Missionaries of the Holy Spirit

The Eucharist - Encounter with the Real Presence of Jesus

2007-10-02T17:49:00.000+01:00

When we affirm the ‘real presence’ of Jesus in the bread and wine, what do we mean by ‘presence’ and ‘real’?

In the accounts we have in the Bible relating to the Last Supper, Jesus says these words, “This is my body…this is my blood”. John in his account does not describe the Last Supper, but in John 6:48-58, Jesus describing Himself as the living bread, says that “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day, for my flesh is true food and my blood true drink” So what does this mean for us? As seen in earlier studies, the Eucharist as a sacrament involves an ‘outward, visible sign’ that becomes a door or window to an ‘inward and spiritual grace’. But in the Eucharist, we are declaring that Jesus is not simply the presence of the inward spiritual grace, but is ‘really present’

The idea of Jesus being ‘really present’ in the bread and wine was widespread in the early church. Cyril of Jerusalem writing in 350AD, remarks that “Jesus, by His own will once changed water into wine at Cana…so why should we not believe that He can change wine into blood?” Augustine in 272AD wrote, “That which you see is bread and the cup, which…your eyes declare to you; but as to that in which your faith demands instruction, the bread is the body of Christ, the cup is the blood of Christ…these things are called sacraments for this reason, that in them one thing is seen, another is understood.

There are different ways a person or object can be have a presence for us. A local presence where someone or something is present in a particular place, a temporal presence where the object or person is present at a particular moment or time, and a personal presence in which a communication takes place between two people. It does not necessarily need a meeting in time and space. Another person can be present for us through reading a letter from them, or having a telephone or internet conversation with them even though they may be thousands of miles away.

In the Eucharist, there are several ways that Jesus is present for us:-
He is present in the reading of the gospel-The Word.
In the worship- Isaiah 57:15 “ For this is what the high and lofty One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite”.
In the human minister who stands in for Christ.
In the community because the Eucharistic community is made one body with Christ (Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread. Holy Communion order one, common worship, services for the Church of England)
After the words of institution, Christ is present in the bread and wine.

When we look how ‘real’ something is, most people would limit it to a ‘physical reality’; an object is what it is because of its molecular structure. From this point of view, Jesus is not ‘really present’ in the sense of being ‘physically really present’. However, we don’t normally limit reality to just ‘physical reality’. Without being consciously aware of it, we accept several kinds of ‘non-physical’ reality-Metaphysical Reality. These would include-‘Love’, ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’, ‘Meaning’, ‘Purpose’. Theologies that attempt to explain the ‘Real Presence’ use these ‘non physical’ ideas to aid them.

Theologies of the Real Presence include: Transubstantiation, Consubstantiation, Transignification and Transfinalization. We shall look at each one in turn.

Transubstantiation is a theology developed by Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274), which is based on the view of Aristotle that all matter has two qualities: Accidents-its outward appearance, shape, colour, and Substance- its essential nature. During the Eucharist according to this theory, the substance (essential nature) of the bread is changed into the substance (essential nature) of the body of Christ at the moment of consecration, although the accidents (outward appearance) of the bread remain the same. Likewise with the wine-the essential nature of the wine is changed into the essential nature of the blood of Christ while the outward appearance remains the same.

Consubstantiation is the name given to Luther’s view. He agrees with Aristotle, in that all matter has two qualities-accidents and substance, but according to his theory the essential nature of both bread and the body of Christ are present simultaneously in the bread, but the outward appearance remains the same. We cannot understand how this can happen but Luther uses an image borrowed from Origen, an early Christian scholar, to illustrate his point:-if a piece of iron is placed in a fire and heated, it glows-and in the glowing piece of iron both the iron and heat are present.

Transignification and Transfinalization are theologies developed by the Roman Catholic theologian Edward Schillebeeckx in the 1960’s. They are both based on the view that the identity of an object is based on-
Its molecular and atomic structure.
Its meaning or significance in the context it is used.
Its purpose or end goal (finality) within the context of its use.
In other words, at the moment of consecration when we are celebrating Eucharist, the meaning or significance of the bread and the wine changes. They no longer mean or signify food, but they mean or signify Christ. The end goal or purpose (finality) of the bread and wine also changes. The end goal (finality) of physical nourishment is replaced by the end goal (finality) of spiritual nourishment.

All these theologies of the real presence try to help us understand what happens during the Eucharist, but there is still an element of mystery because there are some things we cannot explain. John of Damascus (665-749AD) probably summed up this mystery best when he said:-
And now you ask how the bread becomes the body of Christ, and the wine and the water become the blood of Christ. I shall tell you. The Holy Spirit comes upon them, and achieves things which surpass every word and thought…let it be enough for you to understand that this takes place by the Holy Spirit.

by Rev. Esther Squire (CEEC)

The Eucharist as a meal - its origins and meanings.

2007-10-02T17:37:00.001+01:00

The beginnings of what we now know as Eucharist has its roots in the ancient world. What started as a simple blessing at the beginning or end of a Jewish meal, through the ages has become one of the most important sacraments of the Church today. Although the way it is carried out may have changed, the meaning behind the celebration of Eucharist remains the same as it did when Jesus shared the meal with his disciples prior to His death.

For Jews living in ancient times meals were more than just a social occasion. They were important times for offering thanks to God. A Jewish meal began when the father or other community leader took bread, broke it and blessed it with these words, “Blessed be you, Lord, our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth”, after which the bread was distributed to those present. On holy days a blessing was said at the end of the meal, which involved lighting a lamp and washing of hands. The leader would then recite several blessings thanking God for His provision, grace and mercy.

Jesus, during His earthly ministry enjoyed sharing meals with His disciples and other followers, and there are several accounts in the Gospels of Jesus providing food for those who followed Him, one such example being in Matthew’s Gospel c14:15-21, where we see Jesus multiplying a small amount of food to feed a large crowd of people. And it was during a meal to celebrate the Passover that Jesus gave new meaning to the covenant meal. We have four accounts of the words that Jesus used: - Paul, writing to the Church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 11: 23-25), Mark (writing 20 years after Paul) Mark 14: 22-25, Matthew (20 years after Mark) Matthew 26:26-29, and Luke (20years after Matthew) Luke 22: 14-20. All of these accounts agree that Jesus said “This is my body” but only Matthew adds the command to eat. In the accounts of Mark and Matthew, Jesus says of the wine, “this is the blood of the covenant”, but Paul and Luke have Jesus saying “This cup is the new covenant in my blood”, which according to John Macquarrie is more likely to be the original language. It is worth noting that both Paul and Luke record Jesus saying, “Do this in remembrance of me”. Neither Mark nor Matthew mention this but record Jesus saying He will not drink wine again until He drinks it at the heavenly banquet which is to come. In John’s gospel there is no description of the Last Supper. There is however a passage in John 6: 48-58, where Jesus describes Himself as the living bread, and His blood as true drink. He then goes on to talk about abiding in Him.

In the early days of the Church, Eucharist, which comes from the Greek word eucharista and means thanksgiving, seems to have been called the ‘breaking of the bread’. Initially wine was only used on festival days, as most people were quite poor. It was at this time part of the community meal and followed the pattern of most Jewish meals and as Jesus had instigated at the Last Supper- the breaking of the bread was done before the meal and the blessing over the wine afterwards, but the breaking of bread was soon moved to the end of the meal. The custom of the community meals was to eat in small groups, round separate tables with a common dish and a common cup for each table. This caused problems, as some people missed out, while others, the well-off, ate at home and then drank too much when meeting together. Because of this the Eucharist soon became separated from the community meal. The Roman Governor Pliny the Younger, writing to the Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the second century, described Christians gathering before dawn for worship, and then meeting later in the day for a meal. The separation or these two meals had important consequences.

The time of Eucharist was moved to the morning.The different tables became one table (The altar). A ‘service of the word’ was added based on the liturgy of the synagogue service.
The early Christian Eucharistic liturgy is very similar to that used today. Justin Martyr writing in about 150AD gives us a picture. He describes a gathering including readings, sermon, prayers, and sharing of the Eucharist. Hippolytus, writing in his book Apostolic Traditions in 225 AD records a Eucharistic prayer that contains many of the Christian beliefs later used in forming the creeds.

Although the Eucharist meal may have changed over the years, one aspect remains the same. Sharing this meal together brings a sense of oneness, with Jesus, with each other and with the wider Church. We are all individuals, but we are also one Church, and we can say in the words of the liturgy, “ …Gather into one all who share this one bread and one cup, so that we, in the company of all the saints, may praise and glorify you for ever…”

By Rev. Esther Squire (CEEC)

What’s Good News in the Revelation of Sacramental Thought?

2007-09-08T13:18:00.000+01:00

In trying to answer this question we have to first discover what is meant by sacrament. According to one definition it is an outward visible sign that points the way to receiving the Grace of God. Fr. Karl Rahner says of grace that it is “God’s self communication to man”. So a sacrament is a channel for God to reveal Himself to us. It is important to note that the imparting of this grace is not dependant on the godliness of the minister or the faith of the person receiving the sacrament. If the sacrament is performed correctly according to the rites of the Church, and the person receiving sets up no obstacles to receiving grace, such as disbelief, the channel is open for God to impart His grace. The outward visible sign consists of two parts: matter, and form. Matter is the material substance used-for example, water in Baptism. Form is the actions or words used- for example, breaking and eating in the Eucharist. The inward sign is really the presence of God that is revealed as we partake in the sacrament. For example: in the Eucharist, God is present in the bread and wine, so when we eat and drink we become partakers of God’s grace revealed in the ‘ performance’ of the Eucharist. This in turn strengthens us in our Christian walk. The number of sacraments has varied through Church history and among the denominations, ranging from Augustine who recognised 304 sacraments (or sacred signs) to the Anglicans, Catholics and Orthodox who have 7 sacraments. A modern definition of a sacrament is ‘An encounter with God when something of the material world becomes a conduit, or door, to the sacred’. There are four primary ways that the sacraments become real in the lives of believers:-

Jesus, the Eternal Sacrament.

Creation- As a Sacrament of God

The Church-Called to be a visible presence of Jesus in the world. There are 7 sacraments that Jesus moves throug today-Baptism, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Eucharist, Healing(Anointing of the sick), Holy Orders, Marriage. Through these key encounter with His grace He upbuilds His Bride and prepares her to serve the Father in the world. The Body of Crist, the Church, is His principle Sacrament to humanity. Through her He intends to communicate His love, mercy, and witness.

Believers, as Living Sacraments.

Jesus is the Primordial, or Eternal Sacrament. He is fully God, and has been with God the Father since the creation of the world-“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning”. John 1:1. But He became human for us, and took on the physical limitations of a human being while remaining fully God. Because He remains fully God, he is able to reveal to mankind the truth concerning the Father. Macquarrie describes Jesus as “a ‘Supersacrament’, a unique manifestation in visible form of the authentic life of God”. When we think of a particular sacrament, i.e. ‘baptism, we normally think of the accompanying matter-water. Instead we should think of Jesus as the sacrament, allowing the Grace of God to be received. For example the sacrament of Unction or anointing with oil allows the recipient to have the Grace of wholeness.

