Too late loved I Thee, O Thou Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new!

Excerpt

Too late loved I Thee, O Thou Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! too late I loved Thee! And behold, Thou wert within, and I abroad, and there I searched for Thee; deformed I, plunging amid those fair forms which Thou hadst made. Thou wert with me, but I was not with Thee. Things held me far from Thee, which, unless they were in Thee, were not at all. Thou calledst, and shoutedst, and burstest my deafness. Thou flashedst, shonest, and scatteredst my blindness. Thou breathedst odours, and I drew in breath and panted for Thee. I tasted, and hunger and thirst. Thou touchedst me, and I burned for Thy peace.

Source Confessions, Book X, §33 · 📖 Read the full passage

✨ To meditate on today

According to Saint Augustine, God, whom he calls “Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new,” was within him while he was searching for Him outside, among things; then He called him, enlightened him, touched him, and Augustine now burns with desire for His peace. Today, when you catch yourself looking for happiness in something outside, close your eyes for a moment and turn inward, saying gently: “Thou wert with me.”

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