When Piety Cries

There is a very short, but potent sentence written by Saint Augustine in his City of God that has inspired this next article/reflection. Yesterday in my reading, I came across this,

“But piety cries out against this…” 

This line comes from Book 12 Chapter 21 from St. Augustine’s great work. The context that surrounds this sentence is part of the Saint’s arguments against cyclical theories, but more specifically, “The blasphemous notion of cyclical returns to misery of the souls in bliss” which is the actual title of Chapter 21. In his writings, St. Augustine presents to his audience a linear, and Christ-centric view of history that opposes the pagan belief that time loops. He points out that pagans believe that events, and even cities themselves repeat in identical fashion. What interests me more for this reflection is what he says regarding the pagan belief on reincarnation. Not only does he state that it is an error, but a ridiculous concept like many other pagan beliefs. Full of contradiction, St. Augustines discusses how reincarnation makes no sense when the one true God has shown through His prophets, and ultimately through His Son that history has a divine purpose. Time is moving forward, and toward God’s vision. This is why God’s Creation, and Christ’s Incarnation, Cross and Resurrection never need to be repeated. The salvivic work has been done, and it will come to a close when the city of man and the City of God are finally divided. With these few (others are discussed by the Saint), but very important teachings that I am discussing here that St. Augustine gets from Sacred Scripture and through reason, I can now proceed with this reflection. 

St. Augustine makes two very important statements that the reader must have in hand so to make this reflection more fruitful. The first is: 

“...that after all these heavy and fearful ills have at last been expiated and ended by true religion and wisdom and we have arrived at the sight of God and reached our bliss in the contemplation of immaterial light through participation in his changeless immortality, which we long to attain, with a burning desire–that to reach this bliss only to be compelled to abandon it, to be cast down from that eternity, that truth, that felicity, to be involved again in hellish morality, in shameful stupidity, in detestable miseries, where God is lost, where truth is hated, where happiness is sought in unclean wickedness; and to hear that this is to happen again and again, as it has happened before, endlessly, at periodic intervals, as the ages pass in succession; and to hear that the reason for this is so that God may be able to know his own works by means of this finite cycle with their continual departure and return, bringing with them our false felicities and genuine miseries, which come in alternation, but are everlasting in this incessant round.”   

Shortly after, he says,

“...they say that no one can reach that bliss unless he has learnt by instruction in this life about those cycles in which  bliss and misery alternate, what becomes of their assertion that the more one loves God the easier is the approach to bliss, when their own teaching must make that love grow cold? For surely anyone’s love will grow feebler and cooler towards one whom, as he supposes, he will have to leave, whose truth and wisdom he will have to reject, and that after he has come to the full knowledge of them, according to his capacity, in the perfection of felicity. No one can love a human friend with loyalty if he knows that in the future he will be his enemy.”

The summary of the two citations from the City of God is simply this: no soul would be crazy enough to abandon the bliss of being in the presence of God, and no God who truly loves His creation would torment a soul by continuously rejecting eternal happiness for them over and over again. This is what “...piety cries out against...”

The question arises. Why would piety really be against cycles and cry out against it? To answer this, it is important to understand what piety is first. For St. Augustine, it is true worship (Cultus Dei). For other saints like Saint Aquinas, piety is a virtue, closely related to justice because it inclines a person to do one’s duty. In the case of religion, the duty of a person toward God is due to the debt owed to God who gives life and sustains it. For St. Frances de Sales, piety is a transformative experience in our daily life due to an active love toward God. Considering at first, all three definitions alone, they may seem unique and stand apart, but they are actually united under one key principle that we find in translating the Greek word eusebeia, which means “good reverence” or “well-turning.” By combining all three definitions and reflecting on the Greek word for piety, the meaning arrives at one who has a fervent desire to see God “face-to-face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Piety is the pursuit of seeing God’s face, and is learned by worshipping God, practiced by the virtue of giving one’s life over to Him, and perfected by loving Him. All of this leads one toward a “turning” toward Him, a turning toward Heaven. Interestingly enough, sin is the exact opposite. To sin is to turn away from God. It is the perversion of nature while piety is being in conformity or in allegiance with one’s nature according to God’s creation. This is why in the state of Grace, Adam can see and talk to God, but in the state of sin, he must hide from Him (Genesis 3:8).  

With this short explanation of piety, the excerpts from St. Augustine with their summary, and the few teachings from the Saint, the reflection can now guide the reader in understanding why piety cries out against cycles. To do this, I will seek further help from St. Paul in his Letter to the Hebrews Chapter 5 Line 7. It reads: 

“In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear.”

Here on earth we are as St. Augustine said, suffering its misery. Christ did the same. He participated in our human experience “In the days of his flesh.” Although Christ suffered, we read that he “offered prayers,” that is, he worshiped God. Even in times of “loud cries and tears,” that is, in great suffering like we see in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26: 36-39), Christ never turns from living a life that practices the virtues that strengthened Him during trials. Our Lord trusted God with all his heart, meaning that he loved God above everything else. This is why he entrusted his life to Him, even to death. This is because Christ was assured of the Resurrection, as seen in Acts 2:24 

“But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” 

Reflecting on this short passage from St. Paul, the reader can see that the concept of history for St. Augustine being Christ centered because He enters into it, signifying that God is the center. This does not mean however that God is frozen in one spot. Not at all. We learn from Scripture that God is never inactive in human history. He moves in our mists (Zephaniah 3:17). He goes before us (Deuteronomy 31:8; Isaiah 45:2; Deuteronomy 1:30). He prepares a place for us (John 14:3), and during our time here on earth, He never abandons us, but remains active by instructing and teaching us the way we should go (Psalm 32:8). All of this work, preparation, teachings and suffering that God goes through for us is only for Him to repeat again? For St. Augustine, this is a ridiculous thing to think, and it is even more outrageous when one sees the piety that Christ demonstrates in St. Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews, but is the city of man (pagan world) that is so convinced of cycles and rejects the true essence of piety that is found in Christ. 

Today as the reader reflects on this, the world is still very much trapped in its own cycles. The believer in Christ however, can see that our Lord never turns from His Father’s face. Christ is moving history forward, and toward God’s purpose, and this is why he goes and dies on His Cross. Christ knows what is His reward for his piety, and because of His love for us, He knows that God’s eternal presence is not just for Him (Luke 23:42-43), but for anyone that is also willing to pick up their cross (Mark 8:34). In Scripture it reads, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord... they will rest from their labor” (Revelation 14:13). It does not say, “...they will rest from their labor but then God will throw them back to repeat their toils once again.” No. It does not say that. This is because God becomes man once, dies and resurrects once, and opens Heaven for anyone whose piety truly cries out to Him–the one true God who offers eternal life. If you like what you read here and want to continue reading more, please follow me on Instagram at:

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