CHAPTER 9 – CHASTITY AND POVERTY “Our vow of chastity is nothing but our undivided love for Christ in chastity, then we proceed to the freedom of poverty-poverty is nothing but freedom. And that total surrender is obedience. If I belong to God, if I belong to Christ, then he must be able to use … [Read more…]
CHAPTER 8 – PENANCE AND OBEDIENCE “Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer In the Coworkers of Christ, the spiritual discipline of penance is understood not as mere self-punishment, but as a transformative process of acknowledging our brokenness and turning towards healing and reconciliation. It is a … [Read more…]
CHAPTER 7 – THROUGH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE The Sacramental Community of the Coworkers of Christ is built upon a foundation of three core Christ-centered practices: penance-obedience, chastity-poverty, and forgiveness-reconciliation. These interwoven spiritual practices guide the lives of individual members and shape the character of the Community as a whole. Penance and obedience are … [Read more…]
CHAPTER 6 – MINISTRY AND APOSTOLIC SERVICE “The important thing is to do charity, not to talk about charity. We must understand the work with very poor people as God’s chosen mission.” -St. Dulce of the Poor The basis of the apostolic work of the members of the Coworkers of Christ is to live the … [Read more…]
CHAPTER 5 – FORMATION AND STUDY “Apply thyself to sacred studies, and fix thy thoughts on the blessings that are of God. Leave temporal things behind, and make for the eternal”. -St. Anselm “Our duty, as men and women, is to proceed as if limits to our ability did not exist. We are collaborators in … [Read more…]
CHAPTER 4 – PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATION “However softly we speak, God is so close to us that he can hear us; nor do we need wings to go in search of him, but merely to seek solitude and contemplate him within ourselves, without being surprised to find such a good Guest there.”- St. John of … [Read more…]
CHAPTER 3 – THEY DEVOTED THEMSELVES “Never be entirely idle; but either be reading, or writing, or praying or meditating or endeavoring something for the public good.” -Thomas à Kempis “Your daily occupation should be threefold, namely, prayer, manual labor, and divine reading.” -St. Columba Our lives revolve around a harmonious rhythm of prayer, contemplation, … [Read more…]
CHAPTER 2 – BEHOLD THEY ARE ONE PEOPLE “First offer them the milk of simpler teaching, as the Apostle recommends, so that gradually, as they grow strong on the food of God’s Word, they are capable of receiving more elaborate instructions and of carrying out the higher commandment of God.” -From the Monastic Rule of … [Read more…]
CHAPTER 1 – LOVE ONE ANOTHER “And what is a merciful heart? It is the heart’s burning for the sake of the entire creation, for men, for birds, for animals, for demons, and for every created thing; and by the recollection and sight of them the eyes of a merciful man pour forth abundant tears.” … [Read more…]
THE COMMON RULE: THE RULE, COVENANTS, & GENERAL STATUTESOF THE SACRAMENTAL COMMUNITY OF THE COWORKERS OF CHRIST Adopted at the 2nd General Gathering May 4th 2006 Meeting in Ozark Missouri, updated by the General Gathering in 2007, 2010, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2025 and approved in 2025 by the 20th General Gathering Meeting in Fayetteville, … [Read more…]