Spirituality

One Mind, One Heart 

We Assumptionists are men of faith, fraternity, and action. “Jesus Christ is at the center of our life” (Rule of Life #2). The Gospel is our inspiration in the great struggles of our time. We are dedicated to bringing about the Kingdom of God, within us and around us. Our food is the Word of God read, contemplated, and celebrated in the Church. “Prayer opens us to God’s action. It is the ever refreshing fountain of our apostolic action” (Rule of Life #44).

One hundred fifty years after our foundation, our love of God and of humanity continues to spur us onward. “The spirit of the founder impels us to embrace the great causes of God and of humanity, to go wherever God is threatened in humanity and humanity is threatened as image of God” (Rule of Life #4).

As Assumptionists, we are filled with passion for the Kingdom of God. Our contemporaries, and so many young people in particular, are lost without a compass, huddled at the rim of a dried up well. Often we cannot even breathe, and when we do manage to gasp for air, we see that it is God himself who is suffocating inside us. With our brothers and sisters, we are committed, in the name of our faith, to the service of humanity.

Fr. Roger Corriveau, A.A.

Fr. Roger Corriveau, A.A.

Today, new forms of exploitation are appearing, all tied to globalization. The outcast and those who have been wounded by life are multiplying; the gap between the rich and the poor is growing larger. We must not be absent from the many places where women and men are fighting against exploitation and exclusion.

We are aware of our fragility. But we count on the strength of the Spirit and the help of the community. Inspired by the example of the first Christian community, and the first Augustinian community, we are never alone in building up the Kingdom. We live in apostolic community. In an individualistic world, this community serves as a witness to the coming of a more just and joyful world. It is a place of fraternal life, marked by frankness and warmth, by a true family spirit.

We are learning to forge bonds, to build bridges, to work so that people can stand upright in their human dignity. We are constantly adapting ourselves to transformations in society, to rush into those meaningful spaces where the drama of human salvation is being played out.

We place all our intelligence and all our hearts in the service of our mission, and our lay allies join alongside us.

The Kingdom of God goes beyond the boundaries of the Church. It is still in its infancy. We are members of a Congregation of limited means, yet we want to believe in a more perfect world governed by Gospel values. In order to achieve this, we, along with many others, want to give people a human, intellectual, and spiritual architecture — to build up a people dedicated to God.

 

The Parable of the Sower, by Antonios Fikos

The Parable of the Sower, by Antonios Fikos

“I Grant It to You a Thousandfold”: A Parable

“The Assumptionist is a passionate horticulturist. In his extraordinary garden — overflowing, untamed — he digs deep in search of good soil. In the freshness of springs and in the aridity of rocky ground, he looks for signs of new life. He sows, he plants, he prunes. Sharing the human condition with his colleagues, he clings firmly to his faith, freely cultivating, without shying away from pain — even, sometimes, great pain. Like Augustine in his own garden, he and his brothers till the furrows of God, and allow their hearts to be converted. He sees the fruits of his labors, and prays for harvest time. Creator in the image of his own Creator, he dreams of fabulous new harvests. He would go as far as planting trees in the sea…” – Fr. Benoit Grière, A.A., Superior General of the Congregation

Superior General Fr. Benoît Grière, A.A.

Superior General Fr. Benoît Grière, A.A.