The Missionaries of God's Love

Brothers Way of Life

The Missionaries of God’s Love has a vigorous prayer life. Personal prayer is crucial for a life with Jesus. Brothers seek to develop an attitude of continuous prayer in the heart. Silent adoration of Jesus in the reserved Eucharist is highly prized; brothers are committed to at least one hour of adoration when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed each day. We aim to develop the gift of contemplation - that loving attentive gaze of the heart upon Jesus. Reading of Scripture and meditation on the Word of God is important, as well as the reading of spiritual books. The examen and regular use of the sacrament of reconciliation are also crucial for growth.

Our communal prayer has different expressions. We are committed to Eucharist as the centre of our whole common life and mission. We also celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours, chanting the psalms, at morning, evening and night. We have times of charismatic praise and use of charismatic gifts, praying over one another and ministering to one another in the Spirit. We especially value prophesy as a means of the Lord speaking to us words of encouragement and direction. We also have times of intercession and spiritual warfare, being vigilant against the tactics of the evil one. We have times of fasting and self-denial using it as a means of praying for the salvation of others. Our whole life involves self-denial in union with Jesus on the Cross because to love means to sacrifice oneself, and to follow Jesus means to die to oneself.

As Jesus formed his first companions into a band of brothers, so He unites us in Him. Jesus is the centre, the source and the means of our brotherhood. Our brotherhood is a beautiful gift of the Lord, a mystery which embraces us. It is being with Jesus and in Him with one another. It has intrinsic value in itself and has to be protected from over-commitment to apostolic work. Yet it is not an end in itself - it exists for the sake of the spreading of the Gospel. It is a school of love, where the love of Jesus is made flesh in our lives.

In our brotherhood we seek to be loyal to one another, upholding one another’s good name and keeping basic commitments for the sake of brotherhood. We relate in a friendly way, greeting with a cheerful embrace. We honour one another in speech and affirm and build one another up in reverence and respect. We encourage and correct one another when necessary, but always in trust and love. We seek to live in the light with one another, and when relationships are damaged we seek reconciliation, offering forgiveness to one another in the Lord. We seek to avoid competitiveness and jealousy, and try to have compassion for the weak and those who we find difficult to love.

In our brotherhood we have many times of laughter, recreation, and celebration. There are also times of sorrow, tension and sickness. We learn to bear all in a spirit of humility and love. The pervading atmosphere of the brotherhood is freedom and joy in the Lord, and the sense of unity in the Spirit that is very precious indeed.

The Missionaries of God’s Love exists to proclaim the Good News of Jesus to the ends of the earth. We preach the fire of God’s love in Jesus crucified. We call people to conversion, a profound change of heart, and acceptance of Jesus as their personal Saviour and Lord. We lead them into the experience of the baptism in the Spirit, and assist them in becoming genuine disciples of Jesus. We offer them the opportunity of living in a committed Christian community, and equip them with the gifts and skills necessary for them to become evangelists themselves. We do all this through involvement in specific ministries such as youth camps, university outreach, spiritual retreats, catechumenate, programs for renewal, evangelising rallies, schools of evangelisation, healing ministry, street evangelising, pilgrimages, etc.

By the grace of ordination those brothers who are priests are consecrated and sent to proclaim the Good News to the poor in a special way (Lk 4:18-19). They do so in the authority of Jesus as head of His body, the Church. Our vision of priesthood is essentially apostolic, prophetic and missionary. We share in the universal mission of the Church to bring the Good News to the ends of the earth. The Missionary priests are not primarily intended to preside over a local community, but to devise alternative methods of evangelisation that aid the local Diocesan Church in its missionary task. They can be sent wherever the Lord opens a door, and we expect they will go well beyond Australian shores in the work God has for them. Nevertheless, the Missionaries also have a heart for Australia, to assist the Australian Church to be more on a missionary footing in such a secular godless society. We have a particular calling to the youth of Australia, who are lost, alienated and marginalised.