CFE 104 Module 4

The Two Attributes of
the CICM Identity

1. DEDICATED TO JESUS, THE INCARNATE WORD
The CICM at the Service of the Work of

Redemption, the CICM Consecrated to the
Incarnate Word.
The heart of the CICM spirituality is
“completely centered on the Incarnation
of the Word, as a principal source”. That
is the reason why the CICM is at the
service of the work of Redemption.
Article 12-16 of the CICM
Constitutions of 1988 deal with this
dedication to the Incarnate Word – this
constant reference to the person of Jesus
should profoundly characterize the
whole life of a CICM missionary:
“We must thus enter into the life and the
mission of him who ‘emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7).
Thus, the incarnation of the Word
inspires all our missionary commitment.
The Incarnate Word is our fundamental
inspiration.”
This is the meaning of the cross in
the topmost part of the CICM emblem:
“The cross-means poverty, suffering,
deprivation, and failure that often mark
the life of missionaries and their
enterprises.
But the cross also always carries in it
the seed of life and resurrection.” The
emphasis on the ‘incarnation’ refers for
sure to the ‘down-to earth’ approach of
the CICM.
It means that the God who is at the
center of their spirituality is in the first
place a “human” God, a God who has
shared human and bodily conditions
while retaining his divinity.
Mission consists in the
announcement of the good news to the
poor, but this is more than just
preaching, but also involves a practical
dimension. As this includes a
confrontation with exteriority, it also
means ‘challenge’, ‘sacrifice’,
‘suffering’.
To be prepared for this, a missionary
must shed all personal pride and
embrace humility: “The attitude you
should have is the one that Christ Jesus
had: He always had the nature of God,
but he did not think that by force he
should try to remain equal with God.
Instead of this, of his own free will
he gave up all he had and took the nature
of a servant; He became like a human
being and appeared in human likeness.
He was humble and walked the path
of obedience all the way to death – his
death on the cross. For this reason, God
raised Him to the highest place above,
and gave him the name that is greater
than any other name (…) that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father”.
Lastly, the prevalence of the
Incarnate Word in CICM spirituality can
further be explained from the role of
Jesus Christ as the archetype of all
Christian missionaries.
“During the [1974] Synod, the Bishops
very frequently referred to this truth:
Jesus himself, the Good News of God,
was the very first and the greatest
evangelizer: he was so through and
through: to perfection and to the point of
the sacrifice of his earthly life”.
2. MARY: THE PATRONESS AND
INTERCESSOR FOR THE CICM
(as the model of mission in the CICM schools), Mary,
Mother of the Incarnate Word
Fr. Verbist and his first companions
during their first meetings draw up the
statutes of the new Congregation
unanimously agreed to consecrate the
Mission to the Incarnate Word and to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, “…to whom
they committed themselves to recommend
daily the interests of the Congregation.
Article 16 of the CICM Constitution
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 exalts the lowly.
She has a special place in our lives as
missionaries of the Congregation of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
The CICM missionary, therefore, is
invited to look into Mary’s heart in her
unqualified “yes” to the call of the Father to
follow Jesus. Meanwhile, Mary is not only
the one conceived without sin;
as the mother of the Incarnate Word, she is
also (1)a model of faith, having made herself
infinitely available for God’s Will: “I am the
Lord’s servant”; “may it happen to me as
you have said” (Lk 1,38.).
THE CHARISM: AD EXTRA, AD
INTRA
Like our founder, each one of us heard
the call of Christ: “Go out to the whole
world; proclaim the Gospel to all creation.”
(Mk 16:15).
We are sent to the nations to announce
the Good News, wherever our missionary
presence is most needed, especially where
the Gospel is not known or lived.
We leave our country to proclaim
salvation as the great gift of God which
liberates from everything that oppresses and
divides people.
Following Jesus, we address ourselves
preferentially to the poor as the privileged
recipients of the Kingdom of God”.
Ad extra, ad intra, therefore, express the
reality of a CICM missionary vocation:
Ad extra (mission beyond borders) to be a
CICM is to leave one’s home, family, and
culture, and even one’s country or simply
one’s region, to 'preach the faith', to learn a
new language and a new culture, and to be
with other people.
Ad intra (mission at home) the
understanding/stress now is not necessary
therefore to physically leave one’s country
but to respond to a situation where one’s
missionary presence is most needed.
END OF THE MODULE FOR
THE FIRST TERM.

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The Two Attributes of

the CICM Identity

The CICM at the Service of the Work of

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