St. Augustine - A ship in danger
There is, as it were, a double aspect: man and sinner.
To be a man is God’s work, to be a sinner is our doing. Blot out what you have
done, so that God may restore what he has done; hate your own work in yourself
and love what he has done in you.
Run, my brethren, lest the darkness lay hold of you:
wake up while it is daylight, for Christ is the day. He is ready to forgive
your sins if you acknowledge them: even if you are free from grave sins,
acknowledge those that seem to be small and come to the light.
Bilge water neglected in the hold does the same as a
rushing wave: gradually it seeps in and if it is not pumped out sinks the ship.
What is this pumping out? To sorrow, to give, to forgive, so that sin may not
overwhelm us. But when you see how imperfect you are, don’t be afraid – only don’t
cherish your imperfections and so stick at the point where God found you.
Hold on as much as you can, every day draw nearer to
God, and do not hold back from the body of the Lord nor shrink from being
friends with Christ. He wants to be a guest in your house; make a place for
him. What does that mean? Love him, not yourself. Self-love shuts the door
against Christ, to love him opens is; and if you open the door he comes in and
you will find yourself with him who loves you.
(Commentary on St. John´s Gospel, XII, 13.14; Psalm 136. 21; Psalm 131.
5.6)
