Late Have I Loved You

Lately I've been enjoying the music of Matt Maher. The other day a friend pointed out to me that one of his songs, "Alive Again", was inspired by the famous prayer from St. Augustine of Hippo in Confessions. I read Confessions back when I was trying to muddle through the WEM list on my own. The words "late have I loved you" sounded familiar, but I had completely forgotten the prayer. I wondered if I had really taken the time to let that rich, beautiful prayer sink in. I searched online to find the location: Book X Chapter XXVII. Then I found my well-worn paperback copy. I saw where I had underlined stuff nearby but that prayer was unmarked.

Of all the books I've read on this quest so far, Confessions has by far been the most important. I see now that it's one I shouldn't skip over when my friends and I reach the autobiography list. Confessions must be my first official reread. I'm really excited about discovering other spiritual insights within its pages that I missed before.

"A classic is a book that with each re-reading offers as much of a sense of discovery as the first reading." ~Italo Calvino

St. Augustine by Botticelli

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.

from The Confessions of Saint Augustine

Matt Maher, "Alive Again"