Thy Kingdom Come!

Rome, June 7, 2015
Solemnity of Corpus Christi

To the members of Regnum Christi

Dearly beloved in Jesus Christ:

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi in many countries. The procession with the Eucharist that is usually held after Mass reminds us that the Lord has chosen to remain with us, to walk with us, and to visit the concrete realities where our lives unfold. This experience of Jesus accompanying us on the road, like the disciples of Emmaus, is something we have been able to grasp during the first General Plenary Meeting of the Regnum Christi Movement, which took place from June 4 to 6 in Rome. I write to share some of the reflections we have made during these days of prayer, dialogue, and intense work.

The plenary meeting was attended by the general directors of the consecrated branches with their respective councils, the general administrators, the general secretary, the head of the communication office, and five first and second degree members invited by the general director: Francisco Gámez, Carmen Fernández, David Huerta, Iliano Picolo, and Mike Williams. The presence and contributions of members from the different vocations that make up the Movement enriched us and broadened our horizons.

The theme chosen for this first Plenary Meeting was “the spiritual renewal of the Legion and Regnum Christi in the current stage.” The goal was to align our understanding of what we mean by spiritual renewal and how to promote it.

We consider that spiritual renewal is a growth of the person that occurs as a response to God’s grace, in a personal encounter with Christ and fidelity to one’s own charism;

• it involves continually re-centering life on Christ and a better understanding, interiorization, and living out of the progressive conformity with Christ
• it involves both the ascetic and mystical dimensions of spiritual life
• it rekindles fervor in the contemplative dimension and in apostolic zeal
• it generates unity of life within the person, builds up the community and family, and fosters communion throughout the Movement
• it is a source of joy, simplicity, and peace by renewing the first love

Mons. José Rodríguez Carballo, Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, presided over the initial Eucharistic concelebration and gave us an introductory conference on the current situation of consecrated life in the Church. He invited us to become spiritual persons like St. Paul, to let ourselves be led and guided by the Holy Spirit, to adopt a habitual attitude of personal and community discernment, in the light of the Gospel, our own charism, and the signs of the times. Soon we will send the recording of this encounter so that you can listen to it and reflect on its content within your communities and sections of the Movement.

Next, imitating Pope Francis, who in his letter for the Year of Consecrated Life revisited the invitation of St. John Paul II to “look at the past with gratitude,” we reflect on how God has acted in the spiritual lives of the members of Regnum Christi. We praise and thank God because through the Movement He has raised up a group of apostles within the Church, belonging to various states of life, characterized by a personal experience of Christ, the practice of evangelical charity, and passionate dedication to the apostolic mission.

We have considered the present moment in the spiritual life of the members of Regnum Christi and discovered that it is a gift in which we find lights and shadows that challenge us and serve as means through which God speaks to us today. We analyze what the main lights in the spiritual life of the members were, to thank them and better respond to God’s grace, as well as the main shadows, their manifestations, and their causes, to ask God for help and to implement means that can help the light of Christ reach them.

We perceive that the Holy Spirit is guiding us toward a greater union with Christ. We see the need to emphasize the appreciation for spiritual life and what nourishes it, as the source from which apostolate flows. Likewise, we see the need to better accompany members in their following of Christ, both in the initial phases and in the more advanced stages of spiritual life. We invite all members of the Movement to achieve unity of life, characterized by a greater integration between interiority and activity, between the faith we profess and the concrete actions that incarnate and turn into charity, between the action of grace and our generous response.

We also reflect on the responsibility and specific contribution of each branch regarding the rest of the body and the expectations we have of each other in the field of spiritual renewal. We expect consecrated laity to continue contributing the perspective of lay holiness, joy, and enthusiasm in living their vocation, and to continue seeking to be bridges of communion among all branches. From the consecrated, we expect them to be mothers and sisters, who with mercy and patience welcome us and help us grow, and who continue to grow in their apostolic zeal. From the Legionaries, we expect them to be men of God, knowledgeable of spiritual life according to the rich tradition of the Church, and preachers of the Word of God; likewise, we are called to be faithful witnesses of the priestly identity that has a merciful heart like Christ’s. From the lay members of first and second degree, we expect them to make the Gospel present amid temporal realities, living their Christian life authentically and taking an even greater role in the apostolate; and to be generators of spirituality, especially within the family sphere.

One of the fruits of this Plenary Meeting was experiencing a spiritual communion in diversity and in the complementarity of one another, united around the charism of Regnum Christi. Therefore, our union is profound and given to us as a gift from God, which we must nurture through dialogue, trust, and openness to the Holy Spirit. We know that despite the practical difficulties in concrete life, it will be very fruitful to continue the effort to live and work in communion, both within the Movement and in the Church, as Christ asks in the Gospel.

Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda, S.J., pontifical assistant, accompanied us during the session in which the members of the General Steering Committee presented some reports. I, as the general director, was responsible for presenting a report on the work of the General Steering Committee, 15 months after its establishment; Jorge López, responsible for the area of educational centers, presented a report on the situation of schools and universities, opening space to reflect on the enormous challenges we face in this field to continue striving for educational excellence and, at the same time, for these institutions to be places of Christian witness and evangelization; Viviana Limón presented a report on youth and family ministry, emphasizing the need to transform the entire family; Fr. Sylvester Heereman spoke about the work done so far by the commission for the revision of the Statute. Iliano Piccolo explained the current status of the process concerning second and third degree members. There was time for reflections and questions regarding the reports from participants in the Plenary Meeting.

We concluded the Plenary Meeting praying the Rosary at the grotto of the Most Holy Virgin to ask Her to help us, from the General Committee and from the governments of the branches, to put into practice the reflections of these days.

We thank all the members of Regnum Christi who have supported us during these days with their prayers. We wish that the Eucharistic Lord may inspire in your hearts the desire to say to Him, like the disciples of Emmaus: “Stay with us, Lord…”

Assuring you of my prayers before the Lord, I bid you farewell, very affectionately in Christ,

Eduardo Robles-Gil, LC