Today is the memorial of St. Augustine. A section of his “Confessions” is the patristic reading in the Office today. Perhaps his most famous paragraph is given for our reflection.
My translation of the Italian:
“Slow have I loved you, O beauty so ancient and new, slow have I loved you. Behold, you were within me and I lived in the world and there I was searching for you. I, ugly me, threw myself onto the beautiful things you created. You were with me but I was not with you. These creatures held me far from you, creatures that had they not been sustained by you they would not have existed. You called to me, you shouted out to me, you broke my sordid way of life. You illuminated me, you shocked me and finally you healed my blindness. Your sweet scent hovered over me and I breathed it in, and now I long for you. I tasted you and now I hunger for you. You have touched me and I burn with desire to obtain your peace.” — St. Augustine of Hippo, “Confessions”, LIb. 7, 10, 18, 27; CSEL 33
