Handbook Christian Life Community Australia
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Christian Life Community Australia Handbook Christian Life Community Australia Handbook Christian Life Community (CLC) is a lay international Catholic organisation, now present in over 60 countries. CLC began soon after the death of St Ignatius of Loyola and was renewed and renamed in 1968. It is a World Community lived out in small local communities and has a common way of life based on the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius. Each local CLC is a group of people who meet together regularly to help one another to know Christ better and to seek and respond to what He is asking of them individually and collectively. CLC maintains a close relationship with the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the religious order which Saint Ignatius founded. The world insignia of Christian Life Community employs the ancient Greek symbol for Christ ‘X R’ (Chi Rho ), with the arms of the X extended to form an M (Mu) for Mary. It expresses our union with Christ and Mary, and with each other. Image on Cover “By special inspiration of God and a heavenly illumination, Ignatius writes a little book of spiritual exercises.” An engraving from Vita Beati Patris Ignatii Loilae Societatis Iesu Fundatoris. CONTENTS General Principles of CLC. 3 Components of a Meeting . 6 Glossary of Terms . 10 Awareness Examen . 17 Soul of Christ, Take, Lord and Receive . 18 GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE COMMUNITY Approved by the General Assembly on September 7th, 1990 Confirmed by the Holy See on December 3rd, 1990 PREAMBLE 3 1 The Christian Life Community is a public world association whose executive centre is presently in The Three Divine Persons, contemplating the Rome. It is the continuation of the Marian whole of humanity in so many sinful divisions, Congregations, started by Jean Leunis SJ and first decide to give themselves completely to all men officially approved by Pope Gregory XIII's bull, and women and liberate them from all their chains. Omnipotentis Dei, of December 5, 1584. Going Out of love, the Word was incarnated and born back beyond the Marian Congregations we see our from Mary, the poor Virgin of Nazareth. origin in those groups of lay people that developed Inserted among the poor and sharing with them after 1540 in different parts of the world through their condition, Jesus invites all of us to give the initiative of Saint Ignatius Loyola and his ourselves continuously to God and to bring about companions. We live this way of Christian life in unity within our human family. This gift of God to joyful communion with all those who have us, and our response, continues to this day through preceded us, grateful for their efforts and apostolic the influence of the Holy Spirit in all our particular accomplishments. In love and prayer we relate to circumstances. those many men and women of our spiritual Therefore we, members of the Christian Life tradition who have been proposed to us by the Community, have composed these General Church as friends and valid intercessors who help Principles to aid us in making our own the options us to fulfil our mission. of Jesus Christ and taking part through Him, with PART ONE Him and in Him in this loving initiative which expresses God's promise of faithfulness forever. OUR CHARISM 2 4. Because our Community is a way of Christian life, Our Community is made up of Christians: men and these principles are to be interpreted not so much women, adults and youth, of all social conditions by the letter of this text but rather by the spirit of who want to follow Jesus Christ more closely and the Gospel and the interior law of love. This law, work with him for the building of the Kingdom, which the Spirit inscribes in our hearts, expresses who have recognized Christian Life Community as itself anew in each situation of daily life. It respects their particular vocation within the Church. the uniqueness of each personal vocation and We aim to become committed Christians in bearing enables us to be open and free, always at the witness to those human and Gospel values within disposal of God. It challenges us to see our serious the Church and society, which affect the dignity of responsibilities and to seek constantly the answers the person, the welfare of the family and the to the needs of our times and to work together with integrity of creation. the entire People of God and all those of good will for progress and peace, justice and charity, liberty We are particularly aware of the pressing need to and the dignity of all people. work for justice through a preferential option for 3 the poor and a simple life style, which expresses itself today. our freedom and solidarity with them. This sense of the Church impels us to creative and To prepare our members more effectively for concrete collaboration for the work of advancing apostolic witness and service, especially in our the reign of God on earth, and includes a readiness daily environment, we assemble people in to go and serve where the needs of the Church so community who feel a more urgent need to unite demand. their human life in all its dimensions with the fullness of their Christian faith according to our 7. charism. Our gift of self finds its expression in a personal We seek to achieve this unity of life in response to commitment to the World Community, through a the call of Christ from within the world in which freely chosen local community. Such a local we live. community, centred in the Eucharist, is a concrete experience of unity in love and action. In fact each 5 of our communities is a gathering of people in The spirituality of our Community is centered on Christ, a cell of his mystical Body. We are bound Christ and on participation in the Paschal Mystery. together by our common commitment, our common It draws from the Sacred Scriptures, the liturgy, the way of life, and our recognition and love of Mary as doctrinal development of the Church, and the our mother. Our responsibility to develop the bonds revelation of God's will through the events of our of community does not stop with our local times. community but extends to the National and World Christian Life Community, to the ecclesial Within the context of these universal sources, we communities of which we are part (parish, diocese), hold the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius as the to the whole Church and to all people of good will. specific source and the characteristic instrument of our spirituality. 8. Our vocation calls us to live this spirituality, which As members of the pilgrim People of God, we have opens and disposes us to whatever God wishes in received from Christ the mission of being his each concrete situation of our daily life. witnesses before all people by our attitudes, words We recognise particularly the necessity of prayer and actions, becoming identified with his mission and discernment, personal and communal, of the of bringing the good news to the poor, proclaiming daily examination of consciousness and of spiritual liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, guidance as important means for seeking and setting the downtrodden free and proclaiming the finding God in all things. Lord's year of favour. Our life is essentially apostolic. The field of CLC 6 mission knows no limits: it extends both to the Union with Christ leads to union with the Church Church and the world, in order to bring the gospel where Christ here and now continues his mission of of salvation to all people and to serve individual salvation. By making ourselves sensitive to the persons and society by opening hearts to conversion signs of the times and the movements of the Spirit, and struggling to change oppressive structures. we will be better able to encounter Christ in all a) Each of us receives from God a call to make persons and in all situations. Sharing the riches of Christ and his saving action present to our membership of the Church, we participate in the surroundings. This personal apostolate is liturgy, meditate upon the Scriptures, and learn, indispensable for extending the Gospel in a lasting teach and promote Christian doctrine. and penetrating way among the great diversity of We work together with the hierarchy and other persons, places and situations. ecclesial leaders, motivated by a common concern b) At the same time, we exercise a corporate or for the problems and progress of all people and group apostolate in a great variety of forms, open to the situations in which the Church finds whether through group action initiated or sustained 4 by the Community through suitable structures, or is allotted for the candidate and the wider Community to through involvement of members in existing secular discern the candidate's vocation. Once the decision has and religious organizations and efforts. been taken, and approved by the wider Community, the member assumes a temporary commitment and, with the c) The Community helps us to live this apostolic help of the Community, tests his/her aptitude for living commitment in its different dimensions, and to be according to the end and spirit of CLC. After a suitable always open to what is more urgent and universal, period of time, determined by the General Norms, particularly through the "Review of life" and through permanent commitment follows. personal and communal discernment. We try to give an apostolic sense to even the most 11. Community Bonding humble realities of daily life.