Teresian Association

COMMITMENT, RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF ACIT MEMBERS

Commitment, rights and duties of ACIT members

INTRODUCTION

THE VOCATION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ACIT MEMBERS

Spirituality
The Church dimension
Family
Work and profession
Study
Faith development
The social and political dimension
The associative dimension

MEMBERSHIP AND COMMITMENT OF ACIT MEMBERS

RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF ACIT MEMBERS WITH RESPECT TO:

Faith development
Participation in the life of the local ACIT association and in the Teresian Association
Participation in management bodies of the local ACIT association
Information
Means and channels that enable the living out of commitments
The processes of joining and discontinuing

COMMITMENT, RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF ACIT MEMBERS

INTRODUCTION
This document on the "Commitment, rights and duties of ACIT members" is intended to be an
aid, personal and associative, in living out the ACIT vocation and in self-examining personal
commitments.
This document was drawn up with reference to the chapter on membership in the current
Statutes, specifically where it refers to the ACIT vocation. It also draws on certain points
contained in the Regulatory Framework for ACIT Associations, a document that emerged from
the development generated by the 1990 Statutes and from reflection on the part of the
Teresian Association. Account has also been taken of what is said in this regard in the current
Directories of ACIT associations and of suggestions received from those consulted by the
Council members following up work on this document.
Each association can and should introduce into this document contextual aspects of its
commitment.
The contents of this document are divided into three sections:
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THE VOCATION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ACIT MEMBERS

MEMBERSHIP AND COMMITMENT OF ACIT MEMBERS

RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF ACIT MEMBERS

We have used the term "ACIT Commitment" in the singular, as a reference to the link that each
member has with the TA. When speaking of other commitments, reference is being made to
specific applications that derive from a vocational calling.
The first part lists notable characteristics of ACIT members in the dimensions of spirituality,
Church, family, work and profession, study, faith development, the social and political
dimension and the associative dimension.
Membership of the Teresian Association in an ACIT association gives rise to the question of
rights and duties. This section uses legal language to express the mutual commitments of the
member and the Association that derive from membership of the Teresian Association.
There are other facets of the life and management of each association and of the Teresian
Association that affect the life and commitment of ACIT members. These will be included in
further chapters in local Directories. It is necessary to specify concrete means to help live out
this commitment with its concomitant rights and duties.

THE VOCATION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ACIT MEMBERS

The members of the Teresian Association are women and men who respond to God's call to
carry out the evangelising mission of the Church according to the charism of the Teresian
Association and who have been validly admitted to it according to the provisions expressed in
the Statutes of the Teresian Association.
The members of the Teresian Association, according to their specific vocation and mode of
commitments are integrated into various associations: the Primary Association and the ACIT
associations (clusters within the one Teresian Association).
The charism of the Teresian Association with its mission and spirituality shapes a person and a
kind of presence in the world. Each member of the Teresian Association takes on a
commitment, one that is both a gift and a permanent task, to be moulded by it and to make it
real.
Spirituality
ACIT members embrace the Spirituality of Incarnation of the Teresian Association as their basic
point of reference.
They make an option for justice and culture, enlightened by faith, to be the way to human
development and the construction of a new world in which the dignity and rights of the human
person are upheld. This is proclaimed through the work and daily activities of its members.

1. They recognise Jesus Christ to be the centre of their lives and the foundation of the Teresian
Association. The mystery of the Incarnation provides the meaning and archetype of the
humanism that they profess.
2. They find in Christ, the Crucified Lord, the strength, the power and the only guarantee for
the transformation of the world.
3. They recognise the place of Mary in the life of the Teresian Association, she who was a
privileged witness as she followed Jesus.
- They learn from Mary to accept the Word as a gift and to respond in fidelity.
- They celebrate her on her feast days and in the liturgical seasons of Advent and
Pentecost.
- They treasure the various manifestations of devotion to the Mother of God in the
Christian world and consider the Rosary to be a prayer of the Teresian family.
4. Their way of life is inspired by the early Christians, as recommended by Saint Pedro Poveda:
- Prayer and study are essential dimensions of the vocation of ACIT members.
- They must strive in their everyday life and activities to make space in which to
receive the word of God and for personal prayer. In their prayer they enhance their
spiritual life, comprehend difficulties and discern circumstances.

