Why Not Establish a Charitable Work or Ministry?
- The Father is at work (Jn 5:17)
- I do whatever I see the Father doing (Jn 8:28)
- That they may see your deeds (Mt 5:16/1P 2:12)
- Be rich in good deeds (Tim 1:2-10)
- “Do whatever He tells you” (Jn 2:5)
Doing good things are good.
Doing good things on behalf of Jesus are doing holy things. The least of the brethren that Jesus speaks about in the Gospel are His least brethren … whatever you do to the least of MY brethren (Mt 25:40)… we are called to help the poor because of Jesus.
Living the Call Of Union With God and Mission of Building God’s Kingdom
When The Lamb is lifted up, He draws all things to himself (Jn 12:32)…and brings us to the springs of life-giving water (Rev 7:17) that God may be all and in all (Eph 4:6).
When God calls you:
He calls you to a personal relationship. He calls you to a project known to Him alone. He calls you during the lows and highs of life; during the day when everything is great and wonderful, and during the night, when things are not working well in your favor and when no one admires nor takes notice of you. God calls you to change you and makes you look crazy before the world.
The call to mission is our goal, and the call to union is our journey, from our point of departure and point of arrival. Mission must lead us always to union with God (JP II).
Living The Spirituality and Charism of the Association
The Spirit of The lamb is a distinct spirit … the strength, a light that animates and captivates, moves and inspires the fiber of our being, existence and actions. The journey of our members is sustained by the Spirits of Hope and Compassion, Confidence and Fidelity, Sacrifice and Joy. To hasten, in Luke 10:3,to accomplish the command of Jesus, The Lamb, is to be focused on Jesus and His mission, without distractions, and to follow the great commandment ..to love God with all our heart (Mt 22:37). To safeguard this commandment of love, without any other idols to worship, is to live the spirits of the evangelical counsels: right relationship with God (obedience), persons (chastity) and possessions/things (poverty).
Replicating the Essential Work of the Association
There are three levels of REPLICATING to expand the mission.
- Works of Charity with its committed corporate personnel
- Lamb Faith Community Building with its community members
- Building Partnership-in-Mission with affiliates who have the same objectives as we do.
I. Works of Charity
- Help build structures of charity and support systems!
- Love one another as I have loved you (Jn 13:34)
Our Interior Discipline:
The interior virtue of charity, in imitation of The Lamb, is the impetus and drive in the works of charity with our neighbor and with those who are different from us. We increase in charity, when we do more works of charity. We gain, we do not lose. The poor themselves are not exempted in giving alms. When we give, spiritually or materially, we do not lose, for it is in giving that we receive. To be giving is to be like God.
“No one’s income is small, whose heart is big, and the measure of one’s mercy and goodness does not depend on the size of one’s means” (Pope St. Leo the Great).
Charity work is a way to empower the recipients to be charitable to others. Gifts of charity are gifts that are to be given away. To hoard works of charity bars the cycle of generous love; it clogs the work of God’s compassion and mercy. I receive because I am needy. I give because others are needy. If God stops giving, if the Lord stops his generosity, we die.
External Expression of Charity:
Hence, the poor are not objects of charity. The poor are not problems. They are solutions. The poor are agents of transformation of society.
II. Faith Lamb Community Building
“While we enjoy the presence of each other, we renew our fervor to be channels always of God’s love, mercy and compassion. It is likewise a moment to re-commit ourselves to share whatever blessings we have received to our brothers and sisters in need” Bishop Jacinto Jose.
Building a spiritual house (1 Pt 2:5)
Faith Community Building is a requirement of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 4:32). To build a community is not an option. We are called to love one another, to preserve a household of peace – place of renewal and healing, building a generation of sacrificial giving and generosity, a culture of compassion and mercy. “They will know that you are my disciples when you love one another” (Jn 13:35). “My sisters and brothers are those who follow the will of my Father” (Mt 3:35).
A Faith Community can be a leaven of hope and salt of the earth; to inspire the strayed, the unchurched, the non-believers, and those that the Spirit calls to belong, to lead them to the parish community and bring them to the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrifice of The Mass, participating in the eternal offering of Jesus to the Father.
The Lamb Faith Community is a way to institutionalize spiritual and material generosity and giving and to bridge the gaps of life.
The Lamb Faith community mediates between the parish and the family, the Church and society, God and the world-humanity. The faith community stands in the gap in the battle against “evils in society and the demonic.”
III. To be Partners-in-Mission and Affiliates of the Association
- Go into the world (Jn 17:18)
- Bear one another’s burden (Gal 6:2)
To be an affiliate and partner is to contribute to building a social network of builders of the future. We unite with those who have the heart of the least brethren of Jesus.