The Augustinian Spiritual
Foundation
1. We Christians, all of us, are
called to holiness, to the fullness of the Christian life and the perfection of
love (cf. Mt 5,48; 1 Thes 4,3; Eph 1,4)[1]. The paths are different, however (cf.
1 Cor 7,7)[2]. Some choose to embrace marriage,
others the priesthood. There are some who choose to live in virginity or in
celibacy, and even in poverty and obedience, but in the world. Still others
profess vows in the religious life
2. The Family of Augustinian “servants
of God” is made up of all of these. This Family was brought into being in the
Church by the Holy Spirit, and its purpose
is to follow Christ and spread
his message under the spiritual leadership and teachings of St. Augustine. All
of us, its members, each according to his or her ability, are called upon to
lend our generous assistance toward making a practical reality out of that ideal
which St. Augustine described in his writings and sealed with the example of his
life, that is, unity of minds and hearts intent upon God[3].
3. We Augustinian-minded servants of
God have an important place in the Augustinian Family[4]. We are Augustinians by the fact that
we have committed ourselves, according to our particular state in life, whether
that of a lay person or that of a priest, to search for and to announce God and
his kingdom in conformity with the charism of Saint Augustine. Each of us,
therefore, has to realize his or her Augustinian life in accord with what the
Church proposes as the mission proper to lay persons and to priests in the
Church and the world.
4. The nature, spirituality, purpose
and structures of the whole Augustinian family, are shaped by two fundamental
principles: a love for what is Augustinian and community[5]. Fraternity might be called the body
of this family, while its soul, that which enlivens it, is love for what is
Augustinian.
5. The principle of fraternity
determines our form of life and its structures; through fraternity the purposes
of the Augustinian family are realized:
a) search for God in a spirit of contemplation;
b) fraternal relationships - person to person - both among
our own membership and with others.
c)simplicity of life, in the spirit of evangelical poverty
and the sharing of goods;
d) prophetic stance in the face of secularism, materialism
and injustice;
e) apostolic commitment that reaches out to all humankind,
for the sake of propagating truth, promoting Christian unity and serving the
needs of one's neighbor
6. The other principle, love for what
is Augustinian, gives us the right as well as the obligation of having St.
Augustine as our model and patron. He, by the example of his life and by the
teachings contained in his writings, is our guide in following Christ, the
incarnate Word, who is the focal point of our life and action for God and his
kingdom. For us St. Augustine is first of all the faithful disciple of Christ.
We, as his sons and daughters, must imitate him chiefly in his fidelity to Jesus
Christ, “the one teacher” (cf. Mt 23,8).
7. The holiness of the Church is
manifested in a special way in the practice of the evangelical counsels. As Augustinians we commit ourselves, each of us,
in accord with his or her state in life, to live according to the spirit of
chastity, poverty and obedience. Moreover, we are pleased that there are some
among us who, without leaving their secular condition, respond to a particular
gift of divine grace and consecrate themselves wholly to God in virginity or
celibacy[6], including also the vows of poverty
and obedience made privately and in a condition or state accepted by holy mother
Church[7].
8. The title we choose to be called is
simply: “Servants of God” and our groups are known collectively as the
“Augustinian Seculars”, “Oblates of Saint Augustine” or “Augustinian Servants”.
This title may be appropriately adapted according to the needs of local or
regional circumstance and usage.
9. The Rule of Life and the Statutes
are our particular laws. The function of the Statutes is to give structural form
to the Rule of Life. In addition to general Statutes, there may be particular
ones also, as determined by competent authority.
Integral Love
10. The Augustinian Rule impresses upon us
above all the great precept of love. “Before all else, dear brothers and sisters,
love God and then your neighbor, for these -are the chief commandments given to
us”[8].
11. Let us be always conscious of the fact
that “when we reach out to our brothers
in love we are loving them in God, because the precepts of love of God and love
of neighbor cannot exist apart"[9]. “Whoever loves his brother”, says the
evangelist St. John, “remains in the
light and is not in danger of stumbling” (1 Jn 2,10). From this Augustine
concludes: “It is clear that the apostle
St. John places the perfection of justice in the love of one's brother”[10]. “By
loving your neighbor you make yourself worthy of seeing God. Love of neighbor
opens your eyes to the sight of God ... ‘God is love and whoever abides in love
abides in God and God in him’ (1 Jn 4,16). Love your neighbor, then, and
recognize within yourself the source of that love. There you will see God”[11].
12.
Love, divine and human, must be ever the center and the heart of our
life and our apostolate. If we always act out of love, we shall always act well.
So claimed Augustine: “Once and for all,
learn this brief precept: love and do as you please. If you are silent, be
silent for love. If you cry out, cry out for love. If you correct, correct for
love. If you pardon, pardon for love. Let the root of love be ever there within
you. Out of this root only good can come”[12].
13. Our love should be universal, without
any boundaries. That is to say, it should be apostolic and missionary. Again it
is St. Augustine who reminds us: “If you
wish to love Christ, extend your love everywhere, for Christ’s members are
scattered throughout the world”[13]. “If you love God. win all others to his love
... Win as many as you can, exhorting, bearing up with them, praying,
discussing, giving reasons, but gently, calmly. Win them for love”[14]. This approach should cause us to
make our own the profound sentiments which Augustine expressed when he was
bishop: “My wish is that we together may
live with Christ ...for I do not wish to be saved without you”[15].
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