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Holy Longing

7/10/2022

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Reading the Homilies on the First Epistle of John, I feel as if I am sitting in Augustine’s congregation in Hippo. His sermons are simple, and, like any good preacher, he illuminates his points with simple, everyday illustrations.
In his fourth homily on the first few verses of 1 John 3, he tackles the issue of how we love God whom we cannot see. Our work, our duty as Christians, Augustine explains to those listening, is to cultivate and grow our desire for God. He tells us,
 
because you cannot at present see, let your part and duty be in desire.
The whole life of a good Christian is an holy desire.

 
He goes on to illustrate what he means by talking about the stretching of a bag, or a skin, so it can hold more contents. The hope we have as Christians is deferred, he says, and so it stretches us and increases our desire, our longing for God.
 
This is our life, that by longing we should be exercised.
But holy longing exercises us just so much as we prune off our longings from the love of the world.

 
To me, this stretching of longing is a long, slow work. It is seeking to regularly give my attention to those things that connect me to the loving presence of God, and so expand my inner longing and “holy desire.” May you, this week, find your heart stretched by hope and filled with a deeper longing for the loving presence of the unseen God.
 
Brian Holliday
Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash
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  • Home
  • About
    • Management >
      • Annual Reports
    • Membership
    • Subscribe
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact & Donations
  • Events
    • Events in Perth
    • Events in the SouthWest
    • The Stitt Oration
  • Resources
    • Videos
    • Daily Prayer >
      • Preface
      • Introduction to Daily Prayer
      • Short Forms of Daily Prayer >
        • Short Morning Prayer
        • Short Midday Prayer
        • Short Midday Prayer with Eucharist
        • Short Evening Prayer
        • Short Prayer at the End of the Day
      • Daily Prayer for the Week >
        • Sunday Morning Prayer
        • Sunday Evening Prayer
        • Monday Morning Prayer
        • Monday Evening Prayer
        • Tuesday Morning Prayer
        • Tuesday Evening Prayer
        • Wednesday Morning Prayer
        • Wednesday Evening Prayer
        • Thursday Morning Prayer
        • Thursday Evening Prayer
        • Friday Morning Prayer
        • Friday Evening Prayer
        • Saturday Morning Prayer
        • Saturday Evening Prayer
      • Pilgrims >
        • First Week of the Month
        • Second Week of the Month
        • Third Week of the Month
        • Fourth Week of the Month
        • Fifth Week of the Month
        • Pilgrims' Resources
  • Spiritual Direction
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    • Dayspring Library
  • Reflections
    • Poetry
  • Dayspring Shop