If you have been watching the Regnum Christi website you know that commissions have been created in recent weeks to address various issues facing the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi.
One, called the Participative Organizational Council (POC) intends to address how we carry out our apostolic mission in the Atlanta and New York territories.
The others, one for each territory, will coordinate input from our territories for the Rome-based commission that is reviewing and revising the Legion’s constitutions.
So…we have constitution-related commissions (primarily inwardly focused) and we have improvement-related commissions (more external in focus)… And an obvious question is how the two types of commissions relate to each other and avoid duplicating efforts. Is this going to get terribly confusing? (Aren’t you getting confused by my attempted explanation?)
Well…I’ll turn to an analogy.
In my home, Chicago, we are blessed to have a very holy man named Francis Cardinal George. And whenever he talks to those of us involved in the various ecclesial/lay movements, he reminds us that our movements should address two needs: personal growth in holiness AND apostolic action in service of the Church.
The challenge is getting the right balance. To have effective apostolic action, it must be grounded in holiness. Once you are working on your holiness, it is a responsibility to engage in apostolic action.
Seems to me the two initiatives mentioned at the outset of this commentary are on either side of the balance of holiness and apostolate. The review of the constitutions will ensure that Legionary formation is holy and supports the solid, faithful foundation upon which apostolic action can be built. It will make sure that the religious order has proper lines of authority and lives its life faithfully and in holiness.
The improvement actions coordinated by the POC will ensure that apostolic action, once launched, truly serves the need of the Church. These are the practical aspects of apostolate, including the proper training of people, allocation of resources and how offices and operations are organized.
It is, I admit, not a perfect analogy. The review of the constitutions will have an impact on how the Legion views its apostolic work. And there certainly are spiritual aspects to the practical operations of work for the Church. But I think the two sides initiatives will help one another and grow into a united whole.
