BECOMING AN ASSOCIATE

 

Associates are men and women who are linked to The Order of the Holy Cross by bonds of prayer, friendship, and mutual support. Associates can be either married or single, and keep a simple Rule of Life patterned on that of the monks of the Order.

 

Why Become an Associate?
We all need a "support group", especially as we try to grow in the Christian Life. That support takes many forms, formal and informal, and we are all constantly receiving it from family, friends, and our local Church. Association with a monastic community is one way of trying to give and receive that support in a more intentional way.

One of the tools we can use to do this to keep a Rule of Life under the direction of a religious community. The exact details of the Rule are worked out by each Associate with his or her Associate Director, on the basis of principles contained in the Rule for Associates (pictured right). The Order helps to provide guidance and accountability, and associates normally send in a report annually to let us know how they're doing.

Prayer is important on any level, but one of the things that binds Associates and the Order especially closely is prayer for one another. Associates are asked to keep the monastic community in their regular prayers, and the community remembers them by name each day in a monthly cycle at the Holy Eucharist.



HOW CAN I EXPLORE THIS POSSIBILITY?


All kinds of people can become Associates. If you think you might be interested you should write The Director of Associates at the House of the Order nearest you, and if possible pay a visit. For convenience the Houses of the Order are each responsible for a particular region of the country. If you live in the Bay Area, the Pacific North-West, or anywhere between those areas and the Mississippi, you should get in touch with us here at Incarnation Priory, either by e-mail to The Associate Director, Berkeley, or by a letter addressed to:


The Director of Associates
Incarnation Priory
1601 Oxford St.
Berkeley, CA 94709.

If you live elsewhere in the country, you should contact the Director of Associates at the House nearest you. To find the names and locations of the other Houses, go to the page entitled: The Order of the Holy Cross.

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