The Prior General, Miguel Ángel Hernández, sends this message to the entire Augustinian-Recollect Family on the anniversary of the birth of the Augustinian Recollection, in which he reflects on the enormous symbiosis between “being a pilgrim” and “being a Recollect” and how the Recollection can be a beacon of faith and transformation.
Nuestra familia religiosa celebra hoy el 436 aniversario de la Recolección Agustiniana. Este año queremos hacerlo con la mirada puesta en el cercano Jubileo de la Iglesia, que tiene como lema Peregrinos de la esperanza, y que será inaugurado por el Santo Padre con la apertura de la puerta santa en la noche de Navidad.
Our religious family is celebrating today the 436th Anniversary of the Augustinian Recollection. This year, we wish to do so with our eyes set on the upcoming Jubilee of the Church, which will have the theme Pilgrims of Hope, and will be inaugurated by the Holy Father with the opening of the Holy Door on Christmas Eve.
The theme of the Jubilee perfectly aligns with the spirit of the Recollection. On the one hand, being pilgrims means embarking on a journey toward fullness, where each step is imbued with faith and trust in God’s mercy. On the other hand, being a Recollect, as the Constitutions says, is also a form of “active pilgrimage, through which the scattered and fragmented person, wounded by sin, is moved by grace to enter within themselves, where God is already waiting”.
If being a pilgrim means, in the words of Pope Francis (Message for the 61st World Day of Prayer for Vocations 2024) “starting a new every day, constantly beginning again, and regaining enthusiasm and strength to face the different stages of the journey that, despite weariness and challenges, always open up new horizons and unknown views,” then being a Recollect is a call to courageously seek the truth, to question the world around us instead of settling ourselves with comfort. Recollection is an invitation to creative restlessness—seeking growth and transformation rather than stagnation and a closed heart.
If being a pilgrim means “setting out to discover God’s love and, at the same time, coming to know ourselves through an inner journey stimulated by the diversity of relationships” (Francis), then being a Recollect is also a pilgrimage inward, descending into the depths of our innermost being and returning to the heart, where the inner teacher awaits—the only one who can transform and renew our lives.
If being a pilgrim, in the words of Elsa A. Tosi de Muzio, “means stepping out of our comfort zones, abandoning routines that paralyze us, and advancing unburdened by external constraints to realistically interpret events,” then being a Recollect means living detached from anything that takes away from us the true freedom, engaging in a process of interior transformation that centers our lives on Christ, the only Way that leads to God.
If being pilgrims means recognizing that our lives are a constant journey toward God and others, offering opportunities for renewal and conversion at every step, then being a Recollect means walking alongside others, extending our hands without seeking recognition or prominence.
To celebrate the Jubilee and be pilgrims of hope is to embrace “a foundational and defining experience of the believer’s condition as homo viator, a human being on a journey toward the Source of all goodness and ultimate fulfillment. By setting their whole being in motion—their body, heart, and mind—the human person discovers themselves as a seeker of God and a pilgrim of the eternal, uprooting themselves to surrender to God (Saint John Paul II)”
To celebrate the Recollection and be a Recollect is to seize the opportunity to deepen our identity, recover the audacity and radical commitment of our origins, and build a fraternal community that reflects the love and mercy of God.
On this 436th Anniversary of the Augustinian Recollection, I would like to highlight some key aspects of our Recollect identity, which we could share with the pilgrims of our world, so that their steps may align with the rhythm of hope.
— Not Tourists, But Pilgrims of Hope
Some define humanity by its capacity to think, others by its capacity to love; with equal validity, we could define it by its capacity to seek. “Humanity is not a destination but a journey; not an inn but a path”, in words of the Spanish theologian Olegario Fernández de Cardenal.
Seeking is an essential part of human nature: the search for the ultimate meaning of existence, the reason for things and events, the search for God. Yet, humanity also seeks comfort, pleasure, power, prestige, and fame.
Indeed, according to Enrique Rojas (El hombre light, Madrid 1992) “we live in a time where fleeting pleasures, media-driven values, and the idolatry of sensuality have overshadowed humanity’s aspirations for meaning and purpose. The search for God-Truth has been relegated to a secondary place, leaving people weakened, superficial, and devoid of authenticity, more concerned with appearances than with what lies within.”
Many so-called pilgrims today are, indeed mere tourists.
— A Deeper Life, a Stronger Hope
What does the Recollection offer to a humanity weakened, superficial, and lacking of authenticity? What does it offer to the individual that Pope Francis describes as “a wanderer, circling around themselves without arriving anywhere”? What is, ultimately, the proposal of the Recollection for that 21st-century pilgrim-tourist?
The answer is as ancient as it is new: solitude, silence, and prayer.
In the words of Javier Alexis Agudelo Avendaño (La búsqueda de Dios una experiencia de amor y misericordia. Una aproximación desde San Agustín) “Solitude, silence, and prayer are essential conditions for journeying into the depths of the heart.
Solitude does not mean fleeing from others but creating a unique space to encounter oneself and, in turn, encounter God. Solitude involves courageously confronting the mystery of one’s being, which is often difficult to accept. This mystery can only be embraced with the heart.
Silence opens up access to one’s inner world, with its sorrows and joys, its hidden hopes and disappointments. Solitude and silence allow the heart to express its deepest dimensions, creating time and space for a new encounter with God.”
The essence of the Recollection lies in being docile to the Holy Spirit. This openness to being guided by the Spirit is fundamental to our life as pilgrims of faith. It also calls us to be creative in living out our charism and responding to the needs of others.
For us, prayer and interiority do not isolate ourselves; on the contrary, for Augustinian Recollects, prayer involves seeing God in others. God, the Supreme Truth, is revealed especially through acts of fraternal love: “Love your brother. For if you love your brother whom you see, in them you will also see God” (1 Jn 4:20-21) tor you will see the same love, and within love dwells God.
— Weavers of Hope
The non-conformism that characterized the first Recollects are essential for understanding the journey of every Christian as a pilgrim. Being pilgrims of hope challenges us to transform ourselves and our surroundings, just as those friars sought a life of greater holiness and dedication to God.
The spiritual and communal intensity of the Recollection is something we wish to share with the lay people surrounding us so that, in a world succumbing to mediocrity, we may live a vibrant, committed, and transformative faith.
Pope Francis, during the closing Mass of the Synod, urged the Church to listen to humanity’s cries: “Not a Church seated, but a Church standing. Not a silent Church, but one that hears the cry of humanity. Not a blind Church, but one illuminated by Christ, bringing the light of the Gospel to others. Not a static Church, but a missionary Church, walking with the Lord along the world’s paths.”
On this 436th Anniversary of the Augustinian Recollection, I also invite all the Augustinian Recollect Family to weave, together and with threads of hope, a more fraternal fair, and compassionate society. Let us strive for a world moved by mercy, forgiveness, and solidarity, inspired by the God who became man to sow hope in every human heart.
In our quest for a more intense and committed existence, let us allow our identity, as pilgrims of hope, to guide each of our steps, every one of our actions, and all of our encounters, turning the Gathering into a beacon of faith and transformation.
