‘I was ready to be formed in the school of love.’

Fr. Jack Tierney, O.S.A., was recently featured in Columbia Magazine, the magazine of the Knights of Columbus. This article appeared in the July 2026 issue of Columbia and is reprinted with permission of the Knights of Columbus, New Haven, Connecticut.

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(Photo by Jacob Wiegand)

As a young man growing up in Wisconsin, I found myself longing for eternal truth. But like so many others, I sought satisfaction in things that do not last. Eventually, I learned about religious communities online and began to discern what God was working on in my heart.

St. Augustine of Hippo was a companion who taught me that our task as Christians is to love rightly. When I first visited the Augustinians, I was struck by their joy, friendship and zeal. I wanted to share in that way of life, and they invited me to join them. With the Holy Spirit’s inspiration and a dose of humility, I was ready to be formed in the school of love.

Our charism is lived through interiority and friendship. Cultivating the interior life is a treasure, where we discover our restless heart and God’s grace guiding us in conversion. This gift is shared in community, where we grow in accountability, charity and joy. Together, we search for God, who alone can fulfill the deepest desires of the human heart.

Father Jack Tierney

Order of St. Augustine

Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel

Tulsa, Oklahoma