THE FAMILY OF THE INCARNATION
INTRODUCTION by Sr. Aurora Perez Blond
To better understand what a spiritual family is, we will first try to define the human family and explain its meaning, since we all come from human families.
According to the “Petit Larousse 2006” dictionary, the human family is a group of people who are related by blood or marriage.
According to Pope Benedict XVI’s Church document “Africae Munus” (The Mission of Africa)
The family is the “sanctuary of life” and a vital unit of society and the Church. It is within the family that “the character of a people is shaped in a fundamental way; it is there that its members receive their fundamental values; they learn to love by being loved unconditionally; they learn respect for every other person by being respected; they come to know the face of God by receiving the first revelation of a caring father and mother.”
The family is indeed the ideal setting for learning and practicing a culture of forgiveness, peace, and reconciliation. “In a healthy family life, we experience certain fundamental elements of peace: justice and love among brothers and sisters, the exercise of authority by parents, loving service toward the weakest members—whether because they are young, sick, or elderly—mutual support in the face of life’s necessities, and a willingness to welcome others and, when necessary, to forgive them. That is why the family is the first and irreplaceable educator in peace…’ If the human family takes on the form described above, what would the spiritual family look like?
Ever since the beginnings of religious life—but in a renewed and more significant way today—the baptized have walked alongside religious institutes and monasteries in the footsteps of founders and foundresses: associates, members of fraternities, oblates, friends, cooperators, affiliates, members of networks overseeing educational or healthcare institutions, volunteers...
In their personal or professional lives, these Christians—most often laypeople, but sometimes also deacons or priests—are drawn to the founders’ evangelical vision, draw from its source, and seek to live out their baptism and be the Church, guided by this light.
Most of them are groups with specific missions. Together with religious orders, they form a “Family.” Some call it “Family,” others “Spiritual Family,” still others “Evangelical Family,” or even “Order,” “House,” “Network,” “Association,” “Institute,” etc.
Thus, the Family of the Incarnation is a spiritual family rooted in the Catholic Church in the spirit of Vatican II, open to ecumenical dialogue, journeying together in the footsteps of the Incarnate Word. It is the place where brothers and sisters strive to follow in the footsteps of Louis-Marie Baudouin in the service of CHRIST. This community is composed of the Ursuline Sisters of Jesus and their lay associates and priests, the Fathers, Sons of Mary Immaculate and their lay associates, and the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and their lay associates. These groups of people or fraternities share the same Life-giving Force, common roots, and the same Spirit—the Spirit of the Incarnate Word. Following in the footsteps of Louis-Marie Baudouin, all are students of Love: the mystery of the Incarnation, the mystery of love. It is the place where certain fundamental components (attitudes, virtues, values, etc.) of a healthy human family life—which have been inspired—are fully realized. If the Family of the Incarnation is a collection of groups, a federation of fraternities, we ask ourselves:
• What are its origins? What are its goals? What is its meaning, or what is its
What role does it play?
• What binds the members of this family together? From what source do they draw their strength?
• What Spirit energizes the entire Family?
• How do we recognize ourselves as members of the Family of the Incarnation?
• Where are the various Fraternities of the Incarnation located?