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The Christian Life Movement
(CLM) is an International Association of Faithful of Pontifical Right, born in
1985 in Peru. It has been working in the Archdiocese of Denver, Colorado,
since 1996, by invitation of the then Archbishop of Denver, Cardinal Francis
Stafford. The CLM has a very wide outreach, but mainly in three areas: the
youth, the needy and the evangelization of culture. The CLM tries to offer a
communitarian space for people to encounter the Lord Jesus, fostering an
authentic and committed Christian life. In this way, the service of the CLM, as
of a small part of the ecclesial community, is totally according to the mission
of the Universal Church.
The Christian Life Movement in the
Archdiocese of Denver
In the Archdiocese of Denver,
the CLM works with seniors, couples, families, young adults, youth and children
in three areas:
A) Apostolate:
Approximately 200 people
are involved in the groups and activities of the CLM in Denver. While they
participate in the CLM activities, they continue being active members of their
respective parishes. Each group gathers every week or every other week to
reflect about their faith and to help each other to live it in their daily
lives.
Currently, the outreach of
the CLM consists of:
1- Seniors: The “Spiritual
Breakfast” (a breakfast after Mass followed either by prayer, a spiritual
meditation, or a group discussion) once a month, for both men and women.
2- Families: Monthly
gatherings with families. During the summer months they are outdoor
activities. In these activities we share lunch, have family games, as well as
a moment of meditation for the parents and prayer when all the family
participates. During the winter months they are indoors, and in all of them
parents have a spiritual talk and meditation about a theme, while the children
have an activity about the same topic, in order for the whole family to live
together during the month the topic they meditated.
3- Couples: The Christian
Life Movement has an association of couples called Nazareth Group. It is a
space for them to learn more about the Catholic faith and to grow together in
it as a couple, as well as to discuss about the world, reality and to prepare
themselves to do apostolate.
4- Youth and young adults:
The Marian Groups are groups of American and Hispanic youth or young adults,
friends in the Lord Jesus. The goal of these groups is to offer a space of
friendship and reflection about being Christians in daily life. These groups
have different activities besides their regular meetings: go out together, to
do sports together, participate on a yearly retreat, go camping, etc.
There is also a yearly
Mission Trip to Peru, which offers an experience of faith, culture and
community service for college students.
5- Children: The CLM
Children Project begins with The Bethlehem Group, a group of girls between 6
and 8 years old, which is followed by The Apostles of Mary Group, for girls
from 9 to 12 years old. In these groups we offer fun activities for children
in which they can know God better, learn to live like Christians, have
Christian friends that aim to reach the same goal, and to know and love more
the Lord Jesus.
The program offers different activities: sports, crafts, workshops, “mother
and daughter biking”, cooking. During summer there are cultural field trips,
and the God and Nature Adventure Retreat (G&N). The latter is an experience of
encounter with God through nature. It is a retreat where we have talks and
conversations, as well as fun activities with nature. These kind of
experiences help the girls to have an encounter with God and to know more
about our Catholic faith. The G&N, normally done in a camping site, is very
educational because of the learning experience of organization, discipline, of
living in the “wilderness”, besides the fact that it is much more fun for the
children.
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B) Spirituality:
In the spiritual area, the
CLM fosters and organizes:
- The prayer of the rosary
- The participation in liturgies
- Retreats for children, teenagers, couples, women and young adults
- Days of reflection and recollection
The CLM also helps parishes
giving talks of preparation for the different liturgical seasons (Holy Week,
Christmas, etc.), as well as Sacramental Preparation.
These activities aim to
help not only CLM members, but also people in general to grow spiritually and
to strengthen their commitment of faith.
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C)
Intellectual formation
- The CLM organizes series
of conferences about different topics of the faith, inviting different
speakers (priests, religious and lay people of serious Christian commitment)
to address such topics.
- Production of formation material, both in English and Spanish, offered to
the American and Hispanic communities of the Archdiocese of Denver.
- Support for initiatives of archdiocesan formation by giving talks and
conferences each time is required.
- The CLM seeks to form leaders who will be able to lead by groups.
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CLM USA
- Denver
1060 Saint Francis Way
Denver, CO 802044
Phone/fax: (303)629.5100
www.clmusa.org
denverclm@clmusa.org |