Creation as a sacrament communicates the existence and nature of God to mankind.
Romans 1:19-20 says, “Ever since the creation of the world, His invisible nature-eternal power and divine character-have been clearly perceptible through what He has made”. We can see through looking at the creation around us a master craftsman at work. The Bible reminds us that the “Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaim His handiwork”-Psalm 19:1. Everything in creation from the smallest animal to the highest mountain shows us the Creator God. In this creation is sacramental, because it is a way for our invisible God to reveal Himself to man.

As I have said previously the Church is called upon to be a visible presence of Jesus in the world. He no longer has a physical body on earth, so we as Christians need to be His eyes, ears, voice, hands, and feet. Ways of doing this are through the 7 sacraments that the Church uses today- Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Marriage, Anointing the sick, Holy Orders. Through these the Church is able to show others the way to God and give an opportunity for an outward sign of an inward change once a person has become a Christ follower (Baptism & Confirmation). Through reconciliation a person can receive confirmation that their sins have been forgiven if they have been confessed. When a marriage is celebrated, the grace of love is communicated as two people promise to love each other unconditionally. Through the sacrament of Anointing a person is able to receive the graces of wholeness and restoration, whether their need is physical, emotional or spiritual. And when a person is appointed to Holy orders, they are given the grace of service, to fulfil their calling and serve God both in their home Church and further afield as they are led.

Christians are living sacraments. In their book ‘How the understand the sacraments’ Bequerie and Duchesneau state, “…When any one of us chooses to act as Jesus was known to act, we too become living sacraments in our world. When I forgive my brother or sister from my heart, I become a sacrament of forgiveness; I unveil the face of God who forgives, just as Jesus did”. Whatever we do or say reflects the life that is in us. If we are in communion with God, that will affect how we live our lives. We become the hands of Jesus when we anoint the sick or share Eucharist with others. We become His voice when we share our faith with the world. In fact we actually ask God to enable us to do this every time we celebrate Eucharist using the words from the ‘Common Worship’ book-“…May we who share Christ’s body live His risen life, we who drink His cup bring life to others, we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world”. We are the window through which others will see God.

In conclusion, there are a number of ways of viewing how real something is. Some people take the view that the ‘spiritual’ world is a delusion and only rely on what their senses tell them. Others will say that the material world is unimportant, and true reality is mind and spirit. The Christian message however, as revealed in the Sacraments includes both the material (Physical) and spiritual worlds. The spiritual world expresses itself in and through the material. “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us”-John 1:14. The material world, such as creation shows us God. Jesus, because He became human while remaining fully God, also shows us God by the example He left for us to follow. In John 20:21 Jesus said to His disciples, “Just as the Father sent me, I send you”. Through observing the sacraments and contemplating what they mean we are able to develop a deeper relationship with God, which enable us to become living sacraments in the world.

Rev. Esther Squire. (CEEC).

Intimacy with God

2007-06-21T16:24:00.000+01:00

Towards Intimacy with God by Fr.Thomas Keating

The source of Centering Prayer is the Trinity, God's life within us, begun in baptism or whenever we entered into the state of grace. The doctrine of the Divine Indwelling of the Most Holy Trinity is the most important of all the principles of the spiritual life. It means that God's own life is being communicated to us, but beyond the level of our ordinary faculties because of what might be called, to use a modern scientific analogy, its high frequency. It is so high in fact, that only pure faith can access the divine presence in its full actuality.

The doctrine of the Trinity affirms three relationships in the one God, whom tradition calls the Father, the Son (the Eternal Word of the Father), and the Holy Spirit. This is the principal mystery of the Christian faith.

"Father" in this context, encompasses every human relationship that is beautiful, good, and true, but it especially evokes the sense of parenting, of "sourcing." The doctrine of the Trinity has been developed in many different theological models over the centuries. Drawing on these models, we can affirm that the Father is the ground of all potentiality. The actualization of that potentiality within the Trinity is the Word. The Word is the Father coming to full expression of all that the Father is. In a sense the Father is nothing until he speaks the Word. He knows who he is only in the Son, only in his interior Word. The Spirit is the common bond of love that flows between the Father and the Son in total self-giving love. In other words, the emptying of the Father--the actualization of all that is contained in infinite potentiality--is expressed totally in the Eternal Word expressed within the Trinity The Father pours himself into the Son. One might almost say that there is nothing left of Him. The traditional theological doctrine of circumincession teaches that the Father lives in the Son, not in himself. The Son in turn, in confronting this immense goodness that has been handed over completely and freely to him, gives himself back to the Father in a kind of embrace, or what certain Fathers of the Church have called "the most sweet kiss" of the Father and the Son. The Spirit, then, is the love of the Father and the Son, their common heart, so to speak. In the Trinity, there is no self. Everything is self-surrender. Everything is gift. Everything is love. Hence St. John the Evangelist affirms unconditionally, "God is love."

With the same movement that the Father manifests himself in the Eternal Word, all creation comes into being in and through the Word. Thus the Word is the creative source of everything that exists (see the Prologue of St. John's Gospel), expressing itself in different ways throughout the different levels of creation. Creation consists of various manifestations of infinite reality without in any way exhausting that reality.

The emptying of the Word in becoming incarnate is the visible expression of what the Father is doing all the time in expressing his interior Word. When that manifestation takes place in creation, it has to be expressed by some form of emptying. Divine love, when it enters creation, has to be crucified because there is no way in which that love can be fully expressed in created terms without the Father in some sense dying. In creating, God in some way ceases to be God. At least, God ceases to be God in the way he was before creation. God must become totally involved in creation because each creature expresses something of the beauty, the goodness, and the truth of the Eternal Word who is the absolute fullness of God's expression. Jesus Christ is the fullest manifestation of this extraordinary love that we call unconditional or divine love. This is the heart of the Christian mystery--mystery, not in the sense of an intellectual puzzle, but in the sense of wonder and awe, communicating a delight that is inexpressible and that demands as the only adequate response our total surrender. The Trinitarian relationships, of their very nature, invite us into the stream of divine love that is unconditional and totally self-surrendered. This boundless love emerges from the Father into the Son, and through the Son is communicated to all creation. The invitation is given to every human being to enter into the stream of divine love, or at least to venture a big toe into the river of eternal life. As we let go of our false self, we move into this stream of love that is always flowing and bestowing endless gifts of grace. The more we receive, the more we can give. And as we give, we open the space to receive still more.

When that immense project is translated into creation and, specifically, into human life, we run into difficulties because we arrive at full reflective self-consciousness without the intimate experience of God's presence and unconditional love. That is one of the points I have emphasized in the Spiritual Journey video tapes and in the book Invitation to Love: we come to full reflective self-consciousness without the experience of intimacy with God and without consciously sharing in the divine life. When we sit in contemplative prayer letting go of our usual flow of thoughts and feelings, which reinforce our false selves, then our hearts are opened by our intentionality to the divine Spirit four hours a day. Unfortunately we have habits of refusal and opposition that make this access extremely difficult without a disciplined and regular practice of prayer.

The source of Centering Prayer, then, is not some aspiration, expectation, or far off ideal, but rather its source is the transcendent reality of the divine life present within us right now in the measure of our faith. This marvelous gift is given in baptism and even in the desire for God. The latter, I venture to say, applies to many people who do not name God in the same way that Christians do, but who have the desire to enter into union with the Ultimate Reality.
When we are sitting in Centering Prayer, we may seem to be doing nothing, but we are doing perhaps the most important of all functions, which is to become who we are, the unique manifestation of the Word of God that the Spirit designed us to be.

The Trinitarian life is not a strategy, a program, or some kind of box into which we fit. It is rather an activity of grace that enables us to experience ever increasing interior freedom, even to the point that St. Augustine describes, "One has the freedom not to sin," that is, not to function out of the false self in any way at all. This is the freedom of the children of God.

The source of Centering Prayer is the Trinitarian life. Thus in this prayer we are trying to touch base, so to speak, with a life that is objectively--that is, really--present within us and that we access through faith, hope, and divine love. The exercise of these three theological virtues is precisely the transforming dynamism used by the Spirit to awaken in us the deeper levels of divine awareness. Paul says that "faith is the assurance of things hoped for" (Heb. 11:1). It is the invincible conviction that we are united to God before we can feel it or know it in any other way except through self-surrender. This is what opens the heart to what Paul calls the inpouring of divine love. "Hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Rom. 5:5). Thus the source of Centering Prayer, as a preparation for the contemplative life, is the Trinitarian life itself, which is going on inside us and is manifested by our desire for God, to seek the truth, and to pray.

The focus of Centering Prayer is Christological. The attraction of grace may have many different forms and aspects, but in the context of the Christian life it is focused on Jesus Christ. This means that as we sit in faith, opening to the fullness of the presence of God within us, we share the dynamic of the Paschal mystery. In other words, when we stop acting out of our false self and the emotional programs for happiness by deliberately entering into silence and solitude during the time of Centering Prayer, we are immersing ourselves in a special way in the Paschal mystery. The Paschal mystery is Christ's passion, death, and resurrection, the most comprehensive manifestation of who God is, as far as this can be expressed in human terms. The emptying of Jesus is the visible symbol or sign--indeed the actualization in creation--of the infinite emptying of the Ultimate Reality--Infinite Goodness throwing itself away in love.
In the midst of a community praying together in Centering Prayer is the Risen Christ. He is not visible to our eyes, imagination, or senses, but on the spiritual level we intuit the presence of the divine when it is strongly present, as we sometimes do in a sacred shrine and, at times, in our own hearts. The deep conviction of presence beyond words or thoughts that awakens the desire for God is the divine life going on within us, letting a spark of insight or bliss drop into our starving faculties to awaken the fire of divine love when it seems to be going out.
We are living in a world that rejects love and that affirms selfishness as the ultimate value. The pressure from society is constantly insinuating itself through our upbringing, education, and culture. Society as a whole is saturated with the non-God.

First we have to affirm our interior freedom to be who we are or who we want to be in the face of all worldly enticements, including the worldly enticements associated with the spiritual journey. We bring the false self with us into the spiritual journey and into our relationship with God. Perhaps for many years our relationship with God might be termed co-dependent because we deal with God in the magical way that is characteristic of children. An important fruit of contemplative prayer is to be purified of our childish ideas about God. As our idea of God expands, there is no word, no way, no gesture, that can articulate it anymore. Hence we fall into silence, the place we should have been in the first place.

God's first language is silence. There is no word in the Trinity except the Eternal Word, and that one Word contains everything. As St. John of the Cross writes: "It was said once, and said in absolute silence. And it is only in silence that we hear it."

We have to climb up to this kind of silence. This language is not taught in the Berlitz repertoire. We have to teach ourselves. The primary teaching of Centering Prayer is basically very simple and can be expressed in two words: "Do it!" It will then do you. But it requires doing it every day That is extremely important when we consider the other influences that are bearing down upon us. At times in our lives we have to make choices and set up priorities. Once we are dealing with Christ as the primary focus of our prayer, there is no longer a question of simply choosing between good and evil. There is a question of choosing between good, better, and best. The exercises or methods that we used in the beginning may have to be set aside for better tools, and finally for the best tools when we have moved as far as our human faculties can move us with the help of grace. Then without doing anything, silence does everything in us.

