Drunk Tears: Augustinian Reflections on Desire

Augustine cannot bring himself to do away with music in church because it moves him to tears of contrition and compassion, which together cleanse his eyes of the darkness of this world so that his whole body may be full of the light of God. Augustine still floats across the barren sea of this world—yet he now travels together with whole host of pilgrims who have embraced the infinite sea of God’s love, which transforms the sea of faithlessness into the wellspring of love and compassion. Through our drunk tears of the Spirit on this barren sea, we will have the strength to journey on together, singing our sea shanties and hymns of praise to God with one harmonious voice—until that great day when our Lord comes, a day on which Revelation 21 tells us that God will wipe every tear from our eye, and the sea itself will be no more.