"Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet"

Today is the feast day of St. Augustine of Hippo (354 - 430). Augustine is one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity. Augustine struggled with lust throughout his life. He associated sexual desire with the sin of Adam, and believed that it was still sinful, even though the Fall has made it part of human nature.

In the Confessions, Augustine describes his personal struggle in vivid terms: "But I, wretched, most wretched, in the very commencement of my early youth, had begged chastity of Thee, and said, 'Grant me chastity and continence, only not yet.'"