Who is he?
When were you born and where did you live?
I was born on the 17th of July 1987 and grew up in Fleur-de-Lys together with two other siblings. Although it is a small village, I remember I was very active in the parish activities.
Where did you receive your primary; secondary and post-secondary education?
As a Primary and Secondary school I attended Saint Augustine College, while I continued my studies at Junior College, Msida and the University of Malta to graduate in Theology. In 2012 I continued the specialization in Biblical Theology at the Gregorian University in Rome. There I did 3 years.
When did you feel the call for a vocation with the Augustinians and what brought this about?
I remember that when I was at Saint Augustine college in the last year of secondary school I once had an invitation to start attending some activities that were organized for us teenagers and I was tempted to go. After a short time of participating in this group, an Augustinian priest once approached me and asked me to be a group leader together with another young man. Since then also because of the trust that this priest showed in me, I then started to take this call seriously and I used to take part in various vocational activities and I used to look forward to them.
Shortly after that I started to have some experiences of living in the convent (come and see) while continuing with my normal life. The aspect that struck me the most was the communion I was seeing between the friars who were with us in these activities and I felt that this experience of communion could be my way of life by giving my whole life to bring Christ to others according to the Augustinian life.
What do you like doing in your free time?
The thing I like to do the most is running. It is a moment for me in which I think a lot and various ideas come to me during the run – the mind is running on its own! The plants and the garden help me keep in touch with nature and have fun although I don’t always manage to take good care of them! In the summer then I like to swim a lot. Recently I started a new hobby – making designs in wood by burning wood (wood burning – Pyrography). I spent some time cutting wood with a bow and would like to have some time and pick up this hobby again! I like to read and play the piano but I am not good at singing!
Can you mention an interesting book you read? What was the subject matter?
An interesting book I read is Man’s Search for meaning by Victor Frankl which talks about the importance of hope in life even when it is not easy to live.
Do you have a favourite quotation/saying?
Quote għal qalbi li nipprA quote I like most and I try to live everyday is: “I live, it is no longer I, but Christ lives in me” Gal 2,20. Even though it’s not easy to live it every day, I try that everything I do comes from Christ and not to show myself.
Augustinian Call:
What does being an Augustinian mean to you?
What makes me Augustinian is the sense of communion that us as Augustinians are called to live, first in our religious communities, and then with others that the Lord brings us together with in our ministries. To be one heart and one soul with others in the path to God.
The Augustinian Charism in today’s world
The Augustinian charism is always valid because it is based on the human and spiritual experience of Saint Augustine, an experience common to man of all ages. Saint Augustine was always searching for a sense in life, seeking happiness, seeking truth, seeking peace and justice… in one word he seeks God. His famous phrase “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you” is a truth for men of all ages. Saint Augustine realised that he was looking for God outside of himself and that God was inside him. He also wanted to search with others. For when we live the experience that everyone has of God, we encourage ourselves to continue to seek him. He wanted to share this experience of God’s search with others. The experience of each one of us who seeks God, and the more we seek, the more we try to find him, is an experience that cannot be kept for yourself, but one must share it with others in the community, in the family, and in the Church.
Who is the Augustinian for you?
The Augustinian for me must strive to live with God’s help this Augustinian way of life. It 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 exhorts with love back to God, and strives to show this by loving his neighbour who is God’s image.
