Office Of Readings | Week 34, Tuesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Homilies Of Saint Augustine On Saint John’s Gospel | You Will Come To The Fountain, And You Will See The Light Itself

Christian Art | Saint Augustine

Office Of Readings | Week 34, Tuesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Homilies Of Saint Augustine On Saint John’s Gospel | You Will Come To The Fountain, And You Will See The Light Itself

‘You will come to the fountain, and you will see the light itself.’

Saint Augustine contemplates the Christian life under the image of light—a light already received, yet not the fullness promised. Believers, he says, are light ‘in the Lord’, but only by participation: the true day has not yet dawned. The distinction is crucial. Our present illumination is real, but partial; it guides but does not satisfy. Thus Scripture, prophecy, and apostolic witness serve as lamps in the night of this world—trustworthy, necessary, and God-given, yet preparatory.

Peter’s witness on the mountain confirms this dynamic. He heard the Father’s voice, but we rely on the prophetic word ‘as on a lamp shining in a dark place’—an interim light, guiding until the ‘morning star rises’ in the heart. Augustine insists that this rising is not merely intellectual insight but the revealed presence of Christ himself, who alone brings to completion what Scripture begins.

The extraordinary claim follows: when the Lord appears and brings all hidden things to light, the Scriptures themselves—precious as they are—will fall silent, not through failure but fulfilment. The lamps will be extinguished because the sun has risen. The saints, together with the very authors of Scripture, will behold the unmediated splendour of the Word. All aids, all signs, all sacramental shadows will give way to the thing signified.

Augustine’s questions—What shall we see? With what shall we be nourished?—are rhetorical invitations to desire. He directs the gaze of the faithful to the Prologue of John: ‘In the beginning was the Word…’ The Word who now reaches us by rays refracted through time, language, and flesh will then be seen ‘as he is’. The entire journey of purification is ordered to that beholding.

The reading closes in a deeply pastoral tone. Augustine recognises the momentary elevation of spirit that shared contemplation brings—an ascent immediately checked by the weight of the mortal body. Yet he urges his hearers to guard the unity found in the ‘common light’: though they disperse to their daily tasks, they must not depart from Christ, the one Light that accompanies them even in the world’s shadows.

A Reading From The Homilies Of Saint Augustine On Saint John’s Gospel | You Will Come To The Fountain, And You Will See The Light Itself

We Christians are the light, at least by comparison with unbelievers. Thus the Apostle says: Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk then as sons of the light. And elsewhere he says: The night is far spent, the day is drawing near. Let us therefore lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; let us walk uprightly as in the day.

Nevertheless, since the days in which we are now living are still dark compared to the light which we shall see, hear what the apostle Peter says. He speaks of a voice that came from the Supreme Glory and said to the Lord Jesus Christ: You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. This voice, he says, we heard coming from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain. Because we ourselves were not present there and did not hear that voice from heaven, Peter says to us: And we possess a more certain prophetic word to which you do well to attend, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

When, therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ comes and, as the apostle Paul says, brings to light things hidden in darkness and makes plain the secrets of the heart, so that everyone may receive his commendation from God, then lamps will no longer be needed. When that day is at hand, the prophet will not be read to us, the book of the Apostle will not be opened, we shall not require the testimony of John, we shall have no need of the Gospel itself. Therefore all Scriptures will be taken away from us, those Scriptures which in the night of this world burned like lamps so that we might not remain in darkness.

When all these things are removed as no longer necessary for our illumination, and when the men of God by whom they were ministered to us shall themselves together with us behold the true and dear light without such aids, what shall we see? With what shall our minds be nourished? What will give joy to our gaze? Where will that gladness come from, which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, which has not even been conceived by the heart of man? What shall we see?

I implore you to love with me and, by believing, to run with me; let us long for our heavenly country, let us sigh for our heavenly home, let us truly feel that here we are strangers. What shall we then see? Let the gospel tell us: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. You will come to the fountain, with whose dew you have already been sprinkled. Instead of the ray of light which was sent through slanting and winding ways into the heart of your darkness, you will see the light itself in all its purity and brightness. It is to see and experience this light that you are now being cleansed. Dearly beloved, John himself says, we are the sons of God, and it has not yet been disclosed what we shall be; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

I feel that your spirits are being raised up with mine to the heavens above; but the body which is corruptible weighs down the soul, and this earthly tent burdens the thoughtful mind. I am about to lay aside this book, and you are soon going away, each to his own business. It has been good for us to share the common light, good to have enjoyed ourselves, good to have been glad together. When we part from one another, let us not depart from him.

Christian Prayer With Jesus Christ

Lord Jesus Christ,
light from light and brightness of the Father,
cleanse our hearts that we may long for the day
when all shadows fade before your face.
Grant that the lamps of your Word
may guide us faithfully in this passing night,
and kindle in us the desire for the morning
when you shall be all our vision.
Hold us close when we part from one another,
and keep us steadfast in your light
until we see you as you are,
who live and reign for ever and ever.
Amen.

Glossary Of Christian Terms

Light
A central biblical image for God’s truth, revelation, and life. To ‘walk in the light’ is to live according to God’s will.

Darkness
Symbol of ignorance, sin, and separation from God; in Augustine’s usage, also the present life compared with the glory to come.

Lamp
A metaphor for Scripture and prophecy as guides in the present age, providing real illumination while anticipating something greater.

Morning Star
A symbol of Christ’s rising presence in the believer; signifies the dawn of the eternal day.

Revelation
God making himself known. In this passage, the final unveiling when Christ appears and all hidden things are disclosed.

The Word (Logos)
Title for the Son in John’s Gospel, indicating his eternal relationship with the Father and his role in creation and revelation.

Purification
The spiritual process by which God cleanses and prepares the believer for the vision of divine glory.

Vision of God (Beatific Vision)
The direct, unmediated seeing of God ‘as he is’, promised in heaven and the fulfilment of all desire.

Commendation from God
The divine approval or recognition given at the final judgment.

Earthly tent
A biblical expression (2 Corinthians 5) for the mortal body, characterised by frailty and limitation.