The mission of COLW is to hasten the coming of God’s Kingdom by living in the joy and freedom of Mary’s Fiat. This we do by promoting a culture of vocation so that everyone can respond to God’s love in their lives.
This involves many ministries, including spiritual direction, vocational accompaniment, offering talks for young people in schools and parishes and hosting retreats and conferences.
Our primary mission remains the transformation of our own hearts so that we can live our vocation to the fullness of life and love and radiate Gospel values. Otherwise we may well be efficient but not have the effectiveness that flows out in hidden way from a deep interior life. This emphasis on contemplative living gives life to the various ministries we are already involved in.
Apostolate as Fruit of an Encounter with the Lord
During the Angel Gabriel’s appearance to Mary, he also tells her that her cousin Elizabeth (who was thought to be infertile) is expecting a baby. Gabriel reveals this to Mary to show that “nothing will be impossible with God”. In this great story, we find a model for evangelisation and for our apostolate: fresh from her encounter with God, Mary goes into action (she went “in haste”), joyfully carrying (literally) the Word of God to others and being of service (mission of charity) to someone in need. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth was not to boast about her new-found status as the Mother of the Saviour. Mary did not go there to make an announcement and then turn around and go home. When Elizabeth then draws attention to Mary’s blessed condition, Mary deflects the attention to God by singing her Magnificat. Pope Benedict highlighted that being a Christian is all about an encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. It is love that springs from this encounter and leads us down a particular path, out of ourselves and towards others.
COLW facilitates the freedom necessary for people to follow their unique call in life – God’s dream for them and, in effect, their heart’s deepest desire. Ultimately it is not important what state of life we are in, what we ‘do’, but our relationship with God and how that unfolds, who we are and how we have lived by love in God’s Will. True joy will only be found in the realisation that each of us can reach the fullness of life by following God’s call to love and serve, wherever we find ourselves.
COLW works for the coming of God’s Kingdom on earth by enabling all people to accept, fulfil, surrender to and live in the Divine Will. The practical way we do this will vary according to our state in life as we share this charismatic consecration. So our first apostolate is to aim at living a deep interior life as vowed, single, married, or ordained members of COLW. All Christians are already consecrated to God by Baptism. Some add a further consecration to God by living the vowed life or by being ordained in the priesthood and yet others consecrate themselves to a spouse through the marriage vows. A charismatic consecration refers to the sharing of a particular charism when people join a community and commit to living by the community’s rule of life. This can only enhance, not interfere with or deplete the primary consecration related to their state of life.
As the community grows we hope to develop our ministry further and thereby respond to the many requests we receive to serve elsewhere.
