Saint Augustine on the time spent on the Bible

commentary:

                      It is true. Jesus never gave anyone a commandment to write what He taught. He simply said to the Apostles: "Go and preach the good news to all of mankind (not go and write these things)." Jesus Himself only once wrote something (on the ground, when the Pharisees wanted to stone the adulterous woman). The New Testament was only written because people started to forget what had been preached to them, or they were twisting the good news to suit their tastes. The essential truths therefore, were put to writing to preserve the real and basic message of Christ. Scripture also served to edify the Faith of the simple.

                  I myself read the Bible from cover to cover five times in my life (and that was enough for me). I know what it says and don't need to comb it through and through every day for the next 50 years like some obsessed fanatic. I already possess a firm Faith, a strong hope and a sincere charity, so the Word of God is pretty well set with me. I can dispense with Scripture. I already made my meal and no longer need the cook book. St. Augustine has a good practical sense in regards to the Bible.

               When I was reading the Bible during the adolescent years, many of my friends were indulging in atheistic pagan lives. I was not a part of such excesses. When we all became adults, many of them converted through the charismatic renewal, began to study the Bible fervently and to stick it up people's noses (including mine). They asked me if I knew Jesus and His Word. I asked them if they were discovering America. I told them that I had read the Bible long before they even walked in diapers. Really, as St. Augustine has us understand, if someone, after many years, still has not reached the maturity of the supernatural virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity after reading the Bible, then this book has become about as useful for him as a light bulb is to a moth.

            The truth is that the Bible is for infants in the Faith, those who are still breast feeding. A mechanic who can fix a car pretty well after a few years of experience no longer needs his manual. He has got it down. If people need the Bible still to teach them how to treat others well, it simply shows how dull and slow they are for growing in knowledge. Oh well, you just need a great amount of patience with certain slowpokes!

Father Anthony Mellace