Letter from Fr John Connor LC: Strategic planning supports our renewal
August 26, 2015
Dear Regnum Christi members and Legionaries of Christ,
Last week marked an important step in setting the future direction for Regnum Christi in North America.
More than 20 lay members of the Movement, consecrated members and Legionaries met to continue the development of our five-year strategic plan. The meeting was part of a process that started early this year and included the creation of 13 teams from various functional areas to provide ideas and inspiration.
I hope you have seen the short video we issued following the meeting. You will receive a notice in the next week about a live webinar we will conduct to share more about the plan and the process for its creation, but I wanted to give you some context with this letter about how our planning fits with our renewal process. And you can view the video here; I believe it gives a sense of what our planning week was about:
We are striving to put into practice the apostolic renewal asked of the Regnum Christi and the Legion by the Extraordinary General Chapter: “We ask the new government, in light of the analysis made in the Chapter hall, to draw up a plan to give impetus to the apostolate that will involve the territories and the localities, […] in coordination with the other branches.” (Communique Regarding our Apostolic Renewal, General Chapter 2014)
As a part of this impetus we’re working on a truly long-range plan – the first one to be directed by the Regnum Christi Territorial Committee. This plan has been created by a broad group representing all the branches of our spiritual family and is the fruit of extensive input from members of our territory.
The plan – which is far from finished – grows from decades of experience and is based especially on the experience gained from the previous short-term plans and the work done over the past few years. We are happy about the results but well aware that we need to continue moving forward, all together, as one spiritual family.
We first confirmed our mission: We work as Jesus did. We reveal His love, form apostles and send them out to help build the Kingdom of Christ. We awaken the individual and the family to their mission in life and in the Church.
We also know that our final plan will recognize the importance of serving the family, building strong localities and maintaining healthy communities for our Legionaries and consecrated members. Clearly the Holy Spirit was at work since our conclusions echoed what the General Chapter called for when it said, “We have found that it is necessary to evangelize the whole family, paying special attention to married couples. For this reason, all the institutions and sections of the Movement need to collaborate with each other in order to attend the family as a whole.” (Communique Regarding our Apostolic Renewal, General Chapter 2014)
Over the next several months our leadership team will be seeking more input from our localities, institutions and apostolates. We’ll continue to refine the plan and expect to issue the final version early in 2016. This plan will be the foundation of our way forward upon the completion of the formal renewal process, which culminates with the approval of the lay statutes.
You will receive a notice in the next week about a live webinar we will conduct to share more about the plan and the process for its creation.
I believe it is significant that we met at a parish – St Benedict, Johns Creek, Georgia – for these meetings. The parish welcomed us and we shared in their liturgies and could truly live in communion with the local church.
And perhaps the most important moment of the week came at the end of the meetings, when we gathered in the church to consecrate our territory to the Sacred Heart. I invite each one of you to make an act of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as well. I have included a sample of the consecratory prayer in the enclosure.
Our plan for the future is ambitious and we will not be able to accomplish it using just our human talents and gifts. We will need divine help that only faith and personal holiness can elicit. As we approach the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Regnum Christi and the Legion, what better time to ask Christ for that simple and humble faith that always moves his heart. As our general director wrote to us when he announced the celebration of our 75 years, “This celebration will be more authentic if we seek, in prayer and intimacy with Christ, to deepen our understanding of this gift that God has given us for the Church and to live it with an ever-growing fidelity.” (Letter from Fr Eduardo Robles-Gil, May 28, 2015.)
I trust in the fidelity and commitment of each one of you to meet these challenges since I know how much you love the mission and the souls whom you serve. Thank you for your tremendous dedication and sacrifice in bringing Christ to so many adults, youth and children. I am confident that this strategic plan will help us all to do this even better. Count on my prayers and please pray for me too as we begin this new school year.
Yours in Christ and the Movement,
