Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today the entire Augustinian Family rejoices and celebrates with confidence the memory of these two great saints who are the mother and father of all those who live our Augustinian spirituality.
As we continue our pilgrimage through this world, we welcome the gifts left to us while they lived on this earth, convinced that their example will be for us a source of life and continuous renewal as believers and religious.

Among these gifts I insist on that of prayer because, as Jesus said: "Ask and you will receive, knock and it will be opened to you. For whoever asks receives, and to the one who knocks the door shall be opened". Saint Monica, our Mother, was an example of trust in God and, today, in this world of ours where we are continually invited only to look at material and temporal things, we need to turn our eyes to heaven, to God the Father, to set our absolute trust in Him. And thus, the giver of all good things, our merciful Father, will listen to our supplications and satisfy us with his goodness.
St. Augustine, son of his mother's tears, of her prayer, is an example for us of God's many gifts. But, in this brief greeting, I want to highlight especially his life as an existential pilgrim, his conversion to God, his total dedication to Christ and his reflections and writings we have as our spiritual inheritance.
Whoever wants to know Augustine is called to enter deeply into his works. One cannot know his spiritual path, his essence as a pilgrim, his interiority,without knowing his writings. Those called to study them are those who wish to live their spirituality, that is the entire Augustinian Family. In particular, however, are those who prepare themselves as religious to be teachers and put their teachings into practice.
I invite all the brothers and sisters of the Order to devote much time to the study and knowledge of the works and writings of our Father. It will be a treasure in the exercise of your interiority and fraternity, in the apostolate as religious and in ministry.

In Monica and Augustine, we put our trust and we welcome their blessings so that they continue to protect us and intercede for us, their children, before the Father. We pilgrimage under the weight of our weaknesses and aspire to enjoy all the eternal rewards with them one day.
My best wishes, and those of the General Council, I extend to all of you.

Rome, 27 August 2019
P. Alejandro Moral Antón
Prior General, OSA