Vocational Week 2024.

The 2024 Vocation Week of AgustinosRecoletos.org presents the Order’s motto for this year to reflect, rethink, and act according to the charism and spirituality of this religious family.

From Benedict to Francis

Confrontations may be sinfully easy yet pedagogically effective. This has been done frequently with the last two popes, Benedict XVI and Francis.

There are several ways of comparing them: because of the intellectual profile of the former and the pastoral profile of the latter: a German Pope, profound theologian and prefect of the Congregation of the Faith, and the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires and eminent figure of CELAM; the dense magisterium of the former and the closest, practical and concrete magisterium of Francis.

The current Pope has repeatedly shown his particular sensitivity towards the small and weak. It was clear from his first pastoral trip to the island of Lampedusa to make a public cry to the world to turn its eyes to the migrants who were drowning in the Mediterranean.

This is further demonstrated by the map of his 44 apostolic journeys and 60 countries visited: Francis is a periphery specialist. His trips have brought to our attention countries such as Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, North Macedonia, and Mauritius Island.

Pope Francis has done the same with his circle of cardinals, to which he has added representatives from such minority places as Tonga, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Dominica, and Burma.

And, of course, in his teaching, he has also instilled again and again the importance of the little ones. He explained the secret of God’s love, “the great that becomes small.”

He presented everyone with the ideal “of changing the world through the little things of every day: generosity, sharing, listening to others” and simple attitudes, such as meekness, patience, and humility.

The Pope predicted that “a Christian community where the faithful, priests and bishops do not take that path of the little ones, there will be no future and is guaranteed to collapse.”

A synthesis of his teaching and his way of understanding the Christian life is the homemade recipe he proposes to hang on the door of families and communities: “Permission. Thank you. I’m sorry.” In what seems to be a simple formula of courtesy lies the key to behavior and coexistence among Christians.

Augustine

Also, in the case of St. Augustine, the perspective changes. Today, there is less interest in St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church, Eagle of Hippo, and high-flying speculator. The same psychological and vital experience of the convert, so much exploited in the past as an example, has perhaps passed into the background.

Whoever delves into the reading of the saint’s writings, especially his sermons, will repeat the experience that the Colombian Recollect Carlos Cardona had: he was surprised by the innumerable details of the world and creation that came his way, details that, later, the saint would unravel before his listeners and readers.

This will lead Cardona to collect several hundred passages that he will compile in a small and precious volume: St. Augustine and the Open Book of Creation:

“There are those who seek God in books,” says Augustine. There, we have a great book: the book of the beauty of creation. To make himself known, God did not write with paper and ink. What he has done is to place before your eyes all created things. Why seek a louder voice? Heaven and earth are crying out: “God has made me.”

This “green” Augustine, who appreciates the thousand details of the natural world, is in line with the one who, in his Rule, descends to very meticulous prescriptions and of great humanity. Throughout the eight chapters of this Rule for his friars, he describes daily life in its most ordinary reality: treating and relating with other brothers, clothing, chapel and singing, meals, the sick, cleanliness, walks, visits, and gifts…

A motto

The motto of the Augustinian Recollect Family for the year 2024 is St. Augustine’s phrase, “Do you aspire to great things? Begin with the small ones”. Although, strictly speaking, it is an adapted phrase because the saint is talking about something else, it has a different intention.

The phrase is taken from Sermon 69, which Augustine pronounced in Carthage in 413. He was commenting on the words of Jesus that the Evangelist Matthew records (11:25-27):

“I thank you, Father… for you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to the little ones”. And, a little further on, Jesus adds: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened… Take my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.”…

In the Gospel, the Lord speaks of humility, and in his commentary, Augustine refers to humility: “Do you want to be up high? Then start from the lowest”. He even adds a comparison for greater clarity: “If you want to build a high structure of holiness, first dig a deep foundation of humility.”

The small things

However, the line of reflection proposed by the Augustinian Recollect Family seems to go in another direction. It does not refer to an attitude of mind, a virtue, or a way of acting but emphasizes the objective importance of the small things themselves, the details that fill the day-to-day, bringing beauty to the daily routine of life.

And indeed, all these details are of great importance. They form the pavement on which we move and intertwine our life trajectories with those of others. The authentic Christian life can only be based on this firm ground, the only one on which the man of flesh and blood can walk, the only one on which Christ, God, and true man can develop.

In principle, the Kingdom of God does not begin by being remarkable. It grows from a mustard seed and a little leaven (Matthew 13:31-33). From an embryo in the womb of a virgin, Mary. From twelve illiterate men, the apostles. God uses small things to build marvelous works.

And Jesus, the human face of the Father, will call together all his disciples who were wandering in the temple to show them the testimony of the poor widow who had just given as alms the little coins she needed to survive (Mark 12:41-44). He compares the Kingdom to the mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds (Matthew 13:31), which becomes a tree in which birds come to nest. He tells us to become like children – small and very discriminated against at that time – if we want to enter the Kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3-4).

Humbleness and Charity

The small things matter, yes, the details. But not as they interest the collector for their materiality or uniqueness. Nor does the maniac, obsessed with security, need them. It is about the small with vitality and project, the seed destined to germinate, grow, and bear fruit.

In the same Sermon 69 cited above, St. Augustine concludes: “Deepen in yourself the foundation of humility, and you will thus reach the pinnacle of charity.”

In these two words, “humility” and “charity” is the key to everything. The Bishop of Hippo, a doctor par excellence in both virtues, is a specialist in both.

Humility and charity are the two beacons that illuminate the path we take. Only in their light can we see the details of the environment in which we move. Only within their halo can they appreciate the little things with relief and color, as with the specks of dust in suspension, which take shape and stand out only in the light.