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In
the early years of The Apostolate for Family Consecration, Jerry
& Gwen Coniker parents of 13, who founded this private
association of Christ’s lay faithful in 1975, saw that the young apostolic
volunteers who had come to help spread this message aspired to give their entire
lives to bringing families deeper into their faith.
Thus, The Family Apostolate’s Catholic Corps developed and its
membership continues to grow. The Apostolate’s Catholic Corps are consecrated laymen and
laywomen
who devote their lives to serving the
Church through the international work of the Apostolate for Family Consecration.
Their
work and prayers are offered for the healing and building up of family life, the
transformation of neighborhoods into God-centered communities, and the public
reign of the Holy Family through the parish church. By using the modern means of
communication and the latest technology to spread God’s kingdom, the Catholic
Corps are making healing possible for families around the world.
Locked into the vision and Eucharistic, Marian spirituality of Pope John
Paul II, and through the various multi-media and catechetical programs The
Family Apostolate has developed, Catholic Corps are helping families to learn
their Catholic Faith.
Catholic
Corps place themselves at the service of the Holy Family, working in a variety
of areas. The “apprentice system” employed allows new members to learn on
the job, starting from the beginning, or building on previous experience and
training.
Being
a member of the Catholic Corps means embracing a life of poverty, chastity and
obedience in imitation of Jesus Christ, and sharing the joy of belonging to a
community that is one heart and one mind. Their
entire lives are focused on Our Lord Jesus Christ.
No matter what they are doing—working, talking, playing, etc.—they
try never to lose sight that they are in God’s presence.
Dying
to self is difficult but love makes it a joy. Of course, the things which help them to “consider it all
joy” are the desire to help families, support in community life, their prayer
life, and in a special way, devotion to Jesus through Mary.
Discernment
blends prayer, listening, looking, and most importantly, trying. If you
are between the ages of 18 and 35, and you are asking the question of “Lord,
how can I serve YOU?” why not learn more about serving our Lord through a
vocation in The Apostolate’s Catholic Corps?
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The
daily community prayer
includes:
-
The
Family Apostolate’s Daily Prayers
-
Eucharistic
Adoration
-
Spiritual
reading
-
Meditation
on Sacred Scripture
-
The
Holy Rosary
-
The
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
-
The
Chaplet of Divine Mercy
Other
aspects of the way of life include:
- Annual
7-day silent retreat
- Ongoing
formation
- Consecration
to Jesus through Mary according to St. Louis de Montfort
-
Periods
of recreation and occasional community outings
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Apostolic
work
in various areas includes:
- Graphic
Arts and design: designing layouts for our catechism, prayer book,
brochures and other literature
- Processing
incoming mail for evangelization videotapes, catechism and prayer books
- Web
site development and design
- Training
and organizing laity in the use of our evangelization and catechetical
systems through retreats and conferences
- Developing
and writing computer programs in our data processing department
- Producing,
editing and scheduling television shows and video programs for our 24-hour
Catholic Television Network “Familyland TV”
- Missionary
work in other countries such as Mexico and the Philippines
- Hosting
Holy Family Fests and Totus Tuus Conferences, including youth and children
ministry programs
- Maintaining
our 900 acre center “Catholic Familyland”
- Printing
newsletters and other literature in our printing department
- Secretarial
and administrative work
- Accounting
- Housekeeping
and culinary arts
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