Background
Augustine of Canterbury was born on early 6th century, probably in Italy.
Augustine of Canterbury was born on early 6th century, probably in Italy.
Gregory the Great, before he became pope, had seen in a slave market in Rome some young boys captured from the Angle tribe. He was said to have been so impressed by their light complexion and fair hair that he remarked, "These are not Angles, these are angels. " When Gregory became pope, his desire to convert the Angles to Christianity led him to commission a group of monks to take the gospel message to England. To lead the mission, Gregory chose a man for whom he had gained respect when they shared a cell in the monastery of St. Andrew in Rome, a monk named Augustine.
Until this time Augustine had followed the quiet and disciplined monastic life of work, prayer, and study of Scriptures. Out of a sense of duty he responded to Pope Gregory's directive and left the peace of the monastery with a contingent of 20 monks. They landed in the southeastern corner of England in 597. King Ethelbert of Kent received the monks with some curiosity but, suspicious that Augustine might possess magical powers, insisted on meeting them outdoors, where he would not be as vulnerable. The King was impressed by Augustine's courage and straightforwardness. Within a year, at Christmas of 597, Ethelbert agreed to accept baptism and became a Christian himself. Ten thousand of his people followed his example, giving Augustine a base out of which to operate. Augustine continued to receive help from Rome, and more monks came to preach under his direction. Pope Gregory sent relics, vestments, books, and answers to Augustine's questions. After being appointed bishop over all of England in 601, Augustine tried to coordinate his activities with the Christian groups among the Celts and the Britons. On the Pope's advice Augustine did not destroy pagan temples but used them as churches once the idols had been removed and the buildings purified with holy water.
King Ethelbert built Augustine a monastery and encouraged the missionary to make his headquarters at Canterbury in Kent rather than London in Essex, as Pope Gregory had suggested. Augustine met with relatively little immediate success in his relations with the other Christian groups in England, who wanted to remain independent of Kent and were not happy that the Pope had sent a Roman to supervise their activities. But the seed he planted in southeastern England was to grow throughout the entire British Isles, involving them inextricably in the course of European Christianity. Augustine died sometime between 604 and 609.
St. Augustine of Canterbury is known as the Apostle of England. He brought Christianity to England in the 6th century and became the first archbishop of Canterbury.
St Augustine's Cross, a Celtic cross erected in 1884, marks the spot in Ebbsfleet, Thanet, East Kent, where Augustine is said to have landed.
Quotations:
"To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement. "
"If two friends ask you to judge a dispute, don't accept, because you will. .. '
"A Christian is: a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which Christ loves, a voice through which Christ speaks, and a hand through which Christ helps. "
"God of our life, there are days when the burdens we carry chafe our shoulders and weigh us down; when the road seems dreary and endless, the skies gray and threatening; when our lives have no music in them, and our hearts are lonely, and our souls have lost their courage. Flood the path with light, run our eyes to where the skies are full of promise; tune our hearts to brave music; give us the sense of comradeship with heroes and saints of every age; and so quicken our spirits that we may be able to encourage the souls of all who journey with us on the road of life, to your honor and glory. "
"If God seems slow in responding, it is because He is preparing a better gift. He will not deny us. God withholds what you are not yet ready for. He wants you to have a lively desire for His greatest gifts. All of which is to say, pray always and do not lose heart. "
"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. "
"Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are. "
"Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever; and take care of your soul as if you were going to die tomorrow. "
"Remember this. When people choose to withdraw far from a fire, the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold. When people choose to withdraw far from light, the light continues to be bright in itself but they are in darkness. This is also the case when people withdraw from God. "
"Women should not be enlightened or educated in any way. They should, in fact, be segregated as they are the cause of hideous and involuntary erections in holy men. "
"What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like. "
"What is reprehensible is that while leading good lives themselves and abhorring those of wicked men, some, fearing to offend, shut their eyes to evil deeds instead of condemning them and pointing out their malice. "
"Every morning you put on your clothes to cover your nakedness and protect your body from inclement weather. Why don't you also clothe your soul with the garment of faith? Remember each morning the truths of your creed, and look at yourself in the mirror of your faith. Otherwise, your soul will soon be naked with the nakedness of oblivion. "
"In all trouble you should seek God. You should not set Him over against your troubles, but within them. God can only relieve your troubles if you in your anxiety cling to Him. Trouble should not really be thought of as this thing or that in particular, for our whole life on earth involves trouble; and through the troubles of our earthly pilgrimage we find God. "
