Christi Simus, Non Nostri

Our motto, which is also our patron St. Columban's, is a paraphrase of I Corinthians 6:19-20, the conclusion of St. Paul's revelatory summary of ethics. He begins with the infamous phrase "All things are lawful for me" against which he offers his counterpoint "But I will not be enslaved by any." St. Paul forces us to reckon with our way of life in light of the fact that we are joined to the very person of Christ through the Sacraments. That we must gravely consider our actions because through us they are "united to the Lord."

What leaps out after reading the whole passage is that the theme of slavery returns in the end: "You are not your own, for you have been bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." I cannot legitimately enslave myself to even permissible goods, because I am already bought and sold. Food and sex, St Paul tells us, both have their place, but you cannot give in your will to them, you cannot prioritize them, because you do not, you cannot, sell yourself again.

Because we are Christ's own, purchased at an extraordinary cost, we are not at liberty with ourselves, even with regard to permissible things. All of our pleasures, all of our needs and work and loves, must be submitted to Christ. The Irish and Scottish monks of St. Columban's tradition lived this by their overwhelming mortifications, by which they sought to train themselves, to subject their wants and desires to their will to serve Christ alone. This is the great truth of the Christian life: that we should not merely refrain from what is bad and wrong, but that we should submit even in those things which are not evil in themselves, to God who has purchased us literally with his blood, sweat, and tears, to buy us back from the possession of Death, Hell, and Sin.

As we come into the liturgical new year and celebrate the holy life of our patron who left his homeland and everything he knew to re-evangelize Europe, where he submitted to the authority of a pope with whom he, at times vehemently, disagreed, the Fellowship finds itself at a crossroads. After starting with optimism about our relationship with the university here, progress in that direction has slowed and we do not currently have a clear way forward working with the university. We are prayerfully discerning our next work, and how God might be calling us to serve. We have two new ideas for our work going forward:

1. We would like to extend our Fellowship into a network of reform-minded Catholic academics, whether they are interested in the work of founding a community with us or not. These academics would support one another with the aim of renewing Catholic education in its current institutions, by emphasizing the Liberal Arts, faithfulness to the Tradition, and the formation of Catholic students in the life of the Church through prayer. They would help to promote policies that make education more affordable and make it rely less on poorly-paid adjuncts. Their principles would be the same as those of the Fellowship, but to see them adapted and applied to colleges and universities everywhere, in their measure.

2. We are discerning what it would take to purchase a large house where several of our members could live, pray, and garden while offering some classes to the community while we work toward the larger goal of founding the Community. We hope that this scaled-down version of our mission will give us a base on which to build, experience in what we are trying to accomplish, and proof of concept which will help us to raise funds.

After several months of limited activity and hard times we are back to work when time permits, and we would greatly appreciate your prayer and your assistance. Consider if God is calling you to join our broader fellowship, tell anyone you know about us, or eventually donate to our project. We appreciate you all, and thank you for sticking with us even in this long period of silence. This has been a trying time for many of us, but we know that God is faithful, and that he will complete his work in us, that he will conform us to his will so that we can serve him more and more.