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News

«Our Mission in the Regnum Christi» – Annual Letter from the General Director to the Legionaries of Christ

Published on 15 September, 2024
Legionaries, News

With the occasion of the liturgical Solemnity of Our Lady of Sorrows, the General Director reflects on the role and missionary mission in the Regnum Christi, based on the experience of the General Convention held last May.

On September 15, the liturgical Solemnity of Our Lady of Sorrows, Fr. John Connor, L.C., the Congregation’s General Director, sent a letter to the Legionaries of Christ in which he emphasizes the missionary mission as a member of the Regnum Christi based on the priorities established at the General Convention held last May.

Additionally, he highlights the need for teamwork, where each member contributes their part in collaboration with others. On the other hand, he revisits the specific missionary goal: to form others, in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ.

Finally, the General Director addresses the three (3) priorities of the General Convention to confront current cultural challenges, as well as a proposal for a particular service in formation and accompaniment.

Below, we publish the full text of the letter in Spanish:

PDF Version (Spanish) – Annual Letter from the General Director 2024

PDF Version (English) – Letter from P. John Connor 15 Sep 2024 English

ePub Version for Mobile Devices (Spanish) – Annual-Director-General-2024

ePub Version for Mobile Devices (English) – Letter-P-John-Connor-15-Sep-2024-English

*****

Thy Kingdom Come!

Rome, September 15, 2024

Our Lady of Sorrows

 

To the Legionaries of Christ

Dearly beloved in Jesus Christ:

 

I hope that all of you are enjoying the grace and favor of God in your various apostolates and activities. Every year, since 2021, I have written a thematic letter on this feast of our heavenly patroness. My intention is to be present among you, at this start of the school year, with some reflections on topics that are truly ours: the transformation into new men, our identification as apostles according to the Heart of Christ, and our reason for being as legionaries. This year, I would like to write to you about our role and mission in the Regnum Christi, based on the experience of the General Convention last May.

 

A seed that blossoms, a dream that comes true

Since 2018, the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ has been part of the Regnum Christi Federation, together with the Laity of Regnum Christi and the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi. A Federation to which young people, adults, diocesan priests, and others are associated. Although this canonical structure is new, it is merely the current stage of a reality that began more than eighty years ago as a seed. Before the branches existed, the first legionaries dreamed of an “army” of laity—consecrated and secular—who would work shoulder to shoulder with them to establish the Kingdom of Christ in society. That dream is now a reality. Number 10 of the Statutes speaks of the “urgent interior need to passionately make His Kingdom present,” of the importance of “assuming as part of following Christ the spiritual combat,” and of “undertaking with a magnanimous heart, enthusiasm, and creativity those actions that make His Kingdom present with greater depth and extent.” Currently, the Regnum Christi exists in the form of apostolic communities “on the move,” scattered around the world, leading mature apostolates and undertaking new ones.

 

Everyone contributes their part in collaboration with all

When I was ordained a priest in 2001, I was sent to work on the East Coast of the United States. My main mission was fundraising to help maintain the formation centers in Cheshire, Thornwood, and Rome. The idea was very simple: to seek people who had the generosity and interest to help us. I mainly carried out my mission in cities where Regnum Christi was not fully developed, such as Philadelphia and Miami. As I got to know people, those who identified most with the Legion’s mission always wanted more: they wanted to get involved in the mission; they wanted formation; they wanted something that Regnum Christi could provide. But the Regnum Christi was almost nonexistent in their city, and I was a young priest.

As a young priest, I had a Legionary mentor who was the director of a well-established section. He guided me in my steps. He helped me understand how the sections of Regnum Christi worked. He even sent his best formators to assist with retreats and spiritual exercises we offered to promote Regnum Christi. After some time, the Consecrated Women arrived, working with women and girls. And I saw the miracle of Regnum Christi’s development, thanks to teamwork, with everyone’s contribution.

All this happened thanks to the collaboration of several trained priests and laity, who gathered to share the treasure of our charism. Many of you have also had this experience, at least in its essential aspects: finding people with concerns, seeking to ignite in them that flame until it becomes a blazing fire, and connecting these people with others who share the same concerns to create community and evangelize. That is Regnum Christi in many parts of the world. A seed that grows and multiplies, not thanks to the work of one person alone, but as a fruit of collaboration and evangelizing communion among many.

