The angels surround and help the priest when he is celebrating Mass.
Saint AugustineRead
What is more insane than to be partakers of the Sacraments of the Lord and not partakers of the words of the Lord? These men truly have to say: "In Thy Name we have eaten and drunk," and they will have to hear: "I do not know you!" (Luke 13:26-27). They eat and drink His Body and Blood in the Sacrament and do not recognize in the Gospel His members spread over the whole world, and for this reason they are not numbered among them at the Judgment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of recognizing and living by the teachings of Christ, beyond merely participating in sacraments.
Saint Augustine highlights the disconnect between the ritual of participating in the Sacraments and the essence of understanding and embodying the teachings of the Gospel. He warns that those who partake in religious rituals without grasping their true meaning and the broader connection to the community of believers risk being excluded from salvation, as they fail to genuinely live the message of Christ.
Themes
FaithSacramentsGospelJudgmentCommunity
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon discussing the importance of living faith through actions, one might reference this quote to emphasize the need for genuine connection to the teachings of Christianity.
More from Saint Augustine
All quotes →There is no health in those who are displeased by an element in Your creation, just as there was none in me when I was displeased by many things You had made. Because my soul didn't dare to say that my God displeased me, it refused to attribute to You whatever was displeasing.
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Bad times, hard times, this is what people keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times.
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Who can map out the various forces at play in one soul? Man is a great depth, O Lord. The hairs of his head are easier by far to count than his feeling, the movements of his heart.
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Whatever skills I have acquired, whatever gifts I have been given, I place them at Your service.
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Everyone who observes himself doubting observes a truth, and about that which he observes he is certain; therefore he is certain about a truth. Everyone therefore who doubts whether truth exists has in himself a truth on which not to doubt.... Hence one who can doubt at all ought not to doubt the existence of truth.
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