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RC DAILY MEDITATIONS
RC DAILY MEDITATIONS

April 1, 2022

New Essay Explores the RC Call to be Contemplative & Evangelizing

/ Regnum Christi News, Weekly Message Blog

Contemplative & Evangelizing: Apostles of the Kingdom With the Heart of Christ is a new essay available for free in e-book format that dives into a charismatic trait of all Regnum Christi members, being “contemplative and evangelizing” (SRCF 20).

This duality is not just one particular characteristic of the way a Regnum Christi member lives and acts among many others. It is a vital attitude that permits us to know, love, and follow Christ the Apostle and allow him to transform us.  It is the path to make the spiritual characteristics and the missionary lifestyle which are expressed in the second chapter of the Statutes (“Spiritual Foundations”) and the first article of the third chapter (“Principles of Apostolic Action”) our own.

This new essay explores how being both contemplating and evangelizing are not two competing activities that divide up the day, with time carved out for one and then for the other. Instead, those called to the Regnum Christi Charism are meant to be both contemplative and evangelizing throughout every act of their life, because both aspects come together in a single way of being, an existential attitude, a way of life. The two traits are not only inseparable, in fact, one is always contained in the other. The apostle of the Kingdom cannot be evangelizing without being contemplative, nor be contemplative without being evangelizing.

The Statutes of the Regnum Christi Federation explain this part of the charism in number 20.

20. We are contemplative and evangelizing:

1.° Contemplative, because we discover Christ’s presence and love in our own hearts, in our neighbor and in the world. We seek to be men and women of interior life, lovers of prayer, and we recognize the primacy of God’s action in our growth in holiness and in the apostolate;

2.° Evangelizing, because, driven by the desire of Christ to enkindle the fire of the Father’s love in all hearts, we live as missionary disciples who seek to proclaim the Kingdom and bring the light of the Gospel to everyone.

This is the fourth in a series of essays from the Regnum Christi General Directorate’s Life & Mission Department that explore how Regnum Christi members live their charism. The other three are:

  1. The Regnum Christi Identity According to the Statutes of the Regnum Christi Federation is an essay that reflects on what it means to live a mystery of the life of Christ and make it present in the world, and about the particular mystery in Christ’s life that the Regnum Christi identity springs from. It also contains three concept maps, and an infographic.  It was created by the Life and Mission Division of the General Directorate of the Regnum Christi Federation, with the intention of helping us to go deeper in understanding the charism while praying with the Word of God. It is available in English and in Spanish.
  2. Live the Mystery of the Kingdom is a second essay that continues from The Regnum Christi Identity and focuses more specifically on the mission of making the Kingdom present in one’s own life, in the hearts of others and in society. It includes workshops and questions for reflection that help us understand how to live this mystery concretely. It’s available in English and in Spanish.
  3. The Pledge of Friendship with Christ and With Each Other: ECYD The Regnum Christi Charism lived by Adolescents. In Regnum Christi we have always considered ECYD to be a part of our spiritual family. This essay, then, is directed to all of us – those who have had contact with ECYD and those who have not, or had it a long time ago – to all who want to find light in the mystery of Jesus Christ who comes out to meet us and invites us to live as his friends and apostles. In the following pages we share the thoughts of the different territories five years after the publication of the ECYD Statutes.

Themes for upcoming essays include the Encounter With Christ, and how to live the Regnum Christi Charism as a married couple.

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Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Ask a Priest

“Ask a Priest: What If Mom Wants Her Ashes Scattered?”

/ Ask a Priest
Q: I am wandering about what to do when my mother passes, with respect to her remains. My mother is a devout Catholic, or rather has been all her life until she developed dementia. Her wish when she passes is to be cremated and have her ashes placed over her mother’s grave in Ireland and her dearest sister’s grave in Canada. My father recently passed, and I was advised that I had to have his remains interned or he could not receive the last blessing and furthermore that Catholics don’t believe in the scattering of ashes. I really want to honor my mother’s wishes while respecting her faith as a Catholic, but as you can see, the two are in conflict. I know that it wasn’t long ago that cremation was not condoned by the Church, so I am a little reluctant to deny my mother’s wishes based on a condition that may very well change. As you can appreciate, my mother cannot engage in a conversation about this. Your thoughts on this will be very much appreciated. – C.T.

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: I’m sorry to hear about your mom’s dementia. It must be heartbreaking to see her in decline.

You mention that your mom has been a devout Catholic. My guess is that as a devout Catholic she would want to be faithful to what the Church teaches. In her present state of mind, she simply might not understand all the implications of what she is asking.

The Church allows cremation, but not if it reflects a disbelief in the resurrection of the body. That might not be the problem in this case.

The Church stipulates that ashes must be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium. They cannot, as you mentioned, be scattered. We need to show respect for the remains, just as we would for the body of a deceased loved one.

Moreover, when someone’s ashes are scattered, the loved ones who survive have no specific place to visit (no specific gravesite) to pay their respects, remember their deceased loved ones, and honor them.

To honor your mother’s desire, you could promise to go and lay a wreath on the graves of her mother and sister, or offer to have Masses said for them, or any number of other creative alternatives that could achieve the desire of your mother without contradicting the Church’s wise teaching about our earthly remains.

For further reading you could look at postings, one by the Holy See, one by the U.S. bishops’ conference.

Coming back to the point of your mom’s devoutness: It might be good to reassure her (as best she could understand) that she can show her devoutness by obeying the Church’s norms on cremation.

In any case, a Catholic couldn’t licitly cooperate in the scattering of ashes, no matter what a loved one’s wishes are.

It might be good to intensify your prayer for your mom. This is where you show the true love of a daughter. Count on my prayers.

Keep learning more with Ask a Priest

Got a question? Need an answer?

Today’s secular world throws curve balls at us all the time. AskACatholicPriest is a Q&A feature that anyone can use. Just type your question HERE and you will get a personal response back from one of our priests at RCSpirituality. You can ask about anything – liturgy, prayer, moral questions, current events… Our goal is simply to provide a trustworthy forum for dependable Catholic guidance and information. So go ahead and ask your question…

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Alex Kucera

Atlanta

Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.

In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.

Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.

From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.

Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!