WHO ARE THE AUGUSTINIAN MONKS AND WHAT IS THEIR VOCATION
The Augustinian Monks of the Primitive Observance is a monastic community of Roman Catholic men, following the example of the fourth-century monk, priest and bishop, St. Augustine of Hippo, and living under his monastic Rule. Monasticism is a treasured heritage of the Catholic Faith and has vitalized the Church since ancient times. Augustine cultivated the seed of monasticism in the West, and saw the primitive Christian community, as painted in Acts 2:42-47, as the ideal for monasteries. His Holy Rule begins, "You have come together to be one in mind and heart, intent upon God." (Rule 1:3).
St. Augustine found that the answer to his restless heart was falling in love with the Lord Himself. After his conversion in 386, St. Augustine, along with his beloved friend St. Alypius, his son Adeodatus and others, embraced the monastic life, living simply in common with his brothers, apart from the world. Being one in mind and heart, they searched for God through the study of Scripture, the prayer of contemplation, and the punctuation of the day with the celebration of the Church's Liturgy. This is the life the monks seek to embrace with St. Augustine. Since the time of St. Augustine himself there have been monks, nuns, friars, sisters, and hermits who have followed his Rule and his example.
The most important factor in the life of the monk is prayer. The source and summit of each day is the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours at several appointed times throughout the day is integral to the monastic life. Rising early every day, the monks praise God in chant and intercede for the needs of the Church and the world, especially for all priests. Each day we offer our prayers and sacrifices for the salvation of all as we remember those who have asked us to pray for their physical, mental and spiritual health. We receive calls, letters and emails from people all over the world requesting our prayers. We especially keep those in DeLand, at St. Peter's and in our Diocese of Orlando in our prayers and sacrifices. Silent meditation and the reading of Holy Scripture, "Lectio Divina," are a sacred part of the life of contemplation. These allow the monk time to realize a deeper sense of the Lord's presence, listening to his voice and drawing ever closer to Him.
Relying completely on Divine Providence, we support ourselves with our prayer enrollment cards, our small gift shop, donations, and fundraisers. We are very grateful for the generosity of those who sacrifice in order to help us in our monastic life.
Augustinians Monks of the Primitive Observance consecrate their monastic vocation to the care and protection of the Mother of God. They constantly invoke her powerful intercession for all those entrusted to their prayers, all who have asked for their intercession and for all priests. Our monastery, dedicated to the Mother of God under the titular of Mother of the Good Shepherd, is situated in the hamlet of Glenwood in DeLand, Florida. The monks are bound by the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience; we have a special charism to pray for and serve priests. Because we are in a new location, we are striving to build a chapel and guest house and to convert our existing buildings into a suitable Monastery.
We are at Mother of the Good Shepherd Monastery, 2075 Mercers Fernery Road, DeLand, Florida, 32720. Our telephone number is 386.327-2772, and our email addresses are monks@augustinianmonks.com and osaprimmonks@gmail.com. We are also on the web at www.osaprim.org. We do ask you to call before visiting since we are a small community and do not always have someone available to meet with visitors.
"Lord, let my whole heart be inflamed with love for you, let nothing in me belong to me and let me have no thought for myself; let me burn and be wholly consumed in you; let me love you with my whole being as one set on fire by you." (Saint Augustine of Hippo)