- They often take part in the Eucharist to nourish themselves spiritually. Its
celebration should be central in the lives of members. This is especially meaningful in
celebrating the Lord's Day.
- They often receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a meeting with God's mercy,
especially at important liturgical moments such as Advent and Easter. This is an
opportunity for personal and communal conversion.
- After the manner of the early Christian communities, ACIT members come together
to pray and celebrate. In their prayer they take to themselves the sorrows and hopes
of humanity, join in solidarity with it, and grow in faith and fellowship love.
- They seek, as far as possible, to keep at least three days free annually for a retreat in
an atmosphere of serenity and silence.
- They grow in faith and fellowship love. They welcome and value each member as
she/he is. They accompany each other in personal growth.
- They make a lifestyle of solidarity and sharing.
- They announce the Gospel boldly.
5. St. Teresa of Avila is for ACIT members, as for all TA members, a teacher of prayer. In her
they recognise a model of courage in service, detachment and attractive spirit.
6. They esteem and appreciate their own vocation, which they live out with the other members
of their own ACIT association and all members of the Teresian Association, sharing coresponsibly in developing its life and mission.

Church dimension
1. Members live deeply their sense of being Church, which for Pedro Poveda is a distinctive
feature of the Teresian Association.
2 They make the Church of Jesus present there where they give coherent witness to Gospel
values and carry out the mission of the Teresian Association.
3. They update responsibly their being and belonging to the Church.
4 They carry out their mission in communion with the universal Church and the local churches
through their own charism. They are actively involved in:
- Programmes geared towards youth, family and education.
- Promotion and training of lay people through organisations and departments proper
to each local church and episcopal conference.
5. The parish is the ordinary place where one is born and grows in faith. It is typical of the
members of the Teresian Association to collaborate through their charism in pastorally
animating the parish community.
6. They promote ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.
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Family
1. They recognize the importance of the family as a basic and essential element of the
community and a key agent of personal and social development; within it are forged the
Christian values of faith and human relations.
2 They become aware of their responsibility within their own family.
3 They strive to make the family, as a domestic church, a special environment, where its
members grow and empower each other in mutual respect and everyday service, particularly
towards its weakest members, and in mutual witness to forgiveness and joy.
4 They bring to life Pedro Povedas educational approaches in bringing up their own children.
5. They see their own experience of family life as responsibility towards other families, allowing
for the different family situations present in our societies.
6 They are involved in promoting women, sharpening their sense of her dignity and role in the
family, society and the church.
7 They encourage each other to live the intimate community of life and love to which Christian
spouses are called within marriage, sharing the common task of being responsible parents,
generous, human and Christian.
8 They pay special attention to formation on issues to do with family, and to diocesan pastoral
guidance on family issues, and are actively involved in family ministry programmes.

Work and Profession

1. Work for ACIT members is not only a means of earning their living and of personal fulfilment
but expresses their sharing in Gods creative work.
2. They live their work as the normal arena in which they carry out the mission.
3. ACIT members do their work and professional activity based on the specific duty of lay
people: to carry the spirit of the Gospel into their area of activity.
4. Their ethical approach to work commits members to carry it out responsibly and with
preparation, to promote justice and authentic human relationships, avoiding power
mechanisms, mere economic interest and competitive spirit.

Study
1. ACIT members acknowledge that study, inseparable from prayer, is an essential dimension of
the Teresian Association. Both are necessary for a critical and constructive presence in society.
2 The thinking of the Founder gives rise to our continuing obligation to study, reflect and
commit to specific times for this task.
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3.- In the ACIT vocation study is understood as an activity that:

- builds up the person through a constantly renewed search for truth,
- prepares them for Gospel-like service to others,
- commits them to what is happening around them and invites them to transform it.
4 The needs of an ever-changing society demand that ACIT members specialise and
progressively update themselves in their own area. Members also need to develop an
interdisciplinary approach, a critical spirit and an open attitude towards cultural pluralism.

