The second day of the 32nd Augustinian Classroom of Education 2026 began at 8:30 PM with the celebration of the Eucharist, presided over by Fr. Carlos González Castellanos, OAR, Provincial Prior of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino.
At least 20 priests and more than 400 teachers from the schools of the Augustinian Family in Spain, who are taking part in this training gathering, participated in the celebration. The Mass was offered in thanksgiving for the Augustinian Classroom, asking the Lord to open schools to new technologies and gratefully remembering the educators who have gone before in the Augustinian educational mission in our country.
Lent: a time of conversion and learning from the Master
In his homily, Fr. Carlos placed the celebration within the context of Lent, which began last Ash Wednesday. He recalled that this liturgical season is, above all, an invitation to conversion—not because it is something new in Christian life, but because the Church asks us to intensify it as a path toward Easter.
The model and companion on this journey is the Master, Jesus. Conversion means learning from His way of thinking, feeling, and acting. Jesus presented a way of life—the Beatitudes—as a path to happiness founded on charity. His compassionate and merciful heart, capable of empathy and service, becomes a point of reference for every Christian educator.
“He went about doing good,” the Provincial Prior recalled. That is the measure of the disciple: to affirm everything that gives life and to remove whatever wounds or destroys.
The desert as a return to the heart
Another central theme of the homily was the invitation to “go into the desert,” understanding it not as a physical place, but as a return to interiority. In the Augustinian key, the heart is the home of values, the place where the inner Master teaches and guides.
Saint Augustine—explicitly invoked—taught the wisdom of interiority: living from conscience, with responsible management of feelings and a freedom oriented toward the good. From there springs a life that grows and bears fruit.
Lent, Fr. Carlos noted, is also a time to strengthen one’s relationship with God through prayer. Following the Augustinian tradition, he recalled that prayer rises on two “wings”: fasting and almsgiving. Humility, charity, forgiveness, and temperance accompany this spiritual practice that transforms the heart.
Overcoming temptations with prudence
The homily also addressed the reality of temptation, present in the life of every believer. Jesus did not eliminate temptation, but He showed the way to overcome it: to remain in the Father’s will.
The Provincial Prior recalled the three symbolic temptations of the Gospel: the desire for comfort without effort, the illusion of independence from God, and the temptation of power that imposes one’s own vision without dialogue. Overcoming them requires an encounter with God, grace, and discernment.
By way of a teaching example, he shared a simple parable: a wise old man had to choose a driver from among four candidates. Three boasted of their skill driving along the edge of a cliff; the fourth assured him that he would keep as far from the ravine as possible. It was the latter who was chosen. Prudence—not showmanship—is the mature attitude in the face of risk.
Thanksgiving and sending forth
The celebration concluded with the Provincial’s thanks to all the teachers who share our charism in the classroom, and he asked them to continue proclaiming Christ wherever they can.
In the context of the Augustinian Classroom, this missionary sending forth is a gesture of thanksgiving and responsibility for teachers. Openness to new technologies and today’s educational challenges cannot be separated from a solid spiritual root. To innovate without interiority would be to risk the precipice; to integrate technology and faith from the heart is to walk with prudence.
The Eucharist, the center and summit of the day, reminded all participants that pedagogical renewal begins with personal conversion. Only from a heart inhabited by God can an education be born that transforms lives.
