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OUR LIFE: "FOR
THE LOVE OF GOD"
PRAYER is experiencing God's infinite
Love
Our life is nourished by prayer and contemplation, grounded
on the reality of our daily experiences. Through all the
seasons of Life, we commune with God in prayer, He who is
our source of joy and peace, a pillar of courage and strength,
the fountain of light and love.
In her poverty, every Sister will recognize
that all good belongs to God
and therefore she will give it all back to Him,
the Lord, the most high and supreme God.
SFIC
Constitutions: Spiritual Basis, Ch 6, lines 8-14
We aspire to deepen our union with God through our fidelity
to personal and community prayers. Our life in mission is
sustained by contemplation and daily meditation on the Gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the celebration of God's love
in the Eucharist, in the sacrament of penance and reconciliation,
in our sharing of faith-life experiences, and by regular
retreats and recollections.
COMMUNITY LIFE is witnessing to
God's unconditional Love
I
give you a new commandment, that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.
John 13: 34-35
Our life in Community springs from our humble efforts
to proclaim and witness to God's boundless love for all
creation, for all humanity. With St. Francis of Assisi,
we consider everyone and everything created by God as our
sisters and brothers.
In
this life, they will give and find
the freedom and space, security and strength,
inspiration and support to follow Jesus Christ
as perfectly as possible,
after the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of St.
Francis.
SFIC Constitution: Spiritual Basis Ch 8,
lines 3-7
In community, we inspire and support one another to be
faithful to our religious commitment. For when we recognize
Christ in each other, it is then that we can accept one
another, learn how to forgive and bear with each other's
weaknesses and constantly encourage one another to a life
of evangelical conversion.
As we respect the uniqueness of each Sister and appreciate
the international character of our Congregation, diversity
and pluriformity become integral to community life. We strive
to live harmoniously, a rainbow of personalities, races
and cultures, bonded together by the same vision, thus enabling
us to be faithful witnesses of God's unconditional love.
MINISTRY is bearing witness to
God's Compassionate Love
All
Sisters are called to service
in the Kingdom of God.
Therefore, it is their first task
to witness to the hope which lives in them,
that God's creation will reach its fulfillment.
SFIC Constitution: Spiritual Basis, Ch. 7,
lines 1-5
We partake of the mission of Jesus: Fullness of Life for
all! Called to be at the service of God and humanity, this
sense of mission is at the heart of every SFIC. First and
foremost, we are called to be witnesses of that Hope that
is alive in us: God's Reign of justice, peace and integrity
of creation.
As witnessing communities we try to reach out to all peoples,
near and far, peoples of diverse creed and cultures, from
east to west, north to south, in the spirit of openness
and dialogue. Called to be disciples of Jesus and in fidelity
to our Franciscan spirituality, we are moved with compassion
for the poor and the little ones in society, those who are
disenfranchised and dispossessed. We link our arms with
theirs in solidarity and together we stand to promote and
defend our human rights/human dignity as children of God.
Guided by the light of the Holy Spirit, we try to keep
abreast with the signs of our times and discern collectively
our relevant response. Faithful to our spirit and charism,
we engage in ministries that facilitate the empowerment
of women, youth and children, as well as the integral development
and holistic health of peoples.
Wherever we go, we are at the service of the local Church,
linking our humble efforts in collaboration with the Church
hierarchy, with the clergy and other religious communities,
and with other groups or organizations committed to the
well-being of peoples. In the spirit of openness, we endeavor
towards more dialogic collaboration with various social,
cultural, ecumenical and inter-faith groups (cf SFIC Constitutions:
Spiritual Basis, Ch 7, lines 119-127).
History/her-story is dynamic, cultures develop, signs of
the times change, and new forms of mission and ministry
evolve, but for the SFIC, one thing shall endure: we care
and we serve: FOR the LOVE of GOD.
Our elderly sisters in the Netherlands |
Celebrating the Eucharist with Dutch youth |
Ministry with the AETAS of Zambales, Philippines |
Ministry with the schoolchildren in Pahauman, Indonesia
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