(N.B. This text refers to the teaching of “Cristifideles laici” (CFL) to indicate the basis and the structures of the Dehonian Laity)

I. Profile of the Dehonian Laity

1. The Faithful Laity

“Through Baptism the lay faithful are made one body with Christ and are established among the People of God. They are in their own way made sharers in the priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Christ. They carry out their own part in the mission of the whole Christian people with respect to the Church and the world” (CFL 9) (Cf. LG 31).

Even if not exclusive “their secular character is proper and peculiar to the laity” (LG 31); it is what characterizes, qualifies, distinguishes and positively defines the lay persons’ “being Christian in the world”. “by reason of their special vocation it belongs to the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God’s will. They live in the world, that is, they are engaged in each and every work and business of the earth and in the ordinary circumstances of social and family life which, as it were, constitute their very existence. There they are called by God that, being led by the spirit to the Gospel, they may contribute to the sanctification of the world, as from within like leaven, by fulfilling their own particular duties” (LG 31).

“The “world” thus becomes the place and the means for the lay faithful to fulfill their Christian vocation, because the world itself is destined to glorify God the Father in Christ” (CFL 15).

2. The Dehonian Laity

The participation of the laity in the Dehonian Charism is a gift of the spirit. “Even in our own times there is no lack of a fruitful manifestation of various charisms among the faithful, women and men. These charisms are given to individual persons and can even be shared by others in such ways as to continue in time a precious and effective heritage, serving as a source of a particular spiritual affinity among persons” (CFL 24), and “In the field of a “commonly shared” lay vocation, “special” lay vocations flourish” (CFL 56).

The Dehonian Laity is a faithful laity which has been called to live its incorporation in Christ and its insertion in the world, inspired by the charism of Fr. Dehon: in freely-given love and in reparatory oblation, collaborating to establish the Kingdom of the Heart of Christ in souls and in society.

II. The Lay Dimension of the Dehonian Charism: Spirituality and Mission

The lay dimension of the Dehonian charism is lived and discovered by lay people themselves when, in developing the triple office of Christ in the world, working towards the sanctity of their state and participating in the Church’s mission, they live everything according to their secular character. It is there that they find those attitudes and values typical to Dehonian spirituality, which they are called to live in the lay dimension.

1. Participating in the Triple Office of Christ

In His Priestly Capacity, Jesus offered Himself and continually offers Himself in the eucharistic celebration for the glory of the Father, for the salvation of humanity.

Incorporated in the Risen Christ through baptism, the lay faithful are joined to Him and His sacrifice in the offering of themselves and of all their activities (Cf. Rom 12:1,2).

And thus “all their works, prayers and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit - indeed even the hardships of life if patiently borne - all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (Cf. Pet 2:5). In the celebration of the Eucharist these may most fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord. And so, worshipping everywhere by their holy actions, the laity consecrate the world itself to God” (LG 34; - Cf. CFL 14).

In this way the Dehonian Laity is called to continue in their daily life that redeeming oblation to which they have been associated in the eucharistic celebration.

In His Prophetic Capacity, Christ enables and commits the faithful laity to receive the Gospel in faith, to proclaim it with their words and to bear witness to it with their works, without hesitating to denounce evil courageously.

And thus the faithful laity are called to make it “so that the power of the Gospel may shine out in daily family and social life. They show themselves to be the children of the promise if, strong in faith and hope, they make the most of the present time... and with patience await the future glory... Let them not hide this their hope then, in the depths of their hearts, but rather express it through the structure of their secular lives...” (LG 35; Cf. CFL 14).

The Dehonian lay person is called to be a prophet of love and the tenderness of God towards mankind, manifested in the Heart of Christ.

In His Royal Capacity, Christ is Lord and King of the universe.

It is for this reason that the lay faithful are called to the service of the kingdom of God and to its diffusion in history.

And thus as lay faithful “They exercise their kingship as Christians, above all in the spiritual combat in which they seek to overcome in themselves the kingdom of sin (cf. Rom 6:12), and then to make a gift of themselves so as to serve, in justice and in charity, Jesus who is himself present in all His brothers and sisters, above all in the very least (cf. Mt 25:40)” (CFL 14). Lastly, “in orderingcreation to the authentic well-being of humanity in an activity governed by the life of grace, the lay faithful share in the exercise of the power with which the risen Christ draws all things to himself and subjects them along with himself to the Father, so that God might be everything to everyone (cf. 1 Cor 15:28; Jn 12:32)” (CFL 14).

The people who make up the Dehonian Laity are called to be servants of the reconciliation of mankind and the world in Christ.