 

The specific mission of the Legionaries in Regnum Christi

As legionaries, we are part of this spiritual family, composed of diverse vocations with which we share certain traits of spirituality and mission, and to whom we are called to serve and support with our ministry, our religious identity, and our being apostles. This dimension entails the call to live with demanding virtue, starting with charity and communion, and including collaborative work in local communities.

Although each legionary contributes their personality and talents, as a legionary, you will always contribute something that a member of other branches cannot. Our particular contribution is marked both in our Constitutions, especially numbers 1 to 4, and in the Statutes of the Regnum Christi Federation. In this regard, number 5 of the Statutes has particular relevance:

The Legionaries of Christ, through their religious consecration, bear witness to their dedication to Jesus Christ and their full availability for the fulfillment of the common mission. As priests, they make present Christ the Priest and Good Shepherd through preaching, administering the sacraments, and spiritual guidance. In communion with all, they collaborate in the integral formation, direction, and apostolic projection of the associated faithful, promoting the fullness of their baptismal vocation and Christian leadership, and they establish institutions and undertake actions that can most contribute, in depth and extent, to building Christ’s Kingdom in society.

These numbers from the Constitutions and the Statutes indicate that we have a particular identity as priestly religious who are part of Regnum Christi. This identity defines what we are and also determines how we live the entrusted mission—a mission we share with other vocations.

 

Some implications and recommendations for our legionary life

This reality—that the Legionaries of Christ are part of Regnum Christi with our particular mission of “making Christ the Priest and Good Shepherd present”—has certain implications for our legionary life.

 

  1. Testimony of dedication to Jesus Christ as a religious—sign of the future life

The first characteristic that number 5 of the Statutes points out as our contribution is “the testimony of our dedication to Jesus Christ,” which we give precisely “through our religious consecration.” That is, the lived experience of the evangelical counsels, according to a rule of life, bears eloquent witness to the theological hope to other members. Our radical style of life—living as Jesus Christ did, chaste, poor, and obedient—demonstrates a freedom of spirit, placing all our trust in God and directing the desires of the heart toward the highest. Through “total, definitive, and exclusive dedication to the one and only love of Christ” (CLC 27, 1st), in chastity, we offer a sign of the future life when “neither men nor women will marry, but all will be like angels in heaven” (Mt 22:30). Through this consecration, we channel our hearts toward spiritual goods and heavenly treasures, placing ourselves in God’s providence (cf. CLC 19, 1st), motivating others to detach from passing things and to set their hearts on what will last. Through this consecration, we submit our will to God’s through legitimate superiors who “act in the place of God when they command according to the Constitutions” (CLC 31, 2nd).

We must not underestimate the effect that the testimony of a life fully dedicated to Christ has. For the fulfillment of the mission, the Constitutions itself place the witness of life before apostolate (cf. CLC 2 § 2). Far from separating the authentic religious from the daily life of the people we accompany, it makes him a reference and a source of light guiding their path. Imitation is the primary way in which man learns to live. We learned to speak by imitating what we heard. We learned to play by watching others play. We learned how to behave by observing others interact with their environment. Man learns his values through the culture surrounding him. Therefore, the testimony of consecrated men, on one hand, embodies the values of the culture of Christ’s Kingdom and displays them. On the other hand, it clearly marks the differences between the culture of the City of God and that of men, like a stroke of white paint on a black wall. It is not enough to preach the values of the Kingdom; we must live them to become authentic examples.

This will only happen when we live our consecration authentically. That is why the 2020 General Chapter chose authenticity as one of the three values for this six-year period. If we do not live our consecration with authenticity, instead of shining as a lighthouse in the darkness, we will disappear like a lost ship in the fog. This is a particular risk for us given the environments in which we carry out our apostolate.

That is why we must always be attentive to what we allow ourselves. We could say that there are certain warning signs, such as when our mind justifies itself with thoughts like: “I need to be normal,” “everyone does it,” “it’s not a sin,” “where does it say I can’t,” “that’s where I find the leaders,” “what’s wrong with that,” etc. A religious life built on this way of thinking and acting can become muddy and lead us to a mediocre consecrated life, lacking the strength to attract to conversion and imitation of Jesus Christ.

We give an edifying witness when we choose greater coherence with our consecrated style of life. “Thanks for the invitation, but my community has Eucharistic hour at that time”; “I haven’t wanted to watch that series because it would take away my inner peace”; “I would love to be with you in the mountains, but we will be on community retreat, and it’s important for us.” With this way of being and living, we tell people: I belong to God, and I need to nourish my soul with His presence and grace, for your sake.

