Amici, continued from page 11
either you are a professed member or you are not a
member. However, we are neither totally defined by
Canon Law nor by our statutes. We cannot engage in
activities which are contradictory, but we can include
ways which are not addressed. It is in this manner that
I believe we ought to search for ways by which those
who, at one time, were incorporated and/or ordained
but no longer feel called to this lifestyle but still desire
to maintain a relationship with the community that is
much deeper than the term, former member. The solu-
tion here will be arrived at by the law of love, by the
bond of charity; not by Canon Law nor by our statues.”
Fr. Barry Fischer, during his keynote presentation
in 2005 on “Creative Collaboration,” discussed possible
ways of co-ministry. The emphasis was “friendship,”
and some effort was made to follow up on his offer.
Later he asked that the Amici indicate the roles they
would want to play in this effort and the community
would choose which would be feasible. In April of
2007 Marie Lubeley was asked to collect an inventory
of skills as a follow-up to possibly collaborating. The
survey yielded few results.
Efforts at further collaboration failed, seemingly be-
cause there was no clear pathway forward. Mark Miller’s
comments in his keynote address to the Amici car-
ried the seeds of further discussion. The comments of
Tom Albers at our 1995 meeting in Pinckney, Michigan
contained a clue to what might have been. The Amici
were living in a secular and lay environment but had
been formed and even had practiced Christian service
in liturgy, homiletics, and teaching for some period of
time. The ordained Amici and professed Amici had
experienced both clerical and lay life in the church.
Prior thinking and discussions were nearly all based on
the presumption that the Amici must fit into the daily
work of the community. What we all overlooked was
that the majority of the professed and ordained Amici
had continued their affiliation with at least the Christian
tradition. Some few continued their clerical ministry
in ordained service in other faith traditions—Lutheran,
Episcopal, Presbyterian. Those within the Catholic
tradition continued in service to the church in social
justice, in parish and educational administration, and in
various liturgical ministries.
We each and all failed to realize that Amici
who engage with the Church continue to live and
12 • The New Wine Press • May 2018
promote the charisms of Gaspar, Albertini, Merlini,
and the many others who lived and worked in the
energy of the Precious Blood. What we’ve failed to
realize is that most Amici have participated in the
Missionaries’ work, albeit unrecognized, unsupport-
ed, and unappreciated.
Why have we failed to recognize the efforts of
Precious Blood ministry in the lives of the Amici?
Joe Hanish points to several factors. First there
was the problem of geography. Secondly there was
the infrequency of coming together in a structured
program. And thirdly there was no place for part-
time collaboration.
I would add to Joe’s list of causes two of my own.
First, both the Amici and the community failed to
understand the Amici are a well-trained connector
between the secular/laity world of daily struggles/
triumphs and pain/joy and the liturgical, pastoral,
and institutional church. Secondly, our meetings
never achieved the effective process of dialogue.
We fixated on current practices and failed to see
the stars that would led us to a new birth. As this is
written, the community is seeking its re-creation, an
Easter resurrection. It’s time for a dialogue of listen-
ing, sharing, and wisdom. The Amici can provide a
valuable contribution.
Amici leadership failed to understand that we
continued community work in separate and diverse
environments. We raised families, built careers, and
continued working in local assemblies of the faith-
ful as laity. The charism of the Missionaries is in our
dna, genetically modified by training, education, and
spirituality. We all failed to unearth the treasure. The
failure to discover the pearl of great price through
dialogue was subverted by the routines of separate and
unequal ways of life.
This is a post mortem for the Amici. Carol and I are
delighted for the experience and have learned much
about faith, relationships, and reconciliation. But
even so the Amici movement is dying as our ranks are
depleted by death. Our memory will be but a bump on
the road of Christian experience.