St. Augustine and the Charisms

Hmmm.  Maybe that should be the name of my next band.

It was another example of the sort of timing that I have come to recognize as God's direction and work in my life. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit resource I'm reading has been the sort of thing that I read until I find my mind drifting away from it somewhat, then carefully mark my place and pick up in that same spot. Unlike Death on a Friday Afternoon, which invariably always inspires me to write within every couple of pages, this book has been thoroughly validating many of the spiritual experiences of my adulthood. The section I've most recently completed dealt with the charisms as documented in the patristic period of the Church, following the section on their scriptural references.

So in that most recently completed section, the very first paragraph where I left off reading last week addresses the change of heart which St. Augustine had with regard to the gifts of the Holy Spirit as a result of miraculous events that occurred during his ministry at Hippo. The providential timing comes from my having just seen Restless Heart, bringing me a closer sense of kinship with this great Doctor of the Church whom I have long held in such high esteem. I realize I don't really know Augustine any better than I ever did before, but reading his own wondering eyewitness account of what happened in his church, reading his accurate description of the same phenomena which I have experienced, make me feel more as if I am being gently affirmed by someone in whom I have a deep sense of trust.

This isn't the only way God's Spirit has worked to affirm me, nor the most powerful. I am convinced that the affirmation of my friends whose spiritual judgment and maturity I have come to recognize and respect is likewise a gift of God to buttress me in my weakest moments.