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5. Team Life: the Fifth Element in the Life of Lay Members of Regnum Christi
From the Rule of Life of the Lay Faithful Associated to the Regnum Christi Federation
The team
14§1. Lay members of Regnum Christi ordinarily form part of a team. The team is the natural setting where their life in Regnum Christi grows and develops.
§2. A team is a group of members united in Christian fraternity to help each other on their journey of sanctification, in their formation and in their apostolic work, following the example of the first Christian communities.
§3. Teams, as communities of apostles, can be organized in various ways according to the concrete circumstances of each locality of the Federation.
The Encounter with Christ
15. The Encounter with Christ is the center of team life. In it, the lay members, as a community of faith, by the light of God’s Word, examine their Christian life, discern what the Lord expects of them in evangelizing the reality of the world they live in, encourage each other in their following of Christ, and enkindle their apostolic zeal.
Team Life in Regnum Christi from the Statutes of the Regnum Christi Federation
Fundamentals of communion
27.Gathered by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit into the one large family, the Church, and united by a shared vocation to Regnum Christi, we foster an esprit de corps and the union of hearts, ideals, purposes and efforts. We promote communion and collaboration among all, aware that communion is missionary and that the mission is for communion.
Organized and effective apostolate
39. Inspired by Christ’s charity, the members of the federated institutions and the associated faithful carry out their apostolate in an organized and effective way. To do so:
in any activity they undertake, they always keep the mission and goals in mind;
1. they work in an orderly and organized way;
2. they work as a team, each seeking to give their best at the service of the mission, and making the most of the synergy that comes from the complementarity of personalities, views and experiences.
3. they apply the methodological principle “do, help others do and let others do.”
Video: How We Roll — Team Life for Men and Women in Regnum Christi — Jeff & Donna Garrett
Member Testimony: Kerrie Rivard on Team Life in Regnum Christi
My team surrounds me with women who know and love me for who I am, and encourage me pro-actively to grow into the woman I am called to be. They invite me to love them with joy in good times, and cry with them in hard times. To challenge and strengthen myself and each other in our spiritual lives and vocations, and to always be positive. What a gift to have these true friends. God created us for communion, and in my team life I have learned a lot about what that means- real friendship that goes deeper than like-minded people- really knowing and accepting one another as Christ loves us, and with a smile, encouraging each other to always follow him, go deeper, love more. To me team life is well summed up by the epistle to Diogentus, dating back to 130 AD:
“Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or customs.
They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life.
Their teaching is not based upon reveries inspired by the curiosity of men.
Unlike some other people, they champion no purely human doctrine.
With regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in, whether it is Greek or foreign.
And yet there is something extraordinary about their lives.
They live in their own countries as though they were only passing through.
They play their full role as citizens, but labor under all the disabilities of foreigners. Any country can be their homeland, but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country.
Like others, they marry and have children, but they do not expose them. They share their meals, but not their marriage beds.
They live in the flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh. They pass their days upon earth, but they are citizens of heaven.
To speak in general terms, we may say that the Christian is to the world what the soul is to the body. As the soul is present in every part of the body, while remaining distinct from it, so Christians are found in all the cities of the world, but cannot be identified with the world.”
Regnum Christi has offered me the place where I can live this in the 21st century in a community of apostles, and together with others I can follow Christ’s call to know him, receive and respond to his love, and share it with others. I am grateful.
Recommended Reading:
Away Flew Mary: on Faith, Friendship, and the Pain of Loss
Away Flew Mary is not a typical Regnum Christi essay addressing a specific virtue or offering instruction to members. Mary’s story is simply a personal testimony of walking through daily life to death with my Regnum Christi sister, Mary Alwan. This is a reflection of a faith-based friendship, started in the RC Movement, that was deepened and strengthened through the carrying of the cross.
What is Regnum Christi? by Fr. John Bartunek, LC
For current Regnum Christi members in every state of life, as well for inquirers and future members, the Statutes of the Federation are a firm reference point as we journey forward together serving the Church. To that end, What Is Regnum Christi? is a short essay that explores the critical concepts found in the Statutes and, by the grace of God, will open new doors for living out the Regnum Christi vocation.
All Things Proceed: Recognition and Communionby Fr. John Pietropaoli, LC
The term communion has considerable currency both in the Church and in Regnum Christi’s renewal. We have a shared sense that God wants us to experience the gift of communion. But the term has a meaning far deeper than simply all getting along or treating each other in a civil fashion to get things done.
The new movements in the Church help give flesh and blood to the Universal Call to Holiness. And holiness, union with God, is only in communion. Living and evangelizing in true communion—as lay people, consecrated men and women, and priests—we show that, with God, this is possible. And since what we pray and think about shapes our actions, further reflection on communion is both relevant and enriching.