There is another important aspect to the fact of Christ as the focus of Centering Prayer. Our intention in sitting down is to open to the presence of Christ, remembering that the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus reveal the mystery of the Trinity more than any other event. We are assimilating the presence of Christ in Centering Prayer, regardless of what we feel and of what thoughts go by, as long as our intention is to identify with that presence.

Christ's passion, as I understand it, is our own human misery. He has taken upon himself all the consequences of the human condition, the chief of which is the feeling of alienation from God. That is the emotion he felt most poignantly on the cross when he cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It is also at the heart of our own experience of the purification of the unconscious. The false self is invited to dissolve through the gradual process in which we come to know the dark side of our personality and our incredible possibilities for evil. But to experience this in the context of a loving God, in the context of being fathered and mothered by the divine life going on within us, is precisely what enables us to face that dark side and our capacity for evil without being blown away.

The metaphor of the spiral staircase that we developed in Chapter 8 emphasizes that as we go down in humility we experience a corresponding level of inner resurrection. The fullness of divine life of course is not permanently established until we come to the bottom of the pile of our emotional junk. The undigested emotional material of a lifetime has to be processed by the Divine Therapist before we can access the fullness of liberation from the false self. As Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father except through me," that is, without accepting what he has accepted. He has entered into and accepted the human condition just as it is for our salvation.
Redemption, in this light, is not a cloak over our sins, but the inner transformation of our attitudes and motivation into the mind and heart of Christ. This process secretly goes on during periods of Centering Prayer. One is sitting, so to speak, on the cross with Christ, identifying with him and relinquishing the obstacles in us that hinder the free flow of divine love.

Normally the signs of resurrection are experienced more in daily life than during prayer itself. Our best criteria for judging whether our faith experience is really bearing fruit is in the growth of our desire for God--not a particular desire for this or that experience, but a general loving hunger for God. This is the most certain sign that the divine life is becoming healthy, strong, and powerful within us.

When we are doing Centering Prayer in a group, we access the contact that each of us has already made with the divine presence within us. This is our special gift to the group. The presence of Christ becomes more powerful because of our respective contributions to the interior silence of the assembled community. The intensity of that reservoir of interior silence enriches everybody at a deeper level than they might be able to reach alone.

The third theological principle on which Centering Prayer is based is that Centering Prayer is ecclesial in its effects--ecclesial in the sense of the original meaning of the word, which indicates a social dimension, function, or reality. Once we begin the spiritual journey, there is no longer merely private prayer. Our prayer becomes a participation in the groanings of the Spirit for all the intentions and needs of the human family. This does not mean that we do not pray for our loved ones at other times. But it does mean that during the periods of Centering Prayer we enter into a sense of oneness with everyone else who is experiencing grace, and with the whole human family. At times we may actually feel this bonding. This bonding is the heart and soul of a Christian community. Without it one wonders how effective a gathering of Christians really is. Gathered to participate intentionally in the Paschal mystery, the Centering Prayer meeting becomes a liturgy without words, a celebration of each one's union with Christ and of our
gratitude for participating in the inner life of the Trinity. Every little drop of that experience is of almost inconceivable value and vastly transcends the assembled community itself. In other words, the divine energy that is accessed by each one's participation in Christ's passion, death, and resurrection becomes a kind of universal prayer for the needs of the whole human family. It has a radiation that is truly apostolic, apostolic in the sense of transmitting the grace of Christ into this world.

It also means that our personal creative energies are being awakened. Most of us are probably not using our full potential precisely because we have been sitting on it. Once we have fully identified with the Paschal mystery and are willing to take the aches and pains of purification that are the way to inner resurrection, we may experience in various ways a further call to some kind of ministry I hesitate to use the word "ministry" because the word is so hackneyed that people think in terms only of concrete activities that are well known. All I can say is that the ministries and the charisms that are announced by Paul in I Corinthians 12 are only examples of what the Spirit can do once we have identified with this process. Our prayer is certain to have an effect on others and to force us to express this love in daily life. We do not have to think about it too much because, when the time comes, we will know what we are supposed to do or it may happen spontaneously. It may also change several times in our lifetimes, especially if we begin this journey early enough.

Excerpted from "Intimacy with God" by Fr. Thomas Keating.

2007-04-06T18:09:00.000+01:00

Condemned to Immortality,a meditation on the Resurrection
by Archimandrite Dr Justin Popovick

People condemned God to death; with His Resurrection He condemned them to immortality. For striking Him, God returned embraces; for insults, blessings; for death, immortality. Never did men show more hate towards God than when they crucified Him; and God never showed His love towards people more than when He was resurrected. Mankind wanted to make God dead, but God, with His Resurrection, made people alive, the crucified God resurrected on the third day and thereby killed death ! There is no more death. Immortality is surrounding man and his entire world.
With the Resurrection of the God-Man, the nature of man is irreversibly led toward the road of immortality and man's nature becomes destructive to death itself. For until the Resurrection of Christ, death was destructive for man; from the Resurrection of Christ, man's nature becomes destructive in death. If man lives in the faith of the Resurrected God Man, he lives above death, he is unreachable for her; death is under man's feet. Death where is thy sting, hell where is thy victory? And when a man who believes in Christ dies, he only leaves his body as his clothes, in which he will be dressed again on the Day of Last Judgement.
Before the Resurrection of the God-Man, death was the second nature of man; life was first and death was second. Man became accustomed to death as something natural. But after His Resurrection the Lord changed everything: and it was only natural until Christ's Resurrection, that the people became mortal, so after Christ's Resurrection it was natural that the people became immortal.
Through sin, man becomes mortal and temporal; with the Resurrection of the God-Man, he becomes immortal and eternal. In this lies the strength, in this lies the power, in this lies the might of Christ's Resurrection. Without the Resurrection there is no Christianity. Among the miracles, this is the greatest one; all other miracles begin and end with it. From it sprouted the faith and the love and the hope and the prayer and the love toward God.

from Philosophical Cliffs

The Church Fathers On Resurrection

Christianity is two thousand years old, and the concept of resurrection is more common today than in the past. The earliest Christians lived in a different world than ours:

"Christianity was born into a world where its central claim was known to be false. Many believed that the dead were non-existent; outside Judaism, nobody believed in resurrection....Lots of things could happen to the dead in the beliefs of pagan antiquity, but resurrection was not among the available options." (N.T. Wright, The Resurrection Of The Son Of God [Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 2003], pp. 35, 38)

The earliest Christians were criticized for their belief in resurrection. It was one of the primary subjects of the earliest apologetic works of the church fathers. Some of the fathers wrote on the subject in the context of their own suffering, even martyrdom.

"Day and night declare to us a resurrection. The night sinks to sleep, and the day arises; the day again departs, and the night comes on. Let us behold the fruits of the earth, how the sowing of grain takes place. The sower goes forth, and casts it into the ground; and the seed being thus scattered, though dry and naked when it fell upon the earth, is gradually dissolved. Then out of its dissolution the mighty power of the providence of the Lord raises it up again, and from one seed many arise and bring forth fruit....Having then this hope, let our souls be bound to Him who is faithful in His promises, and just in His judgments. He who has commanded us not to lie, shall much more Himself not lie...The apostles have preached the Gospel to us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ has done so from God. Christ therefore was sent forth by God, and the apostles by Christ. Both these appointments, then, were made in an orderly way, according to the will of God. Having therefore received their orders, and being fully assured by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and established in the word of God, with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they went forth proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand." (Clement of Rome, First Clement, 24, 27, 42)

"I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts, that they may become my tomb, and may leave nothing of my body; so that when I have fallen asleep in death, I may be no trouble to any one. Then shall I truly be a disciple of Christ, when the world shall not see so much as my body. Entreat Christ for me, that by these instruments I may be found a sacrifice to God. I do not, as Peter and Paul, issue commandments unto you. They were apostles; I am but a condemned man: they were free, while I am, even until now, a servant. But when I suffer, I shall be the freed-man of Jesus, and shall rise again emancipated in Him." (Ignatius of Antioch, Letter To The Romans, 4)

"And though all the men of your nation knew the incidents in the life of Jonah, and though Christ said amongst you that He would give the sign of Jonah, exhorting you to repent of your wicked deeds at least after He rose again from the dead, and to mourn before God as did the Ninevites, in order that your nation and city might not be taken and destroyed, as they have been destroyed; yet you not only have not repented, after you learned that He rose from the dead, but, as I said before you have sent chosen and ordained men throughout all the world to proclaim that a godless and lawless heresy had sprung from one Jesus, a Galilaean deceiver, whom we crucified, but his disciples stole him by night from the tomb, where he was laid when unfastened from the cross, and now deceive men by asserting that he has risen from the dead and ascended to heaven. Moreover, you accuse Him of having taught those godless, lawless, and unholy doctrines which you mention to the condemnation of those who confess Him to be Christ, and a Teacher from and Son of God. Besides this, even when your city is captured, and your land ravaged, you do not repent, but dare to utter imprecations on Him and all who believe in Him. Yet we do not hate you or those who, by your means, have conceived such prejudices against us; but we pray that even now all of you may repent and obtain mercy from God, the compassionate and long-suffering Father of all." (Justin Martyr, Dialogue With Trypho, 108)

"Even though fire destroy all traces of my flesh, the world receives the vaporized matter; and though dispersed through rivers and seas, or torn in pieces by wild beasts, I am laid up in the storehouses of a wealthy Lord. And, although the poor and the godless know not what is stored up, yet God the Sovereign, when He pleases, will restore the substance that is visible to Him alone to its pristine condition." (Tatian, Address To The Greeks, 6)

"For as the Lord 'went away in the midst of the shadow of death,' where the souls of the dead were, yet afterwards arose in the body, and after the resurrection was taken up into heaven, it is manifest that the souls of His disciples also, upon whose account the Lord underwent these things, shall go away into the invisible place allotted to them by God, and there remain until the resurrection, awaiting that event; then receiving their bodies, and rising in their entirety, that is bodily, just as the Lord arose, they shall come thus into the presence of God. 'For no disciple is above the Master, but every one that is perfect shall be as his Master.' As our Master, therefore, did not at once depart, taking flight to heaven, but awaited the time of His resurrection prescribed by the Father, which had been also shown forth through Jonas, and rising again after three days was taken up to heaven; so ought we also to await the time of our resurrection prescribed by God and foretold by the prophets, and so, rising, be taken up, as many as the Lord shall account worthy of this privilege." (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5:31:2)

