Pope to Discalced Augustinians:
fidelity to roots and tradition ensures the future
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| Pope Francis addressing the Discalced Augustinians on 12 September 2019 (Vatican Media) |
Pope Francis received some 200 members of the General
Chapter of the Discalced Augustinians in an audience in the Vatican on 12
September.
By Robin Gomes
Detaching oneself from one’s roots in order to be modern will
lead to ruin and suicide. Rather, one needs to go against the tide and bear
Christian witness through prayer, penance, humility and charity in order to
speak to the heart of men and women of our time.
Pope Francis made the exhortation to some 200 members of the
General Chapter of the Discalced Augustinians whom he met in the Vatican on
Thursday. He told them that if they want their tree to grow, bloom and
bear fruit, they must never detach themselves from their roots.
The Order of the Discalced Augustinians (OAD) is a
contemplative-missionary community that gives primacy to spiritual life and
searches for holiness through the special vow of humility, and are available to
the needs of the Church. The Order was established in 1610 as a reform
movement within the Order of St. Augustine (OSA) that was formed in 1244.
Humility
The Pope noted that this year, the Discalced
Augustinians were particularly focussing on their order’s special 4th vow of
humility, which according to the Prior General, is “a ‘key’ that opens the
heart of God and the hearts of men”. Above all, he said, it “opens
your own hearts to be faithful to the original charism, to always feel
yourselves disciples-missionaries, available to God's calls”.
Mission “ad gentes”
Pope Francis noted that their “predecessors” had heeded to
the request of earlier popes to be available for evangelization, and adopted
the apostolic dimension of their Founding Father. He said, “The Spirit
also blows the wind of the mission ‘ad gentes’ in the sails of the Church, and
you have been able to be ready to leave.” In an age in which the mission
“ad gentes” is being renewed in fidelity to the mandate of the Risen Lord in
all it force and relevance, the Pope said he was joining them in remembering
the Augustinian missionaries who gave their lives for the Gospel in different
parts of the world. The Pope expressed pleasure that the
Augustinian monks treasure these witnesses of the past in order to renew their
readiness for mission today.
Augustine – humble “giant of Christian thought”
The Holy Father expressed his admiration for Saint
Augustine, saying he is among those who make you feel the wonder of God,
drawing you to Jesus Christ and the Word of God. Despite being “a giant
of Christian thought”, St. Augustine, he said, was blessed by God with the
vocation and mission of fraternity. He did not close himself in the vast
horizon of his mind but remained open to the people of God and to the brothers
and sisters with whom he shared community life.
Fidelity to roots
Pope Francis encouraged the Discalced Augustinians to love
and continue deepening their roots, and draw from them, in prayer and in
community discernment, the lifeblood for their presence in the Church and the
world today.
Their qualification of “discalced”, meaning “barefoot”, the
Pope said, “expresses the need for poverty, detachment, trust in Divine
Providence”. It is not so much about going barefoot and without shoes, as
having a “barefoot soul”, a charism and evangelical need about which the Spirit
makes us feel very strongly at certain moments in the journey of the Church. We
must always be attentive and docile, he said, to the voice of the Spirit, the
protagonist who makes the Church grow with that great force of
evangelization.
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