Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
With the recent election of Pope Leo XIV and his background within the Church, that may spark a question in some of our collective minds: Who exactly are the Augustinians? And while there is an answer to such a question, there’s also a few things to be clarified and explained in doing so. As such, allow me to help introduce the Augustinians to those that are less familiar with them.
And so, the very first thing we have to understand about the Augustinians is how to distinguish them from other Augustinians. Lots of Religious Orders have multiple groups sharing the same charism, just think of the Franciscans for example. However, with the Augustinians, there’s a bigger distinction to be made. Yes, there are some branches to them too. But there’s a whole other way of religious life that claim St. Augustine as their founder, known as the Canons Regular of St. Augustine, that are quite distinct and different in their way of life. This is true despite the fact that both the Canons and the Augustinians follow the same Rule of Life (or bylaws) for their respective communities written by Augustine. How does such a thing happen? The easiest answer is time.
It’s not until 1244 that the Augustinians are formally created as a distinct Religious Order by the Pope himself. They are recognized as one of the four Mendicant Orders. The Mendicants are those Religious Orders that provide their members greater mobility in ministry and rely on donations for their sustenance. This is different from monastic life which is more stable in place and is self-sustaining. The original founding of the Augustinians was to bring together several smaller groups of hermits to live a more common way of life, utilizing the beautiful Rule of St. Augustine, which is both simple and practical in its approach to living a religious life together; focused on prayer, charity within the community, and a deep love of God. And from these beginnings, comes the Augustinian Order that we know today.
The primary ministry of the Order is that of education and missions, helping others to discover the beauty of God through study and prayer. The Augustinians have gone the world over and have been instrumental in bringing the faith into the lives of many. Their spirituality tends to be imminently practical and personal. An example of this is how they often meditate on the Scriptures. Unlike the Jesuits, that often use imaginative prayer to place the reader in the biblical scene itself, the Augustinian model would have a person read a passage and ask, “What is God trying to say to me in this passage today?” Not overly complicated, but very fruitful.
And so, there’s a little background on the Augustinians. In time, we will likely continue to learn about this Religious Order, but I hope this letter gives us a bit of an introduction to them.
Peace and Goodness,
Fr. Dan
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