¿Por qué orar? Doctrina polifacética de Agustín de Hipona sobre la oración

Abstract

This essay, «Why pray? Augustine of Hippo’s multifaceted doctrine of prayer », will consist of three moments through which we shall progressively reveal the inner logic at work in Augustine’s understanding of prayer and how it is integrally connected with other aspects of his theological doctrine in general, and sapientia in particular, thus revealing the intrinsically mystagogical nature of prayer in Augustine’s mind-set. First, we shall explain how Augustine’s goal of arriving at sapientia became a matter of seeking Christ, the Incarnate Sapientia Dei. But Christ is most fully encountered in and through prayer, above all the prayer of His Body, the Church, in her scriptures, her sacraments, and above all, her divine liturgy, through which one is initiated into and progressively grows in one’s knowledge of the divine mysteries. Henee in order to attain to Wisdom, one had to engage in true worship, the point which will constitute our second focus. Finally, we shall consider two case studies of a sort, that is, Augustine’s exegesis of two biblical passages in which Christ Himself is depicted praying. The first is Matthew 6,9-13, in which Christ teaches His followers the Pater Noster, and the second John 17, the so-called High-Priestly Prayer, in which Christ is seen in a candid moment of profound communication with His Father. Paul van Geest understands a mystagogue as one who attempts «to kindle a desire in people for the incomprehensible and unspeakable mystery behind everything and everyone », and our contention in this essay will be that this reading of Augustine is confirmed when one examines Augustine’s theology through the lens of prayer and sapientia.