September 9, 2026

Fr. John Riccardo

Brothers and sisters: None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living (Romans 14:7-9).

I recently came across an exceptional little book entitled Fire on the Altar: Setting Our Souls Ablaze Through Augustine’s Confessions. It’s written by C.C. Pecknold, a professor at The Catholic University of America. “It’s more than a bit chewy,” as a friend of mine often says when suggesting books to me. That is to say, there are some sections that are quite dense and might require reading more than once. It’s well worth a read, however, as Augustine has so much to say to us about God, ourselves, happiness, how we can so easily go astray in our lives and what happens if and when we do.

As I pray with Paul’s words to the Church in Rome, one section particularly comes to mind. The apostle is writing to Christians, of course, so when he says, “None of us lives for oneself,” he is reminding them that our lives as disciples are to be wholly directed to the King to whom we have given our joyful and grateful allegiance in response to all He has done for us. And yet, there’s another meaning to this Pauline phrase that strikes me as I make my way through Fire on the Altar. That other meaning might be as simple — and provocative — as this: our lives are either directed to the good God, or they are directed to powers that desire to destroy us. There is no neutral territory.

Augustine urges us to reflect on our choices and to ask ourselves, “What is the ultimate destination for the ‘flow’ of our sins [or good choices]?” Commenting on the many spectacles that took place throughout the Roman Empire, spectacles that were often quite violent and sexual, Augustine writes, “I was held spellbound by the theatrical shows full of images that mirrored my own wretched plight.” Can anybody not relate to that? But, again, where does all this lead? Where does it “flow”?

Pecknold encourages us to think of the spectacles of our day: “What about our ephemeral social media feeds, the curated lifestyles of influencers we gaze upon, the constantly changing images that bombard us everywhere we go? How do those spectacles form us? Whither are we bound? How do the exterior things that capture our gaze form our souls? … What captures our gaze, our emotions?” Then, he cites a frightening text from Augustine: “It led me to abandon You and plunge into treacherous abysses, into depths of unbelief and a delusive allegiance to demons, to whom I was offering my evil deeds in sacrifice.”

Here’s why I’m thinking of this as I pray with Paul’s words this week. The author goes on to write,

“In our most severe examination of conscience, I would wager that very few of us consider our sins as food for demons, yet this is precisely Augustine’s intensely dramatic depiction of the liturgical disposition of our soul. The pagan nature of Roman theater put all the devil’s temptations on display for Romans to imitate. … Make no mistake, the heart is restless due to its natural desire for God, but when the heart misses the mark, it will be devoutly religious in an upside-down way. … Our hearts are a kind of altar upon which we either offer ourselves to God or turn our backs on Him. … There is never a question of whether we are religious or not, for we are always already relentlessly religious in our every word and deed. The only question to ask ourselves is Where does it all flow? Or, to put the question in our liturgical register, In which direction do our interior altars point? Do our words and deeds flow to God from this inner altar of the heart, or are we offering them up, ultimately, as food for demons? Do the words and deeds of others move our interior altars toward God or away from Him? … So it follows that we should pay very careful attention to how society might form or deform our interior and exterior worship.”

A few weeks back, we read the beginning of Romans 12, where we heard Paul’s exhortation to not be conformed to this world, to not let it squeeze us into its way of thinking, nor to allow ourselves to be squeezed into its way of thinking. But don’t most of us do that all the time?! Today, as we ponder Augustine’s rich insight, we see what’s at stake.

Decades ago, moms would often sing to their children: “Be careful little ears what you hear, and be careful little eyes what you see.” Perhaps Mother Mary, together with Paul and Augustine, are singing that same refrain ever so gently into our ears and minds. So, let us resolve again today to heed their wise advice. Let our hearts never be altars for the enemy. And let us live our lives for the good God who created us and who so loves us.

The Altars That Are Our Hearts

What Do I Owe You?