"Assuredly, as the reason why restoration takes place at all is the appointed judgment, every man must needs come forth the very same who had once existed, that he may receive at God's hands a judgment, whether of good desert or the opposite. And therefore the body too will appear; for the soul is not capable of suffering without the solid substance (that is, the flesh; and for this reason, also) that it is not right that souls should have all the wrath of God to bear: they did not sin without the body, within which all was done by them. But how, you say, can a substance which has been dissolved be made to reappear again? Consider thyself, O man, and thou wilt believe in it! Reflect on what you were before you came into existence. Nothing. For if you had been anything, you would have remembered it. You, then, who were nothing before you existed, reduced to nothing also when you cease to be, why may you not come into being again out of nothing, at the will of the same Creator whose will created you out of nothing at the first? Will it be anything new in your case? You who were not, were made; when you cease to be again, you shall be made. Explain, if you can, your original creation, and then demand to know how you shall be re-created. Indeed, it will be still easier surely to make you what you were once, when the very same creative power made you without difficulty what you never were before. There will be doubts, perhaps, as to the power of God, of Him who hung in its place this huge body of our world, made out of what had never existed, as from a death of emptiness and inanity, animated by the Spirit who quickens all living things, its very self the unmistakable type of the resurrection, that it might be to you a witness - nay, the exact image of the resurrection. Light, every day extinguished, shines out again; and, with like alternation, darkness succeeds light's outgoing. The defunct stars re-live; the seasons, as soon as they are finished, renew their course; the fruits are brought to maturity, and then are reproduced. The seeds do not spring up with abundant produce, save as they rot and dissolve away; - all things are preserved by perishing, all things are refashioned out of death. Thou, man of nature so exalted, if thou understandest thyself, taught even by the Pythian words, lord of all these things that die and rise, - shalt thou die to perish evermore? Wherever your dissolution shall have taken place, whatever material agent has destroyed you, or swallowed you up, or swept you away, or reduced you to nothingness, it shall again restore you. Even nothingness is His who is Lord of all." (Tertullian, The Apology, 48)

"This temporal and brief suffering, how shall it be exchanged for the reward of a bright and eternal honour, when, according to the word of the blessed apostle, 'the Lord shall change the body of our humiliation, that it may be fashioned like to the body of His brightness!'...What now must be the vigour, beloved brethren, of your victorious consciousness, what the loftiness of your mind, what exultation in feeling, what triumph in your breast, that every one of you stands near to the promised reward of God, are secure from the judgment of God, walk in the mines with a body captive indeed, but with a heart reigning, that you know Christ is present with you, rejoicing in the endurance of His servants, who are ascending by His footsteps and in His paths to the eternal kingdoms! You daily expect with joy the saving day of your departure; and already about to withdraw from the world, you are hastening to the rewards of martyrdom, and to the divine homes, to behold after this darkness of the world the purest light, and to receive a glory greater than all sufferings and conflicts, as the apostle witnesses, and says, 'The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.'" (Cyprian, Letter 76:2, 76:7)

"[Jesus] accepted a decaying body so that decaying bodies might put on immortality." (Athanasius, cited in I.D.E. Thomas, The Golden Treasury Of Patristic Quotations [Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Hearthstone Publishing, 1996], p. 228)

"Wherefore the city [Rome] is more notable upon this ground, than upon all others together. And as a body great and strong, it hath as two glistening eyes the bodies of these Saints [Paul and Peter]. Not so bright is the heaven, when the sun sends forth his rays, as is the city of Rome, sending out these two lights into all parts of the world. From thence will Paul be caught up, from thence Peter. Just bethink you, and shudder at the thought of what a sight Rome will see, when Paul ariseth suddenly from that deposit, together with Peter, and is lifted up to meet the Lord. What a rose will Rome send up to Christ! what two crowns will the city have about it! what golden chains will she be girded with! what fountains possess! Therefore I admire the city, not for the much gold, not for the columns, not for the other display there, but for these pillars of the Church." (John Chrysostom, Homilies On Romans, 32, v. 24)

Origionally published on TRIABLOGUE by Jason Engwer .

Lent - A Season spent preparing for Resurrection

2007-03-01T16:57:00.000Z

How shall we approach this Lenten season.? Shall we "give up" some little pleasure or perhaps suppress some carnal desire for the next 40 days? may I suggest a better way....

Lent is a liturgical season reserved for entering into, or reestablishing, the Sanctuary of our heart, and meeting our creator in the midst of the desert of modern living. It is a divine opportunity for preparation. Preparation for what you may well ask? Preparation for life I shall answer. In John 10:10 Jesus promised so very much more than a redemption from Hell through justification. He promised new life, His inner divine life, to beat within our breast.

Lent is a season for drinking from the water of life that flows from His heart. It is the season of rediscovery of the beauty of desert solitude and life. Here in His womb of silence we can meet again with the reality of God, ourselves, and others. Divine life, "Zoe" resurrection life, is received through communion with God.

This lent I would like you to share with me from the waters of life that flow through the Anabaptist Community, The Bruderhof. I invite you to read from their wonderful book "Why Forgive" available as a free E-Book (just follow the link provided).

I pray that every Missionary of the Holy Spirit will not be known for their perfectionism but rather for their sincere love, humility, and willingness to forgive.

"One day Abraham invited a beggar to his tent for a meal. When grace was being said, the man began to curse God, declaring he could not bear to hear His name.

Seized with indignation, Abraham drove the blasphemer away.

When he was at his prayers that night, god said to him, "This man has cursed and reviled me fifty years and yet I have given him food to eat every day. Could you not put up with him for a single meal?"

("Taking Flight" by Fr. Anthony de Mello S.J., Page 157. )

With much love,

Fr. Gerard M.H.S.

How to become the change you wish to see - Part 1 -

2006-09-01T15:45:00.000+01:00

"You are the Light of the World... You are the Salt of the Earth..."

- Jesus of Nazareth-

Introduction:

To be a Missionary of the Holy Spirit we must first become a Friend of the Holy Spirit. In today's Church culture those who produce results are applauded and praised. Those who serve in silence are all too often ignored or considered lesser. For example: We honour the international evangelist or the successful Christian business person and mentally pass by the faithful church member who brings their children up in the knowledge of God and love. Who is the greater? Neither! They are great in the Father's eyes in so far as they dwell in and share His love & mercy. While it is right that we honour those who serve well our beloved Master, it is also true, that in the human need for love, acceptance, and appreciation, and through our primal need to belong to the "in-group" many have "burned out" in the search for illusory ministerial success and human pier approval.

In God the Father's eyes, what is spiritual success? Mother Teresa once expressed it thus: "We are not called to success, but to faithfulness". This "faithfulness" is a faithfulness to living in the centre of the Father's will and desires. If God calls you to love those of your own household and your neighbour, and you go to a war torn area and hold a mass crusade, but neglect your own, then though many may have been brought to Christ through the miracle action of the Holy Spirit honouring the Divine Gospel, you will have failed in your primary calling! We have been called firstly into relationship with the Trinity. All other callings spring from this well. Eph.2:10. All Christian service which substitutes this reality is void of usefulness to the Father's Kingdom. The service becomes a "dead work" because it substitutes the reality of that which flows from the Divine expressing itself through the human.

Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but
yours. Yours are the eyes through which He looks with compassion on this World. Christ has no body now on earth but yours. -- St. Teresa of Avila -

Jesus died and rose to realize RECONCILIATION for humanity (2 Cor.5:16-21). This reconciliation is therefore an already accomplished fact in the heart and mind of our Father. The veil in the Temple was torn. That veil had separated man & woman from the presence and power of God through the effect of human sin in the human heart and conscience. Christ's blood sacrifice on Calvary not only atoned for sin, it remitted sin. This remission is not a covering but an annihilation of the fall, commission & guilt of humanity. It-is-finished! Anyone, anywhere, can now look to Christ's atoning sacrifice and enter in to a full and complete relation with the Trinity. The love of God the Father pours out towards us. The grace and the healing Lordship of Jesus, the Christ, is ours, even before we know to ask for it. The Friendship and Fellowship with The Holy Spirit, that Jesus in His humanity enjoyed, is now ours to the same level and extent. Reconciliation means exactly that and the barrier between God and man has been eliminated in His flesh!

So we begin our journey to become the likeness of He whom we follow with a clear way opened into the centre of the Trinity and a true and sincere invitation to Friendship and Fellowship with God.

For the purpose of this series I shall share Seven "How to" Keys to realise this calling.

How to live in the Presence of God.

How to receive Revelation Knowledge.

How to overcome the past & appropriate a new life and inner identity.

Discover three spiritual "tools" that experientially open Friendship with God for you.

How to discover & enter into your Ministry.

How to make His Kingdom visible to the World.

Discover the Secret of Jesus' ministry.

With much love,

Your Brother,

Fr. Gerard

Missionary of the Holy Spirit

"Living in Community" by Fr. Tony Palmer M.H.S.

2006-08-31T17:07:00.000+01:00

Introduction: - We must approach the study Church history, seeing the Church as a “United Believing Community”. - This is not being presumptuous nor narrow minded but scriptural. Jesus’ dying prayer was for the Church, the Universal “catholic” Church to be ONE. - Although we are many, we are ONE. - This was also His first recorded prayer for us as a Church! John 17:20-21 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21“that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

1. UNITY - From the outset we need to see the direction in which Christ saw the direction of the Church and the purpose for our presence on the Earth, as a united Community. - Our points of departure are UNITY and COMMUNITY. - The Church is called to be ONE. “That they all may be one". - This is not a hope nor a dream it is already done in Heaven, as this was our Lord’s own personal prayer, and therefore we may rest in the hope of it’s fulfillment. - We are the instruments God wishes to use to bring about this ONENESS, that Jesus asked the Father for. - We are to finish what He started. Jesus asked the Father to make us ONE so, “that the world may believe that You sent Me.” - “UNITY” is the other half of “commUNITY”. Without UNITY, community cannot exist.

2. COMMUNITY - To understand Community, we need to look back at the original context, in which Christ gave birth to His Community, the Church. - What was life like in Israel 2000 years ago? Was it like our modern independent lives today? - The answer is that life then, was VERY different to what it has evolved into today. - For the majority, life in Israel around the time of Jesus was very unfair. - The majority were POOR, not middle-class. - Society was made up of the majority being poor, and the minority being rich, with virtually no middleclass. - They were either very rich or very poor. - This lead to many injustices done to the poor, by the ruling rich class. - Poor people were BOTH economically and politically poor. - This left the majority (the poor), very vulnerable and helpless also in civil atrocities, like having their land taken away by rich rulers, etc. (1 Kings 21:1- 15) King Ahab had a palace in Jezreel, and near the palace was a vineyard owned by a man named Naboth. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Since your vineyard is so convenient to the palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.” 3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed down by my ancestors.” 4 So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat! 5 “What in the world is the matter?” his wife, Jezebel, asked him. “What has made you so upset that you are not eating?” 6 “I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or to trade it, and he refused!” Ahab told her. 7 “Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel asked. “Get up and eat and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!” 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the city where Naboth lived. 9 In her letters she commanded: “Call the citizens together for fasting and prayer and give Naboth a place of honor. 10 Find two scoundrels who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.” 11 So the elders and other leaders followed the instructions Jezebel had written in the letters. 12 They called for a fast and put Naboth at a prominent place before the people. 13 Then two scoundrels accused him before all the people of cursing God and the king. So he was dragged outside the city and stoned to death. 14 The city officials then sent word to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.” 15 When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, “You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn’t sell you? Well, you can have it now! He’s dead!” 16 So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard to claim it. - In order to seek economic and civil protection, the Israelites would seek employment from the wealthy. - However, being employed by a wealthy Patron extended beyond the normal “employer-employee” relationship as we know it today. - Being employed by a Patron, meant you now became part of his “Household”.

