“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

Perhaps Augustine’s most often quoted phrase, it captures something that resonates deep within the human person.

Restlessness – that desire to be filled and fulfilled. We all have it. We try to ignore at times, but still it remains. And we Augustinians believe that it can direct us to God. Are you restless? Do you have the desire to live in a community of friends that is Christ-centered and to bring that same desire to others?

Augustinians take our cues from Saint Augustine of Hippo, the 5th century bishop in North Africa and Father of the Church. What was essential to Augustine when he gathered the first members of his community was capturing the spirit of the first Christians found in the Acts of the Apostles: a community that came together and shared all things in common, all the while ministering to God’s People. Our common life is built on mutual acceptance and respect, kindness and concern, as well as a willingness to listen to others and to open oneself to them.

Restlessness is a key aspect to our life together, igniting our common search for God through our prayer, community life, and ministry.

Augustinian spirituality is a unique lens through which one can discover God. Stemming from Saint Augustine’s own life, his writings, and his teachings, Augustinian spirituality can largely be summed up as the act of journeying together in search of the truth that is God. This journey, as Augustine’s own life gives example, was not merely acommunal and internal journey toward God, but rather a communal and outward journey. Augustine took scripture as a guide for truth, and specifically followed the example of the first Christian community described in the Acts of the Apostles. As such, he and the communities in which he lived followed Christ’s outward model of love through service to others.

After a person has contacted and met with the vocation director, and explored more in depth a possible call to the Augustinian way of life, he may be invited by the vocation director to make an application for entrance into the community. Once accepted, the candidate begins a seven-year formation process, of continual, ongoing discernment into our way of life, as he is drawn deeper by God into discovering his call.