"Distance from God means distance from oneself", because, for Saint Augustine, man is "a big enigma" and "a big abyss" that "only Christ enlightens and saves". It was said by the Pope at today’s catechesis, the last but one he announced dedicated to the figure of Saint Augustine. In the next audience, he disclosed to the devotees in Saint Peter’s Square, the Pope will speak of the figure of Saint Augustine as a "converted man". Among other things, the Holy father quoted "an extremely famous statement" contained in the Confessions, the spiritual autobiography of the bishop of Hippo: "You made us for You, and restless is our heart until it can rest in You". "It is just God’s closeness to man that was felt with extraordinary intensity by Augustine", commented the Pope, who highlighted that for the latter "God’s presence in man is deep and at the same time mysterious, but it can be recognised and discovered in one’s heart of hearts". "Do not go out states the converted man in the "De vera religione" but ‘go back into yourself; in inner man lives the truth; and, if you find that your nature is changeable, transcend yourself. But remember, as you transcend yourself, that you transcend a reasoning soul. Therefore, do aim at that place in which the light of reason turns on".