- “Households” were made up of : a) the Family Head, the Patron (Paterfamilias) b) his direct family. c) his extended family. d) servants and slaves. - It was not only family. - Becoming a member of a Household gave both economic and civil/political protection. - However being a member of a Household also had religious obligations attached to it. - The main obligation that is pertinent to our study of the Christian Community is the practice that, all the members of the Household had to devote themselves too the same Deity worshiped by the “Paterfamilias”, Family Head/Patron. - So when the Family Head gave his life to Christ, everyone in his Household were obliged to follow suit. - Save the Head of the Household, and the entire Household gets saved: The Jailor: (Acts 16:30-31) “Sirs, what must I (Paterfamilias), do to be saved?” 31So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” The Roman Centurion – Cornelius: (Acts 10:1-2, Acts 11:13-14) “1There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius (Paterfamilias), a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2a devout man and one who feared God with all his household”. ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, 14‘who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved”.

Other references to: N.T HOUSEHOLDS: John 4:53 1 Cor 1:11 Acts 10:21 Cor 1:16 Acts 16:5 Phil 4:22 Acts 16:31-34 2 Tim 1:6 Acts 18:82 Tim 4:19 Rom 16:10-11

- Religious meetings were held in the Paterfamilias’ home, as his home would be large enough to dedicate one room to such weekly religious meetings. - The Jewish “Synagogue” was a meeting in a home, Archaeology has confirmed this. - As Household’s converted to Christianity, the synagogues became Churches. (Acts 20:20) - 20“I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house”. (Philemon 1-2) - To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, 2to the beloved Apphia, “ Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house”. - It was into this context that Christ gave birth to His Community, a Household of Believers. (Gal 6:10) “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith”. (Eph 2:19) “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone (Paterfamilias), 21in whom the whole building, being joined together (Unity), grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit”. - There did not exist any buildings “solely” dedicated as Churches until the 2nd and 3rd Century AD. - For the first two hundred years, Church was in someone’s home, and this included meetings to Ordain Priests and Bishops, Baptisms and Eucharist (Communion Services). - The fact is the Church is a Household, we are already a Community, and we just need to “live out” what we ARE already.

3. The Apostolic Church (30-100 AD) - Rome had various judgments against the early Church, which lead to our persecution. - To name only two of them: a. Anti-Family: Upon being saved and received into the “family” of the Christian Community, “The Household of Faith”, individual loyalty turned to that of their new-found Christian family. Although being Christian made the individuals better family members in their own homes, when they had to take sides, they gave their loyalty to their Christian family ‘The Household of Faith” first. b. Anti-Social behavior: This charge simply came from their refusal to participate in the immoral lifestyles of the Roman population. They refused to go along with the crowd.

4. Living in Communiy today - In order to understand how to live in Community today, we need to look back to the past. - Experiential Christianity is lived out in Community. - Experiential Christianity is lived our in Sharing. - Experiential Christianity is lived out in Loving. - Experiential Christianity is lived out in Receiving. - Experiential Christianity is lived out in Inter-dependence. - None of the above can be lived out in isolation and in independence. - Our modern culture is in direct opposition to Christian Community living. - Firstly it must be understood that both the desire and ability to live in Community is a grace given by our Paterfamilias Himself… Christ. - It is a super-natural grace which enters our lives upon our “rebirth” and initiation into the Household of Faith. - The way we think and live is not “natural”; we have become foreigners to this world. (Heb 11:13) “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth”. - Living in Community for us as modern Christians is possible, and God has given us all that we need to build up His Community on Earth: a) Sacrifice yourself: (Roma 12:1-5) 1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another” b) Employ the Fruit of the Holy Spirit from within us: (Gal 5:22-26) “22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another”.

Conclusion - Christianity is the only hope of long-term survival for civilized mankind. - Our Theory of evolution has failed us, we are not getting stronger! - Our world is in a state of entropy, it’s getting weaker. - Our “pop psychologies” have been proven inaccurate, and have destroyed our morals. - Our non-biblical philosophies have left us void of any meaning to life. - We are destroying our planet. - We are loosing our families. - We are loosing Society and civilization. - We have been given the only TRUE hope – A Christian World. - It is planned for God to descend to Earth from Heaven, to live permanently with His Household, set up His government and rule and reign with His Household members for all eternity, in peace and everlasting prosperity, without sin, sickness or sadness. (Rev 21:1-7) - It is written: “1Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” 5Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” 6And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7“He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son”.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

References: 1. UNISA Biblical Archaeology Mod. 1, 1996 2. Dictionary of Paul & his Letters. Hawthorne. P.417, Inter Varsity Press. ISBN 0-85110-651-X 3. Against the Wind, M. Baum, 1998. The Plough Publishing House ISBN: 0-87486-953-6 4. The Study of Liturgy. SPCK Pub. Cheslyn Jones. 1978. ISBN: 0-281-03578-

What is our mission?

2006-05-01T12:02:00.000+01:00

The Talkative
Lover

A lover pressed his suit unsuccessfully for many months, suffering the atrocious pains of rejection. Finally his sweetheart yielded. "Come to such and such a place, at such and such an hour," she said.

So the lover finally found himself seated beside his beloved. He pulled out a sheaf of love letters that he had written to her over the months. They were passionate expressions of pain and burning desire. He began to read them aloud. The minutes passed and he read on and on.

Finally the woman burst out, "What kind of a person are you? Those letters tell of your longing. Well, here I am with you at last, and you are lost in your ludicrous letters."

"Here I am with you," says God, "and you keep thinking of me in your head, talking of me with your tongue, and searching for me in your books. When will you shut up and see?".

(The Talkative lover, p.118, The Song of the
Bird by Anthony de Mello S.J.)

To answer the question "What is our Mission" we must listen. Listen to the heartbeat of God. The ancient Churches define well the purpose of mankind. "Why did God make us?" "God made us to know, love, and serve Him here on Earth, and forever and ever in Heaven". More than 37 years have passed since I first memorized that statement and it still calls me forth from the illusions of religion and pietism into the realities of the search for community through relationship.

All humans share this call, but none more so than the Christian. We see the icon of Christ's life as a "show & tell" which reveals the Father's way & purpose for mankind. We are those who have heard the call to "Come and see...".
For those of us who have embraced the vocation of the monks calling, in married or celibate state, the invitation to know, to love, to serve, represents our very reason for being.

What is our mission? To so identify with the Beloved that we know as we are known, that we love as we are loved, that we serve as we are served. The monk is called to pursue the knowledge of the Beloved until he or she becomes an icon of the Beloved for others. This is how we will fulfill the great commission and lead others to Christ. "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses...".

To really know, love, and serve God will not come by accident. We can not drift into spiritual reality. We must pursue it. There are substitutes for reality much like those of the above parable. Head knowledge can be confused for heart relationship. Feelings and sentimentality can be confused for the decision and commitment of true love. Projects and ministries can be confused with obedient & submissive service. In a thousand ways the heart seek to maintain control and centrality at any cost. We fear the death to self that true love brings. Yet, only in this dying, can we taste the joys of new resurrection life.

Dropping the "I"

Disciple: I have come to offer you my
service.

Master: If you dropped the "I", service
would certainly follow.

You could give all your goods to feed the
poor and your body to be burnt and not have love at all.

Keep your goods and drop the "I". Don't burn
your body; burn the ego. Love will instantly arise.

(Dropping the "I", p.119, Song of the Bird
by Anthony de Mello, S.J.).

Here is the specific abandonment and mission of our calling. What is our Mission...?

To allow ourselves to be loved that we might learn what love is.

We consecrate time to be available for our God.
We pray the Divine Office to learn the discipline of prayer.
We read and listen to Scripture to hear and obey the Father's heart.
We seek true self knowledge so that we may offer our true selves to God.
We open our lives to the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the Order that we may not be hidden, but be known and loved for who we really are.
We submit to formation because we wish to know transformation in our walk.

What is our Mission? To become Christ-like through Prayer, Community, Service and thus communicate Christ through our being and becoming rather than the guarded, self protecting, and shallow gifts of projects and services.

What is our Mission? Our mission is to communication God to others through love in word and in deed.

What is our Mission? To allow ourselves to be touched, troubled, and changed by love.

Welcome to your mission!

Your Servant,

Gerard +

Missionary of the Holy Spirit.

2006-03-10T12:41:00.000Z

Walking into Christ together. Lent's Invitation to Life.

Matthew 3

1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'
4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

I remember the season of Lent in the rural Ireland of my childhood. As a child I remember Ash Wednesday when all, even the teachers in school, bore an ashen cross signed on their foreheads. This cross began, what was for us a season of penitance and self denial. We believed our moral reform would help us prepare our souls for Easter. For us children it meant giving up sweets and trying to live as better people for Jesus. But I now ask myself if this self purification and denial served rather to obscure the wonder of faith, the desert encounter with it's temptations and victories, and the Pascal mystery contained in this wonderful season. The ashen sign of the Cross contrasts with the mark of the beast and speaks not of human self-reform but rather of the mystery of our faith as Christians. In His death is our life. In His steps lie the liberating redemptive seasons of our lives. It is in surrender and total passionate abandon to the will of our God that the Christian believer finds the new resurrection life.

Jesus began His approach to the Jordan by living firstly a season of surrender to detachment. I imagine that for some time the Holy Spirit had been speaking to Him of change. Nazareth life was ending for Him. The simple joys of home, family, work, and belonging were about to be replaced by the adventure of stepping into the Father's purpose for His life. The Jordan stands for the powerful waters of Baptism, for the washing of the Word, for the immersion into a place of surrender and death to all that he could control and gain false human security from. The Voice beckoned. The Voice of prophetic revelation. The disturbing Voice of a sent one this time calling not only Israel to repentance and faith, but the Lamb of God Himself to His altar.

John had discovered his mission earlier. He was a man who had entered into the incarnation of his calling. He was a preparer and his instrument was the witness of his own surrender and the giving voice to that which the Father had revealed in secret.So are we as Missionaries of the Holy Spirit in this World. A postmodernistic secular society has no interest in the noise of our theological debate, or in our centuries old lust for power and control over Christ's Sheep. Western Christianity in it's institutional expressions has disgraced itself before Europe. It needs to deeply repent to be credible again. It needs to give back to Caesar what Caesar gave to it, and give to God that which belongs exclusively to God. It's total and unreserved love and allegiance. Two World Wars later a wounded World wanders in search of authenticity & the lived out witness of truth. Such was Palestine 2000 years ago, such is Europe today. Why did the people come out from the comfort of Jerusalem and the Temple to a wild man in a river in the midst of a wilderness? They came because he was the word he proclaimed! They came because he had the Word from God for the present moment! The Voice. They came because it was true and authentic.

Jesus, our Lord, was called to reorder the priorities of a life of 30 years with Mary in Nazareth to embrace the consecration of His vocation. Repentance is not only from sin. It is "Metanoia" - a turning in life. To go from faith to faith and glory to glory, we must leave yesterdays faith and yesterdays anointing and permit ourselves to live in the vulnerability of a spiritual poverty where we need the Voice and the Vocation of God the Father.

