Hijos de la Divina Voluntad
Sons of the Divine Will

 

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Características de la esenciales Sociedad     

ature

 

We have no rules in the way that other religious orders have them. Fraternal Charity will be the norm of our lives.

“......The community of Phillips (Saint Phillip Neri)...intended to reproduce a fervent and joyful family climate, which was the ideal of the Christian Community as described in the Acts of the Apostles. Fraternal Charity was the essential rule.” [1]Nullam ad religiosorum hominum consuetudinem propriam sibi regulam habuit”: they had no religious orders type of rules. The text does not state that they had no rules at all but that their rules were unlike those of religious orders.” [2]

“To love is to love perfectly because if we do not desire to love perfectly it is not true that we love. At the most, we love ourselves but we do not love God and true love is not in us. Those who truly love want to give themselves to God and give the love of God to everyone." [3]

The homes and works of our Society will keep some rules and norms like any family does, in order to maintain harmony and order. These rules will be flexible, dependant on the circumstances, and will encourage the full spiritual growth of the members of the community.

“St. Felipe Neri himself made sure that some directive norms were established.” [4]

 

Every member of our community will commit himself to a continually constant personal spiritual formation and prayer in keeping with the spirit of charity established within the community.
The community emphasizes on our personal formation not from speculative analyses of the Scriptures but from meditation and contemplation of the Divine Revelation, consisting of the Holy Scriptures, the Apostolic Tradition, the doctrines of the saints, and the Magisterium of the Church. Truth is therefore, the primary sustenance of our community.

“Since Sacred Scripture is the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit, and Sacred Tradition is the Word of God passed on by the successors of the Apostles as it was entrusted to the apostles by Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, both are to be received and venerated with the same spirit of piety. Hence, the Church does not derive its certainty of the revealed truth from the Holy Scriptures alone. Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture are intimately united and connected. Sharing in the same divine source, they fuse and tend to the same purpose.” [5]

Those who pray without meditating do not know how to pray. Those who meditate pray. To pray is to love, but we must know whom we love and we must understand what we know. When Jesus said that we must “pray always,” He meant that we must love always. Those who love always pray always while those who pray without loving do not know how to pray. The more we know love, the more we will love The One who is Love and we will live intimately united to God at the highest and most sublime degree. This union is perfect prayer, perfect love, and fullness of divine life. Therefore, let us give fruit, the fruit of the Word of the Kingdom, the fruit of the announced Word that encloses the Word that we have received [6], resulting in our transformation into Jesus whom we have received. Therefore may our interior life be no other than the intimate study of the Word in order to give the proper fruit of whom we have received; that is, our transformation into Christ [7], Priest, Victim and Altar. It is only by becoming Jesus that we can give Jesus to others.

Mary, perfect disciple of her Son, is our perfect model. Transformation into Christ means transformation into Mary. Breathing love is to breathe Mary, to live Mary. To love as Jesus loved is to love as Mary loved; our life must be an emanation, a continuous birth of Mary. We must learn to think, speak, react, walk, behave, suffer, rejoice, believe, hope, and love as Mary does. To be perfect as Mary is perfect, be one with Mary, with Mary in God as Mary is One in God, and as the Father and the Son are One.

Only then can we make known the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world. “I have given them the glory that You gave Me, so that they be One as we are One: I in them and You in Me, so that they be perfectly One and the world may know that You sent Me and that you loved them as you loved Me.” [8] “...“...The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirty fold.” [9] The Association will give special attention to the study of the Will of God in the interior life, using the Writings of the Servant of God Luisa Picarreta as well as the spiritual exercises given by the Priest –Coordinator.

 

The Priest Coordinator will lead the Society. In his absence, whether temporarily or permanently, he will delegate this responsibility to one or more members of the Community.

“It is impossible to live in Community unless we recognize the hand of God in those whom God chooses as our leader(s).” [10]

There are no degrees and no levels, neither superior nor inferior, or promotions or upgrades. The authority of Our Lord manifests itself directly through our Priest Coordinator and on whomever he has delegated this responsibility to at a certain time and place.

We regard Our Lord as the only founder of our Society and its activities. Whatever we do and plan to do flows not from the spirit of a person but from the Universal Spirit of the Church: the life of the Christian is fully to live out his baptism

 

The members of the Society are mainly lay people, who will join the Society not by making vows or formal consecrations but by a simple commitment to God of loving Him in obedience to His Truth.

