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Jerusalem
Communities - Montreal
Sanctuary
of the
Blessed Sacrament
500 East, Mont-Royal,
Montreal,
Qc, Canada, H2J 1W5
«
By choosing to pray at the heart of the city,
you mean to
show that your life is in the heart of God.
»
Jerusalem Community
Rule of Life
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Traditions
and Harmonics
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Foundations
and features
The
vocation of the MCJ is
founded upon the scriptural, patristic and mystic traditions. Of
particular importance are: the
monks and ascetics of the Early Church who lived in the heart
of the cities; St Basile,
father of monks in the Eastern Tradition, who developed the ecclesial
and spiritual dimensions of brotherly life; St Martin,
who wanted to establish monastic life in the urban setting and to
associate
monks and nuns,
cenobites and hermits; St
Benedict, father of monks in the Western tradition, who
extolled obedience and humility; St Francis and St
Claire,
who exhorted joyful poverty; St
Dominic, who saught contemplation in which the Gospel would be
proclaimed; St
Catherine of Sienna, who gave the example of devotion to the
Church; St
Theresa of Avila, who taught silent prayer; and Br Charles de Foucaultwho
wanted to cry out the Gospel by his whole life. All have followed the
unique example of Jesus, who journeyed through cities and towns, and
went up to Jerusalem, and the example of Mary, who was also a
city-dweller.
Constitutions
§ 9
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Five
harmonics of the MCJ
Consecrated
in monastic life,
monks and nuns join the rainbow of the city life through five
particular harmonics.
| 1) The brothers
and sisters are city-dwellers,
working in the city and praying in a church open to the city. Their
daily schedule and times of prayer are adapted to the city's rhythms.
Their presence reminds the inhabitants of the big modern cities, the
megalopolises,
that it is possible to be contemplative at the heart of the more
significant reality today, the urban phenomenom. It is possible to live
at the heart of the world without adopting the spirit of the world. It
is possible to
go back to the sources of the evangelical radicalism by drawing on a
solid tradition,
but to freely open it to our time's demands. |
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2) They work part-time as wage-earners both
challenging and embracing the modern working world. Challenging,
because they seek simply to make a living and not to make money.
Embracing, because they seek to work as most people must, as dependant
wage-earning employees.
3) They live in rented dwellings, owning
neither their houses nor the church which is entrusted to their care.
Their rule is to own nothing as much as it is possible, according to
Jesus' very explicite call (Lk 9:57-62; 12:21; 14:33).
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4) They
do not live within
strict enclosure. The city is their monastery. But they keep
an "enclosure of the heart" by reserving times and places for silence,
"desert" and solitude. Thus, the "grad silence" after evening prayer,
the meals taken in silence, the silence of lectio divina, the strictly
personal solitude of the cell and the long daily moments of silent
prayer, like the monastic habit they wear, help them live this
"enclosure of the heart" in a deeper communion. |
5) They are
anchored in the reality of the local
Church, in accordance with the Second Vatican Council,
attached to the bishop of each city where they are established
Frère
Antoine-Emmanuel, prieur des frères de Montréal
Frère
Pierre-Marie, fondateur et prieur général des
frères
Mgr
Jean-Claude Turcotte, cardinal de Montréal
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By
choosing to pray at the heart of the city, you mean to show that your
life is in the heart of God. You have not embraced urban monasticism
for reasons of solidarity, apostolate or even witness, but first to
contemplate God gratuitously and incessantly in the most beautiful of
all his images. That is, more than in solitude, on the mountains, or in
the wilderness or the temple, you gaze on him in the city, filled with
faces of the face of God and mirrors of the icon of Christ. Monk and
nun of Jerusalem, you are in the heart of the City of God.
But your choice has led to unification
rather than separation of prayer and life. To bring your prayer into
the city and to receive the city into your prayer. To live the link
between action and contemplation, work and contemplation, the street
and contemplation. As Jesus, Mary, the apostles and so many monks and
nuns have done before you. Their example should be your hope and your
support.
Livre de Vie de Jérusalem, chapitre 2
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©
Communion of Jerusalem - Last update : October 20,
2006
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