CHAPTER 1: CICM SPIRITUALITY
SPIRITUALITY
▪ Includes a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, and it
typically involves a search for meaning in life. As such, it is a universal
human experience - something that touches us all
✓ Some people think that spirituality and religion are one and the same thing
RELIGION VS SPIRITUALITY
Religion Spirituality
Specific set of It is more of an individual practice, and has to do with having
beliefs and practices, a sense of peace and purpose
usually shared by a
community or group It also relates to the process of developing beliefs around the
meaning of life and connection with others without any set of
spiritual values.
Why do people practice spirituality?
• Life can be full of ups and downs, good times and bad. Many people see
spirituality as a great way to seek comfort and peace in their life.
• It can often be practiced alongside things like yoga, which ultimately focus
on stress relief and release of emotion.
Spirituality is also a way of gaining perspective:
• Spirituality recognizes that your role in life has a greater value than what
you do every day. It can relieve you from dependence on material things
and help you to understand your lives’ greater purpose.
• Spirituality can also be used as a way of coping with change or uncertainty.
LESSON 1: THE NAME
Latin: Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae
English: Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Filipino: Kapatiran ng Kalinis-linisang Puso ni Maria
Sacred Scripture present examples of the inherent connection between name and
mission:
• The Birth and Naming of John the Baptist and his Mission in Zechariah's
Prophecy (Lk. 1:57-80)
• The Annunciation. "... and you shall name him Jesus..." (Lk. 1:26-38)
• In the O.T. God changed Abram's name to Abraham, because he was going to
be the father of a host nations, with whom He was establishing a covenant
(Gen. 17:3-8)
• After naming John, his father Zechariah, prophesied that his son will be called
prophet of the Most High, and his mission will be to go before the Lord to
prepare His ways
• Jesus will be given "the throne of David His Father, and He will rule over the
house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will be not end."
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• After the proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius
XI in 1854 in his papal bull Ineffabilis Deus, and the assignment of the liturgical
feast, there was the rapid spread of the devotion to the "Immaculate Heart of
Mary"
DOGMA
▪ Everyone follows
▪ Are the fundamental teachings of the Church. Dogmas are universal and
unchanging: no change will ever be made in the dogmas of the Church
DEVOTION
▪ Are "external practices of piety," such as praying the rosary. Station of the
Cross and signing oneself with holy water, and are not part of the official liturgy
of the Catholic Church but are part of the popular spiritual practices of individuals
• In Roman Catholic Christian theology, the Immaculate Conception is the conception
of the Virgin Mary free from original sin by virtue of the merits of his son Jesus.
The Catholic Church teaches that God acted upon Mary in the first moment of her
conception, keeping her "Immaculate"
➢ IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
✓ Meeting of sperm and egg
✓ Free of sin
✓ Mary
✓ 1854: Devotion of immaculate heart of Mary
• In the devotion to the Heart of Mary, on the other hand, what seems to attract
us above all else is the love of this Heart for Jesus and for God.
• Fr. Theophile Verbist and his first companion/ cofounders Frs. Alais van Segvelt,
Frans Vrancks and Remi Verlinden unanimously agreed to consecrate the Mission
to "the Holy Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Immaculate Heart of
the Very Blessed Virgin Mary, placing the Congregation under the patronage of the
Blessed Virgin Mary.
• The oldest coat of arms of the CICM contained the Latin text of the long name
of the Congregation translated ito English as "Congregation of the Belgian Mission
for China dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
• This transformed in 1891 into the "Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Scheutvelt, Missions in China, Mongolia and Congo", which was shortened in 1933
into "Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scheut".
• The present form is simply "Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary"
 In the current emblem of the CICM, the name of the Congregation has been
omitted in favor of the motto Cor Unum et Anima Una, "One Heart and One Soul" but
in the lower portion is the Heart surrounded by twelve stars, coming from Rev
12:1, in reference to Mary, the "great sign" who "appeared in heaven, a Woman
adorned with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of
twelve stars.
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MISSIONARY RESPONSE
✓ Usually, people who know thay you are a Louisian / a student of SLU/ a
CICM schools/ a Catholic school have already given you "a mission"; they
expect you to be upright in so many things "kasi Louisian ka!" and when
you have done wrong, they blame or judge you by saying, "taga-SLU ka
pa naman.."
✓ You must live/show your being a student of a CICM/Catholic school by
doing what is right even in simle ways, so as not to tarnish your identity/name
e.g. doing your household chores faithfully, carrying to class on time, not
cheating during exam etc.
LESSON 2: DEDICATED TO JESUS, THE INCARNATE WORD
✓ INCARNATION: God Becoming Man
THE PURPOSE IN LIFE:
▪ The human persons live for something for a value/ values, but specially for
someone. "Para kanino ka bumabangon?"
