He now went up onto the mountain and summoned those He wanted. And so they came to him and He appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to proclaim the message, with power to drive out devils. (Mark 3:13-15)
The Community of Grace is a Public Association under the jurisdiction of the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia. The Community is devoted to leading people to the Catholic Faith and strengthening them in their Sacramental life through the living and enduring Word of God.
The founder’s unique charism of understanding and teaching the Scriptures with great wisdom and discernment has been nurtured and is active among many of the community members. The Community is an example of the springtime of the Holy Spirit, ever at work renewing the Church through a variety of missionary movements, especially during difficult times.
Movements generally derive their origin from a charismatic leader and take shape in concrete communities, inspired by the life of their founder; they attempt to live the Gospel anew, in its totality, and recognize the Church without hesitation as the ground of their life without which they could not exist. (Pope Benedict XVI, The Ecclesial Movements: A Theological Reflection on their place in the Church)
What is meant today by the term movement? The term is used to refer to realities that differ among themselves, sometimes even by reason of their canonical structure. Though that term cannot exhaust or capture the wealth of forms aroused by the life-giving creativity of the Spirit of Christ, it does indicate a concrete ecclesial reality with a predominantly lay membership, a journey of faith and a Christian witness which bases its own pedagogical method on a precise charism given to the person of the founder in specific circumstances and ways. (Pope John Paul II, Message to the World Congress of Ecclesial Movements, 1998)
Within the Church, there are various types of services, functions, ministries and ways of promoting the Christian life. I call to mind, as a new development occurring in many Churches in recent times, the rapid growth of ‘ecclesial movements’ filled with missionary dynamism. When these movements humbly seek to become part of the life of local Churches and are welcomed by Bishops and priests within diocesan and parish structures, they represent a true gift of God both for new evangelization and for missionary activity properly so-called. I therefore recommend that they be spread, and that they be used to give fresh energy, especially among young people, to the Christian life and to evangelization, within a pluralistic view of the ways in which Christians can associate and express themselves.” (John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Missio, no.72)