Our Spirituality
To be able to live these three dimensions of love, we have received a spirituality from our founders which is a combination of the spirituality of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and that of St. Vincent de Paul. Thus the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary are Contemplatives in Action. Simply put, it is to seek God with an undivided heart that inevitably enables one to reach out to others especially the poor and the less fortunate through various services.
Contemplation or union with God is at the heart of our vowed consecration and is expressed by
• An open ear: a deep and dynamic listening to God, others and the contemporary world.
• An open heart: the experience of being loved by God, the energizing force driving us to love others as God loves us.
• Open hands: Solidarity which enables us to hear the cry of those who suffer, to empathize with them and to respond by freely giving and receiving.
Such, in the Church, is our vocation as Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary. Wherever we are we bear witness before the world to the primacy of love. As our whole life becomes a response to the gift that is offered us, we become what we are called to be: contemplative in action. (Constitutions art. 8)
Our motto: “Cor Unum Anima Una” – One Heart and One Soul.
As consecrated women, true to our motto: ONE HEART AND ONE SOUL (Acts 4:32), we are in prayerful communion with each other, accepting our uniqueness and recognizing our differences.
This sense of communion extends to people of all nation, cultures and religions with whom we come in contact.
We also aim to encourage an ever-deepening sense of the sacredness in everything: nature, persons, places, situations and events.
Source: SCJM Vietnam
