08/28/2026
Good morning Church family, A Short Reflection on today’s feast day
Saint Augustine of Hippo was a brilliant theologian, bishop, and one of the greatest thinkers in the history of the Church. Yet perhaps what makes Augustine most relatable is that he spent many years searching for happiness in places that could never truly satisfy him.
As a young man, Augustine pursued success, pleasure, intellectual achievement, and worldly recognition. His mother, Saint Monica, prayed for him for many years. Eventually, through God’s grace and the witness of others, Augustine experienced a profound conversion. He discovered that the restlessness within his heart could only be satisfied by God.
His famous words from the Confessions capture this beautifully:
“Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Augustine reminds us that God never gives up on the person who is searching. His conversion was not simply about leaving behind his past—it was about discovering that God’s mercy was greater than his failures.
For anyone who feels they have wandered, made mistakes, or started over, Saint Augustine offers tremendous hope: your past does not have the final word. God’s grace does.
May we have the courage of Augustine to seek the truth, the humility to recognize our need for God, and the perseverance to allow God’s grace to transform our lives.
🙏 Prayer for the Intercession of Saint Augustine
O glorious Saint Augustine,
you searched for truth and happiness
until you discovered their source in God.
Pray for us when our hearts are restless.
Help us to turn away from anything
that keeps us from Christ
and to seek God above all things.
Obtain for us the grace
to recognize God’s mercy in our lives,
to learn from our failures,
and to begin again with faith and hope.
Pray especially for those who have wandered from God,
for those who are searching for meaning,
and for those who long to return to the Church.
Saint Augustine of Hippo,
pray for us,
that our hearts may rest in God alone.
Amen.