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Serving the churches Print E-mail

the disciples of Emmaus, icon in Byzantine style
...Like the disciples of Christ sent out two by two...

Brother, sister, it is not for yourself that you have come to this community, but for your brothers and sisters in the church and in the world. The element of mission belongs to every function of the church, and you will express this element of your vocation in your relationships with those who do not believe in Christ. The community is not an end in itself: it is called to go forth into the world to proclaim the good news of the Gospel. The life of the community should be pervaded by this understanding of its mission. To carry out this mission, the community may decide to create fraternities. Like the disciples of Christ sent out two by two, the brothers and sisters living in fraternities are a sign of the person and message of Christ.
Brother, sister, you belong to a particular Christian church. You have not come to the community with the intention of re-designing a church according to your own ideas: you belong to Christ through the church which generated you as a Christian in baptism. For this reason you will recognize and appreciate its ministers and leaders in their diversity, and you will always seek to be a sign of unity. Beware of criticizing the church with bitterness, with pettiness, without love. You will be tempted many times to do it. But look first at the life of the community: do you not see in it just as many deficiencies as you see in the church?

(Rule of Bose 41-43; 45)