Contrary to religious life, no one is obligated to anything by right. No Consecrations or special vows; baptism is our highest consecration.

“...Holy Baptism is the root of the supernatural life of every Christian.” [11]

Living out our Baptism is the call to live as Jesus lived, to love as Jesus loved, that is, to live out the Gospel. Attending daily Mass, receiving daily communion, praying the Rosary, going to Confession, is worth nothing if we do not live out the Gospel. We would become nothing other than Pharisees. This way we will certainly attain salvation but not the sanctity that God desires for us. Our Sacramental life will have its effects [12] to the extent that we fulfill the Will of God. We cannot do what Jesus said if we ignore what He said [13]. If we bury among the things of this world every talent that we received through our Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, it will never give fruit. If instead, we feed those talents with the food of knowing and living in the Will of God, then it will give much fruit, for the greater glory of God!

“My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work.” [14]

The vocation of every baptized person is to seek the Kingdom of God [15], in communion with the Church [16],Consequently, it is our duty, associated to our spiritual family, to spread the Gospel of the Kingdom to everyone everywhere in the world [17]. We will never attain this goal unless everyone knows, understands, and fulfills the Gospel, according to the Will of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Association has internal and external members. Internal Members are those who live in the Homes of the Society where they are spiritually formed and follow the rules that this type of life requires. External Members are those who live outside the Homes, according to their civil status, and in conformity to the Spirit of the Association.

“It is the vocation of every lay person to spread the Kingdom of God by trying to ordain all of their temporary affairs, according to the Will of God...

This way, guided by the Spirit of Evangelization, like yeast, they will contribute to the Sanctification of the World by radiating Christ to others with their testimony of life, faith, hope and charity.” [18]

La diversidad de estas formas de vida debe enriquecer la unidad de un espíritu de formación y de crecimiento continuo. Todos regidos, sin embargo, por el espíritu de caridad, más que por una regla.

“The Holy Church, by Divine Will, is ordained and ruled by an admirable diversity of people. For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.” (Rom, 12, 4-5)...

Through diversity, everyone will witness to the admirable unity of the Body of Christ. Diversity in graces, services and offices congregates the Sons of God in unity, because “one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.” 1 Cor., 12,11)” [19]

Due to ease of mobilization, external members will fulfill their spiritual formation at their own homes, also by participating in the liturgy of their own Parish and by gathering with other neighbor members of the Society, to meditate on the Spirituality and "Cenacles of the Divine Will” [20].

Besides occasional and daily fraternal relationships, both internal and external members will gather once a month, if possible, to share moments of meditation and prayer as a Community, at a place that invites to contemplation and reverence.

The internal members are free to choose between celibacy and marriage by discerning the Will of God for their lives, based on a sound spiritual formation and in obedience to the Catholic Church’s moral principles and the rules of our Society. Our spiritual goal is to live out the fullness of the divine life -regardless of our civil status- that we received through our Baptism, with the intention although not exclusively, to perform different tasks within our Society.

“The object of our Lay Apostolate is to participate in the same Salvific Mission of the Church in response to the invitation that Our Lord makes us through our Baptism and Confirmation.” [21]

The Society Houses offer a family environment of prayer and work to the internal members, in imitation of the House of Nazareth, with the Blessed Sacrament exposed permanently. The houses also offer a location for communitarian experiences and personal retreats to the external members of the Society as well as to those seeking membership.

Our Community Houses, by Divine Providence, can adopt a specific way of life. It is important to note that these Houses can be occupied by all kinds of baptized members:

a)   Single members,

b)   Families,

c)   In some special cases by Diocesan Priests that desire to live in Community: 

Without abandoning their Diocesan Priesthood, some priests could dependably and in agreement with their Bishop, adopt the spirit and charisma of the community, and gather to experience communitarian life without leaving their pastoral ministry, conscious that this type of life strengthens and enriches the spirit of sanctity that the Priestly ministry requires.

Some works carried out by the members of the society are also associated to the Community, whose apostolate is to extend the Kingdom of God. These works consist of Catechism for children, youngsters and adults, serving the needs of problematic, defenseless, and high-risk homeless kids, schools, hospital service and nursing homes. Although our involvement with these works is wide and open, it is mainly intended to provide spiritual direction and formation for the kingdom of God.

