Section B: God's dream
CALL which comes from the very core of our being leads us to RESPOND to God's dream for the world today.
God calls us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and live acording to the
spirit of the gospel...........
Touched by the call of God we reach out to those whose dignity is being violated or neglected……and network with others to search for ways of responding……
B1. God’s call, rooted in love, continues to be recreated and rewoven in the context of our
changing world. We are challenged to identify what this call is for us today. Being called is always an invitation. It is given in the context of each one’s uniqueness, freedom and network of relationships. It is an invitation to journey to the heart and dwell there in the Mystery of Love that brings each one into being.
B2. Intrinsic to the call of God is a sense of mission, of being called for a purpose – to be disciples and apostles. Call, spirituality and mission unfold together. They are inseparable. As our awareness of God’s call deepens so, too, does our spirituality and our commitment to ministry, which is an integral part of our lives as Infant Jesus Sisters. In the midst of situations where large numbers of people live in great poverty and deprivation, there is a need for those who “have” to share with those who “have not”. We hear a call to be alongside those whose basic needs and rights are being violated or neglected.
Wherever a culture of fear and individualism dominates, there is a need to witness to the presence of a loving, forgiving and faithful God, whose desire is that all would be one. We keep in mind that mission is not only what we do but is also about our way of being with people. Our faith in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus gives us the sure hope that even the darkest situations can be transformed.
B3. At the beginnings of our Institute and throughout our history the sense of apostolic
commitment was sustained by and grounded on a solid spirituality. As Christians and as Infant Jesus Sisters, the mystery of the Incarnation is at the heart of our faith and our relationships. Contemplation of the Word made Flesh transforms our way of looking at the realities of today. In entering into our world and sharing our human existence, Jesus became for us the Way, the Truth and the Life. Meditating on what He says and does gradually leads us to come closer to the mind of Jesus and seek to follow Him in all His ways. Contemplating the Incarnate God we are called to integrate body, spirit, soul and mind, the personal and the communal, the feminine and the masculine, the day to day and the transcendent.
B4. Awareness of what is happening in the world and the positive and negative influences that
shape it enables us to respond realistically to local and global challenges. Our view of the world has changed in recent times, with greater ease of communication and travel, insight into the vastness of the cosmos, as well as the movement of peoples due to war, civil strife, famine, displacement and migration. Together with many other factors, all of this has made us more aware of our common humanity and interdependence. As members of the global community, we try to identify the root causes of human suffering. As an intercultural and international Institute, freed from unnecessary structures, we network and collaborate with those involved in work for justice, care of the environment, peace, women’s rights and other global issues of our time, for the transformation of our society and the spread of the reign of God.
B5. Our insight into the cosmos is growing and expanding. This has a profound effect on our
consciousness, faith, spirituality and mission. It helps us to recognise the wonder, interdependence and inter-relatedness of all that is. Today we are aware that the earth’s resources are limited and that we have a growing responsibility to care for our environment. This awakens in us a sense of justice that leads to simplicity of lifestyle and respect for the integrity of creation.
B6. We recognise that as women, we have a role to play in society and in the Church. We bring to our places of ministry our God-given feminine qualities. Let us look to our models in scripture and in history and particularly to Mary who knew how to listen and ponder in her heart all that she saw and heard. Mary knew what it was to say ‘yes’ without understanding and go ‘across the hill country’ to visit someone in need. We develop in ourselves sensitivity to events and an attentive listening to reality. This prepares us to respond as women of compassion and inclusiveness, as apostolic and prophetic women, who empower and enable others.
B7. In a world experiencing increased ethnic, cultural and religious tensions, we dialogue and
work with people of different faiths and cultures. Dialogue of this nature is an important part of mission. It challenges us to look for ways of expressing our faith and sharing the gospel in different cultural and faith contexts, including non-verbal ways. With a discerning and critical spirit we seek to identify in our culture, not only the positive values that resonate with the gospel, but also whatever is not consonant with it.
The multiplicity of religions is part of the multifaceted divine plan for humanity. We are challenged to facilitate mutual growth in personal commitment to one’s own faith together with openness to the faith of others.
B8. Media technology plays an important role in our mission today. It is often the principal
means of moral influence on people’s personal and social behaviour. Formation is needed to ensure that the media be used constructively and responsibly. We are challenged to learn to interact with the mass media in a creative way, using a language that people of today can understand. It can provide an opportunity for better collaboration with lay people and can be a means of fostering peace and dialogue.
B9. Being called to enter into relationship with others is integral to our mission. Love is the basis of all our relationships – with family, friends, community members, those whom we encounter in ministry and in other areas of our lives. We recognise the value of life-giving, positive relationships rooted in faith, respect and love. We mature in our ability to develop genuine and authentic relationships and to make free choices in the light of the Word of God and the guidance of the Spirit. We draw strength from the love of Christ that has captivated our hearts and awakened a passionate longing for love. The awareness of being infinitely loved helps us to confront the difficulties as well as the challenges that we face in our relationships. As we grow in the wisdom of love we learn how to integrate and balance the flow of love in our lives and how it is expressed, according to the direction of our call and life choice.