Formation
1. The mission of the Association sets out for all ACIT members the range of their action and
presence in the world, and guides the direction of their formation.
2. Each person is an agent of their own formation. The formation process of ACIT members is
geared towards helping them to progressively internalise the faith and spirit of the Association,
so as to embody their own original ACIT vocation.
3. They commit themselves to receiving a formation suited to the demands of their vocation
and mission:
- To explore in depth the writings of Pedro Poveda and the teachings and history of the
Association, documents from Assemblies along with the general documents of the
Teresian Association.
- To update their Christian and theological formation.
- To acquire the cultural basis needed for responsibly fulfilling the mission of the
Association.
4.- Formation in the Teresian Association is an ongoing process founded on a basic initial
formation. The Association offers ACIT members the means to achieve this: a reference group,
a training programme and personal accompaniment.
5.- The initial formation process of the ACIT member takes place throughout the stages that
constitute her/his process of personal integration into the Association, from the first
application to know the Association up to permanent commitment.
.-6 This process should be planned in a realistic and flexible way so that each person integrates
into her/his life the basic aims identified along the formation programme and develops all
her/his capacities in fulfilling the mission.

7.- Formation is for the ACIT member a lifetime responsibility. On-going formation aims to
keep alive and active those motives underpinning their option for Christ in the Teresian
Association and make possible an evangelising presence in a changing society.

Socio-political dimension
1. The ACIT member shares in building the political community, fulfilling her/his civic duties.
She/he commits to defending human rights and to cooperate in a society that promotes human
dignity.
2 Participation in civil society is a particular way of fulfilling her/his civic and professional duties.
Members maintain an active presence in society, integrating faith and life. They interpret
reality with Gospel criteria and leave themselves open to its challenges.
3 They collaborate in the formation of a responsible citizenship that is democratic, critical, and
lived as an element of social cohesion and peaceful coexistence.
4 Where an ACIT member works as a member of a political party she/he undertakes this
activity in a personal capacity and in harmony with their ACIT vocation. She/he will respect the
pluralism within the Teresian Association.
5 Carrying out the mission may, in certain circumstances, demand that she/he take an explicit
and public personal stance. In this case she/he will take on this responsibility in coherence
with Gospel values and her/his own ACIT vocation.
6 When the collective defence of human rights demands that people take a defined and public
stance, members of the Teresian Association present in a country or region may pronounce
themselves as a TA group of that place, after dialogue with the relational channel and
discernment with the appropriate authority.

Associative Dimension
1. Membership of the Teresian Association requires its members to responsibly take part in
developing its life and mission, promoting unity and dynamic fidelity to the foundational
purpose.
2. They actively participate in developing the common mission project in local realities.
3. Members ask for and offer fraternal help and solidarity among each other, as an appropriate
way of living out the commitments required to fulfil the purpose and mission of the
Association.

4.The ACIT members promote communion and communication among all members of the
Teresian Association through the different channels of relationship and participation.

5.They support and maintain their own Association and share in the support and maintenance
of the Teresian Association, sharing cultural, professional and economic resources.
6.They encourage vocations in the Teresian Association through their personal witness and by
making the Association known in its unity and diversity of commitments.
7.They promote the mission of the Teresian Association by convening people and groups that
adhere to its aims and participate in its activities and join it as part of the Teresian Association
Movement.

MEMBERSHIP AND COMMITMENT OF THE ACIT MEMBER

1. The ACIT members join the Teresian Association through their commitment with the TA as
explicitly stated in the norms of the Association which they are obliged to comply with and in
the Statutes of the TA and the Directory of their own Association.
2. The rights and duties of an ACIT member come as a result of their membership and the
stage of their commitment to the Teresian Association and the Directory of their particular
ACIT Association.
3. Initially this commitment is for two years and at the end of the two years it will be ratified
and given its permanent character in dialogue and discernment with the president of their
ACIT Association. From the time the ACIT members make their commitment, they will be
entitled to have the rights and duties that pertain to all ACIT members except being elected
as members of the Executive Board and taking on tasks involving TA training and formation.
4. When they join the Teresian Association, they receive the Statutes of the TA and the
Directory of the ACIT Association. There will be a celebration in a prayerful and family
atmosphere. The Statutes will be given by the President of the Teresian Association or her
Representative and the Directory by the President of the ACIT Association
If the President of the TA or her Representative cannot be present during the event the
President of the ACIT Association will receive the commitment of the new member and gives
the Statutes of the TA.
5. The formula or text of the commitment must clearly and explicitly state that the new
member knows, accepts and freely commits himself or herself to live according to the Statutes
and the Directory.
6. In the case of a permanent change of address, outside the area of their Association, the
member, will be able to join the ACIT Association in his/her new residence after having
informed the president of his/her original ACIT Association. He/She has to accept the
Directory/ of the ACIT association in his/her new place of residence.
If there is no local association, the General Council will study each particular case.
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RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE ACIT MEMBER

