MISSIONARIES OF THE KINGSHIP OF CHRIST - sim

Secular institutes are one of the more recent developments in the Church. It was a little more than 80 years ago that a few lay people and priests began to think of a new way of life in the Church. Two of these were Armida Barelli and Agostino Gemelli, a Franciscan Friar, who first met in Milan (Italy) in 1910. Together they founded the Secular Institute of Missionaries of the Kingship of Christ. Like some of their contemporaries, they felt that the Church was losing contact with the world, and that a gap was growing between many ordinary people (whether Catholic or not) and the official Church. They felt that there was an urgent need for a new and special group of lay people who would consecrate their lives to God; as religious and priests do, but who would remain in the lay condition, without the religious habit or other external signs; community life or convents.

With the strong encouragement and guidance of Friar Gemelli, Armida Barelli decided that she would consecrate her life to God. To live as a single woman and take a vow of chastity and promises of poverty, and obedience, while remaining in her ordinary professional life as a teacher.

Armida chose a life of consecration, because she felt there were many things that God was calling her to do in her work situation that a religious woman could not do. She continued in her teaching profession, lived for quite a few years with her parents, was responsible for her own financial situation and yet all of these were strongly influenced by her vow of chastity and promises of poverty and obedience.

Armida also believed that she was not just to live in the world but that like any fully committed Christian she had a responsibility to bring Christ to others, to let other people know that God loves all. She felt she had a mission , not in the sense of those who go to foreign lands, but as apostles who bring Christ to others within the ordinary circumstances of life, work, family, social and cultural life.

Perhaps you also feel that it would be a great source of strength to belong to a group of consecrated women even though you would not share daily life in common as religious usually do.

Mission and Ministry:

Missionaries live in the spirit of the Beatitudes in the world. In every situation they are to act as salt, light and leaven to promote human values and to sanctify the world – in the workplace, family, social, community and parish life.

They are open to all the legitimate aspirations of other people, especially the poorest among them. They diffuse everywhere the joyful hope of the Good News of life in Christ.

As consecrated women, Missionaries do not share a common life or works. Each Missionary pursues her own professional life, which is her chief place of mission. She might be a salesgirl in a supermarket or a doctor or lawyer. She might be a home care worker, teacher or a bank manager.

Formation:

The formation or preparation program is designed to support a candidate in developing her own personality towards full maturity and freedom; in living her vow of chastity and promises of poverty and obedience in the lay condition. It enables her to discover the spirit of St Francis; to be attentive to the demands of a mission in the world; to enjoy a prayer life with the experience of God and the ability to contemplate God in all creation; to deepen her understanding of Sacred Scripture.

The Institute has a preparation plan for candidates. If after a year of discernment, you are interested to pursue this way of life, you will engage in a program of study and reflection for a period of at least three years. Once this period is complete, you will commit yourself to a period of further study and discernment for five years. During all of this time you are supported by a missionary who has responsibility for the preparation or formation period, as well as other members of the group. This time of preparation is an opportunity to experience the spirit of the Institute and the sense of belonging to community of shared ideals. This period of preparation concludes (normally eight years in total, excluding the year of discernment) with final profession, which is renewed each year, though the commitment is for life.

VOCATION INFORMATION:

Director of Aspirants
PO Box 712
ELSTERNWICK  VIC 3185

THE SCHOENSTATT SISTERS OF MARY

The Secular Institute of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary was founded by Father Joseph Kentenich on the 1st October 1926 in Schoenstatt near Vallendar, Germany. The first members arrived in Australia in 1951.

Our community is one of the first secular institutes in the Church. Because of its dynamic form of life, we have many possibilities: depending on our field of work, we can live alone or in community, wear lay dress or the sisters’ uniform dress.

We give ourselves to God through a covenant of love with Mary, the Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen and Victress of Schoenstatt. She is our mother, sister, model and educator. She inspires us to form a genuine, family-like community with a lay spirituality, which is deeply rooted in the covenant of love with her.

The Schoenstatt Shrine is our spiritual home, a place of grace and the source of life for our spirituality and work. It is the religious-spiritual centre for almost 3, 000 Sisters of Mary in more than 33 countries and for the many other Schoenstatt communities.

Mission and Ministry:

Just as Mary assisted Christ in establishing his kingdom, we, too, wish to help Christ build his realm everywhere. By a vital consecration of our daily life we want to be Mary’s instruments as a community of lay leaders serving in the Church or secular spheres.

The Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary are one community of the international Schoenstatt Family. With it we share the same origin, the same spirituality, the same mission. Our main focus is to be the soul of the international Schoenstatt Work.

In generously serving love, our primary task as a community is the education and formation of girls, women and families. This is achieved through engagement in a multifaceted array of professions and occupations wherever the gospel can be proclaimed.
 

• retreat centres
• parish and missionary work
• pastoral care of families
• health care
• business and computer technology
• education at every level
• As a secular institute it is our mission to bring all into a living contact with God.
   

