ORDER OF THE DISCALCED AUGUSTINIANS - OAD Asia

In the journey of the Church, the Liturgy and the pious exercises mutually illumine one another. If the Liturgy is the summit and the source of the Christian life, the pious exercises constitute its vital prolongation in the daily life of the faithful and, in a particular way, in the religious life of the Discalced Augustinians. In this issue of Presenza Agostiniana, we have wished to dwell precisely upon this fruitful relationship, so dear to the tradition of our Order.

The celebration of the Paschal Mystery of Christ, the heart of the Liturgy, is a living reality that asks to be interiorized, assimilated, and lived. From this arises the authentic value of the pious exercises: they help to root in the heart that which the Liturgy celebrates sacramentally. In this perspective, the articles proceed from a theological and liturgical approach so as to arrive at their expression in the religious life, wherein the pious exercises have developed in a personal and communal dimension, both in communion with the Chris an people and in a specific manner within our spirituality.

This issue, therefore, intends to be not only a theoretical deepening, but also a concrete invitation to recover spaces of silence, of listening, and of interiority, in which the grace celebrated in the Liturgy may become lived life. As sons of Saint Augus ne, we know that the heart of the human being is restless un l it rests in God. The pious exercises, lived in harmony with the Liturgy, thus become simple and profound ways to orient the heart toward Him who is our only good.