rhetoric. In his book Confessions he describes his life before his conversion to Christianity, when he was drawn into the moral laxity of the day and fathered an illegitimate son. Through the devotion of his sainted mother, Monica, and the preaching of Ambrose, bishop of Milan (AD 339-97), Augustine was converted to the Christian faith. During the great Pelagian controversies of the fifth century, Augustine emphasized the unilateral grace of God in the salvation of mankind. Bishop and theologian at Hippo in North Africa from AD 395 until his death in AD 430, Augustine was a man of great intelligence, a fierce defender of the orthodox faith, and a prolific writer. In addition to Confessions, Augustine’s book City of God had a great impact upon the Church throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance. (From The Treasury of Daily Prayer,Concordia Publishing House)
A reflection: Augustine fought rigorously against a heresy call Pelagianism. It was name after Augustine’s contemporary bishop, Pelagius. Pelagius taught that man had a will that was pretty good and could cooperate with God in salvation. Augustine, based upon the Bible, said the opposite that man is in bondage to sin and cannot free himself and this bondage is from birth, that is, original sin. The Bible says sin is death and the dead can not cooperate so well in salvation till the Savior comes…now there is much to teach here, but for this reflection a quote from Augustine of Hippo: A Biography by Peter Brown: in contrast to Pelagius, that what concerned Augustine was not ‘planning human nature, but how to heal it” (from one of the Saint’s writings).
Planning human nature is the stuff of community organizers, do-gooders, socialists, communists, positive thinkers, etc. and ad nauseam. In fact we are in the midst of a concerted effort to plan human nature through critical race theory, social justice, and resurgent communism. Planning human nature is the basis of totalitarianism, and it is forced and fascist, both left and right. The goal of the Lord is to heal human nature. Government, social policies, social planners and the elite ‘omni-competent’ will only create tyranny. No one ever became good by an act of government or erstwhile do gooder. Even Christian planning for human nature have resulted in failed communities from the Puritans in New England and worse: Jim Jones. Our constitution makes an important point about civil government: “for a more perfect union” is the right goal. Note, a MORE perfect union, not a PERFECT union and latter is the stuff of utopian planners for thousand years.
Augustine knew human nature and through God’s Word of Law he knew his own human nature: he liked to sin but the Savior who came to earth claimed Augustine by His Word. Government nor the best laid plans of mice and men, can heal the heart, nor the mind, nor the spirit. Christ has and can.
You can read more about St. Augustine here.
Concordia and Koinonia 
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