BEC Revival in Burgos, Siargao Island: A pastoral reflection of faith and experience of Summer 2011

 The Augustinian missionary presence in Burgos is embodied in the persons of Rev. Fr. Benjamin Unabia, OSA (Parish Priest/Prior) and Rev. Fr. Leonard Realiza, OSA (Asst. Parish Priest). These two friars cater to the various needs of the Catholic faithful. There’s a consciousness among the people of Burgos that their faith is an inseparable part of their lives. The people love their parish and recognize it as a community where they can...

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Zambales Exposure: A Pre-taste of Missionary Life

     The Catholic Church has always been more than consistent with her teachings on the dignity of the human person not simply in terms of humanitarian purposes but precisely on the basis of man’s being God’s image and likeness. The Church is greatly convinced that the poor in particular need special attention.             The plight of the natives of Botolan, Zambales...

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Reasons Why They Came: The Case of the Augustinians in the Philippines

What brought the Augustinians to the Philippines? This brief and simple article is an attempt to demonstrate the arrival and to clarify the reasons why the Augustinians came to the country. (This article largely contains excerpts from the History of the Order of St. Augustine written by David Gutierrez.) The period between about 1500 and 1750 brought a dramatic change in world history. During this time, Christianity became the first religion to...

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THE AUGUSTINIAN EMBLEM

THE AUGUSTINIAN EMBLEM The emblem of the Order of Saint Augustine is a flaming heart pierced by an arrow (1) on the background of an open book. The open book suggests a dedication to intellectual searching or study; the pursuit of knowledge, both divine and earthly.Saint Augustine is often portrayed holding a flaming heart to indicate his great personal charity and the fact that he preached love of neighbour as the way to serve God. In the emblem...

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Earliest Philippine-born Augustinians

Earliest Philippine-born Augustinians   Augustinians began living in Intramuros in 1571. The monastery there was designated an Augustinian novitiate on 30th March 1575 (and still serves in that capacity once again).   In 1576, the first person to complete his one-year novitiate there was Juan de Penalosa O.S.A. in 1576.   As had happened similar novitiates in Goa and in Mexico City, the early entrants were Europeans. In...

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Augustinians in the Philippines in 1900s and the growth of Filipino vocations

Augustinians in the Philippines in 1900s and the growth of Filipino vocations     Within a few short years of 1898, the Philippines Province had only a tenth of the houses in the Philippines that it had possessed there before the revolution.   In the Philippines the Order retained only a few parishes, including their main foundations in Cebu and Manila and Iloilo (where the Colégio San Agustin began in 1904.   It grew...

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Augustinian Trivia

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