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W ho we are
An association of Catholics from all walks of life who feel
a "call within a call" to give themselves totally to God, right where they
are, in whatever way they can, within their current vocation, for
the needs of the Church. Ransom is a private association of the Christian
faithful as defined by canon law. Those eligible to join are
baptized, practicing Catholics, either married or unmarried, clerics,
consecrated hermits, virgins and widows, and members of institutes of
consecrated life.
W hat we do.
We have two levels of membership;
vowed membership and associate membership. Vowed members take private
vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, according to our state in life,
on behalf of those priests and religious who have abandoned their own vows
or who have lost their faith, either openly or in the secrecy of their
hearts. Those of us who are married offer our marriage vows to God
on behalf of those who have abandoned their marriage vows. Those of
us who are priests offer our priesthood in a special way for our brother
priests who have fallen away. Those of us who are relgious offer our
consecrated lives for those consecrated who have left their first love,
the Church. We offer our Baptismal vows to God on behalf of the
laity who have abandoned their Baptismal consecrations.
We are consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and,
through her, to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. We take as our
method of sanctification St. Therese's Little Way since it is simple and
accessible to all, easy to learn, and known to the whole
world. We follow a simple yet challenging Rule and
maintain a regulated daily prayer life.
W hen we began.
The Rule was
written in the mid-1970's. In 1998, it was revised to include quotes
from Pope John Paul II and the new Catechism of the Catholic Church. It
was published for the first time in 1998. The first member joined on
November 27, 1999.
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W here we are.
We are in various places. Since attendance at
meetings is not required for membership, we can exist and function fully
anywhere in the world. Our community life is primarily mystical and
invisible. While it is excellent for local groups to form and meet
together for prayer and spiritual formation, we also welcome and greatly
value those who cannot do this. The Apostolate can be fully lived by
shut-ins, the handicapped, those who live in isolated rural areas, those
who live in mission territory and in places where the Church is persecuted
and in hiding.
W hy we are named for Our Lady of Ransom.
We take as our model the heroic
saints of the 13th century who ransomed priests, religious and Christian
laity held in slavery in occupied lands. The members of the
original Order of Our Lady of Ransom made a vow to do everything they
could to ransom these captives, even to the point of offering
themselves as slaves in exchange for their freedom. This
order later changed its name to Our Lady of Mercy. We are not connected with this Order. Rather, we have taken the story of Our Lady of Ransom as a metaphor for the spiritual work that we do.
The great slavery of the present age is sin. Therefore, the symbolism of the original order is
profoundly appropriate for our day. We do in spirit what the
original order did in the flesh. We "exchange places" with the
priests, religious and laity who have abandoned their vows, their
vocations, their faith. We strive to be as faithful as we can to our our
own vows and vocations on behalf of those who have fallen
away. We stand before the Throne of God in their place. We do
not say, " I am my brother's keeper." Rather we say, "I am my
brother." Keenly aware of our own faults and failings,
we frequently remind each other, "We are not better than the people we
pray for." Therefore, we ask all who read this to pray for us that
we, too, will remain faithful.
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