CHARISM OF HOLY CROSS

SPIRITUALITY, MISSION AND COMMUNITY LIFE

A "charism" is a gift of the Spirit that is given individually or collectively for the
common good and the building up of the Church. Inherent in this gift is a particular
perception of the image of Jesus Christ and of the Gospel. It is, therefore, a source of
inspiration, a dynamic commitment, and a capacity for realization.

THE CHARISM OF HOLY CROSS

Basile Moreau was a man open to the world of his time, namely 19th -century France.
He knew the effects of the revolutionary change and social upheaval of his century.
He also experienced the often violent hostility towards religion and the Church, the
growth of secularism, and widespread dechristianization. He wanted to be present to
a society in search of itself. He felt called to work for the restoration of the Christian
faith and through it for a regeneration of society. He was ready to undertake anything
for the salvation of individuals, to lead them or bring them back to Jesus Christ. He
participated in the work of Catholic renewal by his bold response to the wide range of
needs both in the Church and in society. He asked his religious to "be ready to
undertake anything ... to suffer everything and to go wherever obedience calls in
order to save souls and extend the kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth” (Rule on Zeal).
He even went so far as to say that if a postulant or a novice did not have that inner
zeal to work for the salvation of souls, he was not fit for Holy Cross. However,
Father Moreau did not want to confine himself merely to post-revolutionary
French society; he also wanted to devote himself to announcing the Gospel in
other cultures. His zeal knew no borders.

The charism of Holy Cross is to renew the Christian faith, to regenerate society,
to "bring about better times" by a constant response to the most pressing needs
of the Church and society. The principal work that Basile Moreau advocated was
education; he saw education as being explicitly a work of "resurrection," of
rebuilding. In everything he undertook, he did not just want to re-establish it; he
wanted to renew it, to refashion it, to reconstruct it. He had no fear of a brand
new undertaking.

This charism, this mobilizing and efficacious strength of conviction, he drew

from the perception of Jesus the savior, Jesus the liberator, and from the Gospel
which leads humanity to fulfillment. "Once Jesus is known and loved in the
world, everything will be renewed; the light of the Gospel will dissipate the
darkness of the century; its morality will control customs and justice will reign"
(Sermons, p. 455). A professor of Holy Scripture, Father Moreau arrived at a just
and essential vision of the Gospel: the Good News of the Kingdom of God, the
building up of the kingdom that is already coming, the rebuilding of a world
according to God's heart.

The Congregation's charism is rooted in spirituality; it is expressed in mission and

inspires community life. It is therefore made up of three elements: spirituality,
notably a particular grasp of the mystery of Jesus Christ; mission, that is, its
apostolic focus; and community life, in this case a unique style of community. The

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spiritual and the apostolic direction received from the Founder is communicated to
the members and influences the continuity and development of their works.

THE FOUR PILLARS OF HOLY CROSS SPIRITUALITY

Conformity to Christ
The charism of the Congregation of Holy Cross is rooted in an experience of Jesus
Christ. The founder's spirituality is fully centered on Jesus Christ, with access to his
person notably in contemplation of the scriptures and the liturgy. Father Moreau
believed that it is the essence of religious life to conform oneself to Christ, not only in
his external conduct, but in his very being as a religious person. Father Moreau
invites his religious to "re-enact the life of Jesus" and to make it "a faithful
imitation": "Our spirit of discipline will imitate His habitual conformity to the good
pleasure of His Father, while our community spirit will reflect His life in the
company of Our Blessed Lady, St. Joseph and His apostles. Our life of edification will
reproduce His life of good example in the midst of the world, and our spirit of work
will mirror His labors and His cross." (CL 14). Father Moreau invites us to become
"copies of the divine model" (CL 11).

Jesus serves especially as a model for us by his life, his words and his actions. He
moved ceaselessly among people of all conditions of life, particularly among the poor,
and he was compassionate towards every form of suffering. How are we to imitate
him? "Our savior announced only the great and glad tidings which he had brought
into the world, and spoke unceasingly of the Kingdom of God" (CL 36), and "We
must seek above all things the kingdom of heaven and its justice" (CL 20).

Trust in Divine Providence

Jesus Christ, our model, is both the revelation of God's initiating love and the
manifestation of human cooperation with it. Basile Moreau, convinced that Holy
Cross is the work of God, demands of us "correspondence to the inspirations of grace
and our fidelity in seconding the designs of Divine Providence" (CL 23). If we are to
be faithful to this providential work of God in Holy Cross today, we must attend to
God's constant presence and activity, for God himself gives us the desire to further
his will in all things.

The Cross, Our Only Hope

Basile Moreau invites each religious person to carry his cross: "it is necessary to
know the mystery of the cross and draw from it the apostolic strength of those
generous imitators of Jesus Christ whose life here below was a continuous mar-
tyrdom" (CL 11). This invitation extends to courage in trials and demands that we
"become more and more conformed to the image of the divine Christ crucified" (CL
34). Christ crucified, who gave his life for the salvation of the world, was so important
to Father Moreau that he gave as a motto to his congregation:

The Cross, our only hope, and proposed as the patronal feast of the entire congre-
gation, Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, the title of Mary at the foot of the cross.

This cross is a glorious cross. It is the love of the suffering Savior expressed in the
cross which is glorious, not the instrument of torture or of pain. Jesus' death takes all
its meaning in the love with which he faithfully accomplished his mission in life, a

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love that goes to the end of its commitments. The cross is the source of salvation and
liberation, and it is our hope.

