Devenir Amis du Christ

                                     BROTHERS OR PRIESTS IN RELIGIOUS LIFE

The call to religious missionary life is a special grace of the Holy Spirit who invites each Friends of Christ to the total gift of himself, in the service of the Church and humanity, in the congregation.

Seized by Christ, each person undertakes freely and publicly to live the three religious vows, in chastity, poverty and obedience, as witnesses of the Kingdom of God already present and to come.

Here is the “typical course” of training in the life of the Friends of Christ, but there are many variations depending on each person’s personal itinerary.

We offer more of a personalized journey during which the candidate discerns the will of the Lord and chooses to be a brother or a priest.

The candidate, also called an aspirant, continues his studies or professional activities. He regularly meets a Friends of Christ during short stays in a congregation community. The guide helps him to make himself available to let himself be led by the Holy Spirit who becomes the actor in his formation. If the call is confirmed, the aspirant asks to enter training.

The postulate includes an initiation to life in an international Friends of Christ community, to the spiritual life and to the lifestyle of Friends of Christ. Depending on the previous course, a first two-year cycle of studies includes elements of philosophy, Sacred Scripture, Church history and human sciences.

A missionary internship in a community friendly to the apostolic Christ. Usually, this internship is experienced abroad in another culture, for around two years. The course opens up to the international and intercultural dimension of the mission of friends of Christ and is the subject of a review of experience. This missionary internship is usually done after the postulancy period, but it can also be done before, depending on the personal itinerary of the intern.

The novitiate: Twelve months, to discern about oneself, and better know the Congregation of the Friends of Christ, its founder, its spirituality and its history. It is a time of preparation for the choice to engage in religious life. This commitment is formalized by the three vows pronounced at the end of the novitiate, during a celebration.

The three vows, constitute the official commitment in the congregation to live consecrated celibacy (vow of chastity), to live sharing in sobriety (vow of poverty) and to seek the will of God (vow of obedience).

The post-novitiate, training cycle: This three-year cycle is adapted to the journey of each person (brothers or future priests). It provides the necessary tools to be able to announce the Good News of the Gospel in another culture, in another context and in another local church, through the testimony of a life led in community, given to God and to men. In an approach where reason and faith challenge and reinforce each other, this journey allows:

to deepen the major themes of the Christian faith

the study of the texts of the Bible

to express faith in contemporary culture and thought, by working on the questions that arose during the apostolic commitments experienced at each stage of formation

the acquisition of know-how necessary for the mission, especially for those who intend to be brothers.

For Friends of Christ called to be brothers

Definitive commitment to religious life is solemnly celebrated at the end of this training period.

                      Or Friends of Christ called to become priests

Definitive commitment to religious life is celebrated before diaconal ordination.

The diaconal course includes the preaching of the Word of God, pastoral initiation and preparation for the sacraments of baptism and marriage. It is also a time when various forms of apostolate are experienced among young people and adults, within a Christian community.

Priestly ordination is usually celebrated in the diocese of origin of the ordinand in agreement with the local bishop.

For Friends of Christ, brothers and priests, receiving the missionary assignment finalizes their training and preparation journey.

The missionary assignment is given by the Superior General and his Council. A letter of request has previously been written by the person concerned, in which he expresses the choice of countries and the types of activities for which he feels called, as well as his motivations and his complete availability to be sent where the needs of the congregation and the Church are the greatest.