Our Mission in Life and in the Church Womens Regional Convention Colorado Springs October 13 th – 16 th, 2011 Thy Kingdom Come!

CHRISCHRISTT

Women’s Regional Convention

Colorado SpringsOctober 13th – 16th, 2011

Thy Kingdom Come!

“not to lose sight of the fact that [our]

vocation, which originates in Christ's

call and is driven by the ideal of being

witnesses of His love to the world, is a

genuine gift from God, a treasure

for the Church, and the

indestructible foundation upon

which each of them can build their own

future and that of the Legion.” May 1,

Pope Benedict XVI

I. The Kingdom of Christ is within you

Neither do they say, 'Behold, here it is!' and 'Behold, from here to there!', for behold,

the Kingdom of God is within you.” Lk 17:21

1.What is the Kingdom of Christ?

A spiritual state from within, in which the life of God and of heaven is made accessible to us through:

• The gift of Baptism & the Sacraments

• The indwelling of the Holy Spirit: all the virtues and graces of the sanctifying gifts of the Holy Spirit

• Charity

 2. What is it to enter into the Kingdom of Christ?

Coming into full possession and enjoyment of

Christ’s presence. A reality of the kingdom

where heaven comes to earth and is made

present NOW.

• Prayer

• Life of Grace

• Sacrifice and self giving

3. What is it to receive the Kingdom of Christ?

To receive the Kingdom into my heart before I

am fit to be entrusted with all the power and glory

it offers me.

• Childlike simplicity

• Purity and openness of heart

• Humility

• Gratitude

• To believe that Christ dwells within me

• When we accept Christ dwelling within us, be sure and accept the whole Christ. Let him possess my entire being

• Accept him by loving him with all our heart, mind and will

• Count upon the indwelling Christ to do all in our heart that needs to be done

 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light to all that are in the house. Mk 5:15

“Thus, the apostles' adventure began as a gathering of

persons who open to one another reciprocally. A direct

knowledge of the Teacher began for the disciples. They saw

where he lived and began to know him. They would not

have to be heralds of an idea, but witnesses of a person.

Before being sent to evangelize, they would have to "be"

with Jesus (cf. Mark 3:14), establishing a personal

relationship with him. With this foundation, evangelization is

no more than a proclamation of what has been experienced

and an invitation to enter into the mystery of communion

with Christ (cf. 1 John 13).”

- Pope Benedict XVI, March 22, 2006

II. Discovering Christ Within Me

II. Discovering Christ Within MeWhat is a Charism?

• gift of grace, favor bestowed, benefit, with the meaning varying according to the context: privileges granted (Rom 11:29), rescue from danger (2 Cor 1:11), gift of redemption (Rom 5:15-16);

• as a concrete manifestation of grace in the form of extraordinary powers given to individuals, often in the plural gifts, special abilities (Rom 12:6);

Where does it come from?• as the result of a gracious act of God, a gift of his

spirit and his love.

Charisms are graces of the Holy Spirit which directly or indirectly

benefit the Church, ordered as they are to her building up, to the

good of men, and to the needs of the world.

Charisms are graces of the Holy Spirit which directly or indirectly

benefit the Church, ordered as they are to her building up, to the

good of men, and to the needs of the world.

• Sense of belonging: team life, family, community

• Mystical experience: prayer, sacraments etc.

• Aesthetical practices: virtues, habits, styles

• Apostolate: sense of mission

SELF-IDENTIFICATION

SELF-REALIZATION

CHARISM

Knowledge of self = qualities, strengths, weaknesses, gifts, talents, limitations

Self awareness in relation to others

Maturity – •experiences•Education & formation•Affective & emotional development•Spiritual growth

• Identity as an apostle

• Holiness: perfection of charity

• Fulfillment

• Spiritual Maturity

• Personal Charisma

• For the common good

• Spiritual & material benefit of the Church

III.My Mission: to make Christ known &

loved• "Lumen Gentium" defining the lay vocation and mission in the

Church as rooted in baptism and confirmation, and oriented to

"seek[ing] the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal

affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God"

(No. 31).

• "For each one of you, as for the apostles, the encounter with the

divine Teacher who calls you friends may be the beginning of an

extraordinary venture: that of becoming apostles among your

contemporaries to lead them to live their own experience of

friendship with God, made Man, with God who has made himself

my friend."

- Pope Benedict XVI, UNIV Congress, April 10, 2006

III.My Mission: to make Christ known &

loved•To know, live and to transmit the experience of Christ’s personal

love for humanity.

•#42 of the Handbook: “The service Regnum Christi renders to

the Church and society consists in forming apostles who will build

the civilization of Christian justice and love.”

Personal experience of

the Spirit of God

NEEDS OF THE CHURCH

(Christ’s Suffering Body)

CHARISM – experience of the

Spirit

REALIZATION OF

CONCRETE WORKS: spiritual and material works –

apostolate, spirituality, relationships with others etc.

Following Christ – who suffers through

others

Specific understanding and focus on the mystery and life of Christ through the Gospel.

What is our ‘special grace’?

•Personal relationship with Christ and

employing all the means to grow in intimacy

with him and identifying with his heart.

•A sense of belonging. Being apart of a team,

having a community life to deepen in

experiencing, learning and sharing the love of

Christ.

•Integral Formation – reshaping the whole person in

the likeness of the Son who gives himself to the Father for the

good of humanity.

•A sense of mission – forming apostles.

Character of our Charity

•Value of one soul and apostolic dynamism – we are apostles and we form apostles. RCMH #351-355

•Personal attention through team life and forming family, communities. RCMH #338-346

•Speaking well of others RCMH #93 -95

•Unity forged in common goals and through heroic obedience

•The incarnation of all this in a militia Christi

"Apostolic and missionary fruitfulness is not principally

due to programs and pastoral methods that are cleverly

drawn up and "efficient", but is the result of the

community's constant prayer (cf. "Evangelii Nuntiandi,"

75). Moreover, for the mission to be effective,

communities must be united, that is, they must be "of

one heart and soul" (cf. Acts 4:32), and they must be

ready to witness to the love and joy that the Holy Spirit

instills in the hearts of the faithful (cf. Acts 4:32)."

Pope Benedict XVI, Papal Message for World

Youth Day '08, July 24, 2007

“The kingdom aims at transforming human relationships; it grows gradually as people slowly learn to love, forgive and serve one another. Jesus sums up the whole Law, focusing it on the commandment of love (cf. Mt 22:34-40; Lk 10:25-28). Before leaving his disciples, he gives them a "new commandment": "Love one another; even as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34; cf. 15:12). Jesus' love for the world finds its highest expression in the gift of his life for mankind (cf. Jn 15:13), which manifests the love which the Father has for the world (cf. Jn 3:16). The kingdom's nature, therefore, is one of communion among all human beings-with one another and with God.The kingdom is the concern of everyone: individuals, society, and the world. Working for the kingdom means acknowledging and promoting God's activity, which is present in human history and transforms it. Building the kingdom means working for liberation from evil in all its forms. In a word, the kingdom of God is the manifestation and the realization of God's plan of salvation in all its fullness.” Redemptoris

missio, JPII

TTh y h y KKi n g d o m i n g d o m CCo m o m

e !e !