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Our Community Vision and Mission
“Without a vision, the people perish.” Hosea 4:6
The Community of Jesus the Good Shepherd is a Covenant Community established in the Archdiocese of Toronto. Its members are lay men and women, primarily married couples with their children, who as laity, are called to a covenant relationship with God and one another. Covenant communities all over the world are recognized by the Catholic Church as a work of the Holy Spirit and a legitimate expression of renewal, welcomed and encouraged by the late Pope John Paul II and the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
As Individuals:
As individuals we respond to God’s invitation by personal conversion, dedicated to righteousness, growth in holiness, and service as disciples of Jesus Christ. By His grace we have become sons and daughters of God, filled with His Holy Spirit, desiring to live out all our relationships on a daily basis in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our ideal of being disciples is to be men and women who can put their hand to the plow without looking back (Luke 9:6), take up their cross daily (Luke 9:23-27), and serve rather than be served (Mark 10:45).
As a Community of Disciples:
In response to a particular call of God, we have freely bound ourselves with others who have been called in the same way. We accept the mission our Lord has entrusted to us as a people: We recognize that by virtue of our membership in Jesus The Good Shepherd Covenant Community, we are also members of Christ the King Association and The Sword of the Spirit. This makes us part of an international community of communities. We commit ourselves to love and support our brothers and sisters in the community of communities throughout the world, and to serve with them in a common mission. We know that in order for us to be truly a community, a people of one mind and heart in our response to the Lord, we must serve and care for our brothers and sisters in Jesus The Good Shepherd Covenant Community. We must understand and accept those things which make our life as one body possible.
• We know that we must meet together when the community meets.
• We must respect and support the pattern and order of our life together.
• We must support the life of the community with our material and financial resources.
All this is simply to take responsibility for those the Lord has given us; to be a new family, members of the same body, brothers and sisters working together in the mission He is entrusting to us as a people. We desire to put our lives into His hands completely, and follow Him as a people wherever He may lead.