Our Augustinian Commitment to Education
by Fr. Richie Mercado, O.S.A.
St. Augustine was well known for so many things—a great convert, a fearless bishop who defended the church against heresies, a scholar and theologian who produced many writings that helped advance the teachings of the church. But one thing about Augustine that is sometimes forgotten and overlooked is the fact that he was also well known to be a restless searcher for truth—truth about life in general.
St. Augustine's life was marked by a restless searching for truth, and as he was converted to Catholicism and then founded his monastic community, a love for learning was a natural component.
Since then, from the beginnings of the Order to today, we have devoted our resources, both personnel and financial, to building the kingdom of God with our educational apostolate.
It is in this context that the Augustinian Order continues to commit itself to an Augustinian Catholic education in the twenty-first century. Our academic institutions exist with the purpose of educating young men and women in the Roman Catholic tradition based on the values and teachings of St. Augustine.
The Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel currently has a relationship with five secondary educational institutions: 1.) St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago, IL; 2.) Cascia Hall Preparatory School in Tulsa, OK; 3.) Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, IL; 4.) Austin Catholic High School in Chesterfield, MI; and 5.) St. Thomas of Villanova College in King City, ON (Canada).
We continue to commit ourselves to maintain and support our secondary education apostolate to the degree possible considering our present personnel and resources. Although our relationship with all of them are one and the same (based on Truth, Unity, and Love), our level of commitment to each of them varies. The province has a commitment to provide staffing, both for administration and faculty positions, to St. Rita of Cascia High School, Cascia Hall Preparatory School, and Providence Catholic High School.
However, the province currently does not have a commitment to provide staffing for Austin Catholic High School and St. Thomas of Villanova College even though they are recognized as Augustinian schools and are visited annually by the Director of Augustinian Mission and Ministry.
Nevertheless, all of these five schools are members of the Augustinian Secondary Education Association (ASEA) where they are expected to participate in the ASEA activities, meetings of Heads of Schools, the Augustinian Values Institutes, and Student Augustinian Values Institutes.
Through ASEA, they all have access to various resources for the advancement of the Augustinian charism and values (Truth, Unity and Love), for the promotion of secondary education as a vital and proper ministry of the Order, and for assuring authentic Augustinian identity all the schools under the our care.
The province continues to be committed to secondary education apostolate. In as much as we value the sustainability of our schools, we also prioritize the sustainability of the province. Because of the decrease in the number of Augustinians in the province, coupled with the increasing need to provide for the elderly friars and to guide young men in formation, we work tirelessly to gather the financial resources necessary to be sustainable in the future. In order for us to continue maintaining and supporting our schools, we have to be sustainable in vocations and formation for future staffing in our schools.
In order for us to continue educating young men and women in the Roman Catholic tradition based on the values and teachings of St. Augustine, we have to be sustainable in our governance and operations as a province for continued existence. Using innovative legislation, the province has moved towards sustainability in the future.
In the ordinary provincial chapter of 2014, the province passed a law on Augustinian Heritage Support. This law requires the schools that we staff (St. Rita of Cascia High School, Cascia Hall Preparatory School, and Providence Catholic High School) to include in t h e i r annual budget an amount agreed between the province and the schools for the support of the province (Province Statutes, 505).
These schools, which have enjoyed many benefits of Augustinian leadership and sponsorship throughout the history of the province, are now directly involved in our path to sustainability in the future through their financial support as they recognize the investment of the province and the many individual friars to them in the course of the history of the province through direct financial support, long term subsidies, contributed services, and minimal salaries.
The world has changed. The reality of the province today is different. The challenges continue to evolve. What we can provide in terms of personnel may no longer be the same. But the province remains committed to continue building up the kingdom of God through our educational apostolate. We remain committed to journey with young men and women as they seek the Truth (Christ himself) through educating them in the Roman Catholic tradition based on the values and teachings of St. Augustine.