Augustinian Educational Centers: Venue for Evangelization

Introduction

On so many occasions, I had a chance to be asked what indeed are the peculiar characteristics our University possesses that she can be so distinctly distinguished from other schools, especially from those, who like us, profess the very same Catholic faith. This question surely has been persistently asked to the Augustinian friars, especially to those assigned in schools of the Order. I remember, sometime in the 80’s, it was a common question asked to the different religious congregations administering schools while they were in search for their own identity in the field of education brought about by educational assessment and accreditation. Even at this time, the question is still relevant. And it needs a clear answer. This means that there are still some, if not many, who would be interested to have the question answered. I suppose, this question of school identity will be often asked as it is closely connected to the work of evangelization of the Order.

The Mission to Evangelize

In the past, the word evangelization was applied in a very limited sense. It exclusively refers to the missionary works of priests and religious to preach the Gospel for the first time to faraway places. Nowadays, evangelization connotes a more comprehensive meaning: as a dynamic process that embraces all the actions of the Church and even includes the various complimentary elements that are mutually enriching, such as: 1) to announce to the whole world the Good News of the Reign of God; 2) to witness among men a new way of being and living that the reign of God requires; 3) to educate in the faith all those who are converted to Him; 4) to celebrate in the community of believers, by means of the liturgy and sacraments, of the presence of the risen Lord and the gift of His Spirit; and 5) to renew humanity, pervading and transforming with the strength of the Gospel the criteria, values, structures and models of life which are contrary to the reign of God. Aware of this etymological evolution and practice of evangelization, the Order acknowledges this holistic view of evangelization.

As previously published in another issue of this paper, the Augustinian Order has a keen and great interest on the role of her educational institutions in their work of evangelization. Since her foundation in 1244, the Order has already been committed to the life of study. Augustine of Ancona, a great Augustinian theologian of the fourteenth century, says that the primary motive of the Church in fostering the orders of apostolic fraternity was “that the brothers, through their dedication to the study of the sacred sciences, might enlighten others with true doctrine.” (Rano, 96) This means, therefore, that this obligation of the friars to devote themselves to study was to share to others the benefits of their efforts. This is what evangelization means for the Order. To make her educational apostolate more relevant, the Order has always been guided by several pontifical documents.

One of these is the declaration on Christian education, proclaimed by Pope Paul VI in 1965, commonly known as Gravissimum Educationis. It has considered with care how extremely important education is in the life of man and how its influence ever grows in the social progress of this age. It declares that Catholic educational centers are privileged places of evangelization.

It affirms that “the vocation of all those who aid parents in fulfi lling their duties and who …undertake the task of education in schools is a beautiful and truly solemn one.”

Cognizant of this Church’s document, the Order acknowledges her greatest esteem for the educational apostolate and considers it as one of her special duties giving flesh to what St. Augustine says,”… so that we teach the truth with love.” (Homilies on the Gospel of John 7) Ten years after, the same Pope issued Evangelii Nuntiandi, an apostolic exhortation on evangelization in the modern world. The document points out that evangelization must touch life… to educate people in the Faith. The document says “The Church is an evangelizer, but she begins by being evangelized herself… this means that she has a constant need of being evangelized, if she wishes to retain freshness, vigor and strength in order to proclaim the Gospel.” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 15).

Consistent with the Church’s directives, should the Order, through its educational centers, wish to evangelize in an Augustinian way, she should relentlessly aspire to be evangelized. This she can do by going back to her Augustinian roots, the saint’s voluminous writings, the Order’s history, her culture and tradition. This was precisely the personal admonition of the author of these two very important Church’s documents when he visited the Augustinians in Rome on the occasion of the inauguration of the Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum, a very famous institute for patristic studies run by the Order.

To address these important concerns we face in our school apostolate, let us recall the General Chapter in 1989. During this significant event in the life of the Order, the participants to this Chapter laid out comprehensive programs of governance to make herself relevant in the service of the Church. The said initiatives were followed up in many gatherings of the Order in different places. For example, the Order has to examine the present times as a means of re-strengthening the work of evangelization.

