FORMATIVE PRACTICES IN AUGUSTINE'S CONFESSIONS

In a previous article(1) I discussed a cluster of spiritual exercises that emerge from a reading of Augustine's Confessions as a meditative ascent towards God through a radical change of thought and behavior. In this paper I show that the transformative power of those exercises expands through engagement with select formative practices to consolidate the choice of a Christian way of life. Among them are attentive silence, assiduous lectio Divina, construction of a personal narrative, participation in ritual, ministry to the community, spiritual counseling, and observance of the Rule. Each has both a private and a social dimension; together they constitute Augustine's distinctive and fundamental discipline of spiritual development.