February 5 - Teams of Our Lady (Équipes Notre-Dame)

This week I am continuing a series of columns in which I am highlighting several international associations of the faithful of Pontifical Right that are present in this parish.  Today I am featuring the Teams of Our Lady (Équipes Notre-Dame).  Once again I am making use of information available on the website for the Pontifical Council for the Laity listing and describing approved Associations of the Faithful.  I have changed spelling to reflect American usage.
HISTORY
The Teams of Our Lady movement came into being at the end of the 1930s through a number of married couples who began to meet every month under the guidance of Fr. Henri Caffarel.  Their purpose was to explore the sacrament of marriage in depth, to hold it up against their own experiences, and then try to work together to live coherently within society as Christian families and couples.  As more couples sought to join them, the movement was formally established with the promulgation on December 8, 1947 of the Équipes Notre-Dame Charter.  The movement was created to meet a need felt by couples who realized their experience in light of the Word of God by reading the signs of the times, and by reflecting constantly on ways and means of implementing the founding charism in different circumstances of history.  On April 19, 1992, the Pontifical Council for the Laity decreed recognition of the Équipes Notre-Dame as an international association of the faithful of Pontifical Right.
IDENTITY
As a movement of spiritualty for married couples, the Teams comprise groups of married couples who wish to achieve holiness in and through marriage, gathered around Christ to help one another to progress in the love of God, to build themselves up in Christ and to place their love at the service of the Kingdom.  The members follow the course of study that includes Scripture, the truths of the faith, and an “apprenticeship in prayer.”  This pathway, which is a means of verifying their fidelity to the Lord, requires them to take a dynamic view of Christian life, and introduces them into a dimension of ongoing conversion through mutual spiritual assistance, group sharing, frequent attendance at Mass, family prayers, the Christian education of their children, the spirit of outreach and welcome, and giving testimony to the love of Christ.  The Teams method is based on the rule of life, which accompanies the path of ongoing conversion through a sequence of specific goals to be achieved:  the two-day annual spiritual retreat which the married couples make to ask for the help of the Spirit to discern and draw up new life projects; the duty to “sit down” once a month, to enable the couple to speak to one another “before God,” as a special vocation to view each other through the eyes of the Father, and to allow themselves to be converted by what the Lord is asking of them through their spouse.  The members of the Teams are actively committed to family apostolate pastoral programs in the local Church, where they also cooperate with other ecclesial movements.
ORGANIZATION
The Teams of Our Lady are structured on a collegial basis.  The International Team has overall responsibility for the movement, and comprises married couples from different countries assisted by a Spiritual Counsellor.  Each of the member Teams is composed of between five and seven couples and a Spiritual Counsellor, and they remain in contact with each other through a liaison couple.  Teams in the same town (or geographical area) make up one or more sectors, and the sectors make up regions.  The live of the movement depends entirely upon the voluntary offering of time, effort and resources by the couples themselves. They work to develop the Teams movement particularly in the geographical areas where large distances and low incomes are likely to cause a serious obstacle.
LOCALLY
I have been involved with Teams of Our Lady for years now and am currently the Spiritual Counsellor for two different local Teams.  Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or if you want more information about Teams of Our Lady.  Please email me at [email protected] or telephone me at 301-840-1407.
 
Until next week,
Fr. John Dillon
Pastor