▪ For what, or for whom do you live? Para sa mga mahal sa buhay, para
sa pamilya, para sa anak-sa kanilang kinabukasan
▪ The mission of our Lord Jesus Christ was to redeem humankind. So, he
also lived for people he loved: US
EXISTENTIAL QUESTION
1. Who Am I?
2. Where Am I going?
3. Is there life after death?
✓ The search for the purpose of the meaning of life
▪ DEATH (The Inevitability of Death)
✓ AUTHENTICITY- the making of right and moral choices in life
INSPIRED WORD:
▪ Jn 13:1-15: (Washing of the disciples' feet) "He love his own in the world
and he loved them to the end... "If I, therefore the master and teacher, have
washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet.
▪ The inspired word of God gives the reason for Jesus death: "He loved His
own in the world and He loved them to the end..." (Jn. 13:1b) But before he
went to His death, he showed his disciples and gave them an example of
how to do service
✓ The heart of the CICM spiritually is being "completely centered on the Incarnation
of the Word, as its principal source"
✓ This dedication to the incarnate Word is understood as "... an availability for
the work of redemption- the members are entirely devoted to the service of
Christ," "to Him from whom all redemption comes and to His incarnation which
is at its foundation."
✓ The life of the CICM then is to be at the service of the building up of the
Kingdom of justice and love of peace and joy.
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✓ And redemption here refers to more than saving from sin but as CFC 491-
99says, Jesus' mission as the redeemer also includes saving from socio-economic
evil such as poverty, ignorance, discrimination, disease, etc.
✓ The CICM addresses these forms of evil through their various missionary
involvements, which are “Incarnate”, of the here and now, very much concerned
about the whole human, person, body and soul.
✓ In a deeper sense: this constant reference to the Person of Jesu should
profoundly characterize the whole life of a CICM missionary: he must thus enter
into the life and the mission of Him who “emptied Himself, taking the form of
a servant” (Phil 2:7)
➢ The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and
the day you find out why – Mark Twain
➢ You were made by God and for God and until you understand that, life
will never make sense
LESSON 3: MARY, MOTHER OF THE INCARNATE WORD
INSPIRED WORD
▪ The miracle of Cana: (John 2:1-12)
o “Do whatever He tells you…”
▪ At the foot of the cross: (Jn 19:25-27)
o Mary was given as “Mother to the beloved disciples”
▪ The inspired word of God reveals Mary’s care and concern for others in need
▪ At Cana, she is reported to be sensitive to note what the ongoing wedding
celebration lacked: “They have no wine.” It would have been unthinkable in
those times to be celebrating without wine
▪ Here presence at the foot of the cross means till the end she stood by her
Son, reviled, and put to death as a criminal. Aside from that her Son puts
under her care the disciple whom He loved: “Here is your son.”
▪ Vatican II (LG 64) has presented Mary as the Church’s model of discipleship
by “contemplating her hidden sanctity, imitating her charity and faithfully fulfilling
the Father’s will…”
▪ Article 16 of the CICM Constitutions connects Mary to Jesus, to whom the
CICM identity and mission are hinged: “God chose Mary to be the Mother of
the Incarnate Word. In her, he reveals himself as the One who exalt the
lowly” (Lk. 1:52b)
▪ The advocacies of the CICM are directed toward this “exaltation of the lowly”
▪ This is then the special place of Mary as the Patroness of the CICM; the
CICM Constitutions invite the CICM to have Mary’s heart, to make her his
model of faith and of total dedication to God and to her Son’s mission
▪ The current CICM emblem includes in its upper portion the Virgin with a Child
inside a trunk who is Our Lady of Grace of Scheut, which was venerated in
the village (Scheut) where Fr. Verbis established the first headquarters of the
Congregation
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LESSON 4: FR. THEOPHILE VERBIST AND HIS COMPANION
INSPIRED WORD:
▪ Jesus appears to His Disciples (Mt. 28:19-20). "Go therefore and make
disciples of all nation, baptizing them in the name of Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;
and behold I am with you always, until the end of the age."
The Vatican II Document, "Ad Gentes" clearly states:
 "Therefore, let the missionaries, God's co-workers, (1 Cor 3:9), raise
up congregations of the faithful such that, walking worthy of the vocation
to which they have been called (Eph 4:1) l. They may exercise the
priestly, prophetic, and royal office which God has entrusted to them..."
It is important to emulate Fr. Theophile Verbist by:
 The legacy left by the Founder remains alive in every CICM missionary:
a life to the end in the service of the mission.
 Such is the "mark" of CICM: the call to leave everything for the sake of
the mission
 "Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation".
FR. THEOPHILE VERBIST
 He was born in Antwerp, Belgium in June 12, 1823
 Had 6 siblings
 His Father Guillaume (1787- 1854), was initially a successful banker.
 His mother, Catherina Troch (1797- 1852), was the daughter of a
surgeon from Dendermonde.
 He was 7 during the Belgian Revolution (1830)
 Southern provinces declared their independence from the UK of the
Netherlands
 Verbist initially studied with the Jesuits in Antwerp
 He completed the classical curriculum in 1842 and went on to study
philosophy and theology at the major seminary
 He was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Sterckx on September 18,
1847
