St. Augustine
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this module is to teach sixth graders about the life of repentance through the lives of the saints. In week 1, students will learn about St. Moses the Strong; In week 2, students will learn about St. Mary of Egypt; in week 3 students will learn about St. Paẽsia and in week 4: St. Augustine. In week 5, students will complete a capstone project.
INTRODUCTION - 5 Minutes
Saint Augustine is one of the greatest Fathers of the Church. He was an original thinker who became recognized as a remarkable leader of Christian faith.
HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes
"We count on God's mercy for our past mistakes, on God's love for our present needs, on God's sovereignty for our future." Saint Augustine
LIFE OF THE SAINT - 15 Minutes
- Tell the general description of the saint's life (found below in Appendix)
- Focus on how he came to repentance and not as much on summarizing his life.
DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 20 Minutes
- What were some of the things that distracted St. Augustine from getting closer to God?
- St. Augustine loved to read and learn which are great things. What were some of the problems with his studies?
- What was the most important thing in St. Augustine's upbringing? (his mom never stopped praying for him)
- Who ignited him to repent? (St. Ambrose)
- What were some of St. Augustine's accomplishments?
Option 1: You can pair up students and have them answer questions at the end of class.
Option 2: Split the class into 2 teams. Use a target and velcro ball and every time the student from 1 team answers a question correctly they can throw a ball at the target. Keep score and see which side gets the most points. (Target/velcro games can be found on Amazon)
Option 3: Use them throughout the lesson to ensure students are paying attention.
CONCLUSION - 2 Minutes
Even though St. Augustine had many temptations and chose sin in his early life, he repented and became one of the greatest fathers of the church. One of the guiding forces in Saint Augustine's life was his Christian mother, Saint Monica.
ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes
Print Handout 1 (found in attached Activities below) and allow 5-10 minutes for students to complete and turn in before class is over. (If you played the game and ran out of time, print and use as homework and collect the following week).
RESOURCES
Book: St. Augustine's Confessions
Short video of his life:
PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK
Email parents the free online pdf book for St. Augustine's Confessions (see link in resources above). Encourage parents to choose any quote and talk to the children about the importance of repentance and how God will always forgive us no matter how far we may stray from Him.
APPENDIX
St. Augustine's Story:
For the complete life story, go here:
His Childhood and Youth
Saint Augustine, Austin in English, was born on November 13, 354 at Tagaste, a small town of Numidia in north Africa, not far from Hippo. His father, Patricius, was a pagan and of a violent disposition; but through the example and prudent conduct of his wife, Saint Monica, he was baptized a little before his death.
As a child, Saint Monica instructed him in the Christian religion and taught him how to pray; falling dangerously ill, he desired baptism and his mother got everything ready for it: but he suddenly grew better, and it was put off.
His father wanted him to become a man of learning and cared very little about his character. In his writings, Augustine accuses himself of often studying by constraint, disobeying his parents and masters, not writing, reading, or minding his lessons so much as was required of him; and this he did not for lack of wit or memory, but out of love of play. But he prayed to God with great earnestness that he might escape punishment at school. He later on did so well with his studies that he went to Carthage in 370 when he was still 17. He studied rhetoric with eagerness and pleasure; but his motives were vanity and ambition, and to them he joined loose living.
Years away from Christ
At Carthage, he entered into relations with a woman (to whom he remained faithful until he sent her away from him 15 years later). She bore him a son, Adeodatus, in 372. His father had died in 371, but he continued at Carthage and switched to philosophy and the search for the truth. He also studied the Scriptures but from a subjective attitude. He was offended with the simplicity of style, and could not relish their humility or penetrate their spirit. Then he fell into Manichaeism - a combination of pagan religions and philosophy. The darkening of the understanding and clumsiness in the use of the faculties helped to betray him into his company; and pride did the rest. "I sought with pride", he says, "what only humility could make me find. Fool that I was, I left the nest, imagining myself able to fly; and I fell to the ground."
For nine years he had his own schools of rhetoric and grammar in Tagaste and Carthage, while his devoted mother, Saint Monica, spurred on by the assurance of a holy bishop that "the son of so many tears could not perish", never ceased by prayer and gentle persuasion to try to bring him to conversion and reform.
In 383 he departed to Rome, secretly, lest his mother should prevent him from going to the big city. He opened a school of rhetoric, and then was appointed by the government as a teacher in Milan, where his mother, and his friend Alipius joined him. Saint Monica's only ambition was to convert her son to Christianity.
His Repentance
In Milan, Saint Augustine came under the influence of Saint Ambrose the bishop; he began to go to his sermons, not so much with an expectation of profiting by them as to gratify his curiosity and to enjoy the eloquence. He found that the discourses more learned than the heresies he adopted and began to read the New Testament especially Saint Paul's writings. In the same time, the mother of Adeodatus his son left back to Africa leaving the child behind.
Saint Augustine's spiritual, moral and intellectual struggle went on; he was convinced of the truth of Christianity, but his will was weaker than the worldly temptations, and delayed his return to Christ for many months. "Soon, in a little while, I shall make up my mind, but not right now" he kept telling himself. In his half desires of conversion he was accustomed to beg of God the grace of chastity, but was at the same time in some measure afraid of being heard too soon. He realized that his problem was a moral one. The Divine truth for which he was seeking would never be his unless he first overcame his weakness.
Soon after, Pontitian, an African, came to visit Saint Augustine and his friend Alipius; he told them about two men who had been suddenly turned to the service of God by reading about the life of Saint Anthony. His words had a powerful influence on the mind of Saint Augustine. He was ashamed his will has been so weak and said to Alipius:
"What are we doing to let the unlearned seize Heaven by force, whilst we with all our knowledge remain behind, cowardly and heartless, wallowing in our sins? Because they have outstripped us and gone before, are we ashamed to follow them? Is it not more shameful not even to follow them?" He rushed to the garden, greatly upset; tears filling his eyes, he threw himself on the grass under a fig tree and reproached himself bitterly crying out:
"And Thou, O Lord, how long? How long? Is it to be tomorrow and tomorrow? Why not now? Why not this very hour put an end to shame?"
As he spoke these words he heard a child's voice singing "Tolle lege Tolle lege" (Take up and read Take up and read). He could not remember any childhood game he played with any such words. He remembered that Saint Anthony was converted from the world by hearing a single verse. He took up Saint Paul's epistles and read the first chapter that met his eyes: "Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, fulfil the lusts thereof." (Romans 13:13-14)
When he told Alipius what he had experienced, Alipius took the book and read, he found the next words to be: "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye" and applied them to himself and joined his friend in his resolution.
This high point in the conversion of Saint Augustine took place in the September of 386, when he was 32 years old. He, his son Adeodatus and Alipius were baptized by Saint Ambrose at Easter the following year in the presence of saint Monica. She knew that her prayers were answered and died shortly after. Saint Augustine prayed:
"Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours."