Our Vision The "vision" is the set of instructions and priorities we believe the Lord has given us. To these, we must be forever faithful. Upon these, we must base every decision.

We are to remain faithful to the vision as we grow. It was largely received at the community's outset, even before our official designation in 1988 as an association, but has been enriched, deepened, matured, and found clearer expression over the years as we have continued to listen to the Lord.

We give the Lord permission to initiate whatever work he may desire. We then engage in active waiting, all the while watching for what the Lord will do. When we think we perceive him doing something, we discern it and react accordingly.

We also seek and listen for God's word of direction for us. Once we are as sure as we can be about what he is saying, once it has been properly discerned, we move in obedience to carry it out.

We, each of us, surrender fully to Jesus Christ as the Saviour and Lord of our lives, acknowledging his name as the only one under heaven by which we may be saved.

We are a Eucharistic community, believing the sacrifice of the Mass to be the principal source and summit of the Christian life. We also promote exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in each of our parishes, perpetual adoration if possible.

We are charismatic. We actively use the Corinthian gifts in ministry. We seek the wisdom of God and his power. We place emphasis on spontaneous praise, which includes singing in the Spirit and appropriate gestures. We engage in spiritual warfare when it is indicated. We hold the ministry of inner healing to be very important.

We wish to make a proper place for Mary, mother of Jesus and our mother, in the living out of our call. We are consecrated through her to Jesus, her Son and our Lord. We engage in and promote devotion to her in different ways, especially the Rosary.

We are loyal to the Magisterium, the authoritative teaching office of the Catholic Church. We want to be fully Catholic in every possible way, nothing more, but nothing less.

We are committed to supporting and taking part in, even giving leadership to, the New Evangelization, being promoted by the Holy Father and the bishops of the Church. We believe evangelizing means bringing people into a personal experience of and on going relationship with the risen and living Saviour, Jesus Christ. We see evangelization mainly as a three-step process: the proclamation of the gospel of Christ and an invitation to surrender all to him; the positive response of the hearer to the invitation; the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. It is thus something that, with God's grace, we begin and that God himself finishes. Evangelization, we believe, demands that we make it our highest priority after our ministry to God himself (praise and worship). With all the above having been said, however, we wish to make the point that evangelization is not enough. It is only the beginning. It must be followed by teaching, discipline and much pastoring.

We make an essential commitment to living the common life. We believe that the effectiveness of our ministry will be largely determined by the quality of the life that, with the help of God's grace, we can develop with one another. We will pray an extended time regularly, not only alone, but in common. This necessitates, among other things, that we live in local communities of sufficient size (minimum of four) to allow community to grow, and that we invest a lot of time in it.

We want to live a simplicity of life that will help us to focus on the Lord and his work and not so much on the material things of this world. We desire thereby as well to give positive example to others.

We sense a call to serve the poor wherever we go, those who are alienated and marginalized, those who are needy, not only in a material way, but spiritually and emotionally as well.

We wish to submit ourselves to the local bishop and to take on, as far as our own vision and capabilities will allow, whatever ministry he may assign to us. We feel particularly drawn to work in the inner-cities.

We expect a group of brothers and a group of sisters to develop within the vision, groups that will work with us in the various ministries we undertake.

We believe a body of lay people will associate with us in some way, embracing the same vision, supporting and assisting us in many ways.

We will devote ourselves to working in ministry with lay people wherever we are, recognizing their baptismal mandate and particular gifts.

We want to exercise a ministry of particular hospitality to priests and seminarians.

We are expecting, when circumstances permit, to accept various forms of ministry in dioceses other than Ottawa, our home base. ( This has come to pass in 1999, when new foundations of the Community were established in Toronto Ontario and Houston Texas. In 2002 another new foundation was established in Halifax Nova Scotia.)

Next: Our Spirituality...