When I was younger, I was naturally drawn to Saint Augustine. It made sense. He was a brilliant theologian, a Doctor of the Church, and one of the most influential thinkers in Christian history.

His words still speak across the centuries.

“Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.”

Augustine lived in the fourth century, but his struggles remain surprisingly modern. His battles with lust and promiscuity relate to people today who struggle with pornography or treat sex as something casual. His restless search for truth mirrors our own attempts to find lasting happiness in possessions, success, pleasure, or control.

But the more I have studied the Catholic faith, and especially the more I have experienced parenthood, the more another saint in Augustine’s story has captured my attention.

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