Constitutional text - Chapter Tree - Our Community life

not strive to move through this hurnan development to
touch the deepest part of man - his capacity to relate
to the divine and incarnate as fully as possible in his
or her uniqueness the divine life that is within each of
us. "God's glory is man fully alive" - true, but man fully
alive in all his dimensions.
3. Religious CoITDTR.lllity is a means fora more effective apostolate.
The corrummity exists to provide a framework in which the
energies,talents, charisms and training of the various
members are organized so that the person can most effectively
serve the Church by proclaiming and making the Gospel
present in the manner that the corrummity has accepted as
its contribution to the Church's life. The co!TDTIUI1itystructures
are there to help the individual become a better instrument
of service and to also provide him with the resources
to address the needs in the world and the Church as
an individual or as a co!TDTIUI1ity.
These goals and purposes of religious community life include all
the possible dimensions required fora full hurnan/Christian life.
The religious corrummity calls a person
TO BE and BECOME - demanding a certain "self-centeredness"
by asking the person to grow and develop his
or her unique gifts and personality.
TO LOVE - demanding an "other-centeredness" in the call
to serve one another in the community and in
the broader world and Church corrnnunity.
TO ADORE - demanding an "Other-centeredness" in the
call to worship and witness to the divine through
the living of the vows and a shared faith life.
The goals and purposes can be put in a different arder of priority,
but all of them ITil..lSt be present in some way in a religious co!TDTIUI1ity
if that COillJJll]1ity is to rema.in authentically "religious". To
stress the "personal development" area exclusively may turna community
into a "spiritual sanatarium"; to stress the apostolate-as-work
area exclusively may turna co!TDTIUI1ity into a type of employment
agency. Striving to maintain a balance of the' three goals that is
fitting to the nature of the community is the only way of insuring
that the corrnnunity will not betray its call to be a "religious community.
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