Beginning the journey into the Domestic Church movement is a multi-year process of spiritual growth for a couple together. Formation in the Domestic Church, as in the whole Light-Life Movement, is aimed at achieving Christian maturity. It is a process realized in three stages, formational retreats and monthly circle meetings, according to the program based on the Order of Christian Initiation of Adult .
Evangelization Retreat
Each couple in Domestic Church typically starts by attending an Evangelization Retreat, which allows them to experience the Good News in a new and deeper way and provides a real experience of the saving power of Christ as a couple. After the retreat, the couple has an opportunity to join a circle of 3-6 other couples and a priest.
Join a Circle
A couple has an opportunity to join a circle of 4-7 other couples. Each circle meets once a month in the homes of its members to share the joys and sorrows of the journey, pray together, go over their progress in spiritual growth according to the seven commitments, and to go over the new formation materials for the month.
The Seven Promises
- Daily individual prayer.
- Daily study of Scripture.
- Daily couple prayer.
- Daily family prayer.
- Monthly couple dialogue.
- Rule of life.
- Participation at least once a year, in a formation retreat.
The beauty of these promises is that the movement provides formation, using the Church's spiritual traditions and official teachings, for how to pray, how to use Scripture in prayer, and how to grow in a real relationship with God, our spouses, and our children in light of our Baptism.
Domestic Church Membership
After joining a circle, a couple has ten months to decide if they will commit to continued formation, and another three years before they enter into permanent Domestic Church formation.This process follows the Church's vision of Catechesis for adults.
The basic element in the Domestic Church organizational structure is a circle which constitutes the environment of formation and evangelization, serving the families as a special “laboratory” of conjugal spirituality. The Domestic Church circles work in a yearly cycle. The primary place of formation in the DC is marriage and family.
Participation in formational retreats is essential in the DC formation program. The 10 days-retreats (New Life Oasis retreats for Families of the first, second, and third level, also known as the Family Oasis Retreats) play a crucial role in this formation. These retreats are organized for married couples with children who participate in their own formation program. Older teenagers are invited to participate in formational retreats of the Light-Life Movement appropriate for their age level.
During the formation year, another important element of formation is participation in the Communion Days of the Light-Life Movement.
The initial Domestic Church formation includes, after the stage of evangelization and pilotage, participation in the New Life Oasis retreats for Families (levels 1, 2, and 3), the Oasis Retreat for the Family Animators (levels 1, and 2), as well as formation according to the program of “the first year” and the second year” of the monthly meetings of a circle.
The members of the DC are sacramentally married couples who accept and implement the formation program offered to them. In case of the death of one of the spouses, the other one is allowed to stay in the circle.