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
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
1. Desire and attraction
You don’t need to over-analyse your life, looking for conclusive signs in every mood or event. This can become an obsession, and even a superstition, like reading the tea leaves or the horoscopes. When you stand back and take a look at the big picture, perhaps a pattern emerges, and you sense that you are being drawn in a particular direction. Usually, you don’t really need more signs, you just
3. Enjoyment
3. Enjoyment – What do you like doing; not just for leisure or fun – but what kind of work and activities do you enjoy most? Which bring the best out of you and gives you satisfaction at the end of a hard day? How to Discover your vocation – Stephen Wang
It is a journey that involves patience, honesty, perseverance…
The word ‘discernment’ is used to describe the whole process by which we listen to God and listen to our own hearts, gradually coming to know who God is calling us to be and where he is leading us. It is not something we just decide to do one afternoon, like baking a cake or watching a film. It is a journey that involves patience, honesty, perseverance, generosity, courage, and
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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
il-familja mqaddsa
F’dan l-aħħar Ħadd tas-sena kalendarja, il-knisja tiċċelebra il-festa tal-Familja Mqaddsa. Fl-Evanġelju ta’ dan il-Ħadd niltaqgħu ma’ Xmun, raġel li kien qiegħed b’fidi kbira jistenna li jara l-Messija, fejn dan jgħid lil Marija, li ‘sejf, jinfidlek ruħek!’. Ftit qabel l-Evanġelista jgħidilna li Marija u Ġużeppi baqgħu mistagħġba b’dak li Xmun kien qiegħed jgħid fuq Ġesu’. Hawn wieħed jista’ jara kemm Marija għandha tkun mudell għalina, għax minkejja t-tbatija li ħabbrilha Xmun,
Augustinian Reflections on the Christian Life
Gilbert Meilaender, The Way that Leads There: Augustinian Reflections on the Christian Life, Wm B. Eardmans, Grand Rapids/mi, 2007 Santu Wistin ifformula dak il-ħsieb ta’ xewqa li “l-qalb tagħna ma ssibx kwiet jekk ma tistrihx fik, O Alla”. Gilbert Meilaender isostni li din il-frażi hija fiċ-ċentru tal-eżistenza tagħna. Ma huwiex ktieb fuq Santu Wistin jew it-tagħlim tiegħu fuq il-ħajja nisranija. Lill-qarrej jofri għadd ta’ riflessjonijiet fuq l-għexien nisrani li
Vocation as a call to holiness
One way of expressing this is to say that the fundamental human vocation is the call to holiness, the call to be a saint. The saints are not just heroic people who live in history books; they are ordinary Christians who have tried to live their faith without holding anything back – to love God with their whole hearts, to love those around them without counting the cost, to work
Il-ħajja tiegħek qiegħdha f’idejn Alla, u xejn ma għandu jinkwetana
Huwa qari li jista’ jħawwadna…għax jissemmew ħafna affarijiet li ukoll jimlewna b’ċerta biża. Imma hemm diversi punti ta’ riflessjoni li jgħinuna f’dan kollu. Luqa jippreżentalna lil Ġesù bħala l-profeta, li kapaċi jaqra s-sinjali taż-żminijiet. Li joffrilna pariri mimlijin għerf u b’ħafna insight kif għandna naġixxu fiż-żmien diffiċli. Fil-fatt jekk naqraw b’attenzjoni l-Evanġelju, Ġesù qiegħed jiskoraġġixi lil dawk li qegħdin jipprovaw jikkalkulaw t-tmiem fuq il-bażi ta’ fenomini viżibli. Huwa ma hux
Where am I going?
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please you. And I
Inti mistieden. X’ser tagħmel?
L-istedina għas-salvazzjoni hija miftuħa għal kulħadd, u dan kemm-il darba aħna tassew naċċettawha. Bir-rifjut ta’ dawk li kienu oriġinalment mistiedna, is-Sultan jerġa’ jirrepeti li t-tieġ huwa LEST. Hemm din l-urġenza biex wieħed jirrispondi għal din is-sejħa. Il-qaddejja ma jintbgħatux fid-djar tas-sinjuri, imma f’salib it-toroq. Hemmhekk jiltaqgħu dawk li huma mwarba mis-soċjetà, dawk li jiġbru t-taxxi, n-nisa tat-triq etc. U huwa dawn li jkunu mistiedna sakemm is-sala tat-tieġ tkun mimlija. Aħna
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.
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