Spirit of Union
Basile Moreau also insists on a union among the members in imitation of the union
that existed in the Holy Family and in Jesus' relationship with his Father in
fellowship with the Holy Spirit. This union is based on each individual's personal
relationship with Jesus. Just as the members are organically connected to form a
single body and as the branches are united with the vine and share the same life-
giving sap, so also must the faithful of Holy Cross be united with Jesus and with one
another.

MISSION
The focal points proper to mission at the time of foundation were on the one hand,
the evangelization of the dechristianized countryside for which Father Moreau
formed a team of auxiliary priests and on the other hand, the education and
Christian formation of youth confided first of all to the brothers. With the
establishment of the Association of Holy Cross, Father Moreau provided a common
mission, which was later expressed in the first constitutions of the priests and
brothers as: "preaching the divine word in the countryside and in the foreign
missions ... instruction and Christian formation of youth with a particular concern
for poor and abandoned children." The mission of the sisters is to "instruct and raise
youth in a Christian manner by establishing and directing, either in France or in its
overseas colonies, not only elementary schools, but also boarding houses, sewing
rooms, hostels, etc., especially for the poor and abandoned children."

The renewal of Catholic faith always involved the analysis of the needs of the Church
and society, which, first of all, had to be discerned. The often bold response to these
needs would lead to varied apostolic fields of endeavor. However, everything
revolved around education, which Brother Moreau called a work of resurrection. We
must be educators, witnesses showing the way to others. The common mission's
point of cohesion is education, with a privileged position given to evangelization.
This is a holistic education of individuals, preparing young generations to be
responsible citizens and good laborers for earth and heaven, forming "men
conformed to Jesus Christ" by education in the faith through activities of Christian
formation and by putting in place pastoral activities based on local needs.
Our constitutions take up this focus of mission by identifying us as educators in the
faith. Recent general chapters determined our mission priorities: proclaiming the
Gospel as educators in the faith and the preferential option for the poor, a privileged
means for proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

COMMUNITY LIFE
This charism of restoration for Christian renewal is also incarnated in community
life. Institutional religious life, as a sign, seeks to anticipate the reconciliation, the
collaboration and the communion desired by human beings. Basile Moreau was a
pioneer when he founded a congregation that resembled no other of his time. He

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called together priests, brothers, and sisters of Holy Cross who were to live and work
together on an equal footing. The spirit of union and fraternity was to be the mark of
this association. The source of the Founder's concern that the union of hearts was to
assure this unique style of community.

"Here, notwithstanding differences of temperament and talent, the inequality of

means, and differences of vocation and obedience, the one aim of the glory of God
and the salvation of souls inspires almost all the members and gives rise to a oneness
of effort which tends towards that more perfect union of hearts which constitutes its
bond and strength" (CL 14).

Even today, despite the forced separation of the sisters' society from the
congregation, the fact of being a religious family of three distinct societies united in
equality is the most specific element in relation to other religious communities
composed of several branches. Father Moreau endowed his foundation with a mystic
intention: the union of hearts within the Holy Family of Nazareth is an example. The
three societies would form a single family, the Family of Holy Cross: within these
societies there would be established an effective collaboration in mission. His
perspective was that of a community that was "the work of each and everyone and
whose members are individually and collectively responsible for it" (CL 17).
Holy Cross men and women religious are called to live out this evangelical call to
union and to be conscious that they are members, each and everyone, in Jesus Christ,
as the branches are to the vine. Wherever they may be, the lived union of hearts is at
the center of their life in community, their efforts, and their mission. The world
needs this union of hearts to show that hope lives and that another world is possible.

Common Values
To live faithfully in conformity to Christ, our life in Holy Cross must be marked by
certain characteristics or common values that flow from our spirituality, mission and
community life:

Trust in Divine Providence that makes us dependent upon God in all

things;
Union of hearts that recognizes the presence of Christ within and among
us;
Compassion that shares, even as Jesus and Mary did, in the lives and
sufferings of others;
Courage that risks all for the kingdom of God;
Zeal that sets our hearts on fire, the audacity to make all things new, to
make Christ known and loved;
Competence that marks every aspect of our ministry;
Promotion of justice and concern for the poor;
Closeness to the people we serve and to our lay collaborators;
Family spirit that binds our minds and hearts, in joys and sorrows, so
that people will "see how they love one another."

A CHARISM FOR TODAY

Father Moreau's firmly rooted life in the society and the Church of his time, and his
determination to bring about a renewal capable of regenerating them, remain for us

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part of the heritage he bequeathed to us. This should spur us on to reaffirm our
missionary thrust in places where we live and work. We must re-capture the charism
of Holy Cross in our present-day context, which in many ways is similar to the one
known by our Founder: the crisis of religion, the climate of dechristianization, the
growth of religious indifference and agnosticism, and the spread of violence and
injustice are an urgent call for meaningful interventions.

We are called to re-evangelize and present the Christian faith in a new way. We must
restore its credibility in our cultures. We must find concrete ways to rebuild our
societies.

The charism of Holy Cross is still contemporary and urgent: to renew the Christian
faith, to regenerate society, to "bring about better times" by a constant response to
the most pressing needs of the Church and society.

Congregation of Holy Cross International

Commission on Consecrated Life
Rome, August 11, 2006