About us?
Non-negotiable elements
What are the
non-negotiable elements?
The non-negotiable elements “together with the charism” are those which mark, so to speak, the spark of our spirituality, that is to say, our religious identity. These elements are those realities which were lived from our foundation, which in some way distinguish us and belong particularly to our Religious Family. By the expression “non-negotiable”, we mean, that which is essential to our charism, spirituality, and reason of existence. For this reason, each of the branches (both apostolic and contemplative) with their particular mission, must try to live fully these elements.
1. Worthy Participation in the Holy Mass and a Distinguished Eucharistic Devotion.
The Eucharist must always be the center of our spiritual life, in a particular way in the contemplative life. Each of us must be an adorer of Christ in the Eucharist and promoter of Eucharistic Adoration and of the Holy Mass. Our work, in this way, must be directed toward attracting souls to him. The contemplatives, in a particular way must highlight their way of living the Holy Mass and be an example in the way in which they prepare the Liturgy.
2. Serious spirituality
The desire to live a serious spirituality is manifested in the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises we practice. The promotion, organization and preaching of this very fruitful apostolate is something proper to the Contemplative Branch. This serious spirituality is also manifested by forming ourselves according to the doctrine of the great Masters of the spiritual life, Saint John of the Cross and Saint Theresa of Jesus. This formation is additionally practiced by dedication to Lectio Divina (Spiritual Reading), following Sant Thomas Aquinas and the Fathers of the Church, showing the desire of a deep and serious spirituality.
3. Providential
Outlook on Life
This element means nothing other than to live according to what St. Paul says "all things work together for good for those who love God" (Rom 8:28). To live according to this element, it is most necessary to have a supernatural vision, that is, not a worldly vision, to look with the eyes of God, and this cannot be achieved without a serious and profound life of prayer. This is the only way to open our eyes to see and discover how God is continually at work in the concrete events of our daily lives. This vision helps us to live always in an unalterable peace, and to transmit it also to the people who come to our Monasteries.
4.Docility to the Living Magisterium of the Church of all times
In addition to continual prayer for the needs of the Church, each of our contemplative houses pray for a special intention of the Church, based on a document of the Magisterium. We wish to form ourselves more and more in this spirit of docility through the study of the different documents, encyclicals and teachings of the Magisterium.
5.The Study of
Saint Thomas Aquinas
We wish to distance ourselves from superficiality, vain curiosity, knowledge for the sake of knowing, and vain erudition that seeks breadth and not depth. We want to be men and women who know how to keep up with events, who know how to judge temporal reality according to supernatural truth. For this reason, the formation of the contemplatives, like that of all the sisters of the Institute, has a completely Thomistic basis. Ongoing formation will be essential in the contemplative life, and for this reason, our contemplatives also participate in the study, formation and research projects of the Religious Family.
6. "Bite into Reality"
(from a Spanish Expression)
This is nothing other than facing reality with a supernatural vision, in order to transform it according to the spirit of the Incarnate Word and according to the Incarnation. We seek to confront evangelization without diluting faith into rationalizing, without turning the sacred into the profane, without falling into insubstantial spiritualities. What we pursue, is for the Gospel to inform all cultures; by which it is imperative to make a renewal of life under the influence of grace. We want our monasteries to be well inserted into the reality where they are implanted, and for this purpose, it is very important for the contemplatives to learn the local language and to know the history, the people and the church of the place.
7. Apostolic and missionary creativity
Apostolic zeal is born from love... it is impossible to love God without feeling the fire of the apostolate burning within oneself. Charity is creative, it is diffusive, it does not waste any opportunity nor does it spare any effort to do good. For this reason, we want our contemplatives to be intensely and creatively involved in the missionary adventure. This includes praying for missionaries, caring for them, helping the missions, founding new monasteries, and even producing artistic work (such as painting icons, which is another way of evangelizing). The volunteer work carried out in some of our monasteries has given many fruits of conversion, deepening of the faith and prayer life, increase in vocations; the welcoming of laity and religious for time of greater prayer, rest or study (a testimony of charity which gives many fruits).
8.Choosing the Most Difficult Missions
Since the imitation of the Incarnate Word "urges us to work in the most difficult places, where no one wants to go" (Directory of Spirituality, 86), we desire, with the whole Religious Family, that contemplatives "not be evasive of the missionary adventure" as we say in our formula of vows. It is our desire to found monasteries in mission lands, so that evangelization may have deep roots. We also wish to help preserve the monasteries of Europe. We want to have Monasteries in all our Provinces, in all our missions, to support them, so that our Religious Family may be complete.
9. Works of mercy
We seek to be generous religious who are inclined to show the true compassion of Christ towards our neighbor who suffers in body and soul. In recent years, God has given us a concrete way to practice mercy, for example, by helping in monasteries where elderly and sick sisters of other congregations live. Thus, with God's help, we have been able to help several sisters, including some of our own, to remain in their monasteries until the end of their lives, living their religious lives in a dignified way and dying a holy death as spouses of Christ.
10.A strong Community Life and Spirit of Joy
Joy has characterized our way of life from the beginning, and it is something that must be cultivated through the practice of virtue, in order to live better this joy born of true charity. True joy, serene and profound joy maintained in spite of difficulties and sufferings, is precisely the joy born of the cross.
Our monasteries are true families where each sister, impelled by fraternal charity, seeks every means so that "no one is disturbed or saddened in the house of God" (Constitutions, 95). It is something very characteristic of ours to celebrate the great solemnities, especially the Octave of Easter, Sundays, the days of the Apostles and of Our Lady. In addition, in our communities we have another small weekly feast, which is recreation, lived in a family spirit.
11.Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Being Marian is something proper to our charism, not only because of the fourth vow, but also because of the presence of Our Lady in all our activities, from our consecration to Mary renewed at every Mass to the culmination of all our feasts with a hymn to Our Lady. Knowing that we are born of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, devotion to the Mother of God is essential for us, if we are to be faithful to our charism, if we are to carry out our mission fruitfully. It is not possible to be a member of the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word and not love Mary. That is why we take Our Lady, particularly under the title of the Most Pure and Immaculate Conception of Lujan, to all the places where the Institute is located. The Virgin is our Queen, she is our Mother, and after Jesus, the highest ideal and our great love.
In several monasteries we are preparing laity to make their Consecration to Mary, to take the fruits of the Marian consecration to more souls and to bring them closer to Jesus through Mary.