Pope talks about what St. Augustine has given him and taught him

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- "So much of who I am I owe to the spirit and the teachings of St. Augustine," Pope Leo XIV told his Augustinian confreres and their benefactors who were celebrating the saint's feast day in Philadelphia.

As Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the pope had been scheduled to be in Philadelphia for the celebration Aug. 28 and to receive an award. But in May he was elected pope.

So instead, Augustinian Father Robert P. Hagan, prior of the order's Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, based outside Philadelphia, presented the St. Augustine Medal to Pope Leo in July in Castel Gandolfo where the pope was taking a summer break.

The presentation was filmed along with a long video message by Pope Leo, reflecting on St. Augustine and the religious order inspired by him, which the future pope joined in 1977. The video was played in Philadelphia Aug. 28. 

St. Augustine, who lived 354-430, "was one of the great founders of monasticism; a bishop, theologian, preacher, writer and doctor of the church," the pope said. "But this did not happen overnight. His life was full of much trial and error, like our own lives."

"But through God's grace, through the prayers of his mother, Monica, and the community of good people around him, Augustine was able to find the way to peace for his restless heart," he said.

St. Augustine recognized that "we all have God-given gifts and talents," the pope said, "and our purpose, fulfillment and joy comes from offering them back in loving service to God and to our neighbor."

That service, he said, includes ministering to immigrants.

The friars in the United States, he said, "stand on the shoulders of Augustinian friars like Father Matthew Carr and Father John Rossiter whose missionary spirit led them in the late 1700s to go forth (from Ireland) and bring the good news of the Gospel in service to Irish and German immigrants searching for a better life and religious tolerance." 

"Jesus reminds us in the Gospel to love our neighbor, and this challenges us now more than ever to remember to see our neighbors today with the eyes of Christ: that all of us are created in the image and likeness of God," he said.

As Christians and as people inspired by St. Augustine, the pope said, "we are called to go forth to be peacemakers in our families and neighborhoods and truly recognize God's presence in one another."

"Through friendship, relationship, dialogue and respect for one another," Pope Leo said, "we can see past our differences and discover our true identity as sisters and brothers in Christ."

"Peace begins with what we say and do and how we say and do it," the pope said.

And listening is an important part of peacemaking, he said.

"St. Augustine reminds us that before we speak, we first must listen," the pope said, "and as a synodal church, we are encouraged to re-engage in the art of listening through prayer, through silence, discernment and reflection."

"We have the opportunity and responsibility to listen to the Holy Spirit; to listen to each other; to listen to the voices of the poor and those on the margins whose voices need to be heard," Pope Leo said.

St. Augustine taught the faithful "to listen to the inner teacher, the voice that speaks from within all of us. It is within our hearts where God speaks to us," he said.

Learning to hear that inner voice, the pope said, is especially important in a world filled with noise where "our heads and hearts can be flooded with many different kinds of messages," which "can fuel our restlessness and steal our joy."

"As a community of faith, striving to build a relationship with the Lord," Pope Leo encouraged people to "strive to filter the noise, the divisive voices in our heads and hearts, and open ourselves up to the daily invitations to get to know God and God's love better."