O blest teacher, light of holy Church, blessed Augustine thou lover of God’s law, plead with the Son of God for us.
St Augustine, whom we are commemorating today, has some
marvellous thoughts about the invitation found in Psalm 105[104]: “Quaerite
faciem eius semper – constantly seek his face” (v. 3).
He points out that
this invitation is not only valid for this life but also for eternity. The
discovery of “God’s Face” is never ending. The further we penetrate
into the splendour of divine love, the more beautiful it is to pursue our
search, so that “amore crescente inquisitio crescat inventi – the greater
love grows, the further we will seek the One who has been found” (Enarr.
in Ps 105[104]: 3; CCL 40, 1537).
This is the experience to which, deep down,
we too aspire. May the intercession of the great Bishop of Hippo obtain it for
us! May the motherly help of Mary, the Star of Evangelization whom we now
invoke with the prayer of the Angelus, obtain it for us. (Pope Benedict XVI, 28 August 2005, Angelus)