Sharing our Charism with the Laity
Collaboration with the Laity regarding evangelization is in response to the need for an Ecclesiology of Communion in the spirit of Vatican Council II.
In every divine plan, the Holy Spirit is the producer; we are the actors. The Charism is not private property but is a springboard of release toward a horizon open to the universal Church. With this profound awareness, St. Lucy lived the gift of God:
“Would that all nations might come to the fold of Holy Mother Church! For the conversion of all to the Faith, I’d give not one life. I’d give a thousand lives if I had them.”
The Institute opened a new ecclesial horizon: United States in 1984, with the Associates of St. Lucy Filippini (ASLF); Italy in 1994, with Religious Teachers and Laity together for the Gospel, sharing the mission: Go and teach the Word of God.
The rules that regulate these Associations are found in Statues (Constitutions) to which each Associate makes reference. The lay person who intends to belong to the Association completes a program of formation on all levels (local, zonal and national); at the end, they publically pronounce, in the context of a Eucharistic celebration, the Act of Commitment to follow Christ and to witness the Gospel in the footsteps of our Founders.
The Activities of the Associates in Italy are printed in a bulletin entitled “Pass the Word”. In order to have a unified program, a study of permanent formation is arranged based on themes in accordance with the pastoral teachings of the Church.