The vows are a way to witness to God's love and presence in our society today. Especially in the Western Hemisphere, our society values living in a way that focuses solely on the individual and their wants. The vows speak to something beyond ourselves and challenge us to center ourselves on God and God's kingdom.

Poverty:
This vow goes against our society's desire to keep having more and more. With this vow, we promise to live simply, to share what we have with those we live with and with the poor. Poverty, in itself, is not an ideal. Jesus never said poverty was something to aspire to live. Rather, Jesus challenged us not to cling to what we have, to live simple lives, and to share all that we have: material possessions, our time, our gifts and talents, 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 it is that God calls us, and the freedom to stand up for justice in our world. We continue to remain loving, intimate women, and living celibacy challenges our society's value on sexuality as treating people as objects to possess.
 
Obedience:
In a society where everything is about "me" and my wants, the vow of obedience reminds us that we are a people who are interconnected to each other. Through this vow, we promise to listen to the voice of God spoken through the lives of the poor, through the community and through ourselves.  

Service to the Poor:
This 4th vow is what sets us apart from many other communities. In fact, it is through living this vow, that we see the value of the other three vows. This vow calls us to a "mutuality" with the poor. It is NOT an attitude of our being superior to the poor, rather it calls us to learn from each other and to live and work together to create a better society.