Kinds Of Friendship According To St

Kinds of Friendship according to St. Augustine
A. Friendship is the highest expression of family.

•Friendship begins in the family.

•Augustine enjoys a loving relationship with his parents, particularly his mom. Augustine cared for his mother in her later years and was at her side when she died. He sees the example of child-parent relations in Jesus command to John when he was on the cross.

•So that a human being might not be alone a system of friendship was created. Friendship begins with one’s spouse and children, and from there moves on to strangers. But considering the fact that we all have the same father (Adam) and the same mother (Eve) who will be a stranger? Every human being is neighbor to every other human being. Ask nature: Is this man unknown? He’s still human. Is this woman an enemy? She’s still human. Is this man a foe? He is still a human being. Is this woman a friend? Let her remain a friend. Is this man an enemy? Let him become a friend.” – Sermon B. Friendship shapes two minds into one heart.

•“For anyone who knows us may say of him and me, that in body only, and not in mind, we are two, so great is the union of heart, so firm the intimate friendship subsisting between us; though in merit we are not alike, for his is far above mine.”

C. Friendship is an expression of mutual love.

•“Without friends even the happiness of the sense which I then possessed would have been impossible, no matter how great the abundance of carnal pleasures might be. I loved these friends for their own sakes and I felt that I was loved in return by them for my own sake.” – Confessions

•The loss of a friend is one of the terrible burdens of this life

•“…pangs of longing which tear me apart because those who are fastened to me bythe bond of the strongest and sweetest friendship are not here physically present to me.” – Letter to Novatus

•“My great and only delight is that I am unable to avoid delight when you are with me and I am unable to avoid sorrow when you are far away.”

•“The consolation of other friends did the most to repair the damage and give me strength after the death of my friend. The interchange between us captured my mind: conversation and joking, doing favors for each other, reading together good books, being foolish and being serious together, disagreeing without hatred almost as though I was debating with myself, sometimes falling into disagreement but thereby remembering on how many things we agreed, teaching and learning from each other, waiting impatiently for the absent to return and rejoicing when they did. These and so many other like signs coming from the hearts of friends are shown through their eyes and mouths and speech and a thousand little gestures. All of these expressions of friendship brought our hearts together like bundled kindling, making one out of many.” – Confessions