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What is a Team of Our Lady?
The Basic Concept
"Come follow me!" Christ is calling each of us individually
and as a couple. There are families who want to respond to that call.
They are aware of their weaknesses and are conscious of the pressures of
our society. They realize the value of a support group in strengthening
married love and responding to Christ's call.
What Is It?
A Team of Our Lady is a married couples Christian Community.
A Community
A 'Team" consist of five to seven couples, assisted by
a priest, who choose to work together, to achieve a common goal - growing
closer to the Lord in and through their love for each other. To attain
this end, they unitize the concrete means and techniques developed by the
Movement. Each "Team" forms part of a large community, the Movement
of the Teams of Our lady, and agrees to share fully in its life.
A Christian Community
A "Team" is not simply a human community; it comes together
'in Christ's name" and attempts to help its members make progress in the
love of God and in the love of one's neighbor. It was Christ's wish
that a visible community should be the place where his love could find
expressing and actuality. That community is the Church, the "body
of Christ," which is at the service of the community of men.
The Church herself is made up of small communities, each
distinct in appearance. The structure of these communities may be
very different from that of the Church, but the same life is present in
each. A Team of Our Lady is one of these small communities and as
such it links up with the Father (by its close communion with the Church)
and yet remains in full contact with the world.
A Community of Married Couples
A Christian home is truly a Christian community, but
of a distinct sort. Christ's presence in conjugal community is very
special, his love for God and men transforms human love from within.
In consequence, human love lived in a Christian fashion, is a powerful
witness to God. From the fullness of that love, there flows the apostolic
action of a Christian home. In addition, the mutual help that develops
within a Team will have a distinctive character; each couple will help
the others grow in Christ and each will be encouraged by the honest efforts
successes or failures - of the others.
A Team of Our Lady asks for the special protection of
Our Lady. The members of the group underline in this way their conviction
that, on the way to God, there is no better guide than "she who holds first
place among the humble and poor of the Lord, those who confidently await
and attain his salvation." (Lumen Gentium 55)
How Does It Work?
The Teams of Our Lady do not impose a particular type
of spirituality on their members; they simply want to help them advance
as a couple along the path marked out by Christ. For this purpose,
stress is laid on three points:
· a direction in life
· concrete suggestions
· the spirit of the Teams
To grow in such a love is the work of a whole lifetime
and Teams of Our Lady would like to help their members in this effort.
They suggest that couples strive in the following direction:
· for growth in the love of the Lord:
· to leave an important place in their lives for
prayer;
· to become familiar with God's word, and to make
a regular effort to live it more fully;
· to frequent the sacraments, especially the Eucharist;
· to strive with energy in the knowledge and practice
of Christian asceticism.
· for their growth in love for others:
· to put into practice true mutual help as a married
couple
· by listening, speaking and sharing, in all matters
especially spiritual matters;
· to work for the full human and Christian education
of their children;
· to open their homes in a spirit of friendship
and hospitality;
· to bear effective witness to Christ's love,
especially by their acceptance of Church and civic duties.
Concrete Suggestions
Experience shows that unless one has a certain number
of particular practices, general directives for one's life remain fruitless.
The Teams propose the following for their members:
· to undertake a number os specific practices:
these are six in number, and constitute what are called the "obligations."
· To request the support of the Teamregarding
these practices, the so-called 'sharing' at the monthly meetiongs.
· The six obligations are the following:
1. a regular reading (or hearing of God's word);
2. a daily period set aside for a true "conversation
with Christ" (prayer);
3. a daily meeting of husband and wife for conjugal (and
if possible, family) prayer;
4. a monthly in depth talk between husband and wife in
the Lord's presence (the duty of the sit-down);
5. a drawing up and monthly revision of one's rule of
life;
6. a yearly retreat of at least two days, made together
as husband and wife in order to come before the Lord and reflect on the
past year.
The Spirit of the Teams
The Team is not an end in itself; it exists for the benefit
of its members. It encourages them
· to live together key moments of prayer as well
as moments of mutual sharing;
· to help one another grow in the knowledge and
love of the Lord and to bear witness to Him
A key feature of the method is the monthly meeting.
It normally includes:
· a meal, which is the occasion for a spirit of
friendship
· a prayer in common, which is the center and
summit of the meeting and which can sometimes take the form of a Eucharistic
celebration;
· a discussion on the study topic for the month,
at which time the members deepen their grasp of the faith or of the realities
of married love;
· a deeper sharing where Team members are able
to help one another especially regarding spiritual and apostolic sharing.
Conclusion
The Teams of Our Lady is a movement of spirituality for
married people. It offers its members an experience of real community
and some concrete means to help them grow and progress as a couple in God's
love and the love of their neighbor. It prepares them to be witnesses
to God's love, to the potential of married love, and to the values of Christian
marriage and family life.
What is a Team of Our Lady?
It is a Christian Community
Home Sacred Heart Richmond, Texas |
Teams Of Our Lady USA |
Somerset, England |
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