"I advise you not to be too deeply disturbed by these scandals, because their coming was foretold so that, when they came, we might remember that they had been foretold and might not be greatly troubled by them."

”Augustine’s correspondence, the mark and expression of the influential personality and apostolic zeal of the author, is rich in historical, philosophical, theological, exegetical, spiritual, literary, and autobiographical content” (Agostino Trapè). In this letter (Letter 208), he exhorts a Christian woman not to be scandalized by the faults of Christians and their pastors, and to remain within the unity of the Church despite the sins of its members.

The extant correspondence of St. Augustine includes more than 270 letters, including well over 200 written by him. Those numbered 124-231 span the period from the conference between Catholic and Donatist bishops held in 411, and the rise of the Pelagian heresy, until Augustine’s death in 430.

Links

Letter to the Lady Felicia (Letter 208) full text: https://verbum.com/product/120439/saint-augustine-letters-vol-v

Alternate translation freely available at Catholic Culture: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3133## 

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