For Augustine, obedience was always an action of Christian love.
Through religious obedience, an Augustinian offers the dedication of his or her will as a sacrifice to God.
In this way, the person is joined to the will of Jesus, and is more fully intimate with Christ, who became obedient event unto death (Philippians 2:8).
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, religious submit themselves in faith to their superiors, and through them are guided to serve other people in the name of Christ.
Grounded in faith and strengthened through the sacrifice of self, obedience is an effective expression of love towards both God and the superior.
This submission is not the loss of freedom but rather the fulfillment of freedom.
In his
Enarrationes in Psalmos 99.7 (PL 37, 1275), on Psalm 99 Augustine wrote, "Submission to God is a free act; a free submission, where not necessity but love, is the servant… Let love make you a servant, because the truth has set you free."
In keeping with this, the
Rule of Augustine invokes its followers to obey "not as slaves living under the law but as persons living in freedom under grace.
Religious obedience is important in a Christian community.
The harmony that results in the community should witness to all other people as an example of the love that should exist among all followers of Christ, and as a special sign of the presence of God.
In Letter 108, Augustine said that "love guarded by fraternal accord covers a multitude of errors."
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