And we were baptized, and our anxiety about our former life fled away.
In those days I could not get enough of the wonderful sweetness I felt as I considered the depth of your plan for the salvation of the human race.
We were asking what place would be best for us to serve you, and together we were returning to Africa.
And while we were at Ostia on the Tiber, my mother died. I pass over much because I am hurrying.
There [at Ostia on the Tiber], far from the crowds, after the weariness of our long journey, we were regaining strength for the voyage ahead.
Here we have a few quotations from Book 9 of the Confessions which instruct us on where our journey with Augustine will next take us. We will move from the city of Milan in northern Italy to the south towards the port of Rome referred to as Ostia. Augustine does not tell us much about the trip but it would have been a much longer journey than from our previous journey from the countryside of Cassiciacum to Milan. That earlier trip might have taken at most 3 days time where the trip to Ostia we expect may have taken about a month.
It is fascinating to me that many of the places mentioned by Augustine still exist today as we have a modern day Milan, Rome and Ostia. You can even plan a trip if you wish to copy the journey yourself today on Google Maps though admittedly google couldn’t find me a way there from Des Moines lol.
If however I start from Milan and plan a trip to Rome then Ostia I can get some sense of their potential journey.
This is not to say of course that modern roads correspond to where ancient roads would have taken Augustine and his little company. In fact we know something of the roads of that time and more than likely the journey was not nearly as direct as a car trip would be today. For certain it would not be a mere 7-8 hours but as mentioned about a month’s long journey.
Imagine what that might have looked like for our little band of travelers. Augustine at age 33, his mother Monica at age 56, Augustine’s teenage son Adeodatus, his brother Navigius, Evodius, possibly even Alypius and perhaps a few unnamed persons. We know this was likely the company due to clues in the text of Confessions Book 9 which explicitly mentioned those names and reference friends and household at the time of Monicas death and immediately prior.
The text doesn’t tell us too much of the journey so we will let our mind imagine a bit. What it does tell us however is that as they left they were experiencing a joy at their recent baptism and that ahead of them is a long tiresome journey that resulted in a pause at Ostia followed by an unexpected time of grieving due to the untimely death of Monica.
In fact Augustine relates that prior to her death Monica actually spoke to him in a kind of foreshadowing way about how all her aims in life were fulfilled in seeing those she cared about come to know Christ. He recalls that she put it this way:
My son, as far as I am concerned, I no longer take delight in anything in this life. What I am still doing here, and why I am still here, I do not know, for every hope I had in this world is now used up.
There was only one reason I wanted to remain a little longer in this life: so that before I died I might see you as a Catholic Christian. My God has granted me this far more fully, because I now see you as his servant, despising earthly happiness.
What am I doing here?
Soon after saying this Monica will become ill and die and pass into glory.
So in considering where we go next on our journey I plan to do another instrumental album. It will take us on this journey from the spiritual heights experienced at Milan on a journey to Ostia on the Tiber. We will stop before Monica’s death but will look to foreshadow it. After this we will move into another lyric album specifically on Monica and Augustine’s remembrance of her.
In doing a little fun imagining with the A.I. I was able to come up with a pretty cool map of the journey. It started with a first draft and quickly moved into our 80s vibe. Here they are for your enjoyment.
First Draft
Second draft 80s rock edition
To see more about where we have come from and where we are going you can listen to Confessions Book 9 yourself here: