Editors Note: Disappointment, disillusion, disenchantment and boredom in life are unpleasant negative experiences, but they are not without positive fruit if they are allowed to teach. This post was adapted […]Read More
Augustinian Contemplation
Discovering the presence of God within.
"Let us leave a little room for reflection in our lives, room too for silence. Let us look within ourselves and see whether there is some delightful hidden place inside where we can be free of noise and argument. Let us hear the Word of God in stillness and perhaps we will then come to understand it."
Augustinian Contemplation
The Constitutions of the Augustinian Order teaches that contemplation (along with common prayer, reading, and study) are indispensable requirements for the apostolate (no. 194). Yet, the Rule of Saint Augustine does not say anything about contemplative prayer.
The short chapter on prayer in the Rule (nos. 10-12) says only the following: In the Oratory no one should do anything other than that for which it was intended and from which it also takes its name. Consequently, if there are some who might wish to pray there during their free time, even outside the hours appointed, they should not be hindered by those who think something else must be done there. And when you pray to God in Psalms and hymns, think over in your hearts the words that come from your lips.
However, as Fr. Allan Fitzgerald, OSA observes, we find a contemplative spirit beneath all of Augustine’s letters, tracts, and homilies. We can therefore turn to Augustine’s Confessions to discover the conversion that slowly prepared him for contemplative prayer. Fr. Allan calls this phenomenon “routes to contemplation.”
Augustine's Routes to Contemplation
What do our life experiences, our life questions, our desires, hope, and our desire for love have to teach us about God? In this series of posts (adapted from a retreat given by Fr. Allan Fitzgerald, OSA) we invite you to reflect with us on this very question.
Desire as a Path to Augustinian Contemplation
This post was adapted from a retreat given by Fr. Allan Fitzgerald, OSA on Augustine's Routes to Contemplation. Let’s us now go to the expression “Return to your heart”. For […]Read More
Love as a Path to Augustinian Contemplation
This post was adapted from a retreat given by Fr. Allan Fitzgerald, OSA on Augustine's Routes to Contemplation. Another route of contemplation for Augustine was charity or love itself. Charity […]Read More
Wonder as a Path to Augustinian Contemplation
This post was adapted from a retreat given by Fr. Allan Fitzgerald, OSA on Augustine's Routes to Contemplation. Another route to contemplation was Augustine’s gazing at the world with wonder […]Read More
Silence as a Path to Augustinian Contemplation
This post was adapted from a retreat given by Fr. Allan Fitzgerald, OSA on Augustine's Routes to Contemplation. Naturally, most important for all the routes is the element of silence […]Read More
The Intellect as a Path to Augustinian Contemplation
This post was adapted from a retreat given by Fr. Allan Fitzgerald, OSA on Augustine's Routes to Contemplation. Yet another route of contemplation for Augustine – which is not open […]Read More
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