Profession of A New Brother/Sister
Companions of Jesus
Profession of a New Brother/Sister.
Introduction by receiving minister then straight into Profession
(Brother/Sister)
Most High and Glorious God,
Lighten the darkness of my heart
And give me sound faith,
Firm hope
And perfect love.
Let me, Lord have the right feelings
And knowledge, properly to carry out
The task you have given me. (A prayer of St Francis of Assisi)
(Minister/Leader)
The Lord has called us
to live the gospel way of life in Community,
as he showed it to St. Francis of Assisi.
He brings us together today
to receive Brother/Sister N who, moved by the Holy Spirit,
has asked to be admitted into the Order of the Companions of Jesus
and wants to make his/her profession before the Church..
We will now renew our faith in the Holy Spirit
and call on him:
May he give us the grace
to encourage and sustain Brother/ Sister N
and to walk with him/her to attain his/her goal.
(Minister/Leader)
Beloved N what are you asking for?
(Brother/Sister)
The mercy of God and the sharing in community of my brothers and sisters.
(Minister/Leader)
May God complete in you what he has begun. Brother/Sister N, you trust in God’s mercy: remember that the Lord Jesus comes to help your humble faith; committing himself with you, he fulfils for you his promise: truly, there is no one who has left everything because of Christ and the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times as much at present - brothers and sisters, mothers, children and fields - and persecutions too, and in the age to come eternal life. (Mk 10.29-30)
From now on, walk in the steps of Christ Jesus. Do not be anxious about tomorrow. Seek first God’s Kingdom and His Righteousness. Surrender yourself, give yourself to the Way, the truth, and the Life in Reconciliation and Unity, not judging or condemning and a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, brimming over, will be poured out for you. (Lk.7.37-38)
During night or in the day, awake or asleep, the holy desire which God has put in your heart will grow and call you to a deeper love of God and neighbour.
Anoint your head and wash your face, so that only your Father who is in secret knows what your heart intends. Stay simple and full of joy, the joy of the just and the merciful, the joy of the most excellent way of love, the joy of walking humbly with your God.
Be open about yourself, remembering that you have brothers and sisters, with their own strengths and weaknesses, just as you have. Seek not so much to be understood but to understand, so that they can fulfill their ministry with joy.
The Lord Jesus Christ, in his compassion and his love for you, has chosen you to be in the Church a sign of His love and reconciliation. It is His will that with your brothers and sisters you live as Companions of Jesus.
So, refusing to look back, and joyful with infinite gratitude, never fear to rise to meet the dawn, praising, blessing and singing to Jesus our Lord.
(Brother/Sister)
Receive me, Lord Jesus Christ, and I will live; may my expectation be a source of joy.
(Minister/Leader)
Brother/ Sister N, remember that it is Christ who calls you and that it is to him that you are now going to respond.
Will you, for love of Christ, consecrate yourself to him with all your being?
(Brother/Sister)
By the Grace of God I will.
Will you henceforth fulfill your call from God within our community, in communion with your brothers and sisters and the wider Body of Christ?
(Brother/Sister)
By the Grace of God I Will
Will you, live with your brothers and sisters in communion and spiritual companionship (together and apart) in utter openness of heart?
(Brother/Sister)
By the Grace of God I will.
Will you, in order to be more available to serve with your brothers and sisters, and in order to give yourself in undivided love to Christ, seek, to act justly, to love tenderly with all mercy and to walk humbly each moment with your God?
(Brother/Sister)
By the Grace of God I will.
Will you, so that we may be of one heart and one mind and so that our unity may be fully achieved, adopt the orientations of the community expressed by the Servant of Communion, bearing in mind that he is only a poor man of the Gospel within the community?
(Brother/Sister)
By the Grace of God I will.
Will you, always discerning Christ in your brothers and sisters, prayerfully watch over them in good days and bad, in suffering and in joy?
(Brother/Sister)
By the Grace of God I will
Will you seek always to be an Instrument of God’s peace, seeking to sow love in the place of hatred; pardon in the place of hurt; faith in the place of doubt; hope in the place of despair; light in the place of darkness and joy in the place of sadness?
(Brother/Sister)
By the Grace of God I will.
In consequence, because of Christ and the Gospel, you are henceforth a Brother/ Sister of our Community.
(Alternatively: In consequence, because of Christ and the Gospel, you are henceforth a Brother/ Sister in the Order of Companions of Jesus.)
Final Prayers (Exchange the Peace and receive the Tau Crucifix/Cross and Habit if so desired)
(Minister/Leader)
I confirm your commitment and consecration in the name of the Church.
Our Seraphic Father himself encourages you
in the words of his Testament:
“May whoever observes all this
be filled with the blessing of the most high Father,
and that of his beloved Son,
together with the Holy Spirit, the Comforter,
and all the powers of heaven and all the saints.”
Prayer. – Read by the New Brother / Sister
Almighty, eternal,
Just and merciful God,
Grant us in our misery to do
For your sake alone
What we know you want us to do, and always to want what pleases you; So that, cleansed and enlightened within,
and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit,
we may be able to follow in the footsteps
of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
and so make our way to you, Most High, and glorious God,
by your grace alone,
you who live and reign in perfect Trinity
and simple Unity,
and are glorified, God almighty, forever and ever. Amen.
(From a letter of St Francis circ1220)