1. Community Life: Our calling is to serve the Lord Jesus in mission not as independent individuals but in a brotherhood.  (Constitution 4.33)

 

Community life for Holy Cross religious in our parishes is a priority.  We live, pray, and share meals together.  We prefer on-site living to facilitate ministry and provide a witness of community life in the parish.

 

  1. Education: For many of us in Holy Cross, mission expresses itself in the education of youth in schools, colleges, and universities.  For others, our mission as educators takes placer in parishes and other ministries.” (Constitution 2.16)

 

In the spirit of our founder, Fr. Basil Moreau, Holy Cross places a high value on the education of the heart as well as the mind.  Strong programs for evangelization and religious formation of children, youth, and adults are evident in parishes served by Holy Cross.  While we especially value parishes with schools, our commitment to education takes many forms.  We encourage close partnerships between our institutions of higher learn and our parishes to nurture intellectual vitality and ground us in the pastoral needs of the local Church.

 

3.  Commitment to the Poor: Christ was anointed to bring good news o the poor, release for prisoners, sight for the blind, restoration for every broken victim.   Our efforts, which are his, reach out to the afflicted and in a preferential way to the poor and oppressed. (Constitution 2.13)

 

A commitment to the poor characterizes all Holy Cross parishes and their schools.  This commitment is evidence through direct service to the poor, vulnerable and marginalized and an active social justice ministry.

 

  1. Lay collaboration: As disciples of Jesus, we stand side by side with all people.  Like them we are burdened by the same struggles and beset by the same weaknesses; like them we are made new by the same Lord’s love; like them we hope for a world where justice and love prevail.  (Constitutions 2.12)

 

Holy Cross parishes are marked by a communal spirituality that encourages wide participation and the development of charisms of all God’s people.  As educators in the faith, we foster lay leadership and active participation of the laity in the work of the parish and the wider community.

 

  1. Liturgy: There can be no Christian community which does not gather in worship and prayer.  It is true of the Church, and it is true of Holy Cross as well.  The Lord’s Supper is the Church’s foremost gathering for prayer.  (Constitution 3.27)

 

Holy Cross values liturgical excellence that fosters full, active, and conscious participation, transforming the life and faith of the People of God.

 

  1. Hospitality: The measure of our generosity will be the sincerity, the simplicity, and sensitivity of our welcome.  But we shall have most to share with others by dwelling as brothers in unity.  (Constitution 4.40)

 

Hospitality is a hallmark of Holy Cross.  In our parishes we seek to develop a welcoming community where people include and value one another as members of the Body of Christ.

 

  1. Hispanic Ministry: Our mission sends us across borders of every sort.  Often we must make ourselves at home among more than one people or culture.  (Constitution 2.17)

 

We recognize and celebrate the positive influence of the Hispanic culture on the Church in the United States and the increasing number of Hispanic Catholics.  Given the Holy Cross tradition of responding to the needs of the Church, we place high value on Hispanic ministry and the preparation required to do it well.

 

  1. International Presence: Our broader experience allows both the appreciation and the critique of every culture and the disclosure that no culture of this world can be our abiding home.  (Constitution 2.17)

 

The international presence of Holy Cross binds us firmly to the universal Church.  Our global perspective fosters a respect for cultural diversity in partnership with Holy Cross and other missions throughout the world.  Our solidarity with the international Holy Cross family leads us to value more deeply the universal mission of the Church.

 

  1. Vocations and Formation: The Lord’s call will be heard in our steadfast witness to the gospel, the companionship we offer one another, the cheerfulness with which we serve in our mission without counting the cost, and the sincere welcome we openly offer men to join us.  If we delight in our vocation, we will share it with others.  (Constitution 6.60)

 

Recognizing the unique role of the parish in promoting the universal call to holiness, Holy Cross parishes foster a culture of vocations which invites young people to “answer the call” to priesthood and religious life in our Congregation.  We also look to our parishes to serve as places of formation and training for our young religious.

 

10. Diocesan Collaboration. We must evaluate the quality, forms, and priorities of our commitments as to how effectively they serve the needs of the Church and the world.  (Constitution 2.19)

 

We seek to work in dioceses where Holy Cross can uniquely impact the life of the local Church.  We desire to work collaboratively in parochial planning to meet the needs of the local Church in the spirit of our parochial vision.

 

Congregation of the Provincial Chapter, Congregation of Holy Cross, Indiana Province, 2006