Discover who YOU are
We are Augustinians.
We would like to walk with you the walk of life with all the challenges and questions it brings with it.
Learn more about us answer your restless calling today.
A lamp to your feet
hiding yourself…
5 common pitfalls in which your choices can be hijacked by fear, illusion, or anxiety: By hiding yourself in a dream in order to avoid making a choice. By hiding yourself in the busyness of short-term goals in order to avoid the deeper decisions By hiding yourself in a failure in order to avoid the battle By hiding yourself behind God in order to avoid taking responsibility By hiding behind
To be saints…
To be saints is not a privilege for the few, but a vocation for everyone. — Pope Francis (@Pontifex) November 21, 2013
4. Skills
Skills – What are you good at? What are your gifts and skills and aptitudes? Not just your qualifications (although these are often relevant) but your gifts of character and personality too. How could you best use all that God has given you and make a difference? How to Discover your vocation – Stephen Wang
God ‘speaks’ to us in ordinary ways
Christians talk about how God ‘calls’ us to do something, and perhaps we think this means that one day we will literally hear a voice telling us what to do. Sometimes God does speak to us in clear and dramatic ways, but more often he ‘speaks’ to us in ordinary ways. He guides us through the deepest desires of our hearts (calling us ‘from within’) and the events and circumstances
Educators
Priests
Missionaries
Religious
Augustinians
Discover who WE are
We were founded as an Augustinian Order in 1244 when Pope Innocent IV gathered together various hermit communities in Italy and have been present in Malta since the 14th century.
We follow the footsteps of Christ and Saint Augustine.
We serve God and his people in diverse ministries as priests, educators and missionaries.
Our Stories
Augustinian Heart Blog
Augustine Deformed
“Augustine Deformed: Love, Sin and Freedom in the Western Moral Tradition” huwa ktieb tal-professur John M. Rist, ippublikat fis-sena 2014 mill-Cambridge University Press. Kif nafu, Wistin stabbilixxa qafas morali li ddominat l-kultura tal-Punent għal aktar minn elf sena. Fil-preżentazzjoni tiegħu, xi drabi parzjali, ta’ xi wħud mill-kunċetti ewlenin tal-morali (l-imħabba, ir-rieda u l-libertà), madankollu, xi ħassieba sussegwenti f’tentattivi biex issir tiswija ta’ dan il-qafas, u fl-isforzi tagħhom, ta’ spiss aggrava
Ħalli lil Alla jaħdem bil-mod tiegħu…
Ħalli lil Alla jaħdem bil-mod tiegħu…ifraħ għax aħna milqugħin u maħbubin minn Alla! Hija liturġija tassew sabiħa u rikka! Il-messaġġ nisrani jissejjaħ “evanġelju”, jiġifieri “bxara tajba”, sejħa għall-ferħ għall-poplu kollu; il-Knisja mhix kenn għall-imdejqin, il-Knisja hija d-dar tal-ferħ! U dawk li huma mdejqin isibu fiha l-ferħ, isibu fiha l-ferħ veru! U nifirħu għax il-miġja tal-Mulej hi fil-qrib. Hekk ukoll igħidilna San Ġakbu fit-tieni qari. “Stabru intom ukoll, qawwu qalbkom, għax
Created to share God’s love
The fundamental vocation of every human being is to love. This is not obvious to everyone today. Many people believe that human life is just an accident, a chance product of evolution, a meaningless event in a vast mechanical universe. It is certainly true that our lives have been shaped by many different forces, but there is a much deeper truth that we can discover through faith: Every single human
Liema lingwa?
7,000 lingwa differenti użati fid-dinja…x’varjetà! kif qatt jistgħu jiftehmu bejniethom il-bnedmin b’tant lingwi differenti? B’liema lingwa kien jitkellem Alla? B’liema lingwa jitkellem il-bniedem? Fir-rakkont ta’ Pentekoste nsibu li l-appostli wara li rċevew l-ispirtu s-Santu bdew jitkellmu b’ilsna oħra. X’kien qiegħed jiġri fl-Appostli wara l-mewt ta’ Ġesù? Kienu mimlijin biża’ li ser iduru kontrihom, u għalhekk issakkru fiċ-Ċenaklu bil-bibien magħluqa. Lingwa tal-bniedem: Biża (kulħadd l-istess) vs kuraġġ (kulħadd differenti): imma magħqudin:
Santu Wistin jiktbilna…
Għażiż/a Jisimni Wistin. Għalkemm għext żmien ilu, għadni ħaj illum permezz tal-ħafna kitbiet li ħallejt warajha. Nixtieq li permezz ta’ din l-ittra ċkejkna nagħmlu bħal encounter bejnietna ta’ dak li għext, esperjenzajt, ġarrabt, irriflettejt, u ta’ kemm Alla tas-sorpriżi kien preżenti kontinwament minkejja d-diversi dubji u diffikultajiet li ltqajt magħhom fiż-żgħożija tiegħi. Għaliex, jiena bniedem u ngħix qalb il-bnedmin u “x’inhi qalbi jekk mhux qalb umana?”. Għalhekk ħabib, dawn huma
Is-sliem għalikom
L-Evanġelju ta’ dan il-Ħadd meħud mill-Vanġelu skond San Luqa, jirrankontalna dehra ta’ Ġesu’ lill-appostli u lil dawk li kienu magħhom. Huwa rakkont li jiġi wara ‘provi’ oħra li jsemmi l-Evanġelista fil-versi ta’ qabel biex jurina li Ġesu’ huwa irxuxtat; in-nisa jsibu l-qabar vojt, id-dehra tal-anġli lin-nisa, Pietru jsib il-qabar vojt u d-dehra ta’ Ġesu’ lid-dixxipli t’Ghemmaws. “Is-sliem għalikom!” – Ġesu jsellmilhom billi jagħtihom il-paċi, tislima li Ġesu’ juża ħafna darbi
Frequently Asked Questions
We were founded as an Augustinian Order in 1244 when Pope Innocent IV gathered together various hermit communities in Italy and have been present in Malta since the 14th century. We follow the footsteps of Christ and Saint Augustine and serve God and his people in diverse ministries as priests, educators and missionaries.
