“All Christians are called to sanctity.”
(Dom Gréa, De l’Église et sa divine Constitution, p. 448; cf. Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, §5.)

The vocation of all the baptized to become holy is one, but the calls of God are varied, as are the ways in which man freely responds.

We, the Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception, desire to answer joyfully this call by which God has invited us to holiness in the religious state. We believe that it is “the most complete state and touches more closely than anything upon the very substance of the Church” (Dom Gréa, De l’Église et sa divine Constitution, p. 453). It is this call to be sent in imitation of Christ and through Him to serve the faithful by means of our brotherhood and priesthood that builds up the body of Christ until He comes again.

We desire that all who would join our community have a zeal for the community and apostolic life lived in that “Paschal joy,” one refined and deepened by a love of prayer and Christian penance, and made manifest in the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy, so that through us God’s plan may be realized.

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
(Matthew 9:37) 
 

Signs of a C.R.I.C. Vocation

We are serious about our ideal of life in common, our spirituality: love for the Sacred Liturgy, and our apostolic work in parish ministry. The Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception are centered on the Eucharist, devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and faithful to the Magisterium. We serve in parishes that we may bring the saving mercy of God to through our life, our prayer and our apostolate. The qualities and signs of a C.R.I.C. vocation that we are looking for in a man who feels called to the religious life as a priest or a brother are:

• A sincere desire to become holy.
• Fidelity to the Holy Father and to the Magisterium of the Church.
• A filial devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
• The desire to enter the religious life to follow Christ in the vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.
• The capacity for community life and a generous spirit of service.
• Confident masculine identity and integrity.
• Have good physical, emotional and psychological health, with a good moral character for a life of community, prayer and apostolic work.
• The desire to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) with all due solemnity, and a love for personal prayer.
• The willingness to serve the Church in the parish ministry and the duties assigned by the superiors.
• The enthusiasm to help us build our community through patience, hard work and abandonment to Divine Providence.

Father, you have appointed your Son Jesus Christ eternal High Priest.
Guide those he has chosen to be ministers of word and sacrament,
and help them to be faithful in fulfilling the ministry they have received.

Father, you call those who believe in you to grow in perfect love
by following in the footsteps of Christ your Son.
May those whom you have chosen to serve you
as Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception
provide by their way of life a convincing sign of your kingdom
for the Church and the whole world

We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

(Prayer for the Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception)
 

Requirements

Applicants to our community should meet the following requirements in order to be considered for entrance into our formation program:

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BROTHERHOOD:

• Be a Roman Catholic with a good moral character for a life of community, prayer and apostolic work.
• Be in good physical, emotional and psychological health.
• Must be free from all moral and financial obligations.
• Converts to Catholicism should have at least 5 years since their reception into the Catholic Church.
• Have at least a high school education, some work experience or military service.
• Candidates for the brotherhood are accepted up to 38 years of age.

We welcome those who desire to live their religious call as a brother. Brothers serve the community and the Church in many non-sacramental ways. We invite you to come and offer the sacrifice of your work and talents, that you may proclaim the gospel through the consecration of your life to God. Our brothers are an essential part of our community, not only in their regular duties and various works in service, but also by their presence and dedication to our liturgical prayer. Along with the varying skills and abilities of our brothers, together with the priests, they work in our pastoral ministry always bringing the grace and love of their own religious consecration to all they encounter and assist.
 

• Be a Roman Catholic with a good moral character for a life of community, prayer and apostolic work.
• Be in good physical, emotional and psychological health.
• Must be free from all moral and financial obligations.
• Converts to the Catholicism should have at least 5 years since their reception into the Catholic Church.
• Two years or more of college is preferred or military service.
• Candidates for the priesthood are accepted up to 30 years of age.

We welcome those who desire to live their lives as a religious-priest. Priests serve the community in our apostolic work primarily in our parishes. Through the consecrated life and the ordained priesthood we invite you to come and offer the great gift of self in imitation of Christ, that in serving the people of God we may save souls. The priests of our community not only serve in pastoral ministry but also by their presence and dedication to our liturgical prayer.

DISCERNMENT:

Those who are interested in our way of life and would like to learn more are invited to contact us that we may discuss your vocation. If we feel that you may be called to our life and you meet the vocation requirements, then we set up a time for an initial visit (usually from 5-10 days). Your visit will allow you to see and experience first hand our life and prayer providing the opportunity to better discern your vocation. It is also an opportunity for us to get to know you better and discern your vocation to our community. It is possible and even recommended to make more than one visit in this period of discernment. We will provide your transportation to and from the airport (if necessary) and the accommodations at the Dom Gréa House are without cost to you. However, we do ask that you provide your own transportation to the Los Angeles area.