Formation:

Those called to the life of a Sister of Mary undergo a formation period of about 8 and a half years. The first step is several months of close contact with the Sisters. Two years Novitiate follow. Those who enter the community in the same year, form a course community. This is something new in the long history of religious communities. Every sister not only belongs to a province, but also to this course group.

During the Novitiate the sisters search for their course ideal, the manner in which they want to be like Mary -

• to be free for what is essential - the spirit of poverty.
• to be open to respond to God’s wishes unconditionally - the spirit of obedience.
• to love God with an undivided heart and thus unfold the fullness of our power to love - the spirit of virginity.
• to be, in Mary, a firebrand of love that enkindles the world for God - the Spirit of Schoenstatt.

Without vows, obliged to a contract combined with a consecration to God, the members strive to live their religious life through attachment to these high ideals.

The six years following the Novitiate offer the individuals and the institute the opportunity to prove the genuineness of the vocation. During this time, there are two half year periods of further training. Then the final acceptance follows. The sister receives a ring as a sign of her permanent acceptance.

The guiding motive for every Sister of Mary is "the love of Christ urges us on"(2 Cor. 5:14). To be totally available for God and for people, for the Church, for the world-wide mission of Schoenstatt is our program for life. The community wants to help the Church give testimony to the power of the Gospel in all cultures.

"All who give and consecrate themselves to our Blessed Mother may expect countless blessings from God." (Fr. Joseph Kentenich)

VOCATION INFORMATION:

Sr Rebecca Sampang
Mount Schoenstatt
230 Fairlight Road
Mulgoa NSW 2745

Telephone 02 4773 8338
Facsimile 02 4773 8530
Email:sr.rebecca.sampang@syndeycatholic.org

Secular Order of Discladed Carmelites  ocds

Following the Light. One of the images Carmelites use to understand the spiritual journey is derived from the poem The Dark Night by Saint John of the Cross, a verse of which reads: Surer than noonday sun,guiding me from the start this radiant light led me to that dear One, waiting for me, well-known, somewhere apart where no-one came in sight.

The desire to live a life of ‘allegiance to Jesus Christ’ as our Carmelite Rule urges us to do, is like a radiant light burning in our hearts, urging us to leave behind all that is not God, in order to find God. This is at the very centre of our calling as Secular Carmelites.

Who Are We?

We are members of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, a family of men and women, both religious and lay, interspersed through many countries of the world.  The Carmelite Order had its origins in the 13th century on Mount Carmel, Palestine.  The Secular Order was founded by Blessed John Soreth in 1452, with the same decree and at the same time as founding the nuns.  In Avila, Spain in the 16th century, St Teresa of Jesus inaugurated a reform.  St John of the Cross joined her in this endeavour which resulted in a new Order, the Discalced Carmelites.  

As Secular Carmelites, we live out our Carmelite charism in the midst of our family and professional lives, in the so-called secular world.  St Teresa of Jesus reminds us that the Lord is with us in our everyday duties; among the pots and pans, helping us in all things.  By our way of life which is both contemplative and apostolic, we witness to the transcendent value of the Gospel and prayer.

What Do I Do?

Are you searching for more meaning in your life and desire a more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ?  Are you inspired by the teachings of the Carmelite saints?  Would you like to have the support of a community of like-minded people who share your values?  Then perhaps God is calling you to be a Secular Carmelite.  The vocation of being a Secular Carmelite requires a re-ordering of your life, a commitment.

What is Required of a Secular Carmelite?

• Prayer - liturgical and personal. Our prayer life is nourished by both liturgical and personal prayer:-– the daily celebration of the Eucharist if possible, and the recitation of Morning and Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours and if possible, Night Prayer.  We devote at least half an hour each day to mental prayer.  We receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation frequently, and participate as fully as possible in the penitential and apostolic life of the Church.
• Spiritual reading and recollection. The study and spiritual reading of Scripture and the writings of our Carmelite Saints, occupy a privileged place in nourishing our prayer life.  The Church’s documents also provide us with food and inspiration in our commitment to follow Jesus. We need to find times of silence and solitude in our day and in our lives, realizing that even when our lives are busy we can take a little time to enter into the silent room of our souls, to meet secretly with our Beloved, no matter where we are, even amidst the crowds and noise.
• Mary as model. Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, listened to the word of God and responded to it with all her heart.   Like Mary, we aim to keep God’s word, pondering it in our hearts and to respond with our “Yes” to God’s will in all the circumstances of our lives. We wear the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt Carmel, as a sign of our devotion to her.
• A willingness to be formed. We are guided by the Rule of St Albert, our Constitutions, Statutes, Documents and Ritual.   We belong to a local community and attend a monthly meeting.  Although a candidate undertakes a structured formation program which is a gradual introduction into the way of life of a Secular Carmelite and a time of discernment, ongoing formation is a requirement of our lives as Christians.  It fosters in us a willingness to change, to grow and commit ourselves to a way of life that will challenge us.  “Closeness to Christ in silence and contemplation does not distance us from our contemporaries but, on the contrary, makes us attentive and open to human joy and distress and broadens our heart on a global scale.” (Pope John Paul II)

To follow Jesus is to take part in His saving mission of proclaiming the Good News and the establishing of God’s Kingdom (Mt 4:18–19)

Interested in Becoming a Secular Carmelite?

