Lay Spiritan Associates
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Inspired Laity
Lay Spiritan Associates are women and men, single and married, of all ages and professions – companions to one another. We are moved by the Holy Spirit, eagerly available to God in prayer and to our neighbors in service – especially the poor, vulnerable, marginalized, most abandoned and excluded of society. We make visible the kingdom of God in the ordinary circumstances of daily life by embracing a lifestyle of compassion, inclusivity, prayer, and material simplicity. Read more about our beliefs and the three main forms of association below.
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Forms of Association
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Spiritan Friends
Spiritan Friends are organized groups of women and men who, in different ways, engage in Spiritan ministries and/or Spiritan communities participating in the Spiritan mission in the various contexts of Spiritan community. They are called by the Holy Spirit to share in Spiritan spirituality and mission. They are accompanied by a local Lay Spiritan or professed Spiritan.
Spiritan Friends include Collaborators in Spiritan Mission and Supporters of Spiritan Mission.
Collaborators in Spiritan Mission are Spiritan Friends who:- Actively engage in a particular Spiritan ministry or project
- Organize their ongoing formation in collaboration with their Spiritan accompanier, adapted to their needs, expectations, dispositions, and contexts
- Are accompanied by a lay or professed Spiritan
Supporters of Spiritan Mission are Spiritan Friends who:
- Provide spiritual or material support to a Spiritan community
- Fundraise to support a Spiritan mission or project
- May or may not join other Spiritan Friends for formation in Spiritan spirituality and mission
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Spiritan Fraternities
Spiritan Fraternities are groups of lay people who feel attracted by the spirituality of our founders and our mission, and who come together for prayer, reflection and action.
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Lay Spiritan Communities
Lay Spiritans are individuals who feel a call to lead their whole life according to the Spiritan charism and show this by a deeper commitment within the Congregation. After a time of discernment and specific formation, they establish with the circumscription which welcomes them a written Agreement.
Lay Spiritans experience a call to live their whole lives in deep embrace of Spiritan spirituality and make a life commitment to share in Spiritan mission, prayer, and community life. We experience a call from the
Holy Spirit to:- Live the grace of their baptisms more intensely
- Respond actively to the signs and challenges of the times
- Give new expression to the Spiritan charism of “evangelical availability”
Lay Spiritans participate in a lengthy period of formation and discernment. They enter into a written covenant agreement celebrated in liturgical ritual. They participate in ministry with those on the margins – locally, nationally and/or internationally. They serve on provincial committees, may be appointed to governing councils, and join in dialogue with professed Spiritans at governing chapters and other deliberative assemblies of the congregation.
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Lay Spiritan Flyer
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Our Beliefs
We are an “inspired laity,” moved by the Holy Spirit to serve the poorest of the poor, those who are vulnerable and excluded from society. Our call to ministry comes out of our deep prayer and relationship with God, with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
We are men and women, single and married.
We are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, grandparents and great-grandparents.
We are teachers, counselors, engineers,school administrators, university administrators and staff, college professors, nurses, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, social workers, religious education directors, deacons, service professionals, and more.
We believe in community life which is Christ-centered; prayer; active apostolic work; advocacy for the poor and marginalized; ministering to those who others are reluctant to serve; mutuality with our professed Spiritan brothers; studying the lives of our founders and Libermann’s practical union with God; humor, fun and celebration; nurturing family life; and balance of prayer, reflection and outreach.
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