The reason why we join the Association, why we mutually commit ourselves is beyond the
member, the ACIT Association and the Teresian Association as a whole: it is the Lord who
has called us all, who has give us the gift of our vocation, has con-voked us as a people and
makes us participate in the mission of the Church with this specific charism.
We talk about a vocation because the initiative comes from God and we talk about convocation because this specific call which we have received has a strong associative
dimension, in a way that our response, which is the fruit of free adhesin, generates a sense
of belonging and involves mutual commitments :Teresian Association-ACIT Associationmember. These relationships which goes beyond what is legal, can also be expressed as
rights the means that the Teresian Association offers to ACIT members, and duties
which the members ought to give and contribute to other members, to the ACIT
Association and to the Teresian Association.
That is why the texts of the rights and duties are explained separately and they frequently
appear as co-related, with the same topics appearing in both parts.

Training and formation:

ACIT members have the right:
1. To receive the necessary training and formation pertaining to the charism of the Teresian
Association that will nurture their human and spiritual growth according to their specific
vocation.
2. To have at their disposal the translations of fundamental texts and documents of the
Teresian Association that would enable them to know the life and mission, the initial and
ongoing formation and how the charism is lived out at present. The resources or materials
will be available in five languages: Spanish, English, French, Italian and Portuguese.
3. To receive personal and community support in their Christian life and in living out their
commitments.
4. To count on the usual advisory role of the Primary Association in its responsibility as the
animating and organising nucleus.

ACIT members have the duty:

1. To give priority to the time set aside for study and prayer.
2. To know the teachings of the Church and the doctrine of the Teresian Association in order
to carry out the mission better.
3. To accept personally and as a community, the process of human, theological, Church,
cultural and socio-political formation and training, that the carrying out of the mission
demands, in order to discern and respond to the cultural challenges of each historical era.
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4. To study and explore in depth the writings of Pedro Poveda and acquire a deeper
knowledge of the doctrine and history of the Teresian Association. They ought to complete
the training and formation indicated in the General Programme of Ongoing Formation.
5. To know the documents coming from the General Assemblies that are relevant to them,
such as the communications from the President of the Teresian Association and the General
Council.
6. To be responsible for the training and formation of the people who approach the ACIT
association and come to learn how to live the Christian life with this charism and to
accompany them in the different stages of their formation leading to their commitment as
ACIT members.

Participation in the life of the local ACIT Association and of the Teresian Association
The ACIT members have the right :
1. To participate actively in the life of their own association and in carrying out the mission of
the Teresian Association with the particular characteristics of their association.
2. To participate, in the way that is already set up, in the Assembly of All Associations ad
experimentum in order to make decisions that involve the whole Teresian Association with
respect to lines of mission and spirituality that affect all members and associations.
3. To be co-responsible, together with the members of the Primary Association, in carrying out
the mission in each context.
4. To be responsible for the aims of the Association together with the Advisory Board.
5. To encourage different teams, projects, reflection groups, study and prayer groups in order
to enlighten and transform reality in the light of faith.

The ACIT members have the duty:

1. To promote the unity and communion among the members and associations at the local,
national, continental or global level, by means of their commitment in the different
channels of relationship and participation
2.-To participate co-responsibly in the Assemblies and meetings of the Association.
3.To take on responsibilities and services that the management and life of their association
require such as projects or activities that promote the Teresian Association.
4.To participate in the working committees and in the networks of communication within
the Acit Association and with the Primary Association.
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5.To participate actively in the ACIT groups.

