Having convinced myself that I had to return to myself, I penetrated my interior being, with You as my guide. And this I was able to do because You, Lord, succoured me. I entered and I saw, with the eyes of my soul, in one way or another, above the capacity of these same eyes, above my mind, the immutable light; not the ordinary and visible light seen by any man, no matter how intense or clear it might be, being nevertheless incapable of filling all with its magnitude. Rather, it was a completely different light. It was not merely above my mind, like oil over water or like the heavens above the earth. Rather, it was light in the Most High, since this Light made me, and I was at the lowest, as I was made by It. This Light is known by the one that knows the truth.

O Eternal Truth, true love and precious eternity! You are my God. For You I breathe day and night. When I first came to know You, You were the one that elevated me towards You, so as to make me see that there was something for me to see and that I was not yet capable of seeing it. And You fortified me to overcome the weakness of my sight, irradiating me with Your strength, and I trembled with both love and dread. I then realized the great distance that separated me from You, due to the great dissimilarity that exists between us; this was like hearing Your voice that told me from on high: "I am the Food of grown men; grow then, and you will be able to feed on Me. And then you will not transform Me into your substance, as it is with bodily food, but rather you will transform yourself into Me."

I sought the way to gain the vigor that would make me capable of enjoying You and I did not find it, until I embraced the Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, the One who is above all, God blessed for ever, the One who called me and said: "I Am the Way of the Truth, and the Life." The One who mingled that food which I could not assimilate, with the flesh, since the Word became flesh so that, paying attention to our state of infancy, would convert into milk the wisdom by which You created all things.

Late have I loved You, O Beauty ever so ancient and so new! Late have I loved You! And You were within me, and I outside, and because of this I searched for You outside of me. And deformed as I was, I lunged myself over the beautiful things You created. You were with me, yet I was not with You. Those created things kept me from You, which could exist if You were not within them. You called me; You clamored for me; You broke through my deafness. You shined and became resplendent, and You cured my blindness. You breathed Your fragrance on me and I took it in, and now I long for You. I tasted You and now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I desired with deep yearning the peace that proceeds from You.

PRAYER

Renew, Lord, in Your Church, the Spirit that You infused in your Bishop Saint Augustine so that, penetrated by that same Spirit, we may have thirst for You, source of all knowledge, and we seek You as the only true Love. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.