Restless Hearts · Week 4 · Grades 6–8
Guided Notes: St. Augustine
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
Brilliant and restless
Augustine was born in 354 in blank 1, a Roman town in North Africa. His mother, Monica, was a devout Christian. His father, Patricius, was a pagan who was baptized only near the end of his life.
As a blank 2, Augustine and his friends stole pears from a neighbor’s tree. They were not hungry. Looking back, he wrote that he did it for the thrill of doing wrong with his friends.
He studied in the great city of blank 3 and became a gifted teacher of public speaking. He chased success, popularity and pleasure. For about nine years he followed a religion called Manichaeism instead of his mother’s faith.
Augustine’s journey
Write what happened at each point.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 354 | Write your answer |
| 383 | Write your answer |
| 384 | Write your answer |
| 386 | Write your answer |
| 387 | Write your answer |
| 391 | Write your answer |
| c. 396 | Write your answer |
| 430 | Write your answer |
Check the facts
Why did Augustine say he stole the pears? Circle one.
- A His family was poor and he was hungry
- B He wanted to sell them at the market
- C The neighbor had been cruel to his family
- D For the thrill of doing wrong with friends
Why is that the right answer?
A mother’s prayers, a bishop’s words
Monica never gave up on her son. She prayed and wept for him for years and followed him to blank 4. A bishop once assured her that the son of so many tears would not be lost.
In Milan, Augustine went to hear Bishop Ambrose because he was a famous speaker. He stayed because what Ambrose said made sense. Still, he could not bring himself to change his life.
In blank 5, torn and in tears in a garden, he heard a child’s voice chanting, “Take up and read.” He opened the letters of St. Paul. He wrote that light and peace filled his heart, and his doubts were gone.
Causes and choices
What first drew Augustine to listen to St. Ambrose? Circle one.
- A Monica made him promise to go
- B Ambrose was a famous speaker
- C He wanted to become a priest
- D The emperor ordered him to go
Why is that the right answer?
Who did it?
Three saints are part of this story. Match each action to the right person. Check one box for each.
| Item | St. Monica | St. Augustine | St. Ambrose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prayed and wept for a son for many years | |||
| Wrote the Confessions | |||
| Was bishop of Milan | |||
| Followed a son across the sea to Italy | |||
| Taught public speaking in Carthage and Milan | |||
| Baptized a new Christian at the Easter Vigil in 387 | |||
| Became bishop of Hippo in North Africa | |||
| Died at Ostia in 387 |
A bishop in hard times
What was happening when Augustine died in 430? Circle one.
- A An army was surrounding his city
- B He was on a visit to Rome
- C He was teaching in Carthage
- D The emperor had exiled him
Why is that the right answer?
Talk it over
Augustine looked for happiness in success, popularity and pleasure, and each one left him wanting more. He wrote, “Our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Where do you see that same restless search in scrolling, gaming or chasing likes?
Think: my idea before we talk
Sentence starters: “Scrolling can feel restless because ...”“Something online that leaves me wanting more is ...”“A time I felt real peace was ...”“One change I could try this week is ...”
Pair: something my partner said
Let us pray
“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 13:14
Lord, you made us for yourself.
Quiet our restless hearts and help us rest in you.
Give us Monica’s patience and Augustine’s honesty.
St. Augustine, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
Well done!
A restless young man became one of the greatest teachers the Church has ever had. His feast day is August 28, the day after his mother’s.
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. Augustine shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: Pick one of the three virtue practices and keep it every day until next week’s saint.