St. Augustine and Divine Training

By Sal Ciresi
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 12/5/02)

Recent columns have asserted that the components of Scripture, Tradition, and the Catholic Magisterium encourage the faithful to study and reflect upon Catholic doctrine. An abundance of Scriptural passages have already been examined that sustain this intellectual pursuit (cf. Dt 6:4-7; Ps 19:7-9; Hos 4:1-2; Mt 4:23; Acts 2:42; Col 3:1-2; 2 Pt 3:18; Rv 1:3). United with this Biblical data, the Tradition of the Catholic Church supports this acquisition of religious knowledge. Under the component of Tradition, the renowned convert St. Augustine offers several insights for divine training in the Catholic Faith.

St. Augustine (354-430) writes in The Trinity 14.1.3 that theology is "the science which generates, nourishes, defends and fortifies faith which leads to true happiness. Many of the faithful do not possess this science, even though they have a great deal of faith. For it is one thing to know only that which must be believed in order to obtain the blessed life, that which is eternal; and another to know it in such a way as to be able to place it at the service of the good and to defend it against the bad." This classic quotation from the Patristic literature offers a wealth of wisdom concerning the practical side of studying Catholicism. The significance of this wisdom is discussed below.

According to St. Augustine, the study of God (i.e. theology) is treated as a "science." This means that the improvement of one’s religious knowledge in the Catholic Faith is truly an intellectual discipline. This work of the mind will require using God-given human reason, interacting with theological sources, and a subsequent period of reflection. The understanding of secular topics (e.g. medicine, law) requires time and effort: we should expect nothing less for the topic of the one true religion.

Continuing to reflect on the quote from The Trinity, we see that through the development of the theological mind, the theological virtue of faith undergoes many benefits. With the aid of theological study, faith can be generated, nourished, defended and fortified. For St. Augustine, the virtue of faith is not a static concept, but a living virtue that thrives with religious training. The Holy Bible mentions this intellectual dimension of faith (cf. 1 Th 2:13), along with its relation to obedience (cf. Rom 1:5), charity (cf. 1 Cor 13:2), trust (cf. Gal 3:6) and works (cf. Jas 2:26).

Upon further examination of the Bishop of Hippo, we discover his claim that many of the faithful, while possessing a great deal of faith, nevertheless, do not have a deep mental grasp of the sacred mysterious behind their faith. Certainly, a greater penetration of the truths of God cannot fail to assist each one of us in our Catholic life. Sadly, many Catholics who do not have a firm foundation in the basics of the Catholic Faith fall prey to Protestant errors, New Age cults and atheistic world views.

A final point of observation from this great Church Father: the study of the Catholic Faith affords a great service to Holy Mother Church. Evangelization will prosper when the Gospel message is proclaimed in an unambiguous and rational manner. Catechesis will be fruitful when theological truths are taught in a systematic and organized fashion. Apologetics will yield results when the explanation of Catholic particulars is shown to agree with Scripture, Tradition, history, and sound philosophy. The success of evangelization, catechesis, and apologetics depend on the firm knowledge of the truths of Catholicism, obtainable only through study and reflection.

St. Augustine has left us an excellent incentive for improving our minds with the truths found within the Catholic Church. Tradition, as testified by this Patristic genius, agrees with the previous Biblical data that touches upon religious knowledge. A future article will reveal how the Magisterium of the Catholic Church confirms both Scripture and Tradition concerning divine training in the Catholic Faith.

Ciresi serves on the faculty of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College.

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