 Position Held
• He was the staff of the minor seminary
• The Chaplain of the Military Academy in Brussels
• The Chaplain of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
• National Director of the Pontifical Association of the Holy Childhood
 These involvements made him deeply concerned about the abandoned
children in China and the millions of Chinese who lived at that time in
ignorance and poverty
 At the age of 37, while still working as chaplain at the military school,
he indicated that he had long desired to dedicate himself to missionary
work.
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 In 1862, it was time: Verbist founded Belgium’s first missionary
congregation: The Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
 On February 23, 1868: Verbist was stuck down by typhus near Lao-Hu-
Ko, inner China
 He died and was buried in a local chapel in China. He was only 45
then
 In May 10, 1931: his mortal remains were transferred in Scheut, Brussels,
Belgium
 Scheuts missionaries saw Verbist as a pioneer who opened the way for
missions first in Asia and then Africa and Latin America. Several of their
mission stations still display a statue of the founder
✓ Showing care and concern to the weak and vulnerable members of the
society like taking care of the children, handicapped, aged, sick ad those in
need of help.
✓ Participating actively in the different extension programs of the school
✓ Knowing that missionary life is not easy, writing letters/messages of
encouragement to CICM missionaries around the world might help
✓ Joining the CICM Campus Mission Volunteers (CCMV) and participate actively
in the different endeavors and ministries of the group.
✓ Like Fr. Theophile Verbist and his companions, to “cross the line” and reach
my dreams/ goals in life.
LESSON 5: CICM MOTTO: COR UNUM ET ANIMA UNA
INSPIRED WORD:
▪ Life of the Early Believers (Acts 4:32)
➢ “The group of believers was of one heart and one soul.”
➢ All the believers ware one in heart and mind. No one claimed that
any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything
they had
▪ “This express God’s ideal about humankind, His creation. Jesus came to reveal
that God is our Father, that He wants to be everybody’s Father.
▪ This is the care of the Gospel message. In Jesus, we are God’s children
through the Spirit’s power Consequently, we are brothers and sisters of the
same family.”
▪ Ad Gentes indicates that; “In order that the proper goals and results may be
obtained, all missionary workers should have but “one heart and one soul”
(Acts 4:320 in the actual carrying out of mission work itself.
▪ The motto “One Heart and One Soul” refers to a fundamental aspect of the
vocation of the CICM priests and brothers who are joined to live and work
together out of diverse nationalities and cultures
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At the CICM general Conference of 1978, the Superior General says:
▪ “If ever, it is here we have understood that this is the Lord’s calling to our
group. Internationalization as universal brotherhood is not a project the
Congregation set for itself, but a call from the Lord.” “It is a challenge, to
preach the Gospel not only with words, but with our lives.”
THE CICM MOTTO:
 “Cor Unum et Anima Una” as the motto of the CICM was officially introduced in
the coat of arms of the Congregation on October 5, 1993, but right from the
beginning it was a reality lived among CICM missionaries
 The motto “One Heart and One Soul” refers to a fundamental aspect of the
vocation of the CICM priest and brothers who are joined to live and work
together out of diverse nationalities and cultures.
 “They are sign of solidarity among the particular Churches in their universal
mission”, and hence, they witness to universal brotherhood
This is the charism of the CICM: “There is something of the fingerprint of
the Founder that continues to give the CICM its own face, and its own contribution
to the Church. If anything marks CICM, it is the call to leave everything for the sake
of the mission (ad extra).
Another dimension of the CICM charism is stated in the phrase “to bring
the God News of Jesus Christ wherever it is most needed.” This does not necessitate
the missionary to leave his own country but to be where his service is most needed,
may it be in his own country or anywhere, which is the ad intra dimension of the
CICM missionary identity CICM.

LESSON 6: THE CHARISM: AD EXTRA, AD INTRA

INSPIRED WORD:
- In 1 pet. 4:10-11 Jesus calls us to be Good Manager/s of God’s Gifts
- “Each one as a good manager of God’s different gifts, must be use for
the good of others the special gift has received from God…”
- “What you have received as a gift, gives as a gift”. Matthew 10:8

God bestowed upon each one gifts that would help him/her in the service
of God. As stewards of these gifts, each one must cooperate in the spread of the
Gospel for the building up of the Church.
All these gifts are meant for the promotion of the Kingdom of God. They
must be lived in a spirit of service.

Pope Paul VI once stated:

▪ “The Twelve and the first generation of Christians understood well the
lesson of this text and other similar ones; they made them into a program
of action. Even persecution, by scattering the apostles, helped" to spread
the Word and to establish the Church in ever more distant region…”
▪ The response of CICM missionaries is clear as indicated in their mission
statement which say;
➢ “We CICM missionaries of different races and cultures live and
work together as brothers in order to bring the Good News of
Jesus Christ wherever it is most needed.”

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