Thy Kingdom Come!
June 16th, 2021
Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,
On the feast of Pentecost, the Church celebrated with joy the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles who gathered with the Blessed Virgin and received in fullness the Love of God accompanying them in going out and proclaiming the Gospel to all creation.
Likewise, we recognize the action of the Holy Spirit and the gifts we are given as a spiritual family in the Church. In taking a moment to reflect on our spiritual family, we find that one of these gifts has been the many adolescents who have heard the invitation of Christ to be their friends and apostles, living out the charism of Regnum Christi according to their age in ECYD.
From the first groups of adolescents in 1971 to now in 2021, ECYD has been a flame burning inside of our spiritual family, providing the creativity and refreshing innocence that is characteristic of youth. At the same time, it has offered a Christian lifestyle, which continues to benefit many adolescents in the life of the Church.
Throughout these past 50 years, ECYD has expressed our charism in a vibrant and unique way, daring to reinvent itself and adapt to the times and places, without losing what it has been characterized by from the beginning: the pledge of friendship with Christ and among each other, to build up a new world according to the Gospel. (Cf . Statutes of the ECYD, #1)
Because of this, it seems appropriate to devote an entire year to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of ECYD. This jubilee will officially begin on the feast of Christ the King in 2021 and will last until the feast of Christ the King in 2022, with the theme: “I have called you friends (Jn 15:15)”.
On an international and territorial level, we will present some initiatives and moments to celebrate to which we invite all to participate. Likewise, a letter will be sent from the General Directive College sometime in the fall addressed to all the members of Regnum Christi, inviting them to join in the jubilee celebration.
We ask you to include this jubilee in your local calendars and invite you, as a locality, to find creative ways to celebrate together among the different communities and sections of Regnum Christi in your area as an opportunity to renew the support and enthusiasm for the evangelization of the adolescents through ECYD.
The following are some examples of creative ways your locality might look to celebrate this important jubilee:
- Celebrate and give thanks in a special way to the people in your sections who, either currently or in the past, have given themselves extensively to the mission of ECYD;
- Invite current or former members of ECYD to give a testimony at the celebration of Christ the King or recognize them in a special way;
- Coordinate a family RC picnic honoring all the ECYD members;
- Use the ECYD video series “Meeting the Rest of the Family: ECYD” as part of your formation plan for your sections, teams or communities;
- Have a special mass of Thanksgiving to celebrate the anniversary.
Hopefully you can discuss together as a locality what would be the best ways to celebrate the current ECYD members living in friendship with Jesus and acknowledge with gratitude all of the fruits throughout the years. How many of our RC members – lay people, priests, and consecrated first heard the call to live out their Catholic Faith via the Regnum Christi charism in ECYD?
Let us pray to the Lord that this Jubilee is an occasion for all of us – adolescents of ECYD and members of Regnum Christi – to rekindle our experience of personal encounter with Christ as our friend and continue working with renewed enthusiasm in his mission to make present his Kingdom in every heart and in society.
Yours in Christ,
The North American Territorial Directive College of Regnum Christi
Fr. David Daly, LC
Glory Darbellay
Charles Bradley
Coleen Fink
