The Emmanuel Community grows from two spiritual experiences: of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament of Eucharist, and of the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
There are three main graces, “Pillars” of the Emmanuel Community. According to the Statutes:
The Community’s profound grace comes from Eucharistic Adoration of God truly present among us: “Emmanuel”. From this Adoration comes compassion for all who are dying of hunger, materially or spiritually. From this compassion comes the thirst to evangelise throughout the whole world, especially among the poorest of the poor.
(Statutes – Preamble, n° a.)
First pillar - Adoration
Called to the Emmanuel Community, its members are drawn to Eucharistic Adoration as the genesis of the call and the response to that call.
“Members of the Emmanuel Community commit themselves, as far as possible to a long period of daily adoration (adoration of the Blessed Sacrament when possible).”
(Statutes n° 15)
Eucharistic adoration allows us to be in God’s presence because we believe that He is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. Our prayer time is a privileged opportunity to meet Jesus who gave His life for us through His death and resurrection. Adoration is a prayer of Christ and then of the Church. Through adoration we intercede for the whole world.
If you desire to prayer at Eucharistic adoration but cannot physically go to Jesus, allow Him to come to you through this internet website which has a live stream of the Adoration Chapel in Navan, Ireland. What a gift to have when we are unable to go to an adoration chapel!
Second pillar - Compassion
As Adoration is lived day after day, it leads us to live and share Christ’s compassion towards all: such is the compassion for those “who are dying of hunger, materially and spiritually” (Statutes – Preamble, I). This is expressed very concretely in the conduct of the members of the Community and through the various Community activities. It is our call to live authentic charity. Jesus offers Himself to the poor and those who suffer. (cf. Mt 25, 40). However, it is not only a question of easing poverty and material miseries.
Adoration also leads the members of the Emmanuel to realize that the biggest misery, the deepest suffering, is when humanity does not know God and is separated from Him through sin. This knowledge of God unites them to the compassion of Jesus which found its ultimate expression on the Cross: “God so loved the world that He gave his only Son so the world be saved by Him” (Jn 3, 16-17). Jesus’ true compassion is to save all through God the Father. To become a follower of Jesus, whose name is Emmanuel (God with us), means to burn with the desire to take part in His mission so that all people may be saved.
Third pillar - Evangelization
Adoration and Compassion naturally lead to evangelization, which is the ultimate reason why the Emmanuel Community exists. Evangelization is first and foremost the participation in the announcing of the Gospel, following Christ in the Church. The Good News is addressed to every person of good will in the respect and freedom of their conscience. This evangelization, for the members of the Emmanuel, is comprised of various aspects and is directed in a particular way towards those who do not know God or who have moved away from Him.
- Firstly, evangelization is witnessed in the individual actions and inner circles of each Community member. Each member of the Community is a missionary in their daily life; among their family, friends, co-workers and even those strangers that happen to cross their path.
- Secondly, it is expressed by the individual commitment of each member to the activities of their local parish as well as to the universal Church by being faithful to Church teachings and seeking to grow in knowledge and faith.
- Thirdly, it encompasses the participation of each member in the apostolic activities of the Community which aim to fulfill the needs in social, economic, political and cultural realities: i.e. evangelization of families, couples, youth, and children as well as street evangelization and active evangelization in the work place.
- Finally, it is incarnated in the missions entrusted explicitly by the Catholic Church to the Emmanuel Community.