Friends of Augustine National Meeting 25th-27th Jan 2008 at Boarbank Hall
We were given a very warm welcome and hospitality by The Canonesses of St Augustine in Cumbria at Boarbank Hall.
Speakers:
Fr Martin Nolan OSA gave a series of talks on “The Birth of Jesus in Eternity, in Time and in You”.
“What does it avail me that this birth is always happening if it doesn’t happen in me?” - St Augustine.
The text for one of Fr Martin's talks; is available in ".pdf" format. Notes from Fr Martin Nolan OSA: "Sarah Grimes and Christmas Chimes - "The birth of the Lord in the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bethlehem and in Sarah Grimes"
A second talk was audio recorded and is available:
Sr Margaret Atkins CRSA gave a talk on “Augustine’s Life in Art”
With the aid of slides and prints of:
1) Panel paintings depicting St. Augustine’s life. These paintings had lain hidden from public view for many years in Carlisle cathedral.
2) Fresco's by Benozzo in the San Agostino church in San Gimignano, Tuscany.
A list of references were made available for further reading:
You can read a contemporary account of Augustine's life by his friend Possidius, translated in, e.g., T.Noble and T.Head (ed.) Soldiers of Christ.
The best biography is by Serge Lancel (English translation SCM 2002). It is a big book, which is masterly on all aspects of Augustine's life and thought, and very well organised so you can find what you want in it.
There is a very lively biography by Peter Brown, which reads like a novel and concentrates especially on Augustine's psychology. It has been recently revised and updated (Faber 1967, 2001).
There is a shorter recent biography by Carry Wills (Penguin 1999).
There are excellent short guides to Augustine by Henry Chadwick (OUP Past Masters 1986) and Richard Price (Fount Christian Thinkers 1996).
There is also a very informative web-site maintained by J.J.O'Donnell at http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/jod/augustine/, which includes web access to many translations of Augustine's works
On Saturday we were joined by Fr John Byrne OSA and Bernadette Toal from the Orlagh Retreat Centre near Dublin. Bernadette, our representative on the OSA International Lay Committee, brought information on the Word on Web Lent programme 2008, a live web-based interactive faith development via Pod cast and web conferencing. Information was also made available about the “One World Week With Augustine” - “OWWWA” 11 - 18th May 2008: A proposal to bring people together to explore the Spirituality of St Augustine via the theme of Friendship.
We had two meetings on the way forward. It was agreed we will continue with two meetings a year, possibly alternating between Clare Priory and Boarbank Hall as venues. We all felt that we knew each other a lot better, and got on very well. Communications between groups was felt as vital as ever and all groups agreed to inform each other of their activities. The format of the meetings; talks on St Augustine and individual groups’ plans was felt to be correct and the need to reach out internationally, Holland last year and Ireland via Bernadette this meeting.
