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Stephen Baker, O.S.A., Villanova University
Journal of Catholic Education - Volume 19 | Issue 3
This article addresses the Augustinians' response to the challenge to keep the Order's mission of education alive and thriving in the 21st century.
This article, published in the Journal of Catholic Education, is made available by Digital Commons at Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School.
Anthony Banks, O.S.A.
We share a common purpose with many parts of the Order of St Augustine throughout the world in seeking an Augustinian identity for the parishes we hold as our own in perpetuity or the parishes we staff pro tem.
Augustinian Spirituality for Parochial Ministry
North American Augustinians
From the Introduction:
Before all else, dear brothers, love God and then your neighbor, because these are the chief commandments given to us.
“Receive what you are, become what you receive, for this is the Body of Christ. Happy are we who are called to this banquet.”
In my years as a priest, I have witnessed many amazing things. I have heard the sorrow of men and women who have come back to confession for the first time in a quarter of a century. I have watched Catholics rally around parishioners in need, go out of their way to comfort the mourning, struggle and sacrifice to raise their children in the faith. I have seen people’s lives turned around by prayer, watched people come out from under addiction, and witnessed remarkable acts of forgiveness. I have even seen people break years of a bad habit, and start to come to Mass on time.
Pentecost was the second of the three great Pilgrimage Festivals celebrated by Israel, feasts which imposed a pilgrimage to Jerusalem upon Israelites. The other two were the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Passover commemorated the sparing of the Israelites when God’s avenging angel passed by their homes and slew the first-born of the Egyptians (Exodus 11:1-10). The Feast of Tabernacles (also called the Feast of Booths) was a harvest festival, celebrated in the fall. Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks, was also a harvest feast, but it marked the spring harvest, and was called the day of the first fruits (Numbers 28:26-31). It was a day of Sabbath observance, marked by prayer and sacrifice. This was the feast, the harvest feast, which Christ’s followers were celebrating, when “suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2:1-4).
If anyone has ever worked with a group or committee that had a special project, you would know that success was dependent on the commitment of the members of the group, that the group shared the same ideas and principles and that they had the same goal. In other words they were united in their work for success of the project. Although the members of the group may have had different gifts and talents, they came from different backgrounds, and may have differed in other parts of their lives; it did not matter as long as there was a common goal and unity.
The final wishes or words of a loved one nearing death have a way of remaining with us. As a priest, I can think of various occasions where I have had the privilege of being with parishioners and/or family members as they saw a loved one prepare to go home to God.
This passage in John’s gospel is often referred to as Jesus’ farewell discourse. Jesus has an appreciation of the end of his earthly life approaching, and with a sense of urgency is offering some parting words about what He thinks is most important for us to remember.
Miguel Angel Keller, O.S.A.
Within the quite extensive bibliography on Augustine, there are two themes which are very important but which have only attracted the attention of Augustinian scholars in a special way since the second half of the past century: one is the Augustinian theology of religious life; the other is the pastoral perspective of the figure and teaching of Saint Augustine.