Our Hearts Are Restless: Augustine’s Confessions and Modern Anxiety with Scott Moringiello

Prof. Scott Moringiello on October 15, 2025 at Ruth Lake Country Club. The twentieth century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said that Augustine’s "Confessions" was possibly the most serious book ever written. There’s good reason to think he was right. In the book – equal parts memoir, prayer, philosophical treatise, and theological masterpiece – Augustine explores the nature of goodness, the puzzle of sin, and the necessity of friendship. He savors the love of God that is offered in Christ and his Church. He even realizes (as we all do eventually) that his mother was right all along. In this lecture, Prof. Moringiello introduces the "Confessions," one of the greatest books in the Western canon, and one especially dear to Pope Leo’s heart. He talks about his experience teaching it to undergraduates at Villanova University and DePaul University. And he focuses on how one of the most famous lines in the book — “our hearts are restless until the find rest in You, Lord” (1.1.5) — speaks to his students and to all of us who live in a world dominated by restlessness and who continually search for the rest that God’s love provides.