Who Are We? What Are Our Tasks?
Jesus Is Our Model:
· Moved with deep love for His apostles (Jn 13:1), in the Cenacle,
at the Last Supper, Jesus bent down before them and washed their feet ( Jn 13:5).
· Jesus taught them:
o to
love one another as He has loved us, that is, to the supreme sacrifice
o to share in His holiness
o to remain
with one another in the Trinitarian unity for which He prayed
o to form a family of love with Him and with the faithful
which journeys to the light of the Father.
· Today, there is a need for priests who: follow Jesus’ teachings, are faithful
to the Church and the Holy Father, journey in holiness, and, enlivened by the Spirit themselves, help others live holy lives.
We Are:
· Diocesan priests who
o seek to live more deeply the spirituality of the diocesan priesthood that arises from the Cenacle,
which is the expression of “Apostolic Maximalism,” i.e., to announce the infinite love of God Who wants to form a holy people
in Christ, united in a fraternal bond.
o receive special formation to be able to create an authentic family of priests:
à gathered around their Bishop in docile availability;
à living sacramental brotherhood among each other in every way possible,
and
à seeking to form the people of God according to the spirituality of a "Church-family".
o Promote in the
Church the two-fold universal vocation: the call to holiness and to brotherhood. (Italics are from the Constitution, © 1999,
Institute of Apostolic Sodales, pg 16 )
o Commit ourselves to the three Evangelical Counsels according to our Institute
o Give special assistance to the lay and consecrated people of the Pro Sanctity Family (Pro Sanctity Movement, Apostolic Oblates, Social
Animators).
Our Tasks Are:
· To live and foster the invitation of Jesus to unity (John 17:23)
o with the Holy
Father
o with the bishop
o with our brother priests
o with the faithful.
· To foster in
the Church a family of love that journeys in holiness, fellowship, and brotherhood.
· To promote the spirituality that
arises from the Cenacle, gathered in the Upper Room with Jesus at the Last Supper and with Mary on Pentecost.
· To cultivate
the Eucharistic life of the faithful, and favor in our ministry activities such as spiritual direction, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament,
days of prayer, retreats, missions.
· To develop the spiritual life of the faithful underlying the vocational and missionary
dimensions.
· To assist the Pro Sanctity Movement in the formation of the members and in their apostolic activities.
· To
establish Cenacles, Formation Groups, and the Pro Sanctity Movement to enhance the growth of a deep interior and apostolic life in
the members of Jesus Body, the Church.
Mary, Mother of Christ and of the Church, is our mother:
We express our tenderness toward her
by daily praying the Rosary, and, during the liturgical year, celebrating her feast days and days dedicated to her with special devotion.
“Build
around yourself a small priestly
brotherhood that will help you and others
along the arduous path towards holiness”
G. Giaquinta