January 24, 2024

Celebrating 52 years of the Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi

The Vocation of the Lay Consecrated Men in Regnum Christi: A Path of Surrender and Evangelization

In the Church, various expressions of consecrated life enrich communion with their different nuances, sharing intimate devotion to Christ and spiritual union with him. Within Regnum Christi, we have three forms of consecrated life: the Legionaries of Christ, the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, and the Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi.

50th anniversary celebration at the LCRC Training Center

January 25, 1972 marked the beginning of the lay consecrated vocation for men in Regnum Christi, when two young Spaniards joined what was then called the “third degree” of Regnum Christi. That same year, eight other young men were consecrated in Regnum Christi. Established first in Madrid, within a few years new members also joined the Lay Consecrated Men in Dublin and Mexico. These men, in response to a call of total surrender to God, commit to radiating the presence of Christ, immersing themselves in the world with the intention of turning it into a place conducive to the encounter with God.

One of the first to consecrate himself as a Lay Consecrated Man of Regnum Christi, in Spain.

Since 2018, the Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi, recognized as a Society of Apostolic Life of pontifical right, have joined with the Legionaries of Christ, the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi, and the lay members of Regnum Christi in the Regnum Christi Federation. Together, they seek to make present the mystery of Christ, revealing his love to people, forming them as apostles and Christian leaders, sending them out and accompanying them on the mission of evangelizing both people and society. They seek to serve the Church in the here and now, making Christ present in today’s world.

Hear about this unique vocation from some of the Lay Consecrated Men:

“ To see in the light of Christ, see as he sees, and so, as Jesus saw in each person, even in each sinner, a great saint, so we seek to see people. Just as Jesus took advantage of every opportunity to make his kingdom present, so we want to make his kingdom present in the world. ” – Guillermo Campillo

“ We Lay Consecrated Men feel very identified with the incarnate Christ, who comes to touch all temporal realities and make all things new. We have a special task of being able to bring together and create connections with institutions, organization,s and religions. In all the realities of the world there is something that leads us and brings us closer to God .” – José Mateos

“To be holy according to Christ’s thoughts, with our errors and imperfections. Being in Regnum Christi gives me the security of being on that path of holiness.” – Diego Reynoso

“God has a perfect plan for each of us. We accompany people towards that vocational fullness, to discover God’s plan, knowing their realities, putting ourselves in their shoes, and listening to them. Letting them see us as brothers who understand perfectly what they are experiencing as consecrated lay people.” – Ricardo Velez

“The consecrated vocation is a total dedication to Jesus Christ, a dedication to know him deeply, to be in tune with him, and, in that harmony, to make his life our own and seek to transmit it to others.” – Bernardo Perez

“We are all called to love and be loved; most find this vocation in marriage. We find our greatest strength in Christ, he is our greatest love; and we want to be exclusively his to be able to give that love to all people.” – Carlos Abad

“The Consecrated Lay Men in today’s world follow Christ through the vow of obedience – a call to live with greater freedom, seeking only the will of God, through the vow of chastity – loving all people in the world, the souls that we find every day, and through the vow of poverty – living a total detachment, where our only wealth is Christ. This is how we manifest the life of eternity in this life.” –Abraham Monroy

“The mission of the Lay Consecrated Man is to be with God and bring God to others: a bridge of communication and the more transparent it is, the more perfect it is. If the Lay Consecrated Man disappears and achieves direct contact between God and another person, he has fulfilled his mission.” – Jaime Perez

“ Regnum Christi always offers great apostolic opportunities. With RC Lay Consecrated Men, one of the most exciting things is being willing to serve, either here or in another country; with simple people or with people of higher socioeconomic levels; in any area of any apostolate, even if it does not yet exist, but is necessary for God’s plan.” – Abraham Cardenas

“Community life is a key element for our vocation; It is leaving oneself to meet my brother, seeking holiness. I dare to say that the community is a driver for our vocation, our mission and holiness.” – Daniel Bizzo

Together with the other members of the Regnum Christi family, the Lay Consecrated Men contribute to the sanctification of their members and to the Kingdom of Christ, reaching out to the hearts of people and society. Without excluding any type of apostolate, they direct their activity mainly to help each person put their talents at the service of the Kingdom of God, promote the growth of Regnum Christi, create evangelizing programs and networks, form authentic teachers of the faith, integrate themselves into temporal realities to bring the good news of the Gospel there, and actively collaborate with the local Church.

You can learn more about our history here. Online information sessions for men age 18-35 who are interested in the RC Lay Men’s Consecrated vocation are held on the fourth Monday of every month at 7:00pm EST. For more information, contact Tony MacDonnell at [email protected] and visit their website.

Listen to Jorge Lam, a Lay Consecrated Man, explain his vocation and what drew him to this life.

Translated from the original Spanish publication.

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January 24, 2024 – Fertile Ground for the Harvest

January 24, 2024 / Daily Meditations

Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Mark 4:1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that ‘they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.’” Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I want to spend these moments close to you. I believe that you are here with me. Take over my life more and more and make it what it was meant to be. Lord, I put my trust in you.

Petition: Jesus, make the soil of my heart open to your word, so that it will bear fruit for eternal life.

A Sabotaged Plan: What the Father has planted in our lives is good. Goodness can bear fruit. But Christ has shown us that there is someone who does not want us to bear fruit. The devil tries to take goodness from our lives through enticing us with evil, filling our hearts with selfishness, and making us insensitive to the movements of grace in our soul. We need to renounce Satan every day by fixing our will on the goodness of Christ. This is done through sincere prayer and generosity of spirit.

Make Your Furrows Deep: The strength of our resolve is tested by the difficulties we face. If we go deeper in our prayer each day and build up the habit of letting go of our own ego, we can face the bad times with peace and trust. When our spiritual roots are not deep, we find ourselves disoriented, even defeated by the tribulations that are part of an authentic Christian life. Christ teaches us to dig deep. With him as our friend, difficulties become a way to show our love and to do something that has eternal value. If I don’t fight, how can I merit a crown of victory?

Docility, Not Passivity: In order to bear fruit we must be docile to God’s word. But being docile does not mean being passive. For a Christian, docility to Christ and the Holy Spirit means willingness to work and serve. We are followers of the One who came to serve. The Spirit that is self-surrender moves us. To hear the Word of God and accept it means to make our lives an imitation of Christ’s total self-giving—day in and day out. God will grant fruit to our lives if we are willing to be other Christs in the here and now.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, thank you for showing me how to bear fruit in my life. I want to imitate your self-surrender to the Father and to souls. I know that this requires a constant effort to go deep in my life and be docile to the Holy Spirit. Help me to live as a giver, not a taker. Your love will always be there to accompany me.

Resolution: Today I will offer up a small sacrifice to ask God for the grace of acquiring the virtue that I need the most.

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