We invite you to discover Venerable Augustine John Ukken through his words, which beckon us to place love at the very heart of our lives.

Augustine John Ukken (1880–1956), Syro-Malabar Indian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity, was a radiant witness of God’s mercy. Born in Parappur, Kerala, he was orphaned at the age of six, an experience he transformed into total trust in God as Father and Mary as Mother. After formation at the Papal Seminary in Kandy, he was ordained in 1907 and devoted his life to the poor, especially in Chowannur, where he became a father to orphans, a comforter of the sick, and a friend of exploited farmers. His spirituality centered on the Eucharist, the Sacred Heart, and humble self-giving. His constant motto was: “To love is your duty; let no one surpass you in loving.” In 1944 he founded the Sisters of Charity to continue his charism of merciful service. Both mystical and active, he was contemplative before the tabernacle and tireless in action, accepting trials as a way of sharing in Christ’s passion. He died in Chowannur in 1956, leaving behind a legacy of limitless love and unwavering trust in divine providence.

Text of Augustine John Ukken:

Love your God with your whole-heart that is the greatest and the first precept. Oh how easy to love! But to love and for that he has disposed our faculty or heart! Who can love anything else when he knows the worth of God? This is the beginning and final end of everything! If we love here below our life in heaven [is] only a continuation. The second—love your neighbour like yourself! […] Give me my good God true charity for my brothers! In this the whole laws and all the prophets are contained! How easy the construction of our spiritual edifice! Only look at these two! Let me begin to live according to these precepts!

– Augustine John Ukken, Lights from Heaven, September 9, 1903.

Commentary:

This passage offers us the very heartbeat of Augustine John Ukken’s spirituality: love of God and love of neighbor. Augustine knew poverty, loss, and abandonment from his earliest years. Orphaned at six, he could have lived bitterly, but instead he chose to root his life in the commandment of love. His words echo Christ’s own summary of the law in Matthew 22:37–40: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind… and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Augustine marvels at the simplicity and depth of this call: “Oh how easy to love!… This is the beginning and final end of everything!” For him, love is not an abstract ideal but the foundation and goal of Christian life. Everything else is secondary. He insists that our heart was made precisely to love, and that once we recognize the worth of God, we cannot truly give ourselves to anything else.

The “construction of our spiritual edifice” may look daunting, but at its core it rests on two pillars—God and neighbor. Augustine finds joy in this clarity. Where many see endless rules or spiritual burdens, he sees simplicity: look only at these two, and the rest falls into place.

Notice also his prayer: “Give me my good God true charity for my brothers!” This prayer flows naturally from the commandment. To love God is inseparable from loving others. Augustine does not pretend he can do it on his own but asks for God’s grace, recognizing charity as a gift poured into the heart by the Spirit: “hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rom 5:5).

For us today, this is both liberating and challenging. Liberating, because it reminds us that holiness is not about complex systems or unattainable achievements—it is about love. Challenging, because love demands totality. To love God with all our heart excludes half-hearted devotion. To love our neighbor as ourselves requires us to confront selfishness, prejudice, and comfort.

Augustine’s words also reveal his eschatological hope: “If we love here below, our life in heaven [is] only a continuation.” For him, heaven is not a rupture but the fulfillment of love already lived on earth. Eternity begins now, in acts of charity, mercy, and devotion. This insight transforms our view of daily life: every act of love participates already in the life of heaven.

In the Vincentian tradition, we are reminded constantly that “love is inventive unto infinity” (St. Vincent de Paul). Love of God and neighbor is never static but always creative, finding ways to reach those who are most abandoned. Augustine lived this invention in his priesthood, in his founding of the Sisters of Charity, and in his pastoral service to the poor of Kerala.

His testimony calls us to examine our own hearts. Do we complicate our spirituality with distractions, when in fact the call is simple: love God, love neighbor? Do we seek love as a sentiment, or do we allow it to become concrete charity, zealous for the good of others? Augustine’s prayer for “true charity” must become ours.

At the end of his text, he resolves: “Let me begin to live according to these precepts!” The exclamation is significant. He does not want merely to meditate, but to begin. His spirituality is practical, concrete, action-oriented—entirely in line with the Vincentian charism.

May we, like Augustine, rediscover the liberating simplicity of the Gospel. The whole law, the prophets, and our entire spiritual edifice rest on two loves: God above all, and neighbor as ourselves. Let us begin anew each day, not only to know this truth, but to live it.