2. Universal Vocation to Holiness According to One’s Individual State of Life (Cf. LG 40-42)

The vocation to holiness “stirs up every baptized person and requires each to follow and imitate Jesus Christ, in embracing the Beatitudes, in listening and meditating on the word of God, in conscious and active participation in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church, in personal prayer, in family or in community, in the hunger and thirst for justice, in the practice of the commandment of love in all circumstances of life and service to the brethren, especially the least, the poor and the suffering” (CFL 16).

“‘Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him’ (Col 3:17)” (CFL 17).

In any state of life, holiness consists of “the perfection of love” (LG 40), that is, in union with God. The Dehonian Laity achieves its progress to holiness in full union with Christ, in His love and in His oblation to the Father for mankind.

3. The Laity’s mission in the Church and in the World - Within the Realm of the Mission

“The lay faithful, precisely because they are members of the Church, have the vocation and mission of proclaiming the Gospel: they are prepared for this work by the sacraments of Christian initiation and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit” (CFL 33).

“Their own field of evangelizing activity is the vast and complicated world of politics, society and economics, as well as the world of culture, of the sciences and the arts, of international life, of the mass media. It also includes other realities which are open to evangelization, such as human love, the family, the education of children and adolescents, professional work, and suffering” [EN-70] (CFL 23).

In service to the human person, they commit themselves “To rediscover and make others discover the inviolable dignity of every human person” (CFL 37); they make the commitment to the respect, the defense and promotion of the rights of the human person, to the inviolable rights of human life in every phase of its development and in every circumstance. The right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture (Cf. CFL 38).

In service to the family, they commit themselves “to make the family aware of its identity as the primary social nucleus, and its basic role in society, so that it might itself become always a more active and responsible place for proper growth and proper participation in social life” (CFL 40).

In service to society, in a charity which “gives life and sustains the works of solidarity that look to the total needs of the human being” (CFL 41), they commit themselves to justice.

“In order to achieve their task directed to the Christian animation of the temporal order, in the sense of serving persons and society, the lay faithful are never to relinquish their participation in “public life,” that is, in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good” (CFL 42).

The Dehonian Laity collaborate, within the various areas of the mission, in establishing “the Kingdom of the Heart of Jesus in souls and in society. The Kingdom of the Heart of Jesus in souls is characterized by the renewal of Christian life. The Kingdom of the Heart of Jesus in society is the kingdom of justice, charity and mercy, the fruit of which is the promotion of society and peace” (Fr. Dehon).

III. Integral and Ongoing Formation

Christian formation is “a continual process in the individual of maturation in faith and a likening to Christ, according to the will of the Father, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit” (CFL 57).

1. Discovering and Living One’s Own Vocation and Mission

“The fundamental objective of the formation of the lay faithful is an ever-clearer discovery of one’s vocation and the ever-greater willingness to live it so as to fulfill one’s mission...

“To be able to discover the actual will of the Lord in our lives always involves the following: a receptive listening to the word of God and the Church, fervent and constant prayer, recourse to a wise and loving spiritual guide and a faithful discernment of the gifts and talents given by God, as well as the diverse social and historic situations in which one lives...

“It is not a question of simply knowing what God wants from each of us... The individual must do what God wants... (And to) act in fidelity to God’s will requires a capability for acting and the developing of the capability” (CFL 58).

2. Integral Formation for Living One’s Faith and Life in Unity

“In discovering and living their proper vocation and mission, the lay faithful must be formed according to the union which exists from their being members of the Church and citizens of human society.

“There cannot be two parallel lives in their existence: on the one hand, the so-called “spiritual” life, with its values and demands; and on the other, the so-called “secular” life, that is, life in a family, at work, in social relationships, in the responsibilities of public life and in culture. The branch, engrafted to the vine which is Christ, bears its fruit in every sphere of existence and activity. In fact, every area of the lay faithful’s lives, as different as they are, enters into the plan of God, who desires that these very areas be the “places in time” where the love of Christ is revealed and realized for both the glory of the Father and service of others” (CFL 59).

3. Aspects of Formation

“Spiritual formation ought to occupy a privileged place in a person’s life.

“Everyone is called to grow continually in intimate union with Jesus Christ, in conformity to the Father’s will, in devotion to others in charity and justice...

“The situation today points to an ever-increasing urgency for a doctrinal formation of the lay faithful, not simply in a better understanding which is natural to faith’s dynamism, but also in enabling them to ‘give a reason for their hope’ in view of the world and its grave and complex problems...

“For the lay faithful who have responsibilities in various fields of society and public life. Above all, it is indispensable that they have a more exact knowledge...of the Church’s social doctrine” (CFL 60) and of the social teaching of Fr. Dehon.

