Fr. David Cortis osa

Who is he?

When were you born and where did you live? 

I was born on 26 November 1979 in Tal-Pietà and grew up in Burmarrad

Where did you receive your primary; secondary and post-secondary education? 

I used to attend San Pawl il-Baħar Primary School, then the Mikiel Anton Vassalli Qormi High School, and then the Msida Junior College. Afterwards I did the B. Com course at the University of Malta and continued for B. Accountacy Hons. After starting the path to the Augustinian life I did the Bachelor in Theology & Human Studies and then S.TH.B at the University of Malta. After that I continued S.TH.L Pastoral and moral Theology at the University of Comillas in Madrid

When did you feel the call for a vocation with the Augustinians and what brought this about? 

The Lord always sows. In short, there were two particular moments. One when in 2004 I was working with KPMG as an accountant/auditor and they had sent me to work in England for 3 months and some time before my departure the Burmarrad Parish had given me a Bible which I took with me and that was a great support for me during that time. It was a 3 month work experience. Then when I was in London in the same period in January 2005 I attended a conference in the Week of the Unity of the Churches and whoever was giving the talk asked several times, how are you looking at your life? What are the plans.

Then at the end of February I went back to Malta and those were 4 months in which the question whether God is calling me or not was still there and kept on growing. Then in July 2005 I went on a missionary experience to Brazil with the AMIGOS group (an Augustinian group where I got to know more about Saint Augustine) and that experience was powerful and gave me the chance to think about the question. After discernment I took the step for this Augustinian life.

What do you like doing in your free time? 

In my free time I like to listen instrumental music, or read and take a walk in the countryside. I wish I had more free time!

Can you mention an interesting book you read? What was the subject matter? 

I have been reading books about different education systems both in Malta and abroad to help me in my current mission as Rector of S. Augustine College.

Do you have a favourite quotation/saying? 

You have made us for you O God and our hearts will never find rest if they do not rest in you. A community in search of truth

Augustinian Call

What does being an Augustinian mean to you?

What makes me an Augustinian is the sense of communion that we Augustinians are called to live first in our religious communities, and then with other people with whom the Lord brings us together in our ministries. To be one heart and one soul with others in the walk towards God.

The Augustinian Charism in today’s world

The Augustinian Charism is always relevant because it is based on the human and spiritual experience of Saint Augustine, a common experience for man of all times. Saint Augustine was always looking for meaning in life, looking for happiness, looking for truth, looking for peace and justice…in one word, looking for God. His famous phrase “Our heart will never find rest if it does not rest in you” is true for a person of all times. Saint Augustine realized that he was looking for God outside of himself and that God was inside him. He also wanted to search with others. Because when we live the experience that each of us has of God, we dare to continue looking for him.

Who is the Augustinian for you?

The Augustinian for me dedicates himself so that with God’s help this Augustinian charism will be alive. He is the one who allows his heart to be filled with God’s love by keeping himself in a relationship with Him. He is the one who feels his heart urge with love back to God, and makes an effort to show this by loving his neighbor who is the image of God