Dreaming of a house in San Francisco where several Catholics of all ages live together, being the Kingdom. Singles and married families with or without kids, different rites, different parishes. Everyone has their things to do: their own charisms, their own vocations. What we share is a community life of work and prayer that supports us in the evangelical counsels and our apostolic works.
Some of us have secular jobs, some of us work for the Church, some of us are unemployed, some are retired. While we each show apostolic zeal in our endeavors out in the world, we also share a common sense of hospitality for everything from the lost young adult at the door to the neighbors’ animals, and random strangers on the street. We host weekly gatherings for the community and sundry to enjoy our space and feast with us.
Denver Companions of Christ
As a model, I’d like you to look at the Clerical Fellowship called “Companions of Christ“. Their governing documents are written for a group of clergy, but a committed group of lay folks could build this as well. And while giant houses in SF are next to impossible to come by (with God all things are possible) the idea of living together in cells of three or four together is very doable. This quote from their FAQ expresses what could be possible in this context for us:
WHAT MAKES THE COMPANIONS OF CHRIST DIFFERENT FROM JUST A BUNCH OF PRIESTS WHO ARE FRIENDS?
The Companions have events and ways of relating that help to form a particular culture among this group of friends. Celebrating the Lord’s Day on Saturday nights, praying and eating together during the week, committing to a common vision for priestly excellence, vacationing together, and gathering to share our spiritual joys and struggles in a bi-weekly fraternal group are some of the more important ways that we help each other to follow our baptismal call to holiness and our priestly call to service. You could say that our friendship has an expressed purpose: to help each other to become saints.
I would re-write that in this way: The [Name] have events and ways of relating that help to form a particular culture among this group of friends. Celebrating the Lord’s Day on Saturday nights, praying and eating together during the week, committing to a common vision for Christian perfection, vacationing together, and gathering to share our spiritual joys and struggles in a bi-weekly fraternal group are some of the more important ways that we help each other to follow our baptismal call to holiness, the apostolic mission of laity, and our service to the church and to each other. You could say that our friendship has an expressed purpose: to help each other to become saints.
Evangelical Counsels Not Only For Monastics
The Evangelical Counsels apply to all Christians: poverty, chastity, and obedience. If we live together in community we share poverty in that we share all that we have, from each according to their ability to each according to their need. We live chastely, each according to their state in life, by the Grace of God and the support of the community. We live obedience to each other and to the Magisterium of the Church. The Evangelical Counsels help us to live our lives as Christians in but not of the world.
Is this a vision you could share? HMU.
– The Problem (2018.11.13)
– The Praxis (2016.12.31)
– The Vision (2019.10.04)
– The Plan (2016.09.20)
– The Church (2020.09.21)
Doxos 
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