March 22, 2018

Álvaro Cifuentes was born in Bogotá, Columbia, in 1963 he joined Regnum Christi while studying systems engineering in Mexico before becoming a Regnum Christi Lay Consecrated Man in 1990. He is currently working in Chile with teachers in the Cumbres School of Santiago and in the youth section of Regnum Christi.

He explains who the lay consecrated men are, what they do, what their specific contribution to Regnum Christi is and how they see the renewal process.

What is the vocation of lay consecrated men and what is their specific contribution to the RC family?

The vocation of the lay consecrated man is the answer to a specific call made by the Lord to a young man to give his life while remaining in the midst of the daily realities of this world. It is to be leaven of Christ there, dedicated entirely to the mission by a consecration of life to God in Regnum Christi. This is how we live this triple reality of being secular, consecrated and Regnum Christi.

Our specific contribution is in the concrete experience of these facets that binds us in a particular way with the other branches of the Movement. We are men like the Legionary priests, and we have a lot of history together; we share consecration with the consecrated women; and we share the lay identity with other members of the movement. I think that this allows us to be in a privileged position to strengthen the unity of the Movement.

But, in addition, from my point of view, the possibility of living in permanent contact with temporal realities in the secular world allows us to directly see the concrete needs of people and be bridges between those needs and the possibilities to resolve them, either by linking people, starting apostolic initiatives or working in Regnum Christi to form apostles.

What does a lay consecrated man do? What do you do in particular?

A lay consecrated man can perform all the tasks that a layperson can do from a professional point of view, but always helping the mission of Regnum Christi in this work. In a way, that generates an evangelizing influence in society. For this reason, he gets a college degree, often including postgraduate studies, but also trains in religious sciences and methodologies that facilitate the dissemination of the Christian message. You can work in a commercial, political, or social field; always taking into account the evangelizing work of the movement. And a lay consecrated man should also work in the movement itself, partially or full-time.

In particular, I am currently dedicating myself to accompanying young people and teachers in our schools, Cumbres in Santiago and the Mano Amiga school Santa Teresa de Jesús de Los Andes, as well as in the youth section. I am involved in pastoral research projects in our schools in Chile and in social ministry with alumni from our schools.

How and why did you become a lay consecrated man?

Thoughts about giving my life to God originated in school, at the Cumbres school in Mexico City, when companions entered the consecrated life before leaving school. Then I went to live in Venezuela with my family and soon after I got involved in starting Regnum Christi when the Legionaries arrived in Caracas. These thoughts followed me while I was enthused about building up Regnum Christi until the end of my degree (I studied Systems Engineering in the Metropolitana University). And my spiritual director, knowing my desire for dedication to Christ, my passion for the professional career, and the call that the Lord was giving me, invited me to get to know the consecrated life in Mexico. When I arrived there and saw the life, the vision for the Movement and the possibility of my apostolic development, I fell in love with this vocation.

Why a consecrated and not a priest?

I did not prefer one or another vocation. My interest was to give my life to the Lord, as he was asking, and my spiritual director helped me to discern where I would fit according to personal desires. Then, I did not understand it very well; now, I see more clearly the path he lead me on. I had direct contact with the Legionaries, but one of them opened this perspective of such an interesting lifestyle for a Regnum Christi member.

The lay consecrated men have committed everything to the unity of Regnum Christi, changing even their own canonical configuration. How do you see the process of renewal?

The revision process that we have all experienced as a Movement has been an extraordinary experience of renewal. It has allowed us to travel to the deepest foundations of our being and to review our statutes, our behavior and attitudes towards the mission through the Gospel, the teachings of the Church and what the Holy Spirit was asking of us. It has been an opportunity to examine, with magnificence and without shame, our attachment to the charism that the Lord gave us.

For this reason I see a sincere effort by all to understand the language of the Holy Spirit within us individually and communally. I think we have become aware of the charismatic elements that define us and we are building a structure and way to interrelate that allows us to develop this charism. All this makes me see a very promising future for the movement.

You can read Álvaro Cifuentes’s original interview on the Spanish RC Site.