Once you have made your visit and had the opportunity to see and know our life, prayer and work, you will have time to reflect on your visit and mature your discernment.

If you feel called to our way of life and prayer, and the Community approves, then the application process will begin.

Our formation program is structured to prepare future priests and brothers as Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception. Beginning with the ideal of Saint Augustine and the traditions set forth by our founder Dom Adrien Gréa, and in light of the need and importance of an authentic religious and priestly life in today’s world, we provide the environment where men will learn to develop a love of the Sacred Liturgy, be trained for the parish ministry apostolate, and live in community placing everything in common. The four stages of formation are aspirancy, postulancy, novitiate and scholasticate.


ASPIRANT:

Once the application process has been concluded and approved, the candidate is received into the aspirancy. This is a time for the aspirant to observe our way of life but is not bound to the Congregation. Nevertheless, by living unselfishly in the Community, the aspirant will experience a gradual transition from the life of the world to the religious life. It is a time for him to acquire a deeper knowledge of life in Christ, in which he wishes to involve himself more deeply, as it is lived by the Community. It also allows the Community to get to know the different abilities of the aspirant.

The aspirancy normally lasts about three months and after completion of this period the aspirant is invited into the postulancy.


POSTULANCY:

The postulant will learn about the Congregation: our history, the thought of the Founder, our ideal and spirituality and our apostolic work. Along with the communal and liturgical prayer of the Community the postulant will also be taught the fundamentals of the spiritual life and will be helped to develop the interior life of personal prayer. This is also a time for studies in philosophy, the humanities and liberal arts. These studies serve as a foundation for later work in theology. This is also a period of introduction to our work in our parishes.


NOVITIATE:

The novitiate is the beginning of life in the Institute and a fundamental stage required by the Church for those who sincerely aspire to consecrate themselves in the religious life. The novitiate is an important time for knowing God’s will, for a more personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, and for acquiring a humble and peaceful knowledge of himself as he gives himself fully to God who is calling him.

The novitiate is a period of spiritual maturation and continued discernment. During this period all academic studies are suspended, instead, building upon the foundation laid during the postulancy, the novice will continue to develop his interior life and personal prayer. He will be instructed on the “Books of Life” of the Congregation including the Rule of Saint Augustine, the Constitutions and General Directory. He will attend conferences on the evangelical councils and receives the religious habit.

The novitiate consists of a period of 12 months and takes place at the Dom Gréa House in Santa Paula, California and concludes with religious profession of temporary vows of chastity, poverty and obedience.


SCHOLASTICATE:

The newly professed religious, puts into practice the richness of grace that he received through his first profession by continuing his training during the years of the scholasticate. During this period the newly professed religious continues his studies for the priesthood.

For seminary training he may attend Saint John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California.

Those destined to become religious brothers may receive an education in specific fields or skills according to their abilities and the needs of the community. They may also assist during this period in the administration of the house, the program of studies, pastoral work and other duties.


SOLEMN PROFESSION:

When a temporarily professed religious is judged to have been trained sufficiently and to have developed a stable religious character, he can profess solemn vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, thus becoming a permanent member of the Congregation.

For the religious destined for the priesthood, once he has reached the end of formation, his seminary training and has made solemn profession, he can then be ordained to the deaconate. After ordination to the deaconate he begins the special preparation for ordination to the priesthood. Once ordained to the priesthood he is then assigned to share in our apostolic work.

Our Daily Life

We come together as men of different backgrounds, education, and God given talents to form a community that is united in praising Him with lives, our prayer and our work. We are a community that prays together but we also provide the time for each member to have private prayer.

MORNING

We begin our day at 6:00 a.m. with Matins (Office of Readings) followed by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and Lauds (Morning Prayer) at 6:30 am.The morning is usually spent doing various duties, attending class or a formation conference, or private study.

MIDDAY

We find a moment of peace and prayer at 12:00 p.m. when we come together for Sext (Midday Prayer) which is followed by lunch. The afternoon is also a time of work or study until we prepare for our evening prayers.

AFTERNOON

We come together at 4:00 p.m. in our parish church of St. Sebastian’s for an extended period of prayer beginning with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, about 45 minutes of silence for personal meditation, spiritual reading, etc. At 5:00 p.m. we pray our community rosary (for vocations) followed by Vespers (Evening Prayer) at 5:20 p.m.

EVENING

After our evening prayers we prepare for our dinner which is followed by community recreation. Occasionally there are parish meetings or other activities as well.

Night

We conclude our day at 8:30 p.m. with Compline (Night Prayer). Although we do not have the Grand Silence, it is nevertheless a time in which we respect the spirit of silence for those who retire early or wish to pray.