The very modern wisdom of St. Augustine (Photos)

Let me tell you about a man who can help you face a lot of the problems and questions you are grappling with right now ...

Maybe you are rolling your eyes because you’ve heard that one before. I’ll admit there are a lot of gurus out there who promise to give us the answers to all our problems. Like you, I have found all of them wanting, and suspect that they just want to sell me books and online self-help seminars.

Now, the guy I’m talking about also wrote a book — but I swear it’s not one of those books! This one is a classic. It was written at the end of the 4th century AD and – Wait, don’t stop reading!  

The book is old, sure, but it’s also very, very contemporary. That's because the writer really did grapple with all the same problems we're facing right now: a global civilization seemingly on the brink of collapse, political and religious conflicts breaking out everywhere, and a society that would rather lose itself in distraction.

The writer, of course, was St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) and the book I am referring to is his Confessions. As a young man, Augustine lived dissolutely. He was tempted by materialism and denied that there could be a greater meaning to life. He was likeable and brilliant, but he was constantly bouncing around from one trendy belief to another. Augustine came to feel disgusted by the superficiality of the world around him and despaired that he would ever find happiness.

Does any of this sound familiar?

If you read his Confessions, you will discover that St. Augustine really did go through all the problems, doubts, and weaknesses that we're facing right now. Fortunately, Augustine couldn't stop seeking truth or desiring happiness. (He also had a devoted mom who never stopped praying for him.) The book is a chronicle of his long, painful journey to the light.

Eventually Augustine converted to Christianity. He even became the bishop of Hippo, a city located in today’s Algeria. He was renowned for his excellent preaching, which drew upon his deep faith and the arduous journey he took to arrive to it.

When Augustine finally passed away, after 35 years of serving the people of Hippo, his city was under siege from the Vandals. The Roman Empire would collapse a few decades later. Sometimes when it feels like things are falling apart it’s because they truly are.

Unlike his younger self, however, the elder Augustine felt no despair. He understood by then that all earthly things will pass, but that the seed of the eternal has already taken root in the world. Through the pain of loss, Christ will change hearts so that something extraordinary can be born in them. He is always making new saints so that his presence grows in the world.

At times, it really does feel like our world is also coming apart at the seams. We may even be tempted, like the young Augustine, to despair for ourselves and humanity in general. At such moments, it can be very helpful to browse through St. Augustine's Confessions and seek council and comfort from that great, holy man.

View the PHOTO GALLERY below to sample some of the very modern wisdom of St. Augustine, accompanied by masterpieces of early modernist art.