20. Sharers in the Spirit of Christ

We have been praying for you unceasingly and asking that you may attain full knowledge of his will through perfect wisdom and spiritual insight. Then you will lead a life worthy of the Lord and pleasing to him in every way. You will multiply good works of every sort and grow in knowledge of God. By the might of his glory you will be endowed with the strength needed to stand fast, even to endure joyfully whatever may come, giving thanks to the Father for having made you worthy to share the lot of the saints in Light.
1 Corinthians 1:9-12

The spirit of the Congregation is a participation in the spirit of Christ himself, as proposed by Saint Vincent: ‘He sent me to preach the Gospel to the poor’. (Luke 4:18) Hence, ‘Jesus Christ is the rule of the Mission’ and shall be considered the center of its life and activity (Common Rules, xii, 20).
Constitutions, 5

Each Christian, by incorporation into Christ, shares in the spirit of Christ just as the branches feed from the vine (John 15:5). And so Saint Vincent asserted that the spirit of Christ overshadows those Christians who live by Christ’s norm. Missionaries cannot be less: they desire to live and act as Christ lived and acted.

1. The Vincentian Spirit Is a Sharing in the Spirit of Christ

What is the spirit of Christ? Saint Vincent answered:

When it is said that the Spirit of our Lord resides in that person or in those works, how is this understood? Does it mean that the very Holy Spirit has poured himself over them? Yes, the Holy Spirit, as person, pours himself over the just and personally dwells in them. When we say that the Holy Spirit acts in a person, it means that the Spirit, inhabiting the person, grants the same inclinations and dispositions that Jesus had on earth. These make the person act, I don’t say with the same perfection, but definitely according to the measure of the Spirit’s gifts.¹

2. The “Presence” of Christ in the Constitutions

Saint Vincent assured us that the Common Rules were based on the Spirit of Christ, on his works and on his life. Can we say the same about the Constitutions? Are they a sure guide to help us share the spirit of Jesus?

The central idea of our whole normative framework is “the following of Christ, Evangelizer of the Poor”:

The principal task is to put on the Spirit of Christ².

The members of the Company strive to fill themselves with the thoughts and feelings of Jesus³.

The source of the Congregation of the Mission’s apostolic work is the love of Jesus⁴.

The fraternal life in common is inspired by that of Jesus with his apostles⁵.

The chastity, poverty and obedience professed in the Congregation of the Mission enable us to live our lives in conformity with Jesus⁶.

When at prayer, the missionary, ought to view the praying Jesus as a model⁷.

The goal of the missionary’s formation is that the charity of Christ should urge him to attain the purpose of the Congregation of the Mission⁸.

Those who govern should draw inspiration from Jesus, the Good Shepherd⁹.

3. Lord, If You Were in My Place, What Would You Do?

Christ the model; always suggesting … never exhausted. Saint Vincent presents this model in every instance. It is necessary to go to Christ in order to know what to do and how to do it. Only Christ has the words of eternal life. (John 6:69)

Ask yourself before acting: Does this conform to the maxims of the Son of God? If so, do it; if not, don’t do it. Lord, if you were in my place, what would you do? How would you instruct these people? How would you console this person, sick in spirit or in body?¹⁰

In some way, we can all apply to ourselves the advise Saint Vincent gave one of the superiors of the Company

And since you will occupy the place of Jesus Christ, you must also be, as he, light which illumines and warms. Jesus Christ, says Saint Paul, is the splendor of the Father. And Saint John says that he is the Light which gives light to every person who comes into this world¹¹.

• Does the desire to live and act like Jesus Christ manifest itself in the community, or is it restricted to the private sphere?
• Is participation in the spirit of Christ—and the strength of this sharing—evident in both my personal life and my personal actions?

Prayer:

O Savior, Lord my God, who has sealed this little Company with your love, fill us with that Spirit so necessary for the Company to respond to your call. You are its author. I dare to say, Lord, that you alone will be to blame if we should not have this Spirit, since all of us burn with the desire to possess and receive that Spirit. You are the one, Lord, who has raised up this Company. We pray in your name Lord Jesus, who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen¹².

1. “On the Members of the Congregation of the Mission and Their Works,” December 13, 1658, O.C., xi, 411.
2. Constitutions, 1, 1.
3. Constitutions, 4.
4. Constitutions, 11.
5. Constitutions, 24, 2.
6. Constitutions, 28.
7. Constitutions, 40.
8. Constitutions, 78.
9. Constitutions, 97.
10. Advice to Antonine Durand, 1656, O.C., xi, 239-240.
11. Ibid., 240.
12. “On the Five Fundamental Virtues,” August 22, 1659, O.C., xi, 592-593.