In Malta we are presenti in 6 communities: Valletta, Rabat, Tarxien, Pietà, Paceville and Victoria (Gozo).
Here are the three key differences between diocesan priests and religious priests:
1. Where they live.
Diocesan priests serve in the particular geographical region of a diocese or archdiocese. Usually, the bishop assigns them to a parish, where they live independently and interact with the parishioners and broader community. Diocesan priests sometimes live with other priests who serve at their parish, but each can own his own property.
Priests who are in a religious order are not assigned to a particular diocese. Instead, the superior of the order (the Prior Provincial) tells a religious priest where he will live to carry out his ministry. It could be in a different city, or even a different country. Religious priests live in community with one another. The religious priests in community own possessions communally.
2. What their mission is.
A diocesan priest is generally called to serve the needs of his parish. He celebrates Mass and administers sacraments to the parishioners, including Baptism and Reconciliation. At the same time, he runs the parish by making administrative and financial decisions. Additionally, a diocesan priest serves the particular pastoral needs of his parish, such as visiting the sick and spiritually accompanying parishioners.
In contrast, religious priests can work in a wide variety of ministries including a parish, though they also administer the sacraments and celebrate Mass. Their work depends on the charism of their religious order, which refers to the spirituality and particular focus for which the order was founded. Ministries can include teaching, working with the poor, assisting the elderly, leading a contemplative life of prayer, and much more.
3. The promises they make.
All priests make an important and unique commitment to the Church when they decide to enter seminary and when they are ordained. But there are some differences in the types of promises priests make, and when they make them. Diocesan priests make three promises to the bishop at their ordination:
- To recite daily the Liturgy of the Hours
- To obey the bishop
- To live a life of celibacy
Religious priests make temporary solemn vows before their ordination as part of their formation. After a certain number of years, depending on the order, they make final solemn vows. These vows, which are shared by religious brothers, sisters, and priests, are the three evangelical counsels:
- Poverty
- Chastity
- Obedience
Diocesan priests and religious priests are wonderful gifts that Christ has given us in his Church, and in their separate but complementary ways, they help the Church to flourish. We pray in a special way today for vocations to the diocesan and religious priesthood, and for all vocations to consecrated life.
Religious vows are sacred promises. They reflect a life orientation and profound loving commitment. After a period of formation members of religious communities, Sisters, Brothers and those becoming Religious Priests, publicly profess such vows of poverty, celibate chastity and obedience.
Religious vows joyfully free a person to live for God and through that first love to serve others with love and to witness to God’s faithfulness, compassion and care for all.
Poverty is the vow that call us to live simply. We depend on the generosity of our benefactors and commit to living in a community that provides for our material and financial support. The vow of poverty is an invitation to follow Jesus by renouncing earthly goods for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Chastity is a personal virtue – to love others appropriately as a single, celibate male. Chastity is an invitation to renounce marriage and sexual activity. It is also a deeply rewarding form of love. It’s not all sacrifice…. Augustinians share in the intimate and chaste love of family, friends, and those we serve in ministry.
Obedience is the vow to give respect and deference to our legitimate superiors. Our local superior is called a Prior, and he holds responsibility for the local community. Local communities are organized into Provinces, headed by a Provincial. The Provincial serves as the Ordinary, which means that the Provincial can assign where a friar lives and works.
The Rule of St. Augustine incorporates the basic principles of the Augustinian spirituality of religious community life. The Rule of St. Augustine was written around the year 400.
1) Discernment
3) Pre-Novitiate
4) Novitiate
5) Simple Vows
7) Solemn Vows
8) Ordination to the Diaconate
9) Ordination to the Priesthood
Ask by getting in contact with us on our contact page, or talk to a vocations director.
Discover who WE are and who YOU are
To young men we also offer the possibility of living in our community in Pietà for a few days where they can share our life built on the experience of the first Christian community.
Here they live the reality of our daily life by sharing our prayers, our community Eucharist, our food, our recreation and our work, particularly in the service of our brothers and the Church.
Above all we share together the beauty of each person’s story by celebrating the experiences and qualities of each one of us.
Let's Walk Together
We can’t wait to hear your story.
Allow us to accompany you as we embark on this journey of discovering the calling and the wonderful plan that God has for you.
Fill in the form below to start a conversation with our Augustinian Vocations Director.
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