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Document Details : Title: Formative Practices in Augustine's Confessions Author(s): NIÑO, Andrés G. Journal: Studies in Spirituality Volume: 21 Date: 2011 Pages: 149-192 DOI: 10.2143/SIS.21.0.2141949 Abstract : In a previous article1 I discussed a cluster of spiritual exercises that emerge from a reading of Augustine’s Confessions as a meditative ascent towards God through a radical change of thought and behavior. In this paper I show that the transformative power of those exercises expands through engagement with select formative practices to consolidate the choice of a Christian way of life. Among them are attentive silence, assiduous lectio Divina, construction of a personal narrative, participation in ritual, ministry to the community, spiritual counseling, and observance of the Rule. Each has both a private and a social dimension; together they constitute Augustine’s distinctive and fundamental discipline of spiritual development. |
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