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
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
Holding the hand of the Lord…
“How wonderful to walk along in life holding the hand of the Lord” (Saint Edith Stein). The most beautiful thing in this world is to be led by the hand of God. Not going at it alone when we pursue our interests and goals, but rather taking it on together with Someone who knows and loves us. Not building my life alone, but in a loving and trusting communion with
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
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
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
għinni biex inxerred il-fwieħa tiegħek
Għażiż Ġesù, għinni biex inxerred il-fwieħa tiegħek kull fejn immur. Fawwar il-qalb tiegħi bl-Ispirtu u l-Ħajja tiegħek. Idħol ġewwa fija u ħu kontroll tiegħi nnifsi kollni kemm jien, b’mod li l-ħajja tiegħi tkun tirrifletti lilek biss. Iddi minn ġo fija, kun ġo fija b’mod li kull persuna li niġi f’kuntatt magħha tħoss fija l-preżenza tiegħek. Ħalli jħarsu u jaraw mhux aktar lili, imma lilek biss! Ibqa’ miegħi, ħalli nsir niddi
Agħti l-pass!
Għandek paċenzja? Lesti tħalli l-qamħ u s-sikrana jitilgħu flimkien bħal bidwi fil-parabbola? Paċenzja Xi drabi bħal donnu naraw biss in-negattiv fina tant li ma jħallinix naraw it-tajjeb u l-pożittiv li hemm fina…naqtgħu qalbna. Jista’ jkun ukoll li nkunu rridu lil kulħadd perfett kif jaqbel lili u min mhux skont il-kriterji tiegħi nwarrbu, nneħħiħ minn ħajti. Għalfejn jiġrilna hekk? Għax ma naċċettawx li aħna lkoll dgħajfin, imma mhux biex naqtgħu qalbna
Lil min jixtieq Alla jressaq viċin, illum?
Din il-ġimgħa, il-biċċa xogħol tagħna, flimkien ma’ Iżaija u Ġwanni l-Battista hija li ngħajtu fid-desert, u li nippreparaw it-triq tal-Mulej, li nagħmlu ħbieb mal-għeddewwa antiki, li npoġġu ħdejn xulxin u naqsmu l-ikel u li nġibu l-paċi fid-dinja. Huwa żmien importanti u serju fejn nikkonvertu d-dinja permezz tal-ġustizzja biex il-paċi issaltan fostna. Lil min jixtieq Alla jressaq viċin, illum? Liema diviżjonijiet/qasmiet nixtiequ li naraw mfejjqa? Forsi wkoll f’pajjiżna…bejn partiti politiċi, bejn
Min tgħidu li jien?
Ġesù wkoll jagħmel survey żgħir …jistaqsi lil ta’ madwaru x’jaħsbu n-nies fuqu…u d-dixxipli jsibuha faċli u jgħidulu. Imma Ġesù jdawwar d-domanda għal fuqhom personali. “Intom min tgħidu li jien? Mhux x’nagħmel, imma min jien għalikom?..Hija domanda għalihom, għalik u għalija.. Domanda diretta. Min hu Ġesù għalija konkretament f’ħajti? Mistoqsija qawwija – li ġieli nsaqsu f’relazzjonijiet – għaliex tħobbni lili? X’infisser għalik? X’inhu l-iskop vera ta’ ħajti? Għalfejn għażilt din it-tip
x’qalb ser ikolli?
U l-isfida li ppruvaw ipoġġu lil Ġesù, Ġesù reġa poġġilhom sfida oħra lura u issa dak l-avukat li staqsih il-mistoqsija min hu l-proxxmu, qiegħed fin-nofs quddiem 2 persuni li baqgħu indifferenti u 2 persuni li laqgħuh. Ried jieħu deċiżjoni! U fil-fatt ir-risposta hija dak li wera’ miegħu ħniena. U dawn kieku kemm is-Samaritan u wkoll il-Lukandier. It-tnejn mwarbin mis-soċjetà, imma għalihom l-persuni hija aktar importanti mix-xogħol. U din ħaġa li
Ħalli d-dgħajsa tiegħek….
Jiena ta’ Pawlu. Jien ta’ Apollo. Jiena ta’ Kefa. Jiena ta’ Kristu. Jien mifrud? Jien ta’ min jien? Hija l-storja tal-bniedem. L-istorja tal-familji, tal-politika, tal-kunventi, tal-parroċċi…Litanija tal-firda. Qasmiet kullimkien. Jien ta’ dak u tal-ieħor. Jien tan-North. Jien tas-South. Jien tajjeb – dak ħażin. Jien ma’ dan il-Papa. Jien mal-Papa l-ieħor. Jien ma’ dan l-isqof. Jien mal-Isqof l-ieħor. Ninqdew b’kollox biex napprofitaw ruħna aħna. Għax meta ngħid jien ta’ xi ħadd,
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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