14. The common life
As Jesus went up into the hills, he summoned those he wanted; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils.
Mark 3:13-14
The Congregation of the Mission is a clerical society of apostolic life and of pontifical right, in which the members pursue their own apostolic purpose according to the heritage bequeathed by Saint Vincent and sanctioned by the Church. They live in common as brothers by following their own rule of life, and they strive for perfect charity by observing the Constitutions.
Constitutions, 3, 1
The common life was born at the same moment as the Mission. It is impossible to conceive of the Vincentian Mission without the common life. Thus, the common life is an essential element in the apostolic life of the Congregation of the Mission.
1. We Associate Ourselves with this Work in Order to Live in Community
In the contract of the Foundation of the Congregation of the Mission and in the Act of Association of the First Members, it is clearly stated that the reason for the common life is the evangelization of the poor. Community life is the “stuff” of which it is made.
We associate ourselves with this specific work so that we might live together as a congregation, a company, or a confraternity, and so that we might work for the salvation of poor country people according to the foundation and the requests made of the Company.1
The Common Rules specify more concretely the activities of the common life:
The customary order of day in the Congregation shall be exactly observed by all, whether at home or on the missions, especially with regard to the hours of rising and retiring, making mental prayer, reciting the Divine Office, and taking our meals.2
2. Charity Is Heaven for Community
But these elements are not enough in themselves; they require brotherhood and mutual love. Saint Vincent said: “Charity is heaven for community.”
Charity is the soul of virtue and the heaven for community. If charity exists, then the house of Saint Lazare ought to be heaven, the great happiness of eternal life is love, and so there is nothing more desirable than to live with one another in love and to feel loved by others.3
The universal law of the Church insists on fraternity, rooted in charity, as a dynamic element in community life:
The fraternal life proper to each institute unites all the members into, as it were, a special family in Christ. This should be so true that, for every member, it guarantees mutual assistance in fulfilling their vocation. Fraternal union of the members, rooted and based in charity, is to be an example of the universal reconciliation in Christ.4
3. Solitude Gives Us a Pause from Work, and Work a Pause from Solitude
Since the time of Abelly, it has often been quoted that the missionary should be “an apostle at work and a Carthusian at home.” Saint Vincent wrote something similar to this to a confrere.5 There are two distinct kinds of moments in the life of a missionary; both require different attitudes. Above all, however, the common life demands that all create an environment that is appropriate for the life of the mission:
Let us carefully exert every effort to create the necessary condition for work, rest, prayer and community life; toward this end let us use with discretion and prudence the necessary means of communication and, except for those cases where the apostolate demands it, let us reserve a part of the house for the intimacy of community.6
- What is my vision of the common life in the Congregation of the Mission?
- What is my experience, up to now, of community life? Am I satisfied or frustrated? Why?
Prayer:
O divine Savior, instill charity in the hearts of each person whom you have called to form part of this Congregation, because only through our mutual love can the strong support the weak, only through our mutual love can we accomplish the work you have entrusted to us. We pray in your name Lord Jesus, you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.7