To you be praise, to you be glory, fount of mercy! As I become more and more unhappy, you were drawing closer. Already you stretched out your right hand to drag me out of the quagmire and wash me clean …Unhappy was I, thinking that by forsaking your way I would find a better one! Twisting and turning from side to side, lying on our backs or on our bellies, we lie on a bed that is hard. In you alone we find rest. But see! You are here, to free us from our ways of error, and set us on our way. You comfort us. You call out, and say, run on for I shall hold you. I will carry you to the end. And I will save you.St Augustine Confessions, translated by Benignus O’Rourke OSA (Darton, Longman and Todd, 2013)And then God allows some of us to fall more severely and painfully than
08 January 2015, The Tablet
Spiritual readings – 10 January 2015
Get Instant Access
Continue Reading
Register for free to read this article in full
Subscribe for unlimited access
From just £30 quarterly
Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
The full weekly edition in print and digital including our 179 years archive.
PDF version to view on iPad, iPhone or computer.
Already a subscriber? Login