FAQ

Do I have a vocation?
Life is one’s first vocation. Man is called to live his life on God’s image. The second vocation for a Christian is to live in communion with Christ. This call for unity with Christ is brought about in the Church. A vocation is a call for sanctification. This sanctification takes up many different forms, since there are specific vocations, which God beautifully designed for the Church and humanity.
One of the specific vocations is that of religious life. This is a call made only to some, who want to sacrifice their whole life to Him, by living for Him only, without a family of the same blood type, without wealth, which can be considered as theirs, and by serving others in order to continue the Saviour’s mission, since He used to go everywhere, helping others and healing body and soul.
A vocation is offered to some by God as an invitation to carry out a mission. If you think that you are receiving this invitation, your contribution is to accept it out of your own free will.

How can one recognize this vocation?
The first way of recognising this vocation is by means of praying – by perceiving your whole life in the light of faith; by taking notice of those moments when you feel God’s presence at its utmost for example during a retreat, during the reading of the Word of God … etc.
God reveals Himself by means of visible signs. Amongst those, are the qualities with which God adorned you. These qualities are necessary so that you can accomplish your mission: spiritual life, union with God, personal love for Christ, great desire to commit yourself to God and generous love shown when serving others.
A vocation also requests a certain level of maturity. Amongst others, this includes a strong character and a balanced love. Concretely, this includes the way of expressing one’s emotions, a positive attitude towards the capacity of communicating with others, a sense of responsibility and adaptation, an open mind and a heart, which understands and cares.
An important factor which helps you to recognize your vocation is the motivation towards the choice for this life. Are you really searching God’s will, to live for Him, to serve Him and your neighbour with genuine love? Or this spiritual motivation is stimulated by other motivations?
On the other hand, there is no need to feel discouraged or believe that you do not have these qualities at a high level. It is not enough to have all the necessary qualities but to say “yes” with generosity and faith.

What is the difference between a vocation of a lay person and that of a religious?
In its essence, there is no difference between being lay person and a religious. All those who believe are called by Christ, according to the state and condition, in which one lives and according to his way, for that perfect sanctification because the Heavenly Father is holy.

What is the difference between the vocation of a friar and a priest?
The Religious Institutes (friars) have a special consecration to God by means of a public profession of the evangelical councils, with a specific charisma and a stable form of a common life. The Secularised Institutes (priests) do not follow the idea of a common life or by public vows. They live their own consecration to God in the world, by means of a secularised life, according to the charisma of their calling, which includes in itself secularism.

What actually makes up religious life?
1) Its radicality and beauty in the commitment to reach perfection, so much that one gets bound by a vow, even in those things which for the rest of the Christians are just evangelical councils (advices).
2) By revitalizing in the Church again, certain aspects of Christ’s life, according to the different charisms, especially in the celibacy for the Kingdom.
3) In an attitude of total disponibility and particularly, in the service of brotherhood, according to the proper mission of every institute.
4) By being an escathological signal to all Christians, by living a communitarian life and through public witness.

How can I know that I am called to be an Augustinian, with so many different religious orders in existence?
To discern your vocation for religious or secular life is a process, which primarily entails continuous praying and spiritual direction. The fundamental call of the Gospel is a call for conversion, a change of heart, where one starts centering his life on God’s reign, granted to us through Christ. Augustine experienced this call in his unceasing search for the truth. In the Confessions, he relates his conversion and how he got to know himself and God. For Augustine, the conversion was possible with the help of God’s grace and the friendship and hospitality, which he experienced with others.
Friendship and hospitality are two characteristics of Augustinian spirituality. For Augustine and for us, life is considered to be a journey. Together, we are “on our way to God”. The Augustinians do their best to incorporate these two characteristics in their communities, where the members listen and answer the call for conversion.

How long does it take to become an Augustinian friar?
The answer to God’s call implies also a heart, which is ready to form itself in order to resemble the One who called it. In the Augustinian Order, this is a journey which involves many stages. Exactly after one becomes aware of the signs of his call, he comes to know more about what involves a religious life and makes his first experiences in the community. In order to join a community, one must be over eighteen years of age and be healthy. Together with the vocational director, the youth enhances his knowledge about the call, which God could be requesting. When one feels certain that he wants to try to live this style of life, one asks whether he could extend the experience within the community. During this phase, the youth is encouraged to keep contact with his family and friends, doing this by spending the weekend at home. When the youth feels that he is ready to consecrate his life to God in this way, he starts the prenovitiate, which is two years long. During the second year of this phase, the youth enters university, studying philosophy and theology (the course at university takes 5 years to complete). After being a prenovice for two years, if accepted, he is sent to the novitiate. After the novitiate, the novice continues the course at university, while he consecrates his life to God by means of the first profession. The vows of chastity, poverty and obedience are taken one year at a time, for three years, until in the end, the solemn profession takes place.

What is the prenovitiate?
The prenovitiate is a trial stage, where the prenovice devotes a lot of his energy to his formation as a whole human being. Here, one becomes to know more about friendship and brotherly love … and while he discovers more about himself and the beauty, which God had sown in him, he builds whatever is necessary in his character so that God’s call continues to find good soil. During the prenovitiate, the first contact with the figure of St. Augustine, which we consider as our spiritual father, is done.

What is the novitiate?
The stage which takes place after the prenovitiate is the novitiate, which is a very special year in our formation, and which starts with a ceremony called the vestiture, where the youth receives the Augustinian habit (tunic) and the cincture. During this year, no academic study is done as the formation is centred on spiritual life (interiority), getting a deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ and the Word of God, through prayer and in strengthening one’s love towards Mary, Our Mother. St. Augustine, our father is studied more deeply especially as with regards to his writings and the Rule, which he left for those who opt to live this style of life, as modelled by him. The history, spirituality and the Constitutions of the Augustinian Order, on which our everyday life is modelled, are also studied.

What is the professorium?
At the end of the year, the novice consecrates his life to God by means of the professorium; he declares publicly that he is going to live chaste and be obedient, without considering anything as his, in the community. This stage is called the stage of professorium and most of the time, is dedicated to theological study, as well as living in different communities around Malta and missionary places. After at least three years, the solemn profession takes place. In this way, one becomes totally united with the brothers of the Augustinian family, spread around the world. Those who are called for priesthood, at the end of their theological studies, are consecrated as deacons, in order to continue serving the Church in its spreading of the Good News. Later, by means of the ordination, the pastoral stage starts in the different Augustinian communities, amongst the People of God.

What is the aim of the vow?
The vow has the aim of giving glory to God, while it focuses on the good of man’s will and at the same time, does its utmost to break any attraction to the root of the sin. By means of it, man is assisted to rid himself of these attractions which are found in the human being, while he becomes one in total union with the Church. Thus, enrooted in the vow one can find the aspect of denial and the renunciation of the three values relevant in man’s life: marriage and the natural family (chastity), free possession of personal property (poverty) and the autonomic planning of the present and future personal life (obedience). There is also the positive aspect of the total offering (of the person, wealth and projects) for the implementation of a higher and different plan, as an answer to God’s call, in a journey to move nearer to Christ, in a charismatic family, motivated by the Spirit.