Juan Manuel Ramirez Sixtos introduced his conference with the affirmation that man is a pilgrim, who is open to the infinite and whose final destiny is not in this world; that in this continuous journey God calls him by name and to be free for the mission of salvation in love.
Following the outline of the book, Psychology of the Experience of God written by the Jesuit MihalySzentmartoni, Juan Manuel presented varied spiritual itineraries of innumerable persons who, within the Church and through centuries, journeyed toward God and who left to us the historico-spiritual testimony of their experience. Sts. Theresa of the Child Jesus, Gregory of Nyssa, Thomas Aquinas, Ignacio of Loyola, and John of the Cross, for example. St. Theresa of Jesus, EvagrioPontico, Fr. Charles A. Bernard, St. Bonaventure were also presented…
Although Juan Manuel centered his talks on the person of St. Augustine whose journey was presented in six stages. Augustine returned first to himself and afterwards, as if by divine command, turned to search for his mission in the experience of alienation from God, the agony of growing closer to and the joyful possession of God …which is tantamount to living away from God, searching for God, and enjoying union with God. Only then willthe Bishop of Hippo live love the rest of his life, since only in God who is love will all his actions find their meaning in this journey of salvation.
Fr. Juan underscored the fact that the Augustinian itinerary cannot be understood as linear, but as an ascending road that leads to God. In the journey it is necessary to continually renew intention, confirm decisions, and revise plans – discard whatever is useless and what makes the journey burdensome – because spiritual life must all the time be dynamic. We pray that we be able to read our own story in the life of St. Augustine, and that his experience serve as motive in order for us to take the risk of venturing into profound experiences of radically following Christ, who calls continually now as before with unique and unrepeatable love.
New Speaker
On the last day of the course the community of Tlaxcala welcomed the superior of the Mexican OAR religious, Fr. Carlos Gonzalez. Fr. Carlos expounded, during the last talks in the morning of the last day, on “Love in the Augustinian Spirituality.” He focused on God, the beginning and end of love, and on the neighbor and the self in God. The Holy Eucharist concluded the course.
It was agreed that the three monasteries of the cloistered Mexican Augustinian Recollects, the three communities of thehuastecashidalguense and potosina: Macuxtepetla, Jalpan and Ahuacatlan, will gather anew in this same convent mentioned last in the month of July for another course of formation. This time it will be directed by Fr. Carlos Gonzalez and it will also last for a week.