B10. Moved by the intense suffering caused by different forms of violence, greed, hatred,
religious and ethnic division, it is important that we learn to recognise in ourselves the root causes of fear, prejudice or desire for revenge. We will be attentive to anything that may lead us to lay the blame totally on the other and thus block the flow of God’s life in us. Belief in the dignity and goodness of every human being irrespective of status, gender, race, creed or rank will challenge our attitudes and call us to conversion. Recognising our need for reconciliation and forgiveness, with the power of the Spirit, we develop the capacity to forgive ourselves and others and create around us zones of peace. Learning to forgive is a form of restorative justice where the dignity of the other is once more recognised and respected. We learn to respect difference and love diversity. We see a value in learning to communicate well and to transform conflict. Our life in international and intercultural communities can witness to the universal Love of God and its power to unite humanity.
B11. When we celebrate the Eucharist the fullness of intimacy with Christ is realised and we
recognise that to ‘do this in memory of Me’ is a call to allow the life of Christ to transform us. We come to the Eucharist to worship, give thanks, remember, express communion and celebrate. Our desire to surrender our lives to God is renewed. Nourished by Christ we become bread for others sharing who we are and what we have. We too seek to live out the words of Jesus: “this is my body given for you”. Through the words: “this is my blood poured out for you”, we hear the question: “can you drink this cup?’, which will have different meanings at different stages and circumstances of our lives. With Christ and with the whole created universe we give praise and thanks for God’s glory and beauty revealed through the cosmos. United with the Resurrected Christ, ‘who holds all things in being’ and fills the universe with life we will discover hope and unity in a fragmented and divided world. Participating in the Liturgy with the local Christian community renews and deepens our sense of belonging to the Body of Christ.
B12. Personal and community prayer supports us and deepens a growing loving relationship
with Jesus who is the centre of our lives. It provides space for the recognition and reception of the Word of God. In prayer we offer to God the joys and sorrows, the hopes and petitions of all people. We contemplate the Face of Christ whom we encounter in our ministry and everyday relationships. Prayer deepens in an environment which fosters silence, discernment and reflection on what is going on in our lives and in the world around us. We learn the need for a balanced life through the integration of work, leisure and solitude. We become contemplatives through our active ministry, finding God in all things and all things in God. There are times when we bring to our places of ministry our experience of having seen the Lord and there are times when our ministry leads us to recognise the same Lord.
B13. Openness to the Transcendent, which is a characteristic of all human beings, is awakened
by the experience of wonder. Wonder comes to us, we do not set out to find it. Wonder is a way of responding directly to the other. It leads us to recognise that the other cannot be possessed. It gives us the capacity to see the ‘other’ as different, unique or amazing in diversity. Wonder opens us to discover the mystery of all being. We seek to find ways of keeping alive our capacity to wonder, which in turn opens us to the depths of the mystery of God.
B14. In a spirit of: ‘love one another as I have loved you’, we seek to enter into genuine
relationships, both human and divine, in every aspect of our life and ministry. Out of love the Word became flesh so that people alienated from themselves and from one another might be reconciled by the discovery of the true meaning of love and of their unique identity as children of God. This love makes us strong and courageous, instils fire and enthusiasm and enables us to act with courage and freedom so that God may be present in the human heart.
B15. In a spirit of: ‘selling all’, we seek to be alongside those whose basic needs and rights are
being neglected or violated. We support and encourage those being humiliated in this way, to recognise their dignity and get access to justice. Living in simplicity frees us to understand the situations in which people live and to become sensitive to their aspirations and sufferings. It makes us question our life style, our choices, where and how we live, the way we share what we have and who we are. It frees us to go towards those in greatest need.
B16. In a spirit of: ‘not my will but yours be done’, we seek to live in an attitude of listening to
the movement of the Spirit of God in the world of today. We listen to events, to what others say, to developments in the Institute and to whatever may be stirring within us. We make the Word of God our constant companion and try to embody it in our life and ministry. Listening deeply, which implies detachment from our own agendas, gives us a sense of purpose and direction. Discernment then becomes a way of life so that we are constantly alert to the action of God in the realities in which we find ourselves.
B17. A life lived in the spirit of these values witnesses to a desire for the Beyond that
carries us into the future. In a world where many have lost their sense of direction and are out of touch with their capacity for the Transcendent, we are called to witness to a sense of ultimate meaning. The spirituality of love links us to an ultimate goal. “God of all depth and mystery, who dwells in the darkness of light inaccessible, before whom all creation silent falls, the soul, in its unknowing, sees only by the light of faith”. (Spiritual Canticle 3)