6.To contribute to the Association all kinds of ideas and initiatives deemed necessary.
7.To promote the teresian vocation and the growth of the Association with new ACIT
members.
8. To contribute to the economic maintenance of the Association as stated in their Directory.
9. To support economically, the general activities of the Teresian Association (formation
programmes, information, assemblies, meetings.)
10. To notify the Association of any change of address that implies a modification of their
situation in their own Association.

Participation in management bodies of the local ACIT Association.

ACIT members have the right and the duty:
1. To elect and be elected for the posts in the departments connected with the governance of
their own association (The Advisory Board), following the norms established in their Directory.
To qualify as candidate for election, the member should have ratified his/her commitment in
the Teresian Association permanently.
2. To participate in decision making processes that concern them with respect to the life of the
Teresian Association and of their Association.
3. To participate in the assemblies of the ACIT Association with voice and vote.
4. To receive and obtain the necessary means needed for the ongoing formation in order to
carry out the tasks of governance.
5. To take on responsibilities of governance in their own Association, with the awareness and
commitment to contribute to the development of the Teresian Association in its diversity of
cultures, members and associations.
6. To be accountable to the President of the Teresian Association or her represenative, for the
tasks connected with governance and for the initiatives and proposals that make the
functioning of the TA possible
7. To request and receive the responsibility entrusted in a particular way, to the Advisor of the
Association, such as the means offered by the Council for Culture, General Department of
Formation and the Department of Information.

Information
ACIT members have the right:
1.To have access to publications on the doctrine of the TA.
2.To be informed of the life of the TA and their own Association.
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3.To receive communications from the President of the TA and the General Council in the five
languages that TA texts and documents are normally published.
4.To receive information on the economic management of the ACIT Association.

ACIT members have the duty:

1. To obtain information on the life of the TA and their own Association.
2. To maintain ongoing communication that express their associative sense of belonging.
3. To let others know about the different activities and projects through the means available to
the members and those ways available to the TA, for their greater diffusion and involvement of
members.

Means and channels that enable the living out of commitments

ACIT members have the right:
1. To count on community activities and places where they can share and discern their
vocation and spirituality.
2. To have a reference group in their own association.
3. To get the support and help they need in order to have personal accompaniment in living
out their vocation.
4. To have access to all the means that the Association offers in order to facilitate information,
participation and their integrated training and formation.
5. To count on the contribution of the general advisory bodies and departments: Council for
Culture, the General Department of Formation and the Department of Information, with
respect to functions specific to them.

ACIT members have the duty:

1. To participate in planned activities that are organised to address the concerns and needs of
the association using the resources and opportunities that associative life can offer.
2. To participate in the meetings of their reference groups.
3. To promote, stengthen and let others know about their ACIT Association and the Primary
Association, to commit themselves to help in open invitations and formation of the TA
Movement as well as promote projects and programmes initiated by the Teresian
Association.

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4. To get to know and participate in the committees through which the Council of Culture and
the General Department of Formation carry out their programmes and projects and to
support the Department of Information.
5. To participate in the preparation, setting up and development of the Common Mission Plan

The processes of joining and discontinuing

ACIT members have the right:
1. To count on all the personal and associative means that enable the preparation and
discernment before joining the association with clear understanding of the necessary stages
and the concomitant obligations.
2.To receive the Statutes of the Teresian Association and the Directory of the ACIT Association.
3. To join and to discontinue their membership in the Association according to what has been
established in the Directory.
4. To receive the necessary challenge and the relevant means for vocational discernment,
respecting personal circumstances and taking good care of the moments and stages that
would allow the right decision to be made.
5. To discontinue their membership in the Association fulfilling the requirements established in
their own Directory.

ACIT members have the duty:

1. To be open to the challenges of living out their commitments and to take on with personal
responsibility the processes of vocational discernment or clarification if necessary
2. In the case of discontinuing as member of the Association, the member will write a letter to
the ACIT President informing him/her of this decisin and will return copies of the Statutes and
the Directory received when he/she made his/her commitment.

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