On 6 November, the Augustinian Family commemorates the Augustinian religious who have gone before us and now rest in the Lord. In preparation for this annual commemoration, on Thursday, 5 November, at 10.30 a.m., the Prior Provincial, together with several Augustinian friars, celebrated Mass at Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery, remembering our deceased brothers and parents.
In a brief reflection, the Prior Provincial focused on the question Jesus asks Martha following the death of her brother: “Do you believe this?” St Augustine observes that Martha already believed that her brother would rise again on the last day, just as we too believe. However, Jesus invites her to take a further step. He does not simply tell her that the dead will rise again, but declares: “I am the resurrection and the life.” It is as if Jesus is telling her that the One through whom her brother will rise on that day is already present before her today. Our hope in the face of death is not just that one day we shall rise again. Our hope is Christ Himself. We do not merely believe in the resurrection; we believe in Christ, who has called us to respond to His invitation from this very moment, so that, united with Him, we may one day share in His resurrection.
Following Mass, the friars present, together with some family members, gathered for a prayer at the graves of our deceased brothers and parents. Between November of last year and November of this year, the Province mourned the loss of two of our brothers, Fr Salvino Caruana O.S.A. and Fr Ġulju Bonnici O.S.A., as well as Mrs Pauline Cauchi, mother of Fr Alex Cauchi O.S.A.