So much of western popular Christian thought & piety is pure illusion. We ask God to bless our old tattered lives when He says, "Let it die, and come follow me, and I will make you..." I speak now as a Pastor of twenty years. There is little authentic transformation in modern Christianity. But authentic Christianity is all about transformation. It is never static. It is a dynamic walk into Christlikeness for all eternity.

Jesus was available to the Voice of the Father and He choose to be vulnerable and willing. It led Him to the waters of the Jordan forever separating Him from His past life. It led Him into the anointing for the Messiah / Christ life. A fiery baptism in the will, love, power, and sanctifying fire of the Father. The same Spirit that led Him to the waters and the ecstasy of the anointing brought Him in contact with His own vulnerability and weakness and into direct confrontation with Satan and his real temptations for the Christ. It was the availability of Prayer, the Listening of Contemplation, the soaking and dwelling in the manifest presence, and the radical choice to completely and always obey the living Word that got Jesus through.

Such is your vocation this Lent. To follow in Jesus footsteps....

...From the security and comfort of Nazareth to the disturbing Waters of Consecration.

...From the impotence of self will and effort to communion with the Divine Will and His anointing.

...From the strife of busyness to the peace of availability.

...From the illusion of self autonomy, to the realities of His Lordship.

...From my will and life to His Voice and Destiny.

Now who says Lent and the desert are boring!

I pray that week by week you may come ever deeper into the realities of God and His will for you.

Your brother and servant,

Gerard+

Missionary of the Holy Spirit.

Our Rule for a Consecrated Life

2006-03-10T11:55:00.000Z

Rule of life and spirituality for the members of the Celtic Christian Order called

“The Missionaries of The Holy Spirit“.

Dedication.

We dedicate this rule to all who have lost themselves in the love of Christ. May we be found faithful in carrying this liberating reality to our generation.

Introduction, Spirituality, and Purpose.

“If you have gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care - then do me a favour: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!
Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death - the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion.
Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honoured him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth - even those long ago dead and buried - will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honour of God the Father.
What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.”

Philippians 2:1-13 “The Message” New Testament .

The Celtic Order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit is fruit of the fusion of three Holy Spirit movements in the Body of Christ today.

1) The Celtic Movement with its emphasis on consecrated missionary monastic communities composed of married, celibate, and single vowed members living a holistic spirituality that sanctified every aspect of human life & experience.

2) The Convergence Movement where the Evangelical, the Charismatic, and the Sacramental meet creating a refreshingly complete experience of Christianity.

3) The “New Monasticism” Movement, which drawing from the ancient wells of historic consecrated life, is inspiring a new generation with a fuller understanding & appreciation for the deeply converted and consecrated Christian life.

The Order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit exists to delight the heart of the beloved Father through radical and complete abandonment of our lives to his Son Jesus in obedience to the Lordship & guidance of the Holy Spirit. We realise this abandonment through personal and corporate consecration to a spirituality of “availability and vulnerability” in five distinct areas of Christian life.

1) The Contemplative life and Calling: Seeking the Father’s Heart.

2) Meditation and Study: Understanding the Father’s thoughts.

3) Consecration to Community: Loving the Father’s children.

4) Service to Christ’s Body, to the lost, the broken,
& the poor of this World: Serving the Father’s people.

5) Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence and Holy Indifference
towards expression of service: Honouring the Father’s will.

1) The Contemplative life and Calling: Seeking the Father’s Heart.

When Jesus visited his dear friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus he underlined that the attitude of Mary was the heart attitude he sought from us.

In the course of their journey he came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord's feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha, who was distracted with all the serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself?
Please tell her to help me." But the Lord answered, "Martha, Martha," he said, "you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, and it is not to be taken from her." Luke 10:38-42

The Missionary of the Holy Spirit understands that they are first called into fellowship with the community of the Divine Trinity above all other communities or relationships.

We understand our own littleness and brokenness and that we of ourselves can do nothing to truly advance the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. We can only give what is given to us.

We choose the poverty of spirit that waits in silence upon our Lord, for in Him alone is our salvation. We are called to love; therefore we understand our need to receive love, Divine Agape love. We expose our vulnerability and brokenness to His presence that we may be healed.

We are called to relationships of grace, mercy, and permanent forgiveness with others therefore we confess our sin and receive grace and forgiveness from our Father, through the mediation of Jesus Christ.

We are called to a Ministry and Word of Reconciliation toward our neighbour, therefore we above all know our need to live and nurture a reconciled relationship with God our Father.

We are called to serve our Lord, yet what service has value that is not initiated by Him. God quickens his council in the secret place of the heart. As Missionaries of the Spirit our greatest gift to the Lord and His Bride is to listen to His council and be filled with His presence.
The Spirit quests to find those who will still their souls, listen, and obey without reservation. The vocation and service born from listening and obedience always bear Kingdom fruit.

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.
Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” Jn.14:10-12

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Eph.2:10

2) Meditation and Study: Understanding the Father’s thoughts.

The Missionary of the Holy Spirit is willing to ground their lives in God’s Word, the Holy Bible. We give our minds to the service of the Father that He may teach us His ways and thoughts. We are called to embrace a spirit of excellence in all we do for we serve the God of heaven and earth, and He deserves our very best. Because of this truth we do not shy away from any path of formation that may render our service more effective. We do not presume to know more than others, but wish to be teachable and gain from the Church’s wisdom.

Our vocation to love the Lord our God implies a consecration of “all our heart, all our mind, and all our strength”. Through this willingness to “work” at developing all the talents the Lord has given us, we are already preparing our hearts to meet our neighbour in a true spirit of consecrated love. Why give them second best, when we are loving Jesus through loving them.

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.

Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you the sure mercies of David.
Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, a leader and commander for the people. Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.''

Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,'' says the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. Is.55:1-13

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3

3) Consecration to Community - Loving the Father’s children.

One of the great privileges of our calling is that we do not have to walk alone. Christianity is only for admitted failures. Receiving Christ as Lord and Saviour can only come from the grace of understanding the emptiness of a human life lived in rebellion and autonomy towards God’s government and grace. It is the joy of every prodigal to discover not only the Father’s heart but also His household of faith.

This Order is a Fellowship of those who share the same charism and calling. It is Covenant Brotherhood and Sisterhood. It is the grace gifting of a specific family of companions for our earthly pilgrimage bound together by common love, vows, and calling. We will serve many in our lives, have many acquaintances and contacts, but heart fellowship & covenant relationship is a rare gift conceded by a loving and understanding Father to His children.

A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

Missionaries of the Holy Spirit understand that all of Christianity is relational. Redemption itself was worked to realise reconciled relationships toward God and man. There is no greater delight for God than to see His children living together in unity. We cannot preach it to others until we are willing to live it ourselves. Our spirituality is evaluated through our relationships. We give our lives to creating Kingdom relationships and communities wherever we go. This begins in our personal relationship circle, is manifest in the brotherhood and sisterhood of the Order, and represents the heart of our ministry to the Universal Church and in our mission to the World.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments.
Psalm 133:1-2

A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Jn.13:34-35

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

These things I command you, that you love one another. Jn.15:10-17

That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:

I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Jn.17:21-23

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honour
Romans 12:9-10

Anyone who says he is a Christian should live as Christ did.

Dear brothers, I am not writing out a new rule for you to obey, for it is an old one you have always had, right from the start. You have heard it all before. Yet it is always new, and works for you just as it did for Christ; and as we obey this commandment, to love one another, the darkness in our lives disappears and the new light of life in Christ shines in.

Anyone who says he is walking in the light of Christ but dislikes his fellow man, is still in darkness. L V B 1 John 2:6-9

4) Service to Christ’s Body, to the lost, the broken, and the poor
of this World. - Serving the Father’s people.

The Missionary of the Holy Spirit is above all a servant. A servant of the servants of God. A servant of the poorest of the poor. There is no greater privilege than to serve another. To serve another is to be given the privilege of touching Christ. When a Christian’s ministry is too important to serve the least of the world’s broken and wounded, then that ministry has ceased to be Christ’s! In the Body of Christ as in Society there are many wounded and broken who go unseen. Some are in the pulpit, some are in the pews, and some have been wounded and lost to the fellowship of local churches. We must look beyond a mentality of “our ministry” and beg God that we may become His voice and hands to touch the unseen. There is no greater honour than to hear the Master say “Well done good and faithful servant…”

I want you to share your food with the hungry and bring right into your own homes those who are helpless, poor and destitute. Clothe those who are cold and don't hide from relatives who need your help.

If you do these things, God will shed his own glorious light upon you. He will heal you; your godliness will lead you forward, and goodness will be a shield before you, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. Then, when you call, the Lord will answer. ``Yes, I am here,'' he will quickly reply. All you need to do is to stop oppressing the weak, and to stop making false accusations and spreading vicious rumours!

Feed the hungry! Help those in trouble! Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you shall be as bright as day.
And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy you with all good things, and keep you healthy too; and you will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.

Your sons will rebuild the long-deserted ruins of your cities, and you will be known as ``The People Who Rebuild Their Walls and Cities.''

If you keep the Sabbath holy, not having your own fun and business on that day, but enjoying the Sabbath and speaking of it with delight as the Lord's holy day, and honouring the Lord in what you do, not following your own desires and pleasure, nor talking idly-- then the Lord will be your delight, and I will see to it that you ride high, and get your full share of the blessings I promised to Jacob, your father. The Lord has spoken.
L.V.B. Isaiah 58:7-14

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.

And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, `Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

`For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
`I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'

Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, `Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
`When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
`Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'

And the King will answer and say to them, `Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.
Matthew 25:31-40

Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.

After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, "Lord, are You washing my feet?''
Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.''
Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!'' Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.''
Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!''
Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.''

For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, "You are not all clean.''
So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?

"You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.
"If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
"For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.
"If you know these things, happy are you if you do them.”

John 13:1-17

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

My little children let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
1 John 3:16-18

5) Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence and Holy Indifference towards
all types of service. - Honouring the Father’s will.

The Order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit is composed of Brothers and Sisters who have chosen to trust their heavenly Father.

We believe that God is love and in Him is no darkness or deceit.

Therefore we abandon our lives to His will above our own. This is our greatest gift to God, our trust. “Not my will, but yours be done”. We allow ourselves to be inspired by faithful brethren of the past who lived and died in this abandonment. They are our heroes. In particular we draw inspiration from the spirituality of St. Benedict, Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi and Charles de Foucauld.
We could just as well have chosen Andrew Murray, George Fox, Hudson Taylor, George Muller, and William and Catherine Booth from the evangelical protestant traditions. There are millions who have walked this walk before us, and many who will follow after we are gone.

These are chosen for their particular testimony of abandonment within the context of pioneering a Religious Order that embraces the charism which the Holy Spirit has also entrusted to us.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console:
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

St. Francis of Assisi
Co-Founder with St. Clare of the Franciscan Movement.

Self-Abandonment to Divine Care or Providence applies for all areas of our lives. If we are willing to trust God for our eternal future why not trust Him with the same abandon in our present moment.

