Too Late Have I Loved Thee!

Thursday, August 28, 2025

Feast of St. Augustine!

1 Thess 3:7-13; Mt 24:42-51

The feast of St. Augustine invites us to reflect on the power of true repentance.

While Augustine’s wayward early life and the magnificent story of his conversion are well-known, the depth of his repentance experience is often overlooked. 

Hence, I would like to reflect on two of Augustine’s statements to help us understand how transforming his conversion experience was.

1. ‘Too late have I loved Thee, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new. Too late have I loved Thee. For behold Thou wert within, and I without, and there did I seek Thee. I, unlovely, rushed heedlessly among the things of beauty which Thou madest.’ These beautiful and profound words of Augustine contain two key insights: the profound change a true repentance brings and the regret that results from the realization of having lived a life outside of God’s grace. Before his conversion, Augustine’s eyes were not open to God’s presence (Beauty) both within himself and in the world. Instead, he spent his life in meaningless pursuits. It is when he repented that he found himself in a new light that, in light of such self-awareness, he found himself spiritually deaf and blind and away from God, despite God’s continuous appeals. Augustine’s life is a testament to the fact that true repentance brings us closer to God, opens us to our limitations, and puts us on a new journey in life. 

2. Augustine’s life shows that sincere repentance leads to annihilation of pride in oneself. Though Augustine went on to become a monumental figure through his lifelong theological contributions after his conversion, he remained humble without any delusions of infallibility. Nor did he ever believe that his writings were on the same level as scripture. A recently discovered letter written by Augustine confirms this: ‘We, who preach and write books, write in a manner altogether different from the manner in which the canon of Scriptures has been written. We write while we make progress. We learn something new every day. We dictate at the same time as we explore. We speak as we still knock for understanding. I urge your Charity, on my behalf and in my own case, that you should not take any previous book or preaching of mine as Holy Scripture. If anyone criticizes me when I have said what is right, he does not do right. But I would be more angry with the one who praises me and takes what I have written for Gospel truth than the one who criticizes me unfairly.’

In saying this, Augustine reveals himself to be a man who learnt his lessons from his former life. The humble tone of his voice helps us discover that he was aware of where (hell) the sin of pride was capable of leading a person to. Here, I am reminded of the quote by Socrates: ‘An unexamined life is not worth living.’ It is no exaggeration to claim that Augustine’s past became a guardrail to protect his future from any temptation to stray from God. 

The life of St. Augustine offers tremendous insights into our faith journey. 

1. His conversion reminds us that no time is too late, and it is better late than never. 

2. It is also a loud reminder that God’s grace is at work in us, with or without us realizing. 

3. His life serves as proof that God patiently awaits our return to Him in earnest repentance.

Let us pray that we may possess the spirit of St. Augustine to rely on God’s infinite goodness to take away our sinfulness and limitations. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar