Beatitudes of The Holy Family

1.       For those people who wish to live a concrete commitment to the Community of the Beatitudes without living-in, the Community offers the statute of "Beatitudes of the Holy Family" (BHF). This means being a member of the Beatitudes family, living in direct relationship with the Community. The commitment as a member of the BHF is a personal one.

2.       A member of the BHF may be a family or a single person. If several members live in close geographical proximity, they could develop a fraternal link. They may not form an autonomous group except in the case of an apostolic work shared in common, which will be a mission entrusted to them by the Community. In this case, an internal charter could be useful, which will be discussed with and approved by, the local Provincial.

3.       The specific vocation of a BHF member in the heart of the Beatitudes family, is one of prayer, of sharing, and of service through a mission received from the Community or the Church (at a local or diocesan level). This mission is expressed in a Mission Statement, and is lived-out in submission to this statement in the heart of the Church and in the world, in the spirit of the Beatitudes. In this way, the members of affiliation will be an extension of the residential expression of the Community, present in the world. They will therefore have a heart for making the Community known - its spirituality and apostolates - in the area where they live.

4.       Each affiliated BHF member, the member's mission, and the way in which it is lived-out, will be placed under the authority of a Shepherd of one of the Community's houses, chosen by the Provincial, or under the authority of another person mandated by the Provincial. The above mentioned people will maintain contact, if necessary, with those responsible in the Church affected by the mission.

5.       The BHF member's vocation and commitment to the Beatitudes family will be discerned by the Provincial, in conjunction with the Shepherd or another person mandated by the Shepherd. The member will be honest and open with the Shepherd regarding his/her commitments in the Church and in society.

6.       BHF members will maintain their own financial autonomy. They will be entirely responsible for their own family, the upbringing of their children, and their professional life, all of which should be exercised in the spirit of the Gospel.

7.       The BHF member's commitment will begin with a minimum of one year's probation. This is renewed once every year during five years, after which time the commitment will become permanent. The commitment will be pronounced during a ceremony and will be accompanied by a written commitment. The validity of the commitment will be linked to the faithfulness in which the entrusted mission is carried out, or confirmed by the Community.

8.       A concrete sign of the affiliated member's commitment will be the tithing of 10% of his/her income to the House to which they are attached. The affiliated member will follow the Community's dress code during Community gatherings, whether these gatherings take place inside the House or elsewhere. For the first commitment, the member will receive and wear a small wooden cross. The final commitment will be marked by the reception of a decade-ring, which symbolizes the member's affiliation with the Community, as well as the cross.

9.       Each BHF member will make sure that they are guided in their spiritual life. The guidance may be exercised by a member of the Community. The BHF member will undertake a period of formation given by the Community, including an obligatory time spent living in the heart of a Community house. A specific formation program will be offered in each Province, using books, audio and video cassettes, etc. allowing the BHF member to deepen the essential elements of his/her vocation. They will be able to participate in certain community times organized by the House, the Province or in the Community at large, as well as in specific meeting times. All of these elements (spiritual and prayer life, formation, rhythm of life and times spent with the Community) will be specified for each family or individual according to their particular circumstances, following a rule of life formulated together, using their current situation and a model already in place as their starting point.

10.   The Shepherds and Provincials will make sure that the BHFs are consulted, and that they may be present at House Council Meetings or Province Meetings, each time this is necessary. The Provincials concerned and the BHF representative for the whole of the Community of the Beatitudes will maintain a link with the general government of the Community.

Rule of Life
(to be developed and adapted to the needs and circumstances of each BHF member.)

Prayer Schedule:

·         Three times of daily prayer (one of which should be Mass whenever possible): one in the morning, one at midday, and one in the evening, using the Breviary as well as the texts of the Community's offices or a meditation of the Rosary. These times may be brief in the case of those persons who do not have much free time.

·         A time of personal prayer (one hour).

Weekly Schedule:

·         If possible, a Eucharistic time on Thursday evenings (Mass, Adoration…)

·         An adapted "Sabbath" office around the table on Friday evenings (even a very simplified office).

·         A prayer time centered on the Resurrection on Saturday evenings.

·         Mass on Sunday and on Feast Days. In this way, the weekly schedule will resemble that of the Community: a three-day ascent toward the Resurrection.

Sacraments:

·         Daily Mass, if possible.

·         Monthly confession.

Spiritual Accompaniment:

·         Indispensable, and if possible, by someone who knows the Community.

