After the celebration of the 56th General Chapter and the Provincial Chapters during 2022, the year 2023 will be the occasion to promote and implement all that has been shared, discerned and decided at the general, provincial and local levels. It will be an opportunity to continue walking together, deepening our vision, mission and values, and making our way together with all the lay people who live our charism with passion.
The year 2023 will also be special for the universal Church because of the celebration, in October, of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, under the title For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission. It is important that, as an Order, we join the synodal dynamic by walking together with the particular Churches where we are present and in which, from our charism, we can contribute so much.
Uniting both perspectives, that of the Order and that of the Church, the Prior General and his Council propose the slogan Together as the motto for the year 2023. It is a simple word full of meaning, which connects perfectly with the Augustinian Recollect charism, inviting us to live the Gospel in community and to develop our mission by strengthening what most unites us: “one soul and one heart directed towards God” (Rule 1,2). Based on the common proposal of the motto Together, we invite you to apply it creatively in the different contexts, ministries, activities and organizations that give life to the Order. Let us think of dynamic ways to implement it in the parish apostolate, education, social apostolate, vocational accompaniment, youth ministry, ongoing formation, etc. There are many possibilities for deepening and living this year together.
This logo can be used integrated in posters or other visual proposals that help us to present the slogan and share it in our communities and ministries. Let us make it present in every possible way to join efforts in our Life and Mission Project.
We trust that this initiative of a common motto, which we have been sharing since previous years, will help us to deepen the importance of walking together for the Augustinian Recollects. Likewise, we encourage provinces, organisms of the Order, communities, ministries, religious, FSAR and JAR to seek creative ways to incarnate this motto in our life and mission.
Miguel Ángel Hernández OAR
Prior General
