“The mission of our Institute within the People of God is to make known to all, particularly the poor, the tenderness and mercy of the Father revealed in Jesus. Faithful to the original inspiration, we work for the promotion of persons through education, health care and various social and ecclesial activities.” (Constitutions no° 4)
A beating heart that gives itself totally speaks of the spirituality and theology that energizes the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; it gives rise to their mission.
This mission is about a love that is near, leading to a particular way of relating to others.
”We have been captivated by Christ, and from Him we learn to love as He loved with a love that is near, unconditional, all-embracing, leading to the total gift of one’s life.” (Constitutions n° 18)
Passionate about encountering others
Out of our societies with moveable boundaries comes a call; a call to be relational, to live a proximity that is the only thing that can save others from anonymity, indifference and boredom. To be a religious Sister is to bring people together and bring them to God. It also answers the Christian vocation of being the salt of the earth and putting the flavour of God into our human relationships. To live the mission with a heart that is near means cultivating the art of encounter and letting others we meet fill us with wonder. It means accepting to reveal the ONE who dwells in us, to be “transmitters” of God.
Community is a place to learn kindness.
Community is essential for the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is a place of renewal for mission and the primary environment where living the charism of tenderness and mercy is being practiced. It allows one to:
– welcome others in their uniqueness, day after day
– develop their capacity to be simply present.
Listening is not only being quiet, it also means making oneself open to what someone else is saying, letting their reality take us out of our comfort zone. Being “benevolent” is having the capacity to “welcome another without prejudice.”
Recognizing the dignity of each person.
In a world where it is so easy to treat persons as objects, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are convinced that each human being has dignity, whoever he or she may be, and that their dignity is inalienable. This means a commitment to a concern for others so that one can really enter into another person’s perspective. True proximity can only be lived in a spirit of gratuitousness, without using or taking advantage of others.
Choosing to live with intensity
Being available is not easy to live. What is important is not so much the quantity of meetings as the depth of each moment. To be welcoming, is to live the present moment in all its content and intensity. Availability takes shape within us through trial and error and is built through the contemplation of the Heart of Christ, who dwells in the eternal present.
“Contemplation of the filial and fraternal Heart of Christ remains the source of that preferential love which seeks the total gift of self.” (Constitutions n° 20)
A look
In our modern society, the invisibility of some persons is deeply linked with the blindness of our contemporaries who do not recognize these persons as having value.
Heart and eyes are truly connected! To have a heart for the world means learning to see each person in the uniqueness of their being.
Certain ways of looking at others can bring new life.
The mission of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is to have the desire to bring out the best in others, to create connection and sustain a way of looking at others that makes them more beautiful and helps them grow.
Sister Anne Chapell, Superior General