ANST - FW: Musing on August 28th -- Auggie Brewster

[j'lynn yeates]

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- -----Original Message-----
From: Ellsworth Weaver [mailto:astroweaver at yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 20:01
To: 2thpix at surfari.net
Subject: Musing on August 28th -- Auggie Brewster


Dear Folk,

Let us raise ein stein of beer to the Patron Saint of brewers,
Augustine of Hippo! Today is his saint’s day and the anniversary of
his
death on August 28, 430 CE.

Auggie was born November 13, 354 to a pagan dad, who converted to
Christianity on his death bed (hey, you have to copper your bets
here!)
and St. Monica who is most famous for her pier down near LA. He was
born in Tagaste, Numidia, North Africa (Souk-Ahras, Algeria) as
Aurelius Augustinus . A long name, see why he went by Auggie? Auggie
was raised a Christian by his mom but you know how it is when kids
get
off to school. First it is rock and roll, then funny hair color, next
they are believing almost anything: UFOs. Brittany Spears, higher
octane gasoline is worth the money, they can win the lottery, the
sincerity of an adolescent male.

Yep, even though this was slightly before REM, Auggie was losing his
religion. He partied like it was 999. Found himself a Carthaginian
woman and lived with her from the time he was 15 through 30. They had
a
son whom they called Adeotadus (the gift of God). That is sort of
like
the name John. I do wonder what happened to him since preachers’ kids
do have a reputation.

Auggie got a gig in Carthage and then up in Milan teaching rhetoric.
You might investigate what rhetoric entails. It is an art and science
of using words correctly and with impact. It was sort of the
Neuro-Linguistic Programming of ancient studies. Dangerous tools. Boy
was smart.

After shopping around for something in which to believe, Auggie found
Manichaeism. It appealed to his sense of logic and completeness.
Okay,
most of you know about Manichaeism but for those of you who were
asleep
that day in Sunday school, I will fill you in.

Manichæism is a religion founded by a Persian guy named Mani in the
latter half of the third century. The fellow got an angelic vision,
was
told to wait a bit before he announced anything. Seven years later,
on
March 20th no less, he went public in Babylon. Of course no one dug
it
and he got run out of town. No surprise. He came in with a philosophy
that said it was the true synthesis of all the religious systems then
known, and actually consisted of Zoroastrian Dualism, Babylonian
folklore, Buddhist ethics, and some small and superficial, additions
of
Christian elements. Real New Age stuff.

His religion said that there were two basic gods, one dark and one
light. They coexisted and will coexist. Problems in the world started
when the dark god tried to invade the light’s domain. I knew you
would
remember. Well, this is the sin of Dualism, pure and simple. The
Christians could not go for this. God is not two. Okay, there is that
bit about the Trinity but let us not talk about that here.

Now this Manichæism caught everyone by surprise. It made so much
sense.
It explained why God let evil exist in the world: God had no choice
in
the matter. It spread throughout the East and West and existed for at
least a thousand years. Voltaire may even have been one. Okay, maybe
Voltaire did not believe in anything, but his book Candide sure
sounds
like it expresses some of the same philosophy. The hotbeds of it were
in its homeland of the land between the rivers (Mesopotamia) and even
further East in Northern India, Western China, and Tibet, where,
around
1000 CE, the bulk of the population professed its tenets. Like I
said,
no one knows if it has died out. Any comments, esoteric brethren or
cistern?

Auggie dug the convoluted thinking plus he felt it gave him license
to
licentiousness. A summation of his thinking at the time comes from
his
Confessions: "God, give me chastity and continence - but not just
now."
I am not sure what caused his break with Manichæism but we do know
that
his mom was praying for him daily.

Through those prayers of his saintly mother and the moving preaching
of
St. Ambrose, Auggie finally became convinced that Christianity was
the
one true religion. Yet he did not become a Christian then, because he
thought he could never live a pure life. How many of us are waiting
to
be good enough for something? Well, cut it out!

One day, Auggie heard about two men who had suddenly been converted
on
reading the life of St. Anthony, and he felt terribly ashamed of
himself. "What are we doing?" he cried to his friend Alipius.
"Unlearned people are taking Heaven by force, while we, with all our
knowledge, are so cowardly that we keep rolling around in the mud of
our sins!"

He was bummed: here were regular folks getting the message and Auggie
was sitting on the fence.  He flung himself out into the garden,
fortunately the rake was stored tines down, and cried out to God,
"How
long more, O Lord? Why does not this hour put an end to my sins?"
Just
then he heard a child singing, "Take up and read!" Thinking that God
intended him to hear those words, he picked up the book of the
Letters
of St. Paul, and read the first passage his gaze fell on. Bang! It
was
just what Auggie needed, for in it, St. Paul says to put away all
impurity and to live in imitation of Jesus. That did it! From then
on,
Auggie began a new life.

He was baptized, became a priest, a bishop of the town of Hippo
(means
"horse" and you knew that), a famous Catholic writer, founder of
religious priests, and one of the most notable saints that ever
lived.
He became very devout and charitable, too On the wall of his room he
had the following sentence written in large letters: "Here we do not
speak evil of anyone." St. Auggie overcame strong heresies, practiced
great poverty and supported the poor, preached very often and prayed
with great fervor right up until his death. "Too late have I loved
You!" he once cried to God, but you know most of the world thinks he
did pretty good once he put down the pipe and the stein.

You want a real good taste of his faith? "Our hearts were made for
You,
O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you." Pretty sweet
on
God, says I.

He is the patron saint of those folks trying to give up bad habits,
brewers, theologians, printers, and folks with sore eyes. He is
represented with a child, a dove, a pen, and a shell in medieval art.
His feast day is August 28th.

So what have we learned? Carthage girls are hot? Manichæism is bad
and
we should not believe in it? Brewers are a sight for sore eyes? Not
speaking evil of folks may get you to be made a saint? The Betty Ford
Clinic should have a statue of St. Augustine somewhere on the
premises?
How about never underestimate the power of a mother’s prayers?

Today also marks the anniversary of debut into the world of a great
friend, ferocious fighter, funny guy, great father, good husband to
one
of the prettiest ladies in the land, and my squire. Happiest of
birthdays, Gunnar (mka Joel Hendrix), the world is better because you
are in it.

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas,
J. Ellsworth Weaver

SCA – Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS – Polyphemus Theognis
TRV – Sebastian Yeats


=====
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