“The cultivation of human values finds a place in the context of a totally integrated formation, bearing a particular significance for the missionary and apostolic activities of the lay faithful. In this regard the council wrote: ‘(the lay faithful) should also hold in high esteem professional skill, family and civic spirit, and the values related to social behavior, namely, honesty, a spirit of justice, sincerity, courtesy, moral courage; without them there is no true Christian life’” [AA4] (CFL 60).

The Dehonian values of freely-given love, of reparatory oblation, of reconciliation, of adoration.... must take concrete form and express themselves in a style of life, made up of abandonment and of trust in God; of warmth and mercy with people; of communion and availability towards men.

4. The Educators

God is the first and great educator of his people. The educational work of God is revealed and accomplished in Jesus, the Master, and reaches the interior of the heart of every man thanks to the dynamic presence of the Spirit.

“Mother Church is called to take part in the divine work of formation, both through a sharing of her very life, and through her various pronouncements and actions. It is thus that the lay faithful are formed by the Church and in the Church in a mutual communion and collaboration of all her members: clergy, religious and lay faithful. Thus the whole ecclesial community, in its diverse members, receives the fruitfulness of the Spirit and actively cooperates toward that end... Priests and religious ought to assist the lay faithful in their formation... In turn, the lay faithful themselves can and should help priests and religious in the course of their spiritual and pastoral journey” (CFL 61).

“The Christian family, as the “domestic church,” also makes up a natural and fundamental school for formation in the Faith... (The components of the Dehonian Family have the task of forming within their members, their proper state of life and the Dehonian charism [spirituality and mission]: they must use this) opportunity to integrate, to make concrete and specific the formation that their members receive from other persons and communities” (CFL 62).

5. The Formation of the Formation Directors

This consists of giving formation to those who, in their turn, must be engaged in the formation of the lay faithful. In particular it must reach the point that the Dehonian Laity may become, in their turn, formation directors for other lay Dehonians.

Some requirements - Given the international character of the Dehonian Family it is necessary to take local cultures into account when considering formation.

Formation of self: “One cannot offer a true and effective formation to others if the individual has not taken on or developed a personal responsibility for formation...

“Each of us is the goal and principle of formation: the more we are formed the more we feel the need to pursue and deepen our formation, just as the more we are formed the more we are capable of forming others” (CFL 63).

IV. Organization of the Dehonian Laity

The individual form of participation in Fr. Dehon’s charism is the “origin and condition” (CFL 28) of the associated forms; the individual form “admits no substitute” (CFL 28).

“Oftentimes these lay groups show themselves to be very diverse from one another in various aspects, in their external structures, in their procedures and training methods, and in the fields in which they work. However, they all come together in an all-inclusive and profound convergence” (CFL 29) in the objective which inspires them: participation in Dehonian spirituality itself and in its Dehonian mission in the Church.

“The freedom for lay people in the Church to form such groups is to be acknowledged” (CFL 29); this is also true within the Dehonian family.

“It is exceedingly opportune that some new associations and movements receive official recognition and explicit approval from competent” (CFL 31) S.C.J. Superiors: the Provincial Superiors on the national level, the Superior General on the international level.

V. The Communion of the Laity in the Dehonian Family

Analogous to what happens in the Church between the three states of life, also within the Dehonian Family an “organic” communion is in force with regard to its three component parts.

“‘Organic’ communion (in the Church is characterized by the fact that) ...at one and the same time it is characterized by a diversity and a complementarity of vocations and states in life, of ministries, of charisms and responsibilities. Because of this diversity and complementarity, every member of the lay faithful is seen in relation to the whole body and offers a totally unique contribution on behalf of the whole body” (CFL 20).

“In Church communion the states of life, by being ordered one to the other, are thus bound together among themselves. They all share in a deeply basic meaning: that of being the manner of living out the commonly shared Christian dignity and the universal call to holiness in the perfection of love. They are different yet complementary, in the sense that each of them has a basic and unmistakable character which sets each apart, while at the same time each of them is seen in relation to the other and placed at each other’s service” (CFL 55).

That is why the various components of the Dehonian Family, both as a whole and as each of them in relationship to the others, are in the service of the growth of the Dehonian Family in the Church. These various components are different ways of living the Dehonian spirituality and mission in the Church; they are, however, profoundly united with each other in their “communion” to the charism of Fr. Dehon. In this way they share the unique and identical charism of Fr. Dehon, which reveals and animates, in their variety of vocations, the infinite wealth of the mystery of the Heart of Jesus Christ in the Church for the World.