• Contact the Secular Carmelite Community nearest to you. They will be happy to answer your questions and help you discern the next step to take.
• Prepare yourself spiritually by daily Eucharist, if possible and prayer.
• Be patient. The Carmelite charism has to be internalised, lived and gradually understood.

Contact Inforamtion: (Australia & Samoa)

NATIONAL COUNCIL Australia & Samoa
President: presidentocds@carmelite.com

COMMUNITY PRESIDENTS/COORDINATORS:

Brisbane, Our Lady of Mount Carmel
brisbaneocds@carmelite.com

Lismore, St Joseph’s Group
lismoreocds@carmelite.com

Sydney, Ashfield, Mary Immaculate
ashfieldocds@carmelite.com

Sydney, Varroville, St Elijah
varrovilleocds@carmelite.com

Melbourne, Box Hill, St John of the Cross
boxhillocds@carmelite.com

Perth, Our Lady of Mount Carmel & St Teresa
perthocds@carmelite.com

Hobart (Contact Person)
hobartocds@carmelite.com

Launceston, Mary Mother of Divine Grace Group
launcestonocds@carmelite.com

Apia, Samoa
apiaocds@carmelite.com

THE VERBUM DEI MISSIONARY FRATERNITY vdm

Verbum Dei is an international Catholic Community founded by Fr. Jaime Bonet (a diocesan priest) in Mallorca, Spain in 1963, receiving Pontifical approval on the 15th April, 2000 as an Institute of Consecrated Life in the Catholic Church. At the core of Verbum Dei Fraternity there are three missionary branches: consecrated women, men (priests), who consecrate their lives to God through the profession of evangelical vows, and missionary couples who consecrate themselves to God. We are united with one and the same charism and mission. The community embraces people of all states and walks of life. Those who feel attracted to our charism and spirituality can become disciples of the community who participate in our activities and support us in carrying out our specific mission.

As a seminarian, our founder, Fr Jaime Bonet, was deeply aware of the urgent need to proclaim the Good News. He was going to the surrounding towns of Mallorca conducting retreats for young people, enabling them to have a strong encounter with the Living Word of God - Christ.

A group of young women were drawn to do the same as Fr Jaime was doing. They started to live as a community, wanting to dedicate their whole life to prayer and the ministry of the Word. (C.f. Acts 6:4) Very soon afterwards, they began to study theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome where they completed their Masters and Doctorate in Theology.

In 1969, the missionary movement extended to young men who experienced the same attraction to live out this charism. In that same year, some couples and lay people joined the movement. From their own state of life, they too were drawn to prayer and the ministry of the word.

Missionary expansion started in the first years of the community. Our community of Sydney, Australia was opened in 1990 by Juana Crespi. Then in 2000, we were offered a position as chaplain at the University of Wollongong. Consequently, our community of Wollongong was opened in 2001.
 

Mission and Ministry:

The Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity is a contemplative-active, apostolic-missionary institute of consecrated life. Our objective is to form apostles of Christ from among people of every state of life.(C.f. Mt 28:19-20) We are dedicated to living and propagating the Kingdom of God by announcing the Word of God since we believe that the Word of God is what put people in touch with God, who is Love. Through this personal encounter with God, people’s hearts are transformed into Love. In this way, we try to help the society to be transformed from within.

Therefore, prayer with the Word of God is a vital part of the community's daily life. "It is in this intimate dialogue with the Word, or prayer, that our calling and mission to preach the gospel is rooted.” (Verbum Dei Constitution #15). Preaching the Word of God for us is transmitting God's life that we receive in prayer. Essential to our mission is to enable others to do the same. (2 Tim 2:2) The love of Christ urges us to present the power of the Love of God in Christian fraternities.

We carry out our Mission through offering:

• 

daily input for prayer with the Word of God

• School of the Word (Prayer with the Word of God)

• School of Apostles (formation for people committed to evangelise)

• Weekend/day retreats for young people, adults, and couples

• Silent retreats (guided prayer with the Word of God)

• University Chaplaincy Ministry

• Spiritual accompaniment

Formation:

Candidates who desire to enter our Community are firstly required to be part of the Weekly School of Apostles where they receive formation and learn how to share the Word of God with others personally or by giving talks.

During the School of Apostles, there is a vocational (single, married or consecrated) discernment period. For those who opt for consecrated life, they then begin a vocational experience in the community for between 6 months to 1 year, which may be combined with work or study and mission.


If the person responds to the values of our charism they then begin a Formation Course which is for a period of two years. The subsequent five years would be invested in Theological studies. For those who have the capacity, they are invited to study a Doctorate in order to be well prepared for the Mission. Effectively,  the formation of our spiritual and missionary life continues even after these initial years, i.e. permanent formation.

VOCATION INFORMATION:

Juana Crespi

74 Rosebery Avenue

Rosebery State NSW 2018
email: vrbmdei@ozemail.com.au


Phone: (02) 93137099
Mobile: 0401 836 427