Christian Life Communities
"Companions
for the Journey"
Below you will find helpful information about the CLC movement.
What are the values of the CLC-USA movement?
CLC is a worldwide movement of Christians "who want to follow Jesus Christ more closely and work with Him" to build God’s reign. We seek to bear witness "to those human and Gospel values ... which affect the dignity of the person, the welfare of the family and the integrity of creation ... especially aware of the pressing need to work for justice through a preferential option for the poor and a simple life style." (GP-4)
As a "particular vocation with the church" and "to prepare ourselves more effectively for apostolic witness and service in our daily environment, we assemble in community those who feel a more urgent need to unite their human life in all its dimensions with the fullness of their Christian faith" (GP-4). "We hold the Spiritual Exercises of St.Ignatius as the specific source and the characteristic instrument of our spirituality ... which opens and disposes us to whatever God wishes in each concrete situation of our daily life." (GP-5)
In short, we envision ourselves as missioned, discerning communities. "The field of CLC mission knows no limits; it extends both to the church and the world, in order to bring the Gospel of salvation to all people .. by opening hearts to conversion and struggling to change oppressive structures."
Our Values
- Formation: To motivate and form members and their communities in light of the General Principles. Formation is authenticated through mutual accountability, acknowledged to be on-going, and accepted as the continual process and a purpose of our CLC way of life.
- Mission/Justice: To stimulate, both personally and corporately, a spirit of apostolic service in daily living. Such a spirit develops mature and active witnesses for the service of the faith and the promotion of justice in our family, workplace, church, town, nation and planet.
- Internal Freedom: To facilitate a spiritual indifference that opens individuals and communities to God’s design for them. This freedom enables an everdeepening relationship with the Lord, nourishes strong bonds of human affection, and sustains a commitment to build God’s reign in the world.
- Prophecy: To allow prophetic voices to be heard in our midst. These voices call us to be who we claim to be and challenge us to search always for the greater good.
- Collaboration: To foster frequent communication and networking among member communities, with the Society of Jesus in particular, and with other movements or organizations whose vision or experience complements our own. Collaboration strengthens our community-held vision internally as well as offers our charism in service to others.
- Discerning Leadership: To exercise governance or authority in a style modeled on the discernment method of Ignatian spirituality. Doing so develops well-formed and informed leaders, both for the accomplishment of NCLC’s mission and for the leadership needs of the Church at large.
CLC History
Christian Life Community traces its roots to St. Ignatius Loyola, who, as a soldier recovering from his battle wounds, was given an extraordinary grace of conversion. That mystical experience of God led to his total dedication to Christ and his mission. After his conversion, Ignatius sought to help others by speaking with them in groups about the work of God in their lives. He guided many towards God by drawing on his own spiritual experiences and gradually formulated the Spiritual Exercises to help future guides lead others to God. The Exercises thus helped the development of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the congregation of lay persons, which became the Sodalities of Our Lady, from which the Christian Life Communities developed after Vatican II. After Society of Jesus was suppressed in the mid-1700s, the link with the Spiritual Exercises faded until its rediscovery after Vatican II.
In 1563 in Rome, a young Jesuit, John Leunis, founded the first CLC by gathering a group of young lay students at the Roman College to help them unite their lives — jobs, studies, families, relationships, etc. — with Christian values. The movement, originally called the Sodality of Our Lady, grew and was confirmed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1584. Over the years the movement spread dramatically. In 1920 there were 80,000 sodalities worldwide. In the 1950s in the U.S., there were over two million teenage members and numerous adult members. When Vatican II urged groups like the Sodality to rediscover their original roots, some sodalities continued as before, while others became Christian Life Communities. The main difference is in the size (6 to 12) and the regularity of meeting (weekly or biweekly). Jesuits and the Spiritual Exercises have continued in a close relationship with the CLC.
Ignatian Prayer Suggestions
Establishing my prayer life and committment:
Choose a time of day/night that works for you.
Begin with a short time period. You can EXTEND the length after you’ve firmly established the habit.
Commit to it! If you miss, however, do not beat yourself up or feel guilty. Begin again the next day/night.
A Ritual may help, i.e. light a candle to begin, blow it out to end
Use a gospel story, a familiar prayer like Our Father, but reflect on each word or phrase, observe something lovely and reflect, or discuss an issue or problem that is troubling you with God. A piece of music or art can inspire your prayer. etc.
Spend some of the time listening to God, not just speaking to God. Silence is okay. The more you practice, the more you will hear God’s response.
Distractions may enter your mind, acknowledge them and move on. Avoid being discouraged by them; God may be speaking to you through them. For example, you think of a person, thank God for your relationship with him/her or pray for the person.
Praying for a grace:
In the Spiritual Exercises, each day suggests a special grace to request from God.
- A scripture reading may invoke a grace that will make you more Christ-like.
- A problem that you are facing may bring to mind a grace that you desire to strengthen you.
- Recognize and thank God for the grace/s you receive. God often surprises us with the grace we REALLY need!
Imagination and Scripture
- Read a passage from one of the Gospels.
- Use your senses to imagine the place.
- What do you see? What does the place and the characters look like? What are the characters wearing
- Smell? Is there food? Wood burning? Etc.
- Feel? Is it hot? Cold? Dry? Crowded? Windy? Etc.
- Hear? Is it noisy? Quiet? Etc.
- Put yourself in the scene. You may be one of the crowd, an apostle, the rock that Jesus lies on in the Garden of Gethsemane etc.
- Take part in the action.
- Notice what you feel.
Journal Journaling, a wonderful technique, reminds us of the experience, clarifies answers, and keeps track of our journey.
Ignatian Contemplation:
In this prayer, we make use of guided imagery and active imagination within
the framework of a gospel passage of Jesus’ life.
I begin by selecting a short action passage from the gospel.
- Relax, using the breathing technique, or any other method that helps you relax and gradually begin to feel God’s presence all round you. Read the passage several times. Now place the bible aside.
- Relax, and gradually allow the passage you have read to come alive before you. Imagine the people, the place, the dust, the smell, the objects, the animals, the words spoken, etc. Just let yourself go. Enjoy the scene. Make sure you too are part of that scene. You are not a bystander or an onlooker. Be active in what is happening! It is almost like day dreaming.
- Do not moralize or try to make applications, just be present to the scene.
- Do not try to reason out or learn. Be content just be there.
- End the prayer by talking to Jesus. Thank him for all that happened or did not happen during this time of prayer.
- Journal your experience, pay close attention to your feelings. It will be helpful to your sharing at the meeting!
Try it out for some days and it will become second nature to you. You will enjoy it, and it will help you solve many of your problems. I find that I can trace my changes in attitude that often are the solution to the difficulty!
CLC links
- CLC-USA (http://www.clc-usa.org/)
- World CLC Office (http://www.cvx-clc.net/)
- Return to CLC index page
