January 3, 1972: I was in my second year of university when I began reading, for my Ancient and Medieval Philosophy course, the  Confessions  of Augustine of Hippo (354-430), one of his best-known works. Written as a dialogue with God, it describes the inner journey followed by this extraordinary man in his search for truth, and thus, in addition to pointing out alternatives for his own life and the lives of others, it also clarifies the problems that constitute the core of human personality and existence itself.

January 10: Of these, I noted in my personal journal this one that referred to hope. As a profound motivation of human nature, the glimmer of its flame allows us to trust in the future full possession of its light: “[Lord,] if we did not cry out in your ears, no trace of our hope would remain. From where, then, does it come that from the bitterness of life we ​​gather sweet fruit: groaning and weeping, sighing and complaining? Is it sweet because we hope that you will hear us? Surely this happens in prayers, because of the desire they carry within them to reach you.”

January 13: Friendship fosters deep bonds between people. But what is the special quality that gives it strength and distinguishes it from mere casual contact? “This is what we love in friends, and we love them in such a way that our conscience feels guilty if it does not love the one who loves us and does not repay love with love, asking nothing more of the beloved than expressions of their love […]. Blessed is he, Lord, who loves You and his friend in You and his enemy for Your sake. Only he loses no beloved, [because] all are loved in Him who is never lost.”

January 15: Truth is both internal to man and transcendent. It is not reason itself, but the law of reason, that serves as the criterion for judging things. Therefore, “I had learned from You,” says Saint Augustine, “that something should not appear true simply because it is eloquently spoken, nor false because the words articulated by the lips sound disjointed, nor should something be considered true because it is crudely spoken, nor false simply because it is expressed in a brilliant style. Rather, wisdom and folly are like food: beneficial or harmful, and both can be served on fine or coarse tableware, just as truth can be served equally in exquisite style or in unpolished language.”

January 16: Beauty pulsates throughout all creation, though it is ordered toward a transcendent destiny. Adapting to its supernatural measure does not diminish human freedom, but rather broadens one’s life horizon: “My eyes love beautiful and varied forms, clear and fresh colors. These beauties do not captivate my soul. God captivates it, He who created all these good things: He is my good; not they. They impress me from one end of the day to the other, while I am awake, and they give me neither peace nor rest, as silent music does when all is still around me.”

January 17: The grand theoretical concepts offered by science and philosophy regarding the nature of time are difficult to grasp. More accessible is this captivating Augustinian vision: “There are three times: the present of the past, the present of the present, and the present of the future. These three modalities reside in the soul; I do not see them elsewhere: the present memory of the past, the present intuition of the present, and the present expectation of the future […]. In you, my spirit, I measure time […]. What constitutes time are the changes in things, the vicissitudes and modifications of appearances.”

The universal fascination of the  Confessions  is a historical constant. This work—a great success even during the saint’s lifetime—offers the key to the personality of a thinker who found in human nature itself the possibility of seeking God and loving Him.

Pedro Paricio. Give me three minutes