{"id":16980,"date":"2019-01-28T06:27:15","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T12:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.regnumchristi.org\/en\/?p=16980"},"modified":"2023-06-21T16:09:45","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T20:09:45","slug":"rcsc-materials-for-the-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/rcsc-materials-for-the-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"RCSC: Materials for the Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

Collateral damage is the worst of unintended consequences \u2013 at least in its original military definition. Collateral damage is what happens in war when non-combatants are wounded or killed, unintended victims of bombing or gunfire.<\/p>\n

It is unfortunate, but less traumatic, when limited to damage to property. For example, the military bombs a suspected terrorist hideout but destroys the innocent grocery store next door.<\/p>\n

But can the opposite be true? Is there such a thing as collateral healing? Can there be an unintended benefit? Do unintended consequences come in both positive and negative flavors?<\/p>\n

It is easy to see the negative in collateral damage. But we also see the positive in such unintended \u2013 perhaps even accidental \u2013 inventions as the post-it-note or penicillin.\u00a0 In fact, Business Insider <\/em>has a list of inventions nobody was looking to invent that changed the world.<\/a><\/p>\n

For Christopher Columbus, the positive benefit of looking for a route to China was discovering the Americas. That truly changed everything.<\/p>\n

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Columbus discovered a new world; Lucy and Fr. John found a way to fill a burning need within Regnum Christi: The Regnum Christi Spirituality Center (RCSC).<\/a><\/p>\n

The RCSC started simmering toward reality in 2012.\u00a0Lucy was traveling around the country and providing many people with spiritual direction.\u00a0 But something wasn\u2019t quite right.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very fulfilling, but while I was attending to people personally I wasn\u2019t leaving them with anything to continue growing, Lucy recalls. \u201cI felt like we needed to find a way to be present to people when we were not physically available.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucy was pulled into a discussion with Fr. John Connor, LC, North American Territorial Director for the Legionaries of Christ, and others on how to better attend to the needs of Regnum Christi members. And, of course, this was happening in the early stages of the Legion\u2019s Renewal, coming in the wake of the scandal around the Movement\u2019s founder \u2013 and the loss of the use of all the writings that had been attributed to him.<\/p>\n

2012 also was a time of transition for Fr. Bartunek, as the Legionaries closed the Thornwood Center for Higher Studies where he was teaching. He had unexpected time to reflect on his future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat really kept coming to mind was what we should do to spiritually feed our Regnum Christi family,\u201d Fr. John says. \u201cI started working to create online retreat guides.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had done a survey asking what support RC members needed,\u201d Lucy explains. \u201cWhat the survey told us is that people wanted the retreat guides, spiritual writings, an online spiritual direction course, and especially things that are specifically Regnum Christi.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those have been put in place. Now, they are looking at creating the ideal \u201cformation pathway\u201d for Regnum Christi members and making sure the RCSC has the resources to support that journey.<\/p>\n

But Fr. John stresses that the website will never be the complete source for Regnum Christi formation. It is a movement that depends on person-to-person accompaniment. The RCSC is complementary. And it appears to have a broader appeal for those looking for quality spiritual materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re extremely conscious that our target audience is the Regnum Christi member,\u201d Lucy emphasizes. \u201cWe\u2019re very intentional about this; when someone signs up on the website we ask if they are a member of the Movement.<\/p>\n

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In fact, the RCSC has 25,000 subscribers, of which 1800 are Regnum Christi members. The website has 50,000 to 70,000 visits per month.<\/p>\n

\u201cStill, if we are reaching huge numbers but no RC members,\u201d we have failed in our mission,\u201d Fr. John says. \u201cEverything we do has to be helpful to RC members in their own growth or an aid in their outreach to others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clearly, many non-RC members are using the site and there isn\u2019t any restriction. And there is no charge to subscribe.<\/p>\n

Much of the material from RCSC has multiple lives. For example, the online retreat guides were conceived to be something an individual could use on their own. But often a Regnum Christi group will use the guide together. And Fr. John says that many are being used by parish priests for giving retreats. (Another example of collateral benefit.)<\/p>\n

Part of the appeal of the RCSC may be its variety of content \u2013 as well as its accessibility in terms of length and clarity. Here is a sampling of what is available:<\/p>\n