The name of the Community

"Then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep! He has triumphed, the Lion of the Tribe of Juda, the Root of David. He has been found worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.' Then I saw a lamb as if slain bearing seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God on mission throughout the world." "I write to you in His precious Blood with the desire to see you as a humble and gentle lamb, in the image of the Lamb without stain who was so humble and so gentle that He was never heard to utter a single complaint. . . And I want to see you as a powerful lion that roars within the Holy Church. That your voice and your virtue may be strong enough to bring back to life the children who lie dead in its bosom." From the first moments of the Community's life, the two faces of Jesus imposed themselves upon our meditation; the Lion and the Lamb; strength and weakness, God-Almighty, All-Powerful, and little child; abundant life and annihilation. Death which conquers death to open the gates of eternal life. United to the Lamb of God, our silent oblation triumphs in the victory of the Lion of Juda over all the forces of evil. And even if it pleases Him to reveal to us one face rather than another, we must never dissociate them in our faith and our adoration. Of if in a certain country where we may be sent, it is possible to keep only part of our name, it is upon the totality of this mystery that our meditation will bear. 117 To this beautiful name is attached the consolation, "Do not weep!", of this call had rung out: "Console, console my people", but no one was found to have compassion and we had searched for consolation but in vain. Yet, even if a mother abandoned her children, the Lord would never abandon us, for He has engraved us on the palms of His hand. "Heavens, shout for joy! Earth, jubilate! Mountains, burst with joy! For Adonai consoles His people and takes pity upon their afflicted." Spirit In these times which are the last, the Lord sends forth His consoling Spirit to renew His Church, in order to adorn His Bride and invite Her to the wedding banquet of the Lamb. He rejuvenates and renews Her unceasingly, bringing Her towards perfect union with Her Bridegroom. The spirit and the Bride, in effect, say to the Lord: "Come!" Seized by this eschatological reality fascinated by the perfection of the world to come, the community sighs and groans with the whole of creation in a watchful and unending prayer. It proclaims by its life, in an implicit and explicit declaration, the reality of the Kingdom and the imminence of its coming; it anticipates it through brotherly life, sacramental life, adoration, and through the liturgy which makes us participants in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the Holy City of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims." Journey without purse or staff, abandoned to Providence, guided by the Immaculate Virgin, the Morning Star who vanquished the Ancient Serpent. Faith of those who pray in silence and silent lips of the Apostles, Mary, Daughter of Zion, Mother of the Church and our Mother, bears us into the contemplation of the mysteries of Her Son in the joining together of our wounded hearts to Her pierced heart. She invites us to follow her on the path of renunciation of our own will and selfishness, for, through her obedience, she has become, both for herself and the whole of mankind, cause of salvation. Bearer of the One who bears all, Mary initiates us to the riches of the Eucharistic Body of Christ, uniting the earthly praise to the jubilation of the Church or Heaven where the saints and the blessed spirits unceasingly sing the canticle of the Lamb.

The contemplative life is a grace producing fruits which are not to be kept for ourselves: "You anoint my head with oil and my cup overflows." The practice of hospitality and of almsgiving will occupy the first place in our sharing. Nonetheless, the needs of the church, the promptings of grace may push us towards more apostolic work and a more systematic evangelization. The vocation of the Community is one other than a call to be a People of God, aspiring to the Trinitarian life and, like Therese, choosing everything in order to be Love in the heart of the Church.

Meditation of the mysteries of Christ, the Pattern of Consecrated Life

·                     Incarnation

·                     Transfiguration

·                     Passion and Resurrection

·                     Pentecost

INCARNATION - Hospitality, sharing, medical ministry, apostolate

The people that walked in profound darkness have seen a great light spring forth, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. Light from Light, true God from true God, he is true man. The affirmation, by our whole life, of the humanity and divinity of Christ, is the only answer to the evil and waywardness of our times. The supreme mystery of the Incarnation will be our reference for all things both visible and invisible. He dwelt among us; our hearts are from now on tabernacles of the Living god, our bodies temples of the Spirit, whom we must honour in a special way. We want also to recognize the Emmanuel in every man, in each little one who asks for a glass of water. This is why we will offer food and shelter to whoever should present himself, honouring especially our lords, the poor, those for whom there is no room at the inn of the heart of men. The Community will seek to assume human nature in all its reality, thus nothing that is human should remain alien to it. Close to the Poverello of Assisi, the Community wishes to look upon all the leprosies of the world, all the physical, moral and psychological distresses of a humanity without hope. Thus, the work of comforting the afflicted will be lived out not as a humanitarian obligation, but as a kiss of love in the name of the One who took upon Himself the afflictions of men

Certain Community members will consecrate themselves particularly to this ministry, allying to the medical practice worship, intercession in faith and the practice of the sacraments. Approaching the miseries which surround us prompts us to become aware of the suffering of entire peoples and continents. We will have at heart to promote sharing and justice through prayer, example or specific actions. We will pray more especially for the suffering or persecuted members.

