Community June 7
The Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross is a union of Christian men who will to live and work in a community to promote the accomplishment of God’s Kingdom in this world (Const. 1.1).
For the most part, the oldest Orders in the Church were not founded for an apostolate. They were organized to witness the ideals of the Gospel more faithfully to their times. Certainly this commitment inevitably involved pastoral activity of some sort, but never to the prejudice of the founding inspiration. That was the spirit of St. Augustine, whose Rule hardly mentions the apostolate, despite the ordained status of practically the whole community. The central concern was the formation of persons dedicated first to the search for God in the company of friends. The Constitutions of the Crosiers reflect this preoccupation by their insistence on balance between the three pillars of community, liturgy and ministry in the organization of life. Thus, those who wish to enter into the Order need to ask themselves: can I relativize my apostolic desires to incorporate myself into a group where fraternity and liturgy, as well as apostolate, are part of the vocation? All in delicate balance on the way to the Kingdom of God: that is the oldest wisdom.
The mouse is small, but when you burn its hair, there is a strong odor. (Bashi-Muenda)
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