Today has been a really good day.  Nice and peaceful, no stress.  We are going to bar-b-que chicken here in a bit, and that is always wonderful.  It is just too georgeous outside right now to not be sitting out on the deck and enjoying God's creation.

I have been reading "Confessions of St. Augustine", and it is a really amazing book!  The journey that he had was extraordinary.  It is inspiring to me on so many levels.  Augustine was not afraid to question God, and he was dogged in his pursuit of Truth.  I think questioning God can be a really good thing, but one has to be ready to accept God's answers!  I have questioned Him many times, and He has always shown Himself to me.  Even when I fear that I am too fargone for Him to hear me, He does, and He is still there for me.

Augustine talks about 'trifles' that he had tremendous difficulty letting go of.  He very vividly paints a picture of how hard it can be to turn away from the things that lead us away from God and keep us from receiving His blessings and graces.  That is one of the many reasons I have chosen him for my patron saint for Confirmation.  We will be Confirmed at the Easter Vigil Mass in just a few short weeks, and we each had to choose a saint.  Everyone was suprised that I chose Augustine.  Apparently he is not a popular or common choice.  Our DRE said he was often found to be too intellectual or lofty for many people. 

But that is precisely what I like about him!  He was a thinking man, and he understood God not just on a visceral level, but on an intellectual level.  He didn't just accept that there was a God because it was the right thing to do, or because his mother wanted that for him.  He chose to be a Christian very deliberately.  He lived a fairly wild life before he chose God (hence the 'trifles'), but after great thought and introspection, He gave it all up for God.  He knew what he would be 'missing', and it paled in comparison to what he was gaining.  And in doing so, he changed the world!