By Jeff Helfrich, Special to The Message
Home parish: St. Philip the Apostle Parish, Posey County
Education: House of Formation, Evansville; Class of 2032
Saint: Augustine
Living life for the Gospel
Editor’s note: This year, Diocesan seminarians focused their annual seminarian profiles on a saint or someone on the road to sainthood who gives them hope in honor of the Jubilee Year of Hope.
St. Augustine of Hippo was an exceptionally learned man who lived a life of indulgence and pridefulness despite incessant prayers and petitions from his mother, St. Monica. After his conversion, Augustine lived his life for the Gospel and paved the way for much of Christian history and thought. Reflecting on his own personal experiences, he left us the expression that “Our hearts are restless until they rest in God,” which illuminates the Christian journey to peace. He wrote great works of literature, including Confessions that continue to inspire people to this day.
St. Augustine inspires me because he laid down a life of emptiness for one of complete devotion. Augustine’s story gives me hope for every sinner, the future of the church and the power of intercessory prayer. Pope Leo XIV followed in the footsteps of St. Augustine, drawing on his wisdom and holiness to shape him into the leader he is today. It brings me great consolation to know we have a Holy Father who is following St. Augustine’s example in dedication to the truth.
I believe hope can be found through the example of personal repentance and intercessory prayer. For sinners like me, Augustine is an example of someone who made the decision to follow God and abandon everything that was leading him away from his eternal home. For parents (and family members), St. Monica’s prayers were answered by his eventual conversion. This example gives us hope that God is listening to our prayers, he loves every lost soul and he has not given up on us. St. Augustine, pray for us.