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Why do we call ourselves the St. Augustine Society? We believe that Augustine, in his Confessions, presents profound insights into
the vast tyranny that can prevent us from escaping "the dying life...this living death".
He felt the almost crushing weight of his culture, and faced many of the same roadblocks that hinder us today in our own
development. Job pressures, lack of support from family and friends, the failure of academia to help him separate truth from
falsehood...Augustine struggled to overcome these barriers. In finally succeeding in discarding the cultural norms which define
success as material progress, he was able to move towards the discovery of eternal truths.
It was not easy. Even when he knew what had to be done to make true progress, he had to develop the will to implement his insights:
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I was bound, not with another man's irons, but with my own iron will.
I was enlisted by the earth...overladen by the baggage of the world. |
The strength required for this struggle, to leave "the land of want", is truly immense. It is so much easier to fulfil society's
expectations, to focus our energies in a direction that society tells us is "good". Augustine found how difficult it is to find our essential
well-being, not one defined by our culture.
He could not look for help from those around him, for the harsh nature of most social relationships is such that we are surrounded
by "people who by seeming to advise us, make an end of us, pretending to love us, as men do with their meat".
It was truly a battle that Augustine waged, to be able to reach the point of development where he could hold fast to unchangeable
truths, to dispel the darkness.
The St. Augustine Society is convinced that much can be done to expand the circle of light detailed by Augustine, a light which is
essential to our being fully human. Augustine set a powerful example for us, and thus we use him as one of our principal references.
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