Surrender to Providence

As God surrendered Himself into the hands of men on Christmas night, likewise we want to surrender ourselves during the night of this life into the hands of God our Father. Having relied upon the One who judges with justice, who clothes the grass of the fields, who feeds the birds of the air, and who provided the sacrificial Lamb, we will not need to fear for either our spiritual or material lives. We will not store up anything out of the concern for the morrow, but we shall pray with faith so that the Lord will come to our aid in financial difficulties, through the intercession of Saint Joseph, head of the holy Family of Nazareth, who was so zealous in providing for all its needs, and this both for the little things of everyday life, and for the purchase of buildings or land or for any other requirements beyond our ordinary needs. We undertake not to save nor borrow nor lend with interest.

Work

The words of St. Paul, "If a man will not work, he shall not eat," will be a norm for us, for idleness is the enemy of the soul. We shall consider work as a prolongation of the work of the Creator, who laboured for six days. No occupation should be in contradiction with Christian ethics nor with the Community's orientation; on the contrary, we will choose tasks more fulfilling than lucrative, creating, if necessary, our own employments and favouring manual work, which Jesus Himself sanctified in Nazareth, recognizing its special value at the heart of a contemplative life. Saturday afternoons and Sundays will be consecrated to study and prayer, to rest in the Lord. We will take into account, however, the wisdom of Saint Benedict, who said, "It is better to work on Sunday than to indulge in idleness, for our laziness cannot honour God."

The Incarnation and the Mystery of the Church

This Divine mystery of salvation is revealed to us and continued in the Church. All the good that the people of God, while on their earthly pilgrimage, can procure for the human family flows from this reality: that the Church is the universal Sacrament of Salvation.

The Holy Father

As members of the Church of Christ, we submit ourselves entirely to the Roman pontiff, as the successor of Peter, to whom Christ entrusted the Feeding of the His sheep and lambs, who enjoys supreme, full, immediate and universal authority over the care of souls by divine institution. Our prayer for him, our attention to his words, our careful study of his teachings will all manifest our filial affection.

Bishops

The bishops, likewise established by the Holy Spirit, follow the apostles as pastors of souls: they have been sent forth to assure, in union with the sovereign pontiff, and under his authority, the continuation of the work of Christ, the universal pastor. The Community will not decide upon any important orientation without submitting it to the local bishop from whom it expects discernment, teaching, authority and paternal benevolence. The bishop-protector will intervene more specifically in matters concerning the Community as a whole. We will not establish any new foundation without the approval of the local bishop-ordinary, nor without the prospect of benefitting the local Church.

Priests, Involvement with Parishes

Christ the Lord, the High Priest, taken from among men, has made of the new people a royal nation of priests for his God and Father. All brothers and sisters are called to fulfill the vocation of Slain Lamb by offering themselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, thus participating in the Unique Priesthood of Christ.

This vocation will be revealed by the presence of priests, veritable gifts from Christ to the community. This will be realized above all when the priest, who is endowed with sacred power, make, in the role of Christ (in persona Christi), the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and offers it to God in the name of the whole people, as we read in the following text by John Paul II: "Their priesthood is hierarchical, that is to say, linked to the power to teach and to lead the priestly people, and thereby it is ministerial."

This dimension can only remain of prime importance and touches in depth the raison d'etre of the cell of the Church which we constitute. We shall thus encourage priestly vocations in our midst and through preaching.

Should the needs of the local church demand, the particular aspects of the Community will have to take second place for our priests in view of the common good of the whole people of God.

However, the bishops of the place where our brother priests are preferred will be mindful, as far as it is possible, of the human and spiritual growth of the latter in the respect of their community vocation.

For this reason they will strive to confer upon them a pastoral ministry, not far from one of our houses, bearing in mind that each person committing himself within the community dedicates himself to contemplative life. It will be necessary to envisage a particular status for some of our priests, according to their aptitudes and charisms, allowing them, by means of a lightening of their pastoral load, to be veritable spiritual animators among their brothers and sisters.