Augustinianness: Our Spirituality And Life

Introduction

The idea of our Augustinianness borders on the identity and spirituality of the Augustinian Order, which is based on the original spirit of the Order, that is, the spirit and purpose set by Saint Augustine, our spiritual father, teacher and guide. It is from him that we have received not only the Rule but also his specific teachings and spirituality. This is neither altered by the changing conditions of each age or the natural desires of individual members of the Order. It is this Augustinianness that positions the Order to retain the features proper to her specific function within the Church and keep to the mission entrusted to her.

The Augustinian mission was entrusted to her by the Church, and in the bull Incumbit Nobis of 16^th December 1243, Pope Innocent IV spelt out basic elements that cannot be compromised or omitted from whatever is considered the Augustinian way of life:

1. The first is that all who constitute this new body must follow the same way of life based on the Rule of Saint Augustine and other salient features of his form of monastic life.

2. This body is to formulate her own constitutions in such a manner that is not contrary to the monastic life as laid down by Saint Augustine

3. By means of canonical election, they will provide for themselves a Prior General to whom they owe obedience and due reverence;

Based on the bull Licet Ecclesiae Catholicas of 9^th April 1256 issued by Pope Alexander VI, the Order of Saint Augustine was placed among the orders of apostolic fraternity and mendicant orders based on evangelical poverty.

Our Augustinianness is, therefore, the foundation of our spirituality and religious fellowship on which we must always stand. The need to collectively protect this identity was at the heart of the message of Pope Paul VI during his visit to the Augustinian Chapter Fathers at the General Chapter of 1965.

Apart from the mendicant and fraternal structures of the Order, the other major pillars of our Augustinianness that need to be discussed include common life, interiority and apostolicity:

1. Common Life

The first element of our Augustinianness from which other dimensions must flow is the charism of “community life”, where we think, feel, live and act in such a manner that is only sustainable through our rootedness in Christ. The Rule (No. 3) and the Constitutions (No. 27) consider this communion of minds and hearts, which involves communication and participation, as the most important dimension of our Augustinianness. Saint Augustine writes in his Expositions of the Psalms “Many bodies, but not many spirits; many bodies, but not many hearts” (132. 6; Cf Constitutions no. 27).

The documents published between the periods of the the Little Union of 1244 and the Great Union of 1256 in the records of Mariano Ortega shows that in founding the Order by the Church, she intended that all the scattered groups of hermits should live a common life as a brotherhood. According to Jordan of Saxony, this communion involves: living together in the same place, oneness of spirit, communal possession of temporal goods and proportional sharing of goods. The Constitutions of the Order holds that this must include a “…unity of purpose, understanding and heartfelt affection” (no. 27).

The Rule of Saint Augustine holds that: “The main purpose for you having come together is to live harmoniously in your house, intent upon God in oneness of mind and heart” (1. 3). It further maintains: “Let all of you then live together in oneness of mind and heart, mutually honoring God in yourselves, whose temples you have become” (1. 9). It is not a coincidence that the idea of a common life is emphasized at the beginning of the Rule, and re-emphasized at the end of the section on the common life.  It is to show the fundamental place that the value of common life occupies in the Augustinian way of life. Other sections of the Rule on prayer (Ch. II), moderation and self-denial (Ch. III), chastity and fraternal correction (Ch. IV), care of community goods and the treatment of the sick (Ch. V), asking for pardon and forgiveness (Ch. VI), governance and obedience (Ch. VI), and observance of the rule (Ch. VIII) are all meant to help the members of the Augustinian family keep to the charism of the Order: community life.

2. Interiority

This involves a constant and an attentive listening to the Inner Teacher who speaks to our hearts and gently instructs us. Through this, we daily acquire a conscience that is clearer and more aware of the living presence of God within us. Interiority helps us to encounter God, who as a Trinity has deigned to dwell within us. It is in this encounter that we find true peace as we seek God’s will in every matter of our lives. This journey within is aided by contemplation, meditation and the reading of the Scriptures. The encounter lights a light within us and helps us to grow in maturity and adulthood in the religious life.

Interiority is a natural vocation of the human person through which he or she realizes the self or discovers the self that is different from the man or woman. The realization of the self- the true self helps the human person to discover his or her need of God. Through this spiritual activity, the human person identifies the self with God and becomes clothed in the sonship or daughtership of Christ. The consequence of this interior journey is that one becomes liberated from exteriority which has invaded the area of the human life under several subtle forms. Having been liberated from exteriority, the human person finds security in higher systems: the divine. This is a fundamental aspect of our Augustinianness.

3. Apostolicity

The Augustinians came into existence at a time when the Church needed ‘servants of God’, who being free from all commitments and completely consecrated to Christ could meet its needs and devote themselves completely to evangelisation and the apostolate. The Augustinian life is, therefore, based on what Saint Augustine describes as necessitas caritatis (the compulsion of love). This compulsion of love leads to service as we realize that we are needed by ‘the people of God’. It is this compulsion of love that made Augustinians to go into the priesthood, move into urban areas to take up residences, to preach the good news from one town to another, administer the sacraments, practice the works of mercy, urging the good and denouncing that which is evil, etc. This compulsion of love has attracted many lay people who want to live out the spirituality of Saint Augustine in a specific way. They are referred to as Third Orders of Lay Confraternities in our time.

These dimensions of our Augustinianness, give us our identity as Augustinians. They are also the sources of our spirituality and the basic elements that should animate and inspire our actions. These dimensions are values that Augustinians have a collective responsibility to preserve.