Adoration

 
“It was not you who chose me, it was I who chose you to go forth and bear fruit.” Jn. 15:16

A life centered in Christ begins first with the realization that it is God who initiates the relationship. He has called us; it is He who draws us to Him. It is only through Him that we are empowered to do good works.

Jesus invites us to a personal loving relationship with Him, and adoration begins with accepting that invitation. It involves a step of faith and a commitment, a decision to put Christ first in our lives. It is a clear, conscious choice, which involves a constant process of evaluation and rededication in our changing lives.

When we come to a realization of God’s love for us, there follows a need and desire to be more intimate with Him. This results in a deepening of prayer life, which in turn brings us more intensely into God’s love.

We believe in Christ as a living presence, as a God who has called each of us, who loves us unconditionally and unfailingly, and who will be with us in all things and in all times.

During the weekend we share, not only how much Christ loves someone else, but also how much He loves us and what love has come to mean in our lives. We accept joyfully His love for us, and we also accept joyfully the gifts He has given us. Then we can step out peacefully to use those gifts to bring God’s love to others.

Community

 
It has pleased God…to make all holy and save them not merely as individuals without mutual bonds, but by making them into a single people, a people which acknowledges Him in truth and serves Him in holiness.” (From the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Vatican II)

We are called to be a community of faith, the People of God. It is through one another and through participation in the community of Christ that we grow, receive support and forgiveness, and bring Christ to the world.

While the Church is an institution and an organization, it is first and foremost people who recognize that they are called by God and gifted for the mission of bringing Christ to each other. We acknowledge our human imperfections, but we believe that united together in one body we are empowered by the Spirit to reach out to others. We are made strong through the strength of Christ.

In community we can strive to be for the world what the Spirit is to the body. We can more readily communicate the good news of Jesus Christ to each other and to the world. The ultimate goal of Christian community is sharing that light of Christ to all the world.

Through Jesus, we have been made members of the family of God, joined to Christ and to one another in a union which is far closer than any union on earth. In communion with each other we approach that idea voiced by Jesus “…that all may be one, even as you, Father are in me, and I in You; I pray that they may be one in us…” Jn. 12:21

Theology

God comes to us in experience. So, theology is to explore the religious dimension of human experience.

Theology is an ordered attempt to bring an intellectual and insightful formal expression of the human experience of faith in God. For centuries theology has been defined as “faith seeking understanding”. (St. Anselm of Canterbury)

With this understanding, we make a commitment to continual personal spiritual growth.

Pope John Paul II has given this definition of spiritual growth: “a continued process of an individual maturation of faith and a likening to Christ according to the will of the Father under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”

This growth is individualized and involves the action of the Holy Spirit bringing each of us to fully embrace the mission of the church. It is not primarily an intellectual speculation on Christ’s teachings, but rather a commitment to learning God’s ways and living them. But, as Catholic Christians we are called to be continually involved in the transformation of our own lives through a deepened knowledge of God through faith and revelation.

Tools for growth include prayer, scripture reading, studying the mysteries of our Catholic faith, obedience to God’s Word, witnessing in action and words, and openness to the power of the Holy Spirit. Our purpose is to lead others to Christ and we can do that only when we are firmly joined to Him. “All this is done by God who through Christ changes us from enemies into His friends and gives us the task of making others His friends too.”

Service

“For I have given you an example that you also should do as I have done to you”. Jn. 13:15

Service arises from our identity as Christians and our love for God. A servant’s first loyalty is to the master, not to the task. We serve out of love, concerned not with what role we are called to serve in but with authenticity of our love for Christ.

Jesus lived and died for all and we are called to empty ourselves as He did. Acting through the love of God transforms the mundane to the spiritual as we leave pride behind and make our whole selves available.

Every Christian is called to service and is taught through the life of Christ how to serve one another in love, in caring and in compassion.

There are qualities inherent to servanthood. Among them are gentle courtesy, respect and loyalty. A servant appreciates the value and worth of others. A servant is forbearing, patient and forgiving in the face of suffering, persecution and misunderstanding. Obedience and a readiness to learn what God asks of us are apparent in Christian service.

The ACTS commitment to service is inspired by: “This is how all will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jn 13:35.