Our Vows
When a single woman joins the Sisters of Charity of St. Joan Antida through vowed membership, she vows poverty, celibacy, obedience, and service to the poor. The vows are a way to witness to God's love and presence in today's society. Our society, especially in the Western Hemisphere, focuses on and values the individual and her wants. As Sisters of Charity of St. Joan Antida, we recognize that our vows speak to something beyond ourselves and challenges us to center ourselves on God and God's Kingdom.
Poverty - Going against our society's desire to have more, with this vow we promise to live simply and to share what we have with the poor and those with whom we live. Poverty by itself is not an ideal. Jesus never said poverty was something to aspire to live. Rather, Jesus challenged us to live simple lives and to share all that we have, our material possessions, our time, our gifts, our talents, and our very selves. Celibacy - This vow is a vow to love wholeheartedly and with passion all of God's people. It gives us the freedom to love more than one person, to go wherever God calls us, and to stand up for justice in our world. We continue to remain loving women. Living celibacy challenges society's value on sexuality as treating people as objects to possess. Obedience - The vow of obedience reminds us that we are a people who are interconnected to each other. We promise to listen to God's voice spoken through the lives of the poor, the community, and ourselves. Service to the Poor - Our vow to serve the poor sets the Sisters of Charity of St. Joan Antida apart from many other communities. In fact, living this vow is the lense through which we see the value of our other three vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience. This vow calls us to a "mutuality" with the poor. It calls us to learn from each other and to live and work together to create a better society.
Poverty - Going against our society's desire to have more, with this vow we promise to live simply and to share what we have with the poor and those with whom we live. Poverty by itself is not an ideal. Jesus never said poverty was something to aspire to live. Rather, Jesus challenged us to live simple lives and to share all that we have, our material possessions, our time, our gifts, our talents, and our very selves.
Celibacy - This vow is a vow to love wholeheartedly and with passion all of God's people. It gives us the freedom to love more than one person, to go wherever God calls us, and to stand up for justice in our world. We continue to remain loving women. Living celibacy challenges society's value on sexuality as treating people as objects to possess.
Obedience - The vow of obedience reminds us that we are a people who are interconnected to each other. We promise to listen to God's voice spoken through the lives of the poor, the community, and ourselves.
Service to the Poor - Our vow to serve the poor sets the Sisters of Charity of St. Joan Antida apart from many other communities. In fact, living this vow is the lense through which we see the value of our other three vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience. This vow calls us to a "mutuality" with the poor. It calls us to learn from each other and to live and work together to create a better society.
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