It is essentially a surrender of our will, our fears and cares, our anxieties and worries on a daily basis. When we focus our lives around His will, we are in the securest place in the World. We cannot and will not conceive of saying “No” and “Lord” at the same time. Our only valid response is “Yes Lord”.

Father,
I abandon myself into your hands.
Do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you.
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul.
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart.
For I love you , Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands without reserve and with boundless confidence.
For you are my Father.

Brother Charles de Foucauld
Martyr & founder of the Little Brothers and Sisters of Jesus.

Holy Indifference implies a chosen detachment from all preferred forms of service and lifestyles so as to be available exclusively to His will & chosen service for us. It is not for us to tell God what we will do for Him.

Our service is simply the obedient outworking of our inner life with Him. The Order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit is primarily a Contemplative Order who will undertake any service or vocation the Master wishes. However, as soon as another can do it better, or are available to serve, we will relinquish our role, support them in theirs, and eventually if we are successful, “put ourselves out of a job”. We are never to fall into the trap of taking our worth or identity from what we do or from a title. Our worth and dignity comes from being loved by God and surrendered to His will. Our only passion is to live in availability and vulnerability before Him. This was a powerful spiritual characteristic of those Celtic monks and spiritual pioneers of ages past.

O Lord,
Wherever your glory be best served, whenever, however, there, then, and in that state let me your servant be only hide not from me your Divine love.
Help me to trust you to the uttermost.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
To give, and not to count the cost;
To fight, and not to heed the wounds;
To toil, and not to look for rest;
To labour, and not ask for any reward,
Save that of knowing that I am doing your will.

St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Founder of the Society of Jesus.

Daily life as a Missionary of the Holy Spirit.

“Preach the Gospel on all occasions and if necessary use words” - Francis of Assisi

A person’s life speaks far more eloquently than their words. Missionaries of the Holy Spirit understand their absolute need for God’s person and presence. Therefore we hold it to be our highest calling to honour our daily appointment with God.

Prayer and devotional life.

The Daily Office. Members are to consecrate time so as to pray some form of morning and evening prayer daily.

Suggested resources for the Offices:
The Divine Office. Official Catholic 3 Volume Set.
The Anglican Breviary.
Divine Hours. A three-volume set by Phyllis Tickle.
The Book of Common Prayer - 1928 or 1979 editions.
Celebrating Common Prayer (Society of Saint Francis).
Celtic Daily Prayer - The Northumbria Community.

Lectio Divina.
A four-fold method of listening to God speak through the Holy Word and Christian writings.
a) READ: Read the text slowly two or three times.
b) LISTEN & CONTEMPLATE: Allow the Holy Spirit to quicken a portion, phrase, or even a word to you. Remain with this, and allow it to speak into your heart.
c) MEDITATE & STUDY: Meditate on the text or book you are reading. Use your imagination to place yourself in the context of the Scripture and live it out from different perspectives. Listen to your heart and emotions and how you are encountering God’s Truth and Person.
d) APPLY TO YOUR LIFE & WALK: Ask the Holy Spirit to help you apply what you have meditated and contemplated to your life today. Write it down in your prayer journal and seek opportunities to put it into Practice.
This is one way to facilitate “the Word becoming flesh” daily in your life.

The Eucharist.
The Eucharist or Lord’s Supper is at the heart of the contemplative’s life. Here is our most intimate moment of communion with Jesus. Here we contemplate the redemptive mystery of the incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus and His eternal presence with the Church in the midst of “the breaking of bread”. Here too we contemplate both the mystery of the oneness of Christ’s Body, The Church; our oneness relationship to all His children, and the mystery of Christ’s presence in us, as individuals. Each communion service calls us to deeper oneness and unity with God and our brother.

Priest members of the Order should seek to celebrate regularly the Eucharist.

All Missionaries should receive communion at least once a week.

Evangelical & Anabaptist members should have weekly celebration of their communion services to unite again in the mystery of the completed redemptive sacrifice of Christ and to reaffirm their consecration to the walk of reconciliation and unity with all Christ’s children. When we partake of the bread and wine we partake of our brother & sister, as well as celebrating our Lord’s sacrifice on the Cross.

Personal Prayer.
The heart of a contemplative is the heart of a worshiper. Praise, Worship, and Adoration should play a large part in our personal prayer life. As the Royal Priesthood of Jesus we stand in the gap on earth under the direction of Christ’s heavenly intercessory ministry. We stand in the gap for the Church in her humanity; we stand in the gap for the nations who live in ignorance of their Creator. We offer training to all members in their noviciate and consecrated life in the ways of prayer and our sincerest desire is that we may be a people whose greatest joy is contemplative union through communion with our God.

Silence.
Silence is the contemplative’s friend. Whether we feel God’s presence and anointing or not, He is there. We still the clamour of our souls so as to rest in the pregnant silence of His presence. This is our home, our place of encounter. At times it will expose us in our nudity and helplessness, at times it will console us, but He is always there beyond the clamour of our soul, there awaiting our availability and presence.

Work.
All work is sacred when it is consecrated to God. We should never continue work that contradicts His council or grieves His Spirit. But having said that, we need to understand that our daily work is also prayer. We work not only for ourselves, but also for His Kingdom. We work to have resources to share with our local Church. We work to bless our families and loved ones. We work to meet our brother’s needs. We work to have the liberty to touch our neighbour’s need. We work to enable the mission of the Order and the Universal Church to continue. We work to gain stewardship for Christ over the worlds resources, to play our part in the wealth transference from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light. We work as Jesus worked at Nazareth, often hidden, bringing the Father’s presence to the heart of society. We work because Christ also sends us into factories, offices, schools, garages, prisons etc.

Ancient contemplatives divided their day between prayer, work, and relating to their immediate community, we too walk this path. It is one whole expression of our calling.

The Home - Our Monastery.
The home of a Missionary of the Holy Spirit is their Monastery. Each house or apartment is a centre of the Kingdom presence in our neighbourhood. It is the location of our first service to God and others. We recognize that it belongs to God. Those who are married accept their loved ones as their first community and congregation. We lay down our lives for their welfare and sanctification. There will be times when we will need to give more of our hearts to them than to outer ministry. This is wholesome and good. But at all times Jesus is first.

We hope that as the Order develops God may grace us with those who are called to a consecrated common life expression and that we may see the birth of extended family homes in neighbourhoods composed of celibates, married, and singles or consecrated monasteries of male or female celibates.

Hospitality
Our homes must always be places of genuine welcome and hospitality for those the Father sends. This is our greatest joy to become a hub of love and spiritual life in our neighbourhood. Let us see lives changed at our kitchen tables, the hungry fed, the lonely consoled, and the broken healed. Let us always be willing to reach out to our neighbours. Let there always be an extra place set at table for Christ’s guest.

Personal Ministry / Service.
While we are above all a contemplative order, we embrace under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the great commission of our Lord Jesus Christ to make Disciples of Nations (social groupings), baptising them into Christ and His Body in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We therefore believe that each believer is called firstly to reconciled communion with their God, and secondly to His service through a ministry of reconciliation in both the Church and the World.

We will seek to encourage and equip all to enter into their true place in the Body of Christ. The Order respects the autonomy of the ministries of its members and seeks only to give encouragement, fellowship, and service to them. We recognise that the Body of Christ is one; therefore service to any single part is service to all.

Personal Retreat
Each member of the Order shall make a personal retreat once a year. As Christ our Lord withdrew into the quiet places to be alone so must we if we are to taste and renew our personal intimacy with Him. At this retreat each member shall write a spiritual account of their year of life and service and send it to the Community Abbé (Father).

Body life in the Order.

Retreats
Each year the Order shall hold its annual spiritual retreat. The purpose of this is to gather as a specific community of people to wait upon God, hear His voice, renew our vision, and deepen our fellowship.

New Novices shall be accepted into the Order officially at this time.
Professions of vowed consecrated life may be made and lifetime vows renewed.

At the conclusion of our yearly Retreat we shall hold our General Chapter Meeting to discuss and arrive at decisions together concerning the Orders spiritual and temporal life.

Local Fellowship.
All members of the Order, as true Disciples, should be active servants in a local expression of Church Community. However where members live close to each other they should seek each other out at least once a month to enjoy fellowship and prayer.

Your Novice Master or Formation Director.
The Novice Master (Formation Director) is the traditional term for the spiritual servant and director of the Novices. Their role is to act as a mentor and friend as the novice enters and matures through the spiritual formation and help offered by the Order.

Your “Anaim Cara” or “Soul Friend”
The “Anaim Cara” or soul friend is a vocational companion in the tradition of the Celtic Church, a brother for a newly professed male, and a sister for a newly professed female. They are not your formational directors but rather a friend and companion to accompany and encourage you on your journey. In time you too may be assigned as an “Anaim Cara” to another. Members shall receive their “Anaim Cara” at first profession of vows after the completion of their noviciate.

The Internet.
The Internet is a wonderful place of meeting where distance is easily bridged. Our site needs to be a point of encounter and spiritual nourishment much as the “Daily Chapter Meeting” was for the ancient monks in common life monasteries of old. The Internet may serve as a forum and as a place to ask intercessory prayer from the Order membership.
How our Order is structured and lead.

Servant Leadership.
The purpose of leadership is:

To serve the desires of God for the Order.
To promote fidelity to the Order’s charisms and calling.
To facilitate each member and the whole Body of the Order in their common walk towards Christ.

The ministry of the following brethren shall serve the day to day running of the Order.

Extraordinary decisions or amendments to the Rule and Constitution of the Order shall be made at the General Chapter of the Order.

The Community Father or Abbé.
The Abbé (French for spiritual father) presides over and cares for the Order as an Abbot or Abbess cared for the consecrated brethren in ancient historic Eastern and Celtic monasticism. The emphasis is on care and nurturing rather than ecclesiastical authority.

The Abbé is always under the oversight and pastoral care of an Archbishop or Bishop. The Abbé provides leadership, guidance, and spiritual direction to the Order. Unless he is ordained a bishop, the Abbé does not exercise episcopal functions within the Order. The Abbé must be an ordained Priest in historic apostolic succession.

The present Abbé is the founder of our Order Fr. Gerard O’ Flaherty.

The fully professed members of the Order of The Missionaries of the Holy Spirit may elect a future Abbé with their choice pending approval by the Founder, or the retiring Abbé, & the Episcopal Overseer. This election shall be held once every five years after the first lifetime professions for the Order have been made. No individual may hold this office for more than two consecutive five-year periods.

While the founder lives and is a faithful Christian, his role shall be to guide and council the Order in the interpretation of it’s guiding charisms. The founder does not necessarily need to be in an office of government in the Order. All authority is an act of love and service to the brethren for their edification and growth.
No one must ever lord over another. Jesus in John 13 has set us the example of servant leadership and we must follow in His footsteps. The greatest among you must be the servant of all.

The Prior
The Prior assists the Abbé in the overseeing of the Order and serves as a spiritual advisor and counsellor to the Abbé. The Prior may or may not be a member of the ordained Priesthood. The Abbé, with the approval of the Episcopal Overseer, appoints the Prior.

