Fivefold Rule of the Order
- Lectio Divina: Personal and communal meditative readings of, primarily, the Bible, and secondarily, the classical texts of the Great Tradition.
- Divine Offices: a commitment to morning, midday and evening prayers as both an external order to orient the inner life and an internalizing of such an external prayer life (ordering of our desires, passions and loves).
- Friendships: a commitment to walk and meet with other men on their faith journey as a means of deepening our life in Christ and within the body of Christ and the world.
- Life in the Church: a commitment to participate in the sacramental and liturgical life of the Church as lived through in the seasonal cycle of church life.
- Public Square: work, service, justice, peace and ecological concerns thoughtfully addressed and acted upon.
Needless to say, each person, given their charism, gifts, season of life and varied commitments will find their own level of living out the Rule of Life. The Rule of Life should be as elastic as possible to facilitate the transformative power of the Holy Spirit working in men’s lives at a personal, communal and public level.
“To give our Lord a perfect service Mary and Martha must combine”
Evelyn Underhill and Teresa
Our Common Life
The Order was installed February 2016 at parish of the Resurrection in Kelowna, British Columbia. Bishops Charlie Masters and Don Harvey provided leadership at the installation service. The induction of Richard Roberts, Terry Lamb, and Ron Dart in October 2016 at St. Matthew’s parish in Abbotsford, British Columbia officially launched the Order. Bishop Harvey provided leadership for the induction liturgy. The Contemplative Order of the Sons of the Holy Cross is a ministry within ANIC and ACNA and it exists to call the church to a deeper contemplative and prayer vision in a culture and time in which many are much too busy to be still and know I am God. In short, the Order is a prophetic vision of sorts that attempts to heed Jesus’ words about Mary-Martha and who has chosen the better part.
The Sons of the Holy Cross live by a fivefold Rule of Life that embraces Prayer, Study of the Bible and Classical Literature of the Christian Tradition, Service within the church and world, varied forms of Evangelism and the Sacramental life of the church. Each day prayers are offered for the Order, our clergy, laity, chapters and those brought to our attention because of expressed needs.
“He prayeth well. who loveth well both man and bird and beast.”
S.T. Coleridge in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Faith Statement
We believe and confess Jesus Christ to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Him. Therefore, the Order of the Sons of the Holy Cross identifies four elements as essential for membership.
We confess the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to be inspired by the Word of God, containing all things necessary for salvation, and to be the final authority, when read and interpreted through the classical Creeds and Councils, for Christian faith.
We confess Baptism and the Holy Eucharist to be Sacraments ordained by Christ and thus to be ministered with unfailing use of his words of institution and of elements ordained by him.
We confess the historic faith of the undivided Church as declared in the three Catholic Creeds: Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian.
We confess that the Holy Order of Bishops, Priests and Deacons have been entrusted with safeguarding the Church and the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. We also acknowledge the essential role of the laity in such a historic process.
“I said to my soul, be still.”
T.S. Eliot in Four Quartets
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