For the Coming of the Kingdom of God, out of Love for Jesus Christ

A newsletter offering formation and information to help us Create an Alliance between the Laity and Religious, a Lay Assumption

Formation: Our life of apostolic service: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Mt.28,29)  Our communities and groups are by their very nature apostolic as by the quality of their life and work they witness to the Good News.  Chapter three of the Rule of Life speaks explicitly of apostolic service.  Our motto,”Thy Kingdom Come”, urges us to work for the coming of Christ’s Reign in us and in the world.  As the Father sent Him, so Christ sends us, with the promise of his Spirit, to serve our brothers and sisters by proclaiming the Gospel.  Our apostolate inserts our communities and groups into the Church’s mission of gathering all men and women into the People of God.

For the Coming of the Kingdom of God, out of Love for Jesus Christ

A Newsletter offering formation and information to help us Create an Alliance between the Laity and Religious, Lay Assumption

1. Formation: Community Life: The first chapter of our Rule of Life is a summary of the Assumption Charism and a description of how the Assumptionist is called to live.  The other chapters deal with different aspects of our life: Common Life, Apostolic Service, Religious Profession, Poverty, Chastity, Obedience and Prayer Life.  Our Rule of Life is brief, light, insisting on the spirit rather than on the letter of the law.  Our rule is for Life, reflecting Christ’s words:   “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mk.2:27). This makes it easier to adapt our Rule for lay people.  Some countries already have a rule or charter for their group or are working on one.  This should help in the creation of one for all of us.

For the Coming of the Kingdom of God, out of Love for Jesus Christ.

A Newsletter offering information and formation to help us Create an Alliance between the Laity and Religious, a Lay Assumption.

1.  Formation: St. Augustine: “Called by Christ the source of our unity, we choose to live in community according to the Rule of Life and the spirit of St. Augustine, in view of the Kingdom.”  Applying this to lay people we might say:  “Called by Christ, the source of our unity, we choose to live, through sincere fraternal relations and friendship, in a spirit of community according to the Rule of Life and the spirit of St. Augustine, in view of the Kingdom.”

For the Coming of the Kingdom of God, out of Love for Jesus Christ.

A Newsletter offering information and formation to help us create an Alliance between the Laity and Religious, a Lay Assumption.

1. Formation: “Faithful to the will of Father D’Alzon, our communities are at the service of truth, unity and charity.  In this way, they herald the Kingdom.”

These last words of the first Chapter of our Rule of Life tell us much about the apostolic vision of Father D’Alzon.· These three traits, sometimes mentioned as doctrinal, ecumenical and social, tell us not only of the different types of apostolate that we are to engage in, but also remind us that each apostolic gesture should be marked by these traits.

A VISIT WITH MARC LEPAIN, PH.D., ASSUMPTION COLLEGE

There a few, if any in the Assumption family, who have been as long a faithful friend of the college and the Assumptionists than Dr. Marc LePain, professor of theology.

Born in Southbridge, MA, one of two boys and sons of a pharmacist, Marc grew up in Notre Dame Parish. It is interesting to note that in 1904, the pastor, Msgr. Brochu, had been a generous benefactor of Assumption College. Over the years, Marc’s family saw at least 2 dozen relatives attend the college. So it was not surprising, that after attending the prep, he followed in their footsteps. In a family of so many Assumption graduates, Fr, Wilfrid Dufault, Marc’s uncle, was a significant influence.