Letter 50030: To Augustine, our lord and holy and beloved brother -- Paulinus and Therasia, sinners, send greetings.

To Augustine, our lord and holy and beloved brother -- Paulinus and Therasia, sinners, send greetings. 1. My beloved brother in Christ the Lord: having come to know you through your holy and devout writings without your knowledge, and to see you in my mind though absent in body, my heart embraced you with unreserved affection long ago, and I hurried to secure the delight of hearing from you through the friendly exchange of letters between brothers. I believe, by the Lord's hand and favor, that my letter has reached you. But since the young man we sent before winter to greet you and other friends equally beloved in God's name has not returned, we could no longer postpone what we feel to be our duty or restrain the intensity of our desire to hear from you. If my earlier letter was worthy enough to reach you, this is the second. If it did not find its way to you, consider this the first. 2. Judge all things as a spiritual person, my brother, and do not measure our love by the regularity of our correspondence. The Lord, who everywhere works His love in His own people as one and the same God, is witness that from the time we came to know you through your writings against the Manichaeans -- thanks to the venerable bishops Aurelius and Alypius -- love for you took such a place in us that it felt not like making a new friendship but like reviving an old one. Only now do we write to you for the first time. Though we are beginners in expressing our love, we are not beginners in feeling it. Through communion of spirit -- the inner person -- we are already well acquainted with you. Nor is it strange that though distant we are near, though unknown we know each other well. For we are members of one body, sharing one Head, sustained by the same grace, nourished by the same bread, walking the same road, and dwelling in the same home. In everything that makes us who we are -- in the faith and hope by which we stand in this life and labor for the life to come -- we are so united in the spirit and body of Christ that if we fell from this union, we would cease to be. 3. How small a thing, then, is what our physical separation denies us -- nothing more than one of those pleasures that gratify the eyes, which are occupied only with temporal things. And yet perhaps we should not count this among merely temporal blessings when it comes to spiritual people, whose bodies the resurrection will clothe in immortality -- as we, though unworthy, dare to hope through the merit of Christ and the mercy of God the Father. Therefore I pray that God's grace through our Lord Jesus Christ may grant us this too: that we may yet see your face. This would bring not only great joy to our hearts but illumination to our minds, and our poverty would be enriched by your abundance. You could grant some of this even while absent, especially now, through our sons Romanus and Agilis -- beloved and most dear to us in the Lord -- whom we commend to you as our second selves. When they return in the Lord's name, after completing their labor of love (in which we ask they may especially enjoy your good will), please, if you are moved to share any gift of the grace bestowed on you, entrust it to them. Believe me, they are of one heart and one mind with us in the Lord. May the grace of God always abide with you, O brother beloved, venerable, most dear, and longed for in Christ the Lord! Greet on our behalf all the saints in Christ who are with you. Commend us to them all, that along with you they may remember us in their prayers.

Letter 30 (A.D. 396) Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99... This letter of Paulinus was written before receiving a reply to his former letter, No. 27, p. 248. To Augustine, Our Lord and Holy and Beloved Brother, Paulinus and Therasia, Sinners, Send Greeting. 1. My beloved brother in Christ the Lord, having through your holy and pious works come to know you without your knowledge, and to see you though absent long ago, my mind embraced you with unreserved affection, and I hastened to secure the gratification of hearing you through familiar brotherly exchange of letters. I believe also that by the Lord's hand and favour my letter has reached you; but as the youth whom, before winter, we had sent to salute you and others equally loved in God's name, has not returned, we could no longer either put off what we feel to be our duty, or restrain the vehemence of our desire to hear from you. If, then, my former letter has been found worthy to reach you, this is the second; if, however, it was not so fortunate as to come to your hand, accept this as the first. 2. But, my brother, judging all things as a spiritual man, do not estimate our love to you by the duty which we render, or the frequency of our letters. For the Lord, who everywhere, as one and the same, works His love in His own, is witness that, from the time when, by the kindness of the venerable bishops Aurelius and Alypius, we came to know you through your writings against the Manichæans, love for you has taken such a place in us, that we seemed not so much to be acquiring a new friendship as reviving an old affection. Now at length we address you in writing; and though we are novices in expressing, we are not novices in feeling love to you; and by communion of the spirit, which is the inner man, we are as it were acquainted with you. Nor is it strange that though distant we are near, though unknown we are well known to each other; for we are members of one body, having one Head, enjoying the effusion of the same grace, living by the same bread, walking in the same way, and dwelling in the same home. In short, in all that makes up our being — in the whole faith and hope by which we stand in the present life, or labour for that which is to come — we are both in the spirit and in the body of Christ so united, that if we fell from this union we would cease to be. 3. How small a thing, therefore, is that which our bodily separation denies to us!— for it is nothing more than one of those fruits that gratify the eyes, which are occupied only with the things of time. And yet, perhaps, we should not number this pleasure which in the body we enjoy among the blessings which are only in time the portion of spiritual men, to whose bodies the resurrection will impart immortality; as we, though in ourselves unworthy, are bold to expect, through the merit of Christ and the mercy of God the Father. Wherefore I pray that the grace of God by our Lord Jesus Christ may grant unto us this favour too, that we may yet see your face. Not only would this bring great gratification to our desires; but by it illumination would be brought to our minds, and our poverty would be enriched by your abundance. This indeed you may grant to us even while we are absent from you, especially on the present occasion, through our sons Romanus and Agilis, beloved and most dear to us in the Lord (whom as our second selves we commend to you), when they return to us in the Lord's name, after fulfilling the labour of love in which they are engaged; in which work we beg that they may especially enjoy the goodwill of your Charity. For you know what high rewards the Most High promises to the brother who gives his brother help. If you are pleased to impart to me any gift of the grace that has been bestowed on you, you may safely do it through them; for, believe me, they are of one heart and of one mind with us in the Lord. May the grace of God always abide as it is with you, O brother beloved, venerable, most dear, and longed for in Christ the Lord! Salute on our behalf all the saints in Christ who are with you, for doubtless such attach themselves to your fellowship; commend us to them all, that they may, along with yourself, remember us in prayer.