The quest of a restless heart

Last month, the Church celebrated the feast of Saint Augustine of Hippo. This greatest Latin Church Father, whose writings influenced the development of both Western Christianity and philosophy, is globally known for his two most important works, The City of God and Confessions.

In the latter work Augustine coined a very powerful phrase in book one: “For you made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you”. Commenting on Augustine’s restless heart during his homily for the beginning of the General Chapter of the Order of Saint Augustine, Pope Francis made the following challenge to all of us, Christians, when he said: “Look into the depths of your heart, look into your own inner depths and ask yourself: do you have a heart that desires something great or a heart that has been lulled to sleep by things? Has your heart preserved the restlessness of seeking or have you let it be suffocated by things that end by hardening it? God awaits you, he seeks you; how do you respond to him? Are you aware of the situation of your soul? Or have you nodded off? Do you believe God is waiting for you or does this truth consist only of ‘words’?”

If you have the courage to look into the depths of your being and truly acknowledge the deepest longings of your restless heart, if you really believe that God is waiting for you to collaborate with his healing grace, I would like to offer you a very practical suggestion to help you deepen your search for the saving truth. The Augustinian Institute for Augustinian and Patristic Studies, Guardamangia Hill, Pietà, is launching some very interesting courses for the academic year 2017-2018. The first course the Institute is organizing is entitled “Augustine For All”. This year’s theme will be ‘Heresy and Orthodoxy during the first six centuries’. The lectures, which will be given every Friday at Institute, start at 6 and finish at 7pm. The course starts on Friday 6 October and concludes on Friday 15 December.

The academic year 2017-1018 will be opened with a Mass celebrated by His Eminence Prospero Cardinal Grech OSA on Friday 6 October at 6pm. Right after Mass, Cardinal Grech will deliver a lecture entitled “Criteria for heresy and orthodoxy in the Early Church”. Other interesting topics that the course covers are Pneumatology in the works of Sergei Bulgakov (1871-1944), Origen between sainthood and heresy, The Cappadocian Church Fathers and the heresies of their time, Athanasius of Alexandria against Arianism, Heresy in the history of the Christian Eastern Churches (from first till sixth century), Saint Augustine and Pelagianism, Women heretics during the first six centuries of Christianity, Saint Augustine and Donatism in North Africa, and, finally, Saint Augustine and Semi-Pelagianism.

The second course at the Augustinian Institute, the Lectio Augustini, will focus on the theological text written by Saint Augustine of Hippo – On Christian Doctrine ( De doctrina christiana). This text show s how one is to interpret and teach the Bible. The course starts on Friday 19 January and finishes on Friday 2 March 2018. Lectures will be delivered at the Augustinian Institute from 6 to 8pm. Friday 9 March marks the end of the academic year 2017-2018. On this day, a ceremony will be held during which a certificate of attendance will be awarded to all participants.

The second edition of The City of God Seminar will be held at Saint Augustine’s Hall in the Augustinian Institute on Thursday 5 October at 6.30pm. His Eminence Cardinal Prospero Grech OSA will be talking on the theme “The New Testament & the Political Powers of this World”. The 21st edition of “The Annual Saint Augustine Lecture” will be delivered by Prof. Theodor Dieter. Prof. Dieter will speak about “The presence of Augustine of Hippo’s thought in Martin Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation (1518)”. The lecture will be delivered on Tuesday 5 December at 7pm, at GateWay Hall E Lecture Hall, University of Malta. Prof. Dieter will also deliver a public lecture at the Augustinian Institute on Wednesday 6 December at 6.15pm. Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap For further information, visit the Augustinian Institute website http://www.agostinjani.org/mt/ministeri/formazzjoni/istitut-agostinjan-ist udji-u-ricerka.html