For the sake of completion I reproduce here the text of the act of commitment that each young person professed and signed on the day of his definitive acceptance as a member if the Youth Congregation.
ACT OF CONSECRATION
We, NN, members of the Congregation of Christian Youth, based in Aix, under the protection of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, profess before those present that, in order to strengthen the growing ties that bind us to God our Creator, Saviour and Sanctifier, and to separate ourselves as much as we can from the corruption of this age and of people, in the middle of which we are compelled to live, we consecrate ourselves perpetually to the Most Holy Trinity by offering this gift that we make of our whole being in the hands of the Blessed Virgin and Mary Immaculate, our mother and patroness, in whose service we devote ourselves together with our whole heart.
We profess wanting to live and die in the Holy Catholic, Apostolic, Roman church, to which we vow a filial love like that of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We solemnly profess to recognize the same Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour God, Sovereign Lord and Master, to whom we want to be faithful disciples all our lives.
And to prove that the will we have to be undividedly his forever is genuine, we renounce Satan, our enemy and his works, freely and voluntarily with our whole being.
We promise to separate ourselves totally from him and to forever flee from dangerous company. We promise to never go to profane shows nor to the theatre under any pretext whatsoever.
Lastly, we give up and promise to never belong to any illicit gathering, to never belong to any denomination whatever it may be, to any secretive society, be it Freemasons or others.
We also agree, as a sign of the perfect union that exists between us and for us to mutually help each other to bring about our salvation, to offer to the Holy Trinity for our common sanctification: prayers, fasting, alms, vigils, Communion, and generally all the good works that each of us can do during the course of one’s life so that there is a growing communion, complete and without reservation of all these good works, and as a common treasure where each member of the Congregation has the right to participate either during one’s life, or even after one’s death.
OMI General Archives, Rome, (DM VIII 3)
In the handwritten original the signatures of several hundred young persons follow. . (Refer to previous posts on the Youth Congregation for an explanation of the various elements)
The act of consecration sums up the ideals that Eugene wished the youth to have in their goal of living “all for God” so as to be a force of transformation in their society.
He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” Luke 10:27-28
“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes… but no plans.” Peter Drucker