“Any congregation of lay members of the People of God that make up the Body of Christ under One Head, are called to seek out the growth of the Church and her sanctification, through their living example, with all their strength, for the profit of their Creator and by the Grace of our Redeemer.” [22]

Every baptized person that seeks to live the obedience to the Truth, in accordance to our special spirit and charisma is welcome as a member. Let us remember that this “interior life is formed to the extent of our obedience to the faith and truth, which rises from the knowledge of the Revealed Truth”. Those interested in becoming members of the Society or in experiencing communitarian life, will receive a personal induction process and will be encouraged to attending the spiritual exercises of the Divine Will

 

Every baptized person that seeks to live the obedience to the Truth, in accordance to our special spirit and charisma is welcome as a member. Let us remember that this “interior life is formed to the extent of our obedience to the faith and truth, which rises from the knowledge of the Revealed Truth.” Those interested in becoming members of the Society or in experiencing communitarian life, will receive a personal induction process and will be encouraged to attending the spiritual exercises of the Divine Will, participating in the Cenacles of the Divine Will, reading the books that support our spirituality, written by Luisa Picarreta, and listening to the conferences given by the Priest Coordinator. The follow up to every person will be different and special, depending on particular circumstances.


[1]History of the Oratory by St. Philip Neri (L’Oratorio di San Filippo Neri)

[2]Idem (Instituta 1612)

[3]Homilies. July 25, 2002. Fr. Pedro Rubio.

[4]History of the Oratory by St. Philip Neri (L’Oratorio di San Filippo Neri)

[5]Dogmatic Constitution "DEI VERBUM" Number 9. Vatican Council II (on Divine Revelation)

[6]“The seed sown in good soil is the one who hears the Word and understands it; this one gives fruit and yields one hundred, sixty or thirty.” Mt 13,23

[7]Dogmatic Constitution. “LUMEN GENTIUM”, Number 26. Vat. Council II (on Divine Revelation)

[8] Jn 17, 22-23

[9] Mt 13, 19,23

[10]Homilies. July 9, 2002. Fr. Pedro Rubio.

[11]CCC 1266

[12]The fruit of the Eucharist is to transform us into the One whom we have received: "Because our participation in the Body and Blood of Christ does nothing but turn us into what we have received." (Lumen Gentium 26, citing St. Leon Magnus. Vatican Council II)

[13]“Do whatever He tells you” Jn 2, 5

[14]Jn 4, 34

[15]"By reason of their special vocation it belongs to the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God's will. It pertains to them in a special way so to illuminate and order all temporal things with which they are closely associated that these may always be effected and grow according to Christ and maybe to the glory of the Creator and Redeemer." (LG 31) CCC 898

[16]"The initiative of lay Christians is necessary especially when the matter involves discovering or inventing the means for permeating social, political, and economic realities with the demands of Christian doctrine and life. This initiative is a normal element of the life of the Church: Lay believers are in the front line of Church life; for them the Church is the animating principle of human society. Therefore, they in particular ought to have an ever-clearer consciousness not only of belonging to the Church, but of being the Church, that is to say, the community of the faithful on earth under the leadership of the Pope, the common Head, and of the bishops in communion with him. They are the Church. (Pious XII, Discourse February 20, 1946; cited by Pope John Paul II, CL 9). CCC 899

[17]"Since, like all the faithful, lay Christians are entrusted by God with the apostolate by virtue of their Baptism and Confirmation, they have the right and duty, individually or grouped in associations, to work so that the divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all men throughout the earth. This duty is the more pressing when it is only through them that men can hear the Gospel and know Christ. Their activity in ecclesial communities is so necessary that, for the most part, the apostolate of the pastors cannot be fully effective without it. (Cf LG 33). CCC 900

[18]Dogmatic Constitution. "LUMEN GENTIUM" Number 31. Vatican Council II (on the Church)

[19]Dogmatic Constitution. "LUMEN GENTIUM" Number 32. Vatican Council II (on the Church)

[20]Prayer groups that get together to reflect on some readings, reflections and prayers of the Divine Will, following a Format or Guide, with the intention to share in the spirituality of the Divine Will within an environment of peace, silence and meditation. 

[21]Dogmatic Constitution. "LUMEN GENTIUM" Number 33. Vatican Council II (on the Church)

[22]Idem







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