Regional Pastoral Servants
Given the nature of our Order and the globality of the Internet, Regional Pastoral Servants are local extensions of the fatherly and fraternal care of the Abbé and the Prior. They may or may not be ordained Priests / Ministers. As with all service roles brothers or sisters may occupy them. Their role is to humbly care for the needs of Order Members in their State, Province, or City. The Abbé appoints Regional Pastoral Servants as needed. They will share monthly with both the Abbé and the Prior concerning their service and are accountable to the presiding Episcopal Overseer.

The Spiritual Director for Novices or “Novice Master”
The Novice Master is the appointed Spiritual Director and Mentor for the Novices and Postulants of the Order. Their function is to mentor and care for those in their charge guiding them through the Spiritual Formation provided by the Order.

The Treasurer or Bursar.
The Bursar of the Order shall take care that all the Orders financial dealings shall be conducted according to good order and the laws of the state. An annual report shall be prepared by the Bursar and presented to the Abbé, the Prior, and the Episcopal Overseer. A general report shall be presented to all professed members of the Order at the General Chapter Meeting held after the Annual Retreat.

The Secretary.
The Secretary is an administrative servant of the Order. They will aid the Abbé and the Prior in their service and keep exact minutes at all assemblies and business meetings for the Order.

An Ecumenical Order

Membership of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit is open to all baptised Christians in the Evangelical, Charismatic, and Sacramental streams. We draw our identity and inspiration from the monastic life & charism of the apostolic ancient Churches. As an Order, our life and community are directly under the spiritual authority of our Abbé & our overseeing Episcopal Visitor. The desire of the Order is to birth a people of true consecration and abandonment to the service of our Lord Jesus. All members of the Order may continue faithfully in their respective Churches while enjoying full membership. May the intercession of Jesus in John 17 become the dearest aspiration of our hearts.

Understanding our Vows

Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, whether Married, Single, or Celibate express their consecration of their lives to Jesus through the taking and living out of the evangelical councils of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. Given the diversity of our vocational paths it is important that we understand how these historic vows of consecration are expressed in our community family

The Vow of Poverty.

There is a difference between voluntary and involuntary poverty. The one is a chosen spiritual path, the other an imposed and degrading system that dims the humanity of its victims.

To vow voluntary poverty is to choose to follow Jesus in His inner choice of a dependent life upon the Father. It is to rid oneself of all things that hinder loving, serving and having time for God and neighbour. Any thing or person, which comes before Christ or love in our hearts, is idolatrous and harmful. To voluntarily vow poverty is not to reject earthly goods but rather it is to choose a simplicity of life and lifestyle which allows us to overcome our fears and liberates us to become channels of God’s abundant provisions to all whom the Father leads us to, especially to those of our own household. [Isaiah 58:6-12]. It is to choose to believe in the Father’s love and provision for our lives. It is a walk of faith and obedience to His will.
It is to acknowledge God as the ultimate source of your spiritual, mental, physical, and relational life.

To vow holy poverty is to desire to emulate the kenosis [self emptying] of Jesus as described in Philippians chapter two. Each Christian must choose who is the source of their well-being, God or human effort. Embracing the abandonment of Christ is an entering into His faith in the Father’s providential care. Walking in Divine Providence may be defined as having all that you need to obey God and touch human need as He has lead you to do. It is that state of heart called Poverty of Spirit that allows you to walk in harmony with God’s Word, Wisdom, and Spirit.

The Father has explained to us what He desires from us as His children.

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly. To love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. [Micah 6:8]

Love of brother means voluntary poverty, stripping one’s self, putting off the old man, denying one’s self, etc. It also means non-participation in those comforts and luxuries, which have been manufactured by the exploitation of others. While our brothers suffer from lack of necessities, we will refuse to enjoy comforts…And we must keep this vision in mind, recognize the truth of it, the necessity for it, even though we do not, cannot, live up to it. [From On Pilgrimage quoted by Dorothy Day, Meditations pp. 58-59].

The Vow of Chastity.

The Vow of Chastity is the Vow to love in a pure and selfless manner. It is not a denial of our sexuality but it’s fulfilment through chaste, integral, and faithful relationships. It is the choice to love and not to use God or others for self-gratification or self-fulfilment. It is for married, single, and celibate Christians alike. Christian chastity contrasts the spirit of our age, which is deeply wounding humanity. It is to repent from an obsession with self to open to the true life of the heart and to the well being of others. Sometimes it helps to see the truth contrasted against the error.

Max Stirner in his book The Individual and His Property expresses honestly the worldview we desire to repent from.

“My dealings with the world - what is their purpose? I want to enjoy the world; therefore it must be mine. All I want is to have power over the world. I want to make it my property; that is, I want to be able to enjoy it. I take advantage of the world and the people in it. My enjoyment and my happiness consist in refreshing myself at the cost of their happiness and their enjoyment. But as for me, I never sacrifice myself; I remain an egotist and relish it! I am not one ego among others: I am the sole ego. I am unique….I exist only for myself. Everything I see and enjoy, everything I take in hand and carry out, is all for myself. Whether I love a person in order to enjoy him, or whether I hate a person in order to eliminate him, I do it to expand and protect my sphere of influence. Either I am “good” to the “loved” person because it enables me to take pleasure in him and because I need a larger support group to help me assert myself and increase my power - or I wrong those who might hinder, disturb, or restrain me, who stand in the way of my enjoying life. I live for myself and my power alone, for myself and for nothing else”.

Jesus gave us all two commandments, to love God and to love each other as He has loved us. When we seek to understand the Vow of Chastity we need only look at how Jesus loved and choose to love in like manner [Rom.5:5]. This is open to all.

The Vow of Obedience.

To trust and obey the Lord is the way to true inner life and blessing in relationship and ministry. We vow obedience because we vow to place our lives at the service of the Father’s desires. We hold the Lordship of Jesus to be our greatest treasure. We set ourselves to never deliberately or consciously grieve the Holy Spirit.

The consecrated brother or sister is invited to surrender self-will to live the Divine will through the instrumentality of their lives. Submission to authority should follow an order of priority:

God’s Person and Word.
Our Conscience.
And in the case of the Order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, Your Episcopal Overseer, The Abbé and Prior, the agreed consensus of the Community and its Rule of Life, our Novice Master, etc.

We do not ask anyone to vow obedience to us as they do to God. We are here as servants of God and equippers and carers of His children for his glory and their welfare. If someone is joined to this work they will be willing to allow themselves to be formed, edified, discipled, and cared for by its ministers. Again I state as founder that authority is a service to Christ and his Church. We must always respect the conscience of our brother or sister.

We all vow obedience to Jesus because it is only in the consecration of the human will that it is liberated from the old man to serve the new.

Our Formational Process.

The Formational Process is divided into four phases. However all Missionaries will be nurtured and equipped during all their life in the Order.

The Postulant.

When John the Baptist’s disciples asked Jesus where He lived, He replied with an invitation to “Come and see”. The postulancy is a season of exploration, searching and inquiry, which may last from six to 12 months. During this time the inquirer will receive a basic formation in the directions that their consecrated life might take, which is in Prayer, Community, and Service. The Postulant has special access to the Order while not being an official member of the Order.

The Novice.

The Novitiate is a period of between one and two years where the individual may live the life of a Missionary of the Holy Spirit before taking first vows. It is a wonderful season of personal spiritual formation and care under the ministry of the Community
Abbé, Prior, and Novice Master. The novitiate follows a step-by-step preparation and equipping process to enable the candidate to consecrate with full knowledge and full consent into the mission and purpose of the Order. The novice may attend the annual private retreat of the Order. The governing Council of the Order, on behalf of all members, must approve & receive each Novice before they may proceed to first, second, or third vows.

First, second, and third Vows.

These are brothers and sisters who have entered the Order taking their Vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience on a yearly basis for three years. They are given full rights as voting members at the General Chapter of the Order, but may not hold such positions of governing service as Community Abbé, Prior, or Novice Master before taking final Vows.

Each phase of Vowing needs the approval of the governing Council representing all fully vowed members of the Order. In this process the individual discerns their walk to be with the Order and the Order confirms or disavows their discernment through its council. Thus each individual is welcomed by the entire order and each individual vocation is affirmed by all.

Final or lifetime Vows.
Having been approved by the mature Order these candidates may proceed to make a lifetime profession of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience to Jesus to be lived out within the context of the Celtic Order of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit.

Discipline & Expulsion.

The purpose of all Christian discipline must be restoration to Christ & full fellowship with His Church. All of us may at one time or another fall. When we do, we need restoration. The Order will always act in humility and charity toward those who fall into Satan’s temptations and traps. We must love and restore as we are daily loved and restored by our Lord Jesus.

It may be necessary to discipline a brother or sister in order to restore them to Christ and full fellowship with His children. This is the choice of the individual who must ask for restoration and discipline. It is the duty of the Order to offer restoration to it’s fallen. Such a request by an individual is in itself a sign that the Holy Spirit has preceded our ministry. It is our most sacred and joyous privilege to collaborate in the restoration of another.

Pastoral discipline & restoration is in the parameters of the ministry of the Abbé, the Prior, and the Episcopal Overseer.

In the case of hardness of heart and stubborn refusal to repent, then the Order is forced by the individual’s choice of position to proceed in accord with the Gospel council in Matthew 18:12-20.

Expulsion from the Missionaries of The Holy Spirit should only occur where the nature of the sin is serious and where discipline & restoration have been refused consistently. It is for love of the rest of the brethren that we must exclude those who choose the way of rebellion above the way of love. All division and strife should be seen as serious sin, and the lowest form of self-idolatry.

The decision to exclude a professed member must be made by the entire Council of the Order.

Re-admission to the Order.
The excluded brother or sister, showing evidence of repentance, may request to be readmitted to the Order. Their re-admittance is subject to the councils ruling.

On Habits, Emblems, and Symbols.

At present the only habit offered is the Monastic Alb.

This Alb reminds us of our calling to consecration, to our vows, and the new creation nature that already resides within our hearts.

We are reminded that we stand by privileged adoption into the ancient stream of monastic spirituality begun by St. Anthony and the Desert Fathers in Egypt. It also reminds us that each day we need to be conscious that we have put off the old man and put on the new made in the image of Christ.

It foreshadows the day when we shall be mystically clothed in our blood washed garments of righteousness in heaven.

When to ware our Alb.
It is appropriate to wear the Alb when in private prayer and when we participate in liturgical functions.

Who may ware the Alb?
All novices, and vowed members of the Order may wear the Monastic Alb.

Our Order’s Cross.
Our Community wears a distinctive Cross with the Monastic Alb.
Professed members of the Order may wear this Cross. It symbolises both our love for and identification with Christ and our acceptance of the vowed life as an instrumental vocation chosen by Jesus for us personally.

Clerical Attire.
Vowed members of the Order may wear a white clerical shirt / blouse where they deem it appropriate.
Outward symbols are only useful where they serve to communicate inner reality.

Our Symbol, The Pelican.
The Pelican is an ancient Christian symbol for self-less love. It is based on the story that the pelican will wound itself sacrificially to feed its young in times of famine. This speaks of Christ’s selfless love for us, and our desire to love Him and others selflessly following His example.