Chiara 'Luce' Badano....An Inspiration to the Young....

Man of the Eight Beatitudes

I urge you with all the strength of my soul to approach the Eucharist Table as often as possible. Feed on this Bread of the Angels from which you will draw the strength to fight inner struggles.

The School of the Cross - For Lay Men

Here is the description of the School of the Cross which appears in the Directory of International Associations of the Faithful, published by the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

Official name: School of the Cross

Established: 1965

History: School of the Cross was founded in the rural parish of St. Isidro Labrador, in the Diocese of Villarhermosa, Mexico, by Father Francisco Javier Asencio Dávalos, a professed brother of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit.

After spreading to about a thousand parishes and virtually all the dioceses of Mexico, in 1987 it was established by the Church authorities as a national association of the faithful, and within a few years it reached the United States of America.

On May 22, 1994, the Pontifical Council for the Laity decreed Escuela de la Cruz to be an international association of the faithful of Pontifical right.

Identity: School of the Cross participates in the Church's mission by creating communities of apostles to bear witness to the spirituality of the cross in the spiritual order and the temporal order.

The members of the association undertake to live in intimate union with the crucified heart of Jesus Christ, priest-victim-altar, to "be priests with their priest," and in particular to support their own parish priest in the performance of his ministry. They are united by the realization that they are sons of God, chosen by Jesus to take part in his mission by helping one another to live the Gospel and the spirituality of the cross, to the heroism of love.

Organization: Only men may join School of the Cross, both laymen (indigenous, small farmers and workers living in the most deprived parishes) and priests, responsible for the pastoral care of a parish. The association is structured into small groups of 5-9 people.

Membership: School of the Cross has about 200,000 lay members and almost 200 parish priests, and is present in two North American countries.

Headquarters:

Escuela de la Cruz
Mirador s/n, Esq. Andador Cocos
Col. El Rosal
10600 M. Contreras
D.F. — Mexico


Tel. (52) 56-683943 — Fax 55-953583

Consecrated Virginity

What is the Consecration of a Virgin?

The Consecration of a Virgin is one of the oldest sacramentals in the Church, and one of the fruits of Vatican II was the restoration of this profound blessing on virgins living in the world.

The promulgation of this restored Rite for laywomen was on 31 May 1970.

Through this sacramental, the virgin, after renewing her resolve of perpetual virginity to God, is set aside as a sacred person who belongs only to Christ. The acting agent in the Consecration is God Himself who accepts the virgin's promise and spiritually fructifies it through the action of the Holy Spirit.

This sacramental is reserved to the bishop of the diocese. The consecrated virgin shares

intimately in the nature and mission of the Church--she is a living image of the Church's love for her Spouse while sharing in His redemptive mission.

The consecrated virgin living in the world embodies a definitive vocation in itself. She is not a quasi-Religious, nor is she in a vocation that is in the process of becoming a Religious institute or congregation. Nevertheless, she is a consecrated person, with her bishop as her guide. By virtue of the Consecration, she is responsible to pray for her diocese and clergy. At no time is her diocese responsible for her financial support.

The consecrated virgin living in the world, as expressed in Canon 604, is irrevocably "consecrated to God, mystically espoused to Christ and dedicated to the service of the Church, when the diocesan bishop consecrates [her] according to the approved liturgical rite." The consecrated virgin attends Mass daily (if possible), prays the Divine Office, and spends much time in private prayer. She can choose the Church-approved spirituality she prefers to follow.

Supporting herself by earning her own living, the consecrated virgin is not obliged to take on any particular work or apostolate. Usually, consecrated virgins in the United States volunteer their time to their local parish, diocese, or Church-sponsored association. Some volunteer their time also in civic responsibilities.

More informaton from:  http://www.consecratedvirgins.org/