The Order is convinced that as part of the Church, she shares the same world to evangelize. Thus, should the Church need to dialogue and commune with the present realities, so does the Order. By doing so, the Order, side by side the Church, can look for common references, essential as they are, that would lead her to a renewed understanding of the various changes that are taking place in our present world.

The Commission on Education

Few years back the Order, through the Commission on Education, evaluated her educational centers where she is present. The Order has more than one hundred (100) schools and educational centers that are owned or that are associated with the Order from various parts of the world to carry out her tasks. The members of the Commission, at one point, ask themselves seriously if their educational centers responsibly assume their commitment to evangelization. Further, they discussed if these are indeed on the right track to the works of evangelization. The Commission is convinced that St. Augustine has much to offer through these centers.

St. Augustine has been exposed to a kind of pedagogy that provided students with so much help or information that they do not need to think for themselves. This type of learning, opines the saint, left the students passive and dependent. In one of his sermons, he compares a human person to a seed who has the capacity to develop on its own, “because God was determined to plant in every single soul the seeds of understanding, the basic elements of wisdom” (Sermon 117, 11). And he speaks of the duties of an exterior teacher (parents, teachers, etc.) whose function is to let students find their way to free their hidden potentials. Accordingly, it was through this way of thinking that St. Augustine experienced intimacy with his various feelings, the restlessness and search which at the end brought him to the encounter with God.

As evangelizers through the school apostolate, the Augustinians are mindful that education as a term and idea covers the whole person and involves the whole educative community. Since it covers the whole person and involves the whole community, it does not only communicate culture but needs the support of faith; thus, it awakens social responsibility. And to present a clear Augustinian alternative to the world of education, it demands a life and energy of a community to produce and discharge our spirit. It is in this manner that our educational alternative differs from others because it is an offshoot of a community act that professes and proclaims certain concrete values.

The University of San Agustin

In the Philippines, reflective of the Church’s gospel imperative, Catholic schools are undoubtedly very important in the continuous work of evangelization and re-evangelization of the country. In fact, in 1941, a national association of Catholic schools, known as the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) was formed to advance and promote the teaching function of the Church.

The missionary works of the Augustinian Order in organizing basic ecclesial communities, building churches and parish rectories were accompanied by setting up basic education for children. In this part of the country, she put up a school at the beginning of the 20th century that later evolved into a University. The presence of the University of San Agustin then, represents the Church’s original contribution to the cultural dialogue and even appears as an educational alternative within a pluralistic society.

The University is an instrument of the Church where faith and reason, rather than adversaries, complement each other. This is to be faithful to St. Augustine’s thought that faith and secular culture come together, and so, in any educative process. Thus, even the Constitutions of the Order would affirm that service to culture is one of her important missions, a culture that has to be carved in an Augustinian way.

As the biggest school of the Order in the country, the University is responsible to spearhead the initiative to promote whatever identity she claims derived from St. Augustine in the fi eld of education. But it requires enrichment through fraternal interchange of human resources, material and facilities among members of the Order. If this is properly attended to, then the Order’s evangelization works become clear to our school’s clientele.

As the fi rst in Western Visayas, the University is an active member of several associations of Catholic schools such as the Association of Catholic Universities in the Philippines (ACUP), the Association of Southeast and East Asian Catholic Colleges and Universities (ASEACCU), the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU) and the CEAP. In fact, as a leading Catholic institution, she has in several occasions served the CEAP in many and different capacities, including that of a regional head. In spite of these affi liations, still the University has certain uniqueness to offer her clientele.

It is clear then, that as an Augustinian educational center, the University is not only an evangelizer who shares common grounds with the rest of the Catholic schools but possesses other qualities that she can consider uniquely her own. These are offshoots of gospel values, but then become Augustinian, on the basis of what reflective faith-experience and meaning St. Augustine attached to them.

Following the cultural and educative tradition of the Church and our Patron, it is imperative that as Augustinian educators, whether in and outside the classrooms, and as professionals, we have to present the characteristics belonging exclusively to an Augustinian educational institution, its inspiration and pedagogy. It is about stating clearly what indeed an Augustinian educational identity is. Thus, they become educational alternatives to our contemporary society.

Rev. Fr. Raul M. Marchan, O.S.A.
President, University of San Agustin