"Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours."--Augustine, "Confessions," 10.27 (38)
May God shatter our deafness by His voice, captivate our attention from the lovely things He has created, and put to flight our blindness by His beauty. May we taste of His goodness and hunger for His righteousness all the more.
P.S.--For a creative interpretation of this quote in music, see Blake Hicks' song "Beauty: Ancient Yet New" on his album, Songs of a Pious Heart..
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