HOLY FAMILY LAY ASSOCIATES

"In the early Church, the Christians had but one heart and one soul, and  whatever  the inequality of their condition or the diversity of their occupations,  whether in solitude or in the world, they considered themselves as forming  one single family…" (P.B.Noailles)

We, the Lay Associates, in complementarity with the different vocations of the Holy Family, live our baptismal consecration in and for the world of today, fully integrated into our local Church.  Faithful to the charism of Pierre Bienvenu Noailles, we make our own his dream " to be and to build family".

 

Lay Associates have existed from the very beginning of the Family. 

When he was Vicar in the parish of Saint Eulalie in Bordeaux, Pierre Bienvenu Noailles gathered together a lay group of young people to whom he gave a solid Christian formation.  He associated them with him in his ministry to the poor and the sick.  This group became the nucleus of the Association which he was going to found.   He proposed to them a rule of life which already contained in germ the spirituality that was to inspire his entire project.


Today we are 2321 committed Lay Associates and 583 in formation, in four continents. 

 

 


 

We live the spirituality specific to the Family of Pierre Bienvenu Noailles, with the desire to extend and strengthen the faith in all milieus, and to show more and more the family face of the Church and the world.

In spirit, we go often to Nazareth, where Jesus, Mary and Joseph inspire our family life and our relationships, which are characterized by gentleness and simplicity. Our life-style is marked by particular attention to the poorest and the excluded of society, moderate use of consumer goods, and defence of the dignity of the person, while denouncing all forms of injustice, and respecting the integrity of creation.

Through our presence and action, in our family and ecclesial life, in the field of work, of social and political relationships …, we contribute to build a new society, by being a sign of communion, and by committing ourselves to foster communion after the example of the first Christian communities.

 

 

The Holy Family, "gentle image of the Trinity", opens us to a God who is love and relationship, present and active in the whole of creation and in the history of the universe.

Prayer, meditation on the Word of God, personally, in family and in groups, the Eucharist and regular group meetings support our life and commitment.

 

Through our belonging to a local group and to the wider Family of P.B. Noailles,  we experience communion as a gift of God received and celebrated, and as a mission to accomplish.

Our heart opens out to the whole of humanity, to our brothers and sisters of other faiths and religions, to the entire universe.

 

Lay Associates' Intercontinental Committee

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