The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1920-08-21
AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO.

Frequently is it asked, Who is
the greatest Father Of the Church
While it may seem like presump-
ton to assume authority in grad
ing these wonderful luminaries Of
Christianity still it is generally
admitted that St. Augustine, or
Austin, Bishop of Hippo in Africa,
towers above them ALL This pre-
eminence he acquired by the
heights of his sanctity, the zeal Of
his priesthood and episcopacy, the
loyalty to the See of Peter, his
ardent defence of Catholic truth
against the most powerful heresi-
archs Of his time, and the depth
and extent of his many written
works.
Some Fathers Of the Church
have become illustrious through a
few or even one work on Chris
tianity; Augustine has left a vast
number of volumes, almost any
one of which would serve to bring
undying fame to a man. His not
able work, The City of God, is per-
haps one of the greatest monu-
lnents Of human genius on record.
It traces the development of man.
kind down through the most
resplendent eras Of paganism and
Roman glory, and it shows all
through the vicissitudes Of the
human family the purposes of God
running like a golden thread down
to the foundation of Christ s
Church.
Eminently endowed by nature
with the most exalted gifts of
heart and mind, possessed of an
acumen rarely met with in the an
mails Of human history, and fired
with a consuming zeal for the
glory of God, Augustine flung
himself into the midst of the con-
troversies that sought in his time
to rend the Church Of God
asunder. Clever intellects tried
by every means to pervert the
doctrine Of Christ: Augustine
stood forth a mighty bulwark Of
defence against which the enemies
of Catholicity hurled themselves
to their own destruction. In his
numerous battles for God s Church
Pelagians, Donatists and Man
ichees, then powerful sects, went
down with terrific force under the
weight Of his mighty blows,
Tender as a young mother when
there was question Of the beauty
or glory of the Spouse Of Christ,
Augustine was the terror of
heretics whom he fayed and de-
feated numerically. In these
battles it was that he acquired the
title by which history has known
him, Malleus hereticorum, The
scourge of heretics.
Augustine did more. He gath
cred into one compact whole the
scattered doctrines Of other Chris
tan writer's; he sifted and co-or-
dinated these in conformity with
faith and scripture; he unfolded
the intricacies Of difficult prob
lens, and over all he spread the
wondrous magic of his superb
genius so that he laid deep the
foundations of the whole structure
OF Catholic theology. His work
on the Blessed Trinity has never
been surpassed, and his interpre-
tation Of the most elusive passages
OF holy scripture has been, as a
rule, the accepted tradition of
| the Church.
i When the Angelic Doctor
Thomas Of Aquin, eight centuries
. later, planned to rear the complete
edifice Of Catholic theology it was
to Augustine that he went for in
SEPARATION and help and guidance
In practically every case where the
great st. Thomas approaches q
particularly difficult question, he
lays the basis Of his arguments by
J appealing to the doctrine of Au
gustine. Augustinus ait,-Augus
: tine says-is the formula most
often found in the works Of the
Angelic Doctor.
On August % the Church Of
, God recalls the memory Of hel
valiant son, perhaps the mightiest
OF the Fathers, Augustine Of
: Hippo. She reveres that name
: which brought glory and strength
to her through his mighty deeds
5 from his book Of Confessions. thu
], unbaring Of a soul, up to TIT
: subllmest considerations of tn,
: mystery of the Most Holy Trinity
: A great saint, an unrivaled Doctor
scourge Of heretics, and fountain
: OF loyalty to the Holy See, Angus
g tine stands forth in the light. O.
: the ages undimmed, unanswerabl,
and triumphantly alone in hi
81 glory.