So instead we can read about the teaching of St. Augustine! Optimus!

"The world," says Eucken, "interests him less than" the action of God in the world and especially in ourselves. God and the soul are the only subjects the knowledge Of which ought to fire us with enthusiasm. All knowledge becomes moral, religious knowledge, or rather a moral, religious conviction, an act of faith on the part of man, who gives himself up unreservedly."

I have been often accused myself of not caring about the world and being too "obsessed" with God's will. Well, for me, I'm sure I'm screwing up something important in my life, but this is the model that I'm working towards. The perfection of living a life that's all for God seems too beautiful and too tantalizing to not let it affect everything that I do.

Thus may Augustine's universal influence in all succeeding ages be explained: it is due to combined gifts of heart and mind. Speculative genius alone does not sway the multitude; the Christian world, apart from professional theologians, does not read Thomas Aquinas. On the other hand, without the clear, definite idea of dogma, mysticism founders as soon as reason awakes and discovers the emptiness of metaphors: this is always the fate of vague pietism, whether it recognize Christ or not, whether It be extolled by Schleiermacher, Sabatier, or their disciples. But to Augustine's genius, at once enlightened and ardent, the whole soul is accessible, and the whole Church, both teachers and taught, is permeated by his sentiments and ideas. A. Harnack, more than any other critic, admires and describes Augustine's influence over all the life of Christian people. If Thomas Aquinas is the Doctor of the Schools, Augustine is, according to Harnack, the inspirer and restorer of Christian piety. If Thomas inspires the canons of Trent, Augustine, besides having formed Thomas himself, inspires the inner life of the Church and is the soul of all the great reforms effected within its pale.

The man really does stand as a giant over every other Catholic thinker who has ever lived, and every Catholic who ever lived since the death of the Apostles. I highly recommend reading just about anything that he wrote, starting with, of course, the great "Confessions" which you can find just about anywhere and should be required reading for any human who has a soul. That's everyone btw.

A lot of people I know don't really get it, the sort of love aspect of Augustine's thought. They see a man who has a fear of anything good and an obsession with his sins. The quote with regards to this was a freshman in my Lit Hum class who said that Confessions would be better if you "just took out all that stuff about God." I was speachless. To get what he's talking about, you really have to get God's love. Or more to the point, his system of grace.

The system of St. Augustine in opposition to this rests on three fundamental principles:
God is absolute Master, by His grace, of all the determinations of the will;
man remains free, even under the action of grace;
the reconciliation of these two truths rests on the manner of the Divine government.

Seems irreconcilable? Perhaps. Those smarter than I debate such.