Secular institutes have individual charisms. For members of Caritas Christi, it is bringing the love of Christ to others in their individual workplaces, not by proselytizing, but simply by the example of their lives. This work of secular institutes is described in Primo Feliciter, issued by Pope Pius XII in 1948, as the “ever active” leaven in society, which transforms it until it is “wholly leavened in Christ.” Caritas Christi is a pioneer in this consecration of the laity to perform the work of the church out in the world, having been founded in France in 1937. It became a pontifical rite in 1955 and worldwide has more than 1,400 members scattered across 39 countries.
    Mary had briefly tried religious life at the age of 18, but realized it was not her calling. Then one day she came across a little white pamphlet from Caritas Christi. “I picked it up and brought it home and read it,” Mary relates. “You read it in five minutes — less than that. I read it and it sat there. I threw it away and it came up again. I kept throwing it in the trash. It kept appearing.” A year later she contacted them and immediately received a letter. It took her another year to decide before she finally entered in 1965. She made her first dedication in 1967 and her definitive dedication in 1972.
    For Caritas Christi, there is a preparation period of three months to a year for formation, followed by the first dedication at the end of three years. This dedication is renewed annually for five years, then taken for life. During this time you leave neither your home nor your job, but have a sponsor working with you along the way — though, depending on distances, communication may be strictly by phone or e-mail. As a sponsor, Mary makes it a point to personally meet with those she sponsors at least once half-way through the formation process.

    Membership is open to unmarried women, widows, and divorced women with annulments. The age limit is stated as being 45. “But the exception is the rule,” notes Mary. “Age is not a barrier.” In fact, a few years back, they accepted a woman who had just turned 70. This is possible because secular institutes like Caritas Christi do not provide any financial assistance to their members. Each is totally responsible for providing for herself. Neither does the group own any property or “home.” Members work in a variety of fields — from college professors and doctors to factory workers and waitresses. “We are encouraged … mandated to be the best of whatever we can be,” says Mary, “So you go as far as you can go, because that’s the way you are bearing witness,” she says. “That’s where your ministry comes in.”
    As varied as their professions are members’ stories of how they joined. A priest friend had been providing one young woman with information on Caritas Christi for years, but she was unconvinced it was for her. She had long prayed to meet “Mr. Right,” who would work with her to raise a family and help them all attain heaven. “As I dated candidate after candidate, I continued to pray with more determination than ever,” she said. “One morning as I received Communion, all the pieces came together. I had met the man of my dreams and was even then receiving Him. He would help me get to heaven. He would help me to raise dozens of children as a teacher.” Caritas Christi, she realized, was the perfect vocation for her special relationship with Christ.

    Another woman spent several weeks as a volunteer at Lourdes. Sharing experiences with other volunteers from around the world, she realized the type of life she aspired to and an article in a Catholic newspaper about secular institutes led her to Caritas Christi. Still another woman, who had left a religious order after 20 years (after much internal struggle), stumbled across a providential pamphlet and realized there was a way to maintain a special connection with God and still remain “in the world.”
    Mary, who currently serves as a Caritas Christi sponsor for four women, is quick to point out that secular institutes are not in competition with religious life. In fact, she directs women under her sponsorship to the religious life, if it is apparent that is where they are called. “We work for vocations,” she says. “Where does God want you? Where do you feel that God wants you?”
    But how, you might ask, do taking vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience (the three evangelical counsels) jibe with life in the secular world? Mary describes poverty for Caritas Christi members as being according to one’s lifestyle or state in life. “Poverty for me is very different than poverty for someone who’s like the president of a university,” she says. Members are responsible for using their material goods wisely, in ways that serve God. “Our poverty is a gift of stewardship,” she adds.
    Celibacy (or chastity) is regarded as a positive commitment, not just the renunciation of marriage, with all the resources of love and devotion made available through this “gift” to be concentrated on God and furthering his kingdom. Maintaining good health is considered part of celibacy. “The body’s a gift,” said Mary, noting that taking care of one’s health is important in doing God’s work.
    Obedience, for Caritas Christi, means listening for God’s will and being receptive to the opinion of others, especially those charged with the common good. It is described as “genuine readiness to follow the highest course, and a true obedience to legitimate authorities, especially to those established by Our Lord.”

    For Caritas Christi, as well as many other secular institutes, the usual rule of “discretion” (not revealing one’s membership) is seen not only as a way to be especially close to God, but to avoid any distinction which might limit members’ effectiveness in the various areas of their daily lives. Caritas Christi leaves this up to the individual and, in Mary’s case, she feels letting people know her vocation may help others decide to look into it.
    At present, the organization’s growth has been given a boost by use of the Internet and their Web site, www.ccinfo.org. Mary notes the site has received 550 “hits” so far this year.
She invites persons interested in learning more about Caritas Christi to visit the site or contact her personally at (210) 828-4952 after 7 p.m.
    “We’ve been modern since 1937,” says Mary. “We’re relevant to today’s church — it’s the age of the laity.” In fact, Mary still sends prospective members a copy of a letter written in 1938 by Juliette Molland, a remarkable woman and pioneer in the consecrated life of the laity who, with Father J. J. Perrin, OP, founded Caritas Christi 67 years ago.
    To the women of her time, Molland wrote, “It seems to you that nothing at present satisfies your heart and that a new form of life must be offered to you. The solitude of the cloister attracts you; yet, the desire to live in the midst of the world in order to be in it, through love, an apostle of love appeals to you even more…. Truth dawns on you with blinding light: the world is in need of apostles and saints to live its life and be involved in it. The church is waiting for such people.”