Born around 340, Saint Ambrose served as the bishop of Milan from 374 to 397.  He is one of the four Great Latin Doctors of the Church, and is perhaps most famous for his role in the conversion of Saint Augustine.

Ambrose descended from an ancient and powerful Roman family, was educated by his mother and his sister after his father’s death  He soon became well versed in Greek learning and philosophy, and studied law before being appointed governor of Milan by the Emperor.

He was a catechumen preparing for baptism when the bishop of Milan died in 374. A chaotic crowd formed outside the cathedral to elect a bishop, and Ambrose, who had gone out to the crowd to quieten them down, was unanimously acclaimed bishop of Milan after a child cried out “Ambrose for bishop! Ambrose for bishop!”

He was thus baptized, confirmed, ordained a deacon, a priest, and then a bishop all on the same day. Ambrose was famous for his sermons and his teaching, especially on the sacraments, and it was his sublime preaching and holiness that captured the attention of the young Saint Augustine.

He died April 4, 397, in Milan.

Reflection

A highway will be there, called the holy way… and on it the redeemed will walk. Isaiah 35:8-9

The reference in Isaiah 40to this same highway—”prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!”(verse 3)—is the one cited by John the Baptist in all four gospels. Early disciples of Jesus often called themselves followers of “the Way.” That’s always been one of my favorite framings of the spiritual life. Jesus said, “I am the way” (John 14:6). But I imagine the usage of this language is rooted in this traditional Jewish metaphor of spiritual life as a journey on a road. It’s so powerful, particularly in the context of a desert culture where losing your way can be fatal. Yet as you first stray, while you can still see the road, there is time to correct your course and get back on the path—to convert, that is, to turn around. Lord, help me to follow your way, and to return to the path whenever I stray.