 

  1. Leadership modeled after Jesus Christ, Priest and Good Shepherd

The second characteristic that number 5 of the Statutes highlights as our particular contribution is: “by their priestly condition, they make present Christ the Priest and Good Shepherd.” Implicit in the identity of priest and shepherd is the responsibility to exercise leadership. The shepherd protects his flock and guides it to greener pastures. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11). We must be aware of our leadership role in Regnum Christi. Here I am not referring to positions of authority or managerial functions within governance structures; I mean the moral and spiritual influence we exercise by living according to what we are called to be. When we live our identity in accordance with our Constitutions, which is how the legionary lives the Gospel, we necessarily contribute to the spiritual family as imitators of Jesus Christ, Priest and Good Shepherd, who inspires, encourages, and provides vision to the rest of the members.

Therefore, fathers and brothers, we must keep in mind that the specific mission of the legionary is to form others in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. Certainly, one can hold positions of authority, but that does not necessarily make one effective in shaping the future of a particular apostolate. People with natural leadership talents, whether or not they hold a position, will influence their environment. If we are what we should be, legionaries will exercise leadership with or without official positions.

For example, a chaplain, if authentic in his vocation, can be for a school what the soul is for the body; he can give life, guiding both teachers and students to keep their attention on the higher ideals that the educational institution seeks to instill, helping them not to let their vision be limited to the academic discipline of the moment. He can form the consciences of members of the council, parents, teachers, students, and staff. Therefore, his presence and work can be transformative for the entire institution. While some legionaries will be chosen for leadership positions, all are called to exercise leadership wherever they are.

We must also remember that part of the mission of the legionary is “to establish institutions and undertake actions that most contribute, in depth and extent, to building Christ’s Kingdom in society” (EFRC, 5). This is not driven by a desire for visibility, power, or mere human presence, but by the certainty that God calls us to this style of mission. This is the spirit we have always lived. As described in Christus Vita Vestra:

The legionary has a magnanimous and fighting heart, delivers himself passionately, wants to do more, wants to go further. Therefore, attentive to the signs of the times, seizing the opportunity (Ef 5:16), he works with zeal and creativity, seeking new paths, going to the frontiers of the Church—pastoral and intellectual—, aware that each day of fatigue for the Kingdom is a precious gift from God that will not return, and that time is given to us to win eternity. We call this attitude “militancy” (CVV 112).

In summary: our mission becomes a reality when we exercise leadership daily, with each person we treat and accompany, with identity, coherence, and a spirit of service and dedication, regardless of whether we hold a position of authority or not. In this way, we can make the priorities of the recent General Convention our own, which seek to face today’s challenges, a point I will address next.

 

  1. A slogan to live the priorities of the General Convention and face today’s cultural challenge

The General Convention gave the entire Regnum Christi three priorities: (1) promote a vocational culture, (2) commit to being and forming outgoing apostolic communities, and (3) advance marriage and family pastoral care.

Within this framework, I have also considered today’s cultural context—the ideologies of gender, attacks on the concept of paternity, and the false understanding of the role of men.

I believe that the Legion, within Regnum Christi, has an opportunity to address these three priorities in response to this cultural challenge. As men and religious, we can have a particular entry point with lay men. We know that men, living their vocation in their families and society—not in opposition to women, but as a complement—are key to ensuring that the three priorities of the Convention are lived. Therefore, by emphasizing or focusing our work with men, we can offer a service, especially to the Church, through the male members of Regnum Christi, the fathers of our educational institutions, the adolescent boys of ECYD, the members associated with youth sections, and the men who approach our apostolic works.

For this reason, I would like to give all legionaries a slogan to keep in mind: as a Congregation, we can offer the Church and Regnum Christi a particular service in the formation and accompaniment of men.

One of the most beautiful fruits God grants us in working with men and living our identity is vocations to the Legion and to the Laity of Consecration. The vocational crisis faced by the Church is, in a way, also the crisis of youth in finding a life reference centered on God, authentic and selfless, where they can see embodied the ideals of radical consecration marked by the Gospel. That is why vocational promotion, as a task for every legionary, is an invitation to live our religious life with such fullness that God may do with our lives what He did with those of all the true religious saints of the Church: inspire dedication to God.

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The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ is a clerical religious institute of pontifical right, composed of priests and candidates for the priesthood. It belongs by its very constitution to Regnum Christi, a spiritual family and apostolic body.

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