Visiting the House of Affiliation, and Formation:

·         The visiting schedule to the House must de defined according to the availability of and living space needed by the BHF member; participation in certain important Community times; giving a helping-hand where necessary without falling into an attitude of "utilitarianism"; regular meeting with the Shepherd or his/her delegate (e.g. once every 6 months).

·         The BHF member is offered a formation by the house to which he/she is attached, using audio and video cassettes and books, and if the house is able, retreats on a certain theme.

Abandonment to Providence:

·         Meaning, not only tithing (10% of income) but also living the demands of the Gospel.

Hospitality:

·         Individual and families which close in on themselves becomes sterile. BHF members will have a heart of being welcoming to all and, amongst others, to brothers and sisters of the Community who need a breather.

Evangelical Activity:

·         According to each person's gifting and the calls of the Church and the Community.

All these points will be noted on the written commitment which will be signed by the BHF member, as well as the person who receives his/her commitment, and the Shepherd of the House to which the BHF member is attached.

BHF Mission Letter

·         Specify the type of mission: is it entrusted by the Community, by the Church, by the Diocese or by another source?

·         Specify the place where the mission is to be developed, and who else is involved. - Specify its length of duration.

·         Specify the community member with whom the BHF member will maintain contact and how often.

Formula of Commitment for the BHF

Reader: A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 2:36-47

Shepherd: Declare your intention before all the brothers and sisters assembled here. Candidate: Lord my God, with the desire to belong to You more and to live more deeply the consecration of my Baptism, I want to commit myself for one year (or: for the rest of my life) in the Beatitudes of the Holy Family. I ask You to make me a disciple of Jesus, the Lamb without stain who loved me and gave Himself up for me, and to conform myself to Him in His offering of love.

Shepherd: Do you wish to be like Christ, chaste and prayerful?

Candidate: I wish to have no other preoccupation than that which is the most important, to love You my God and to make you loved. I want to live in watchful and joyous expectation of the coming of the Kingdom through unceasing prayer, through praise, adoration, active love of my neighbor, through the spirituality of the Community of the Beatitudes and all the ways it can help me to do so. I commit myself to a life of permanent conversion so as to allow myself to be transformed by the fire of the Holy Spirit and to contribute to the renewal of the Church. Whether married or single, I will be a witness to the value of love and life.

Shepherd: Do you wish to be like Jesus in His poverty?

Candidate: I wish to live in trusting abandonment to Providence, putting all my hope, not in the things of this world which is passing away, but in You alone, following the example of the Virgin Mary and under her motherly protection. I commit myself to sharing my goods by diligently tithing10% of my income.

Shepherd: Do you wish to be like Christ, servile and obedient?

Candidate: According to my capacity, I commit myself to collaborating in the works of mercy and missionary activities of the Church, particularly those of the Community. I will openly submit my charitable, pastoral, and missionary commitments to the Shepherd of the House to which I am affiliated with a view to greater communion and to making these works more fruitful. I am fully aware that for the duration of my commitment, I am exercising these works in the name of the Community.

Shepherd: Do you wish to live in communion with the Community of the Beatitudes?

Candidate: I commit myself to living with the Community of the Beatitudes in a fraternal communion of spirit, prayer and mutual assistance in a common service of the Church. I will live out this communion in particular with the house of ____________, to which I will be affiliated, and with all the other members of the Beatitudes of the Holy Family, in the humility and discretion of unworthy servants. I commit myself to undertaking the Church mission which has been entrusted to me, in communion with the Community and in submission to the authorities of the Church. I wish to follow the Lamb wherever He leads me, to have no other will than His own, to carry my cross every day in the footsteps of Jesus, in trust and joyful hope of living the Beatitudes, as revealed to us by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. I unite myself in silent oblation to the Lamb of God, participating already in the definitive victory of the Lion of Judah, praying the words of His own prayer: "May they be One as you and I, Father, are One." I commit myself to living in such a way as the world may say: "See how they love one another."

Shepherd: In turn, the Community commits itself to supporting you in prayer and in helping you undertake your commitment for which it is responsible in relation to the ecclesial authorities.

Prayer
(to be said by the Shepherd in the absence of a priest).

Holy Father, in Your loving kindness affirm the will of our brothers and sisters so that the grace of their baptism, strengthened by the new ties of this commitment, may flourish to its fullness.

May their life thus give You glory and by their charity in serving others, may the reign of Your Son be extended, He who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever.

Amen.

Reading of the Mission Statement
Laying-on of Hands and Spontaneous Prayer