Sisters of the Gospel of Life

Vision Statement

SISTERS OF THE GOSPEL OF LIFE

‘The Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus’ message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as “Good News” to the people of every age and culture.’ Evangelium Vitae 1

We seek to uphold the belief that every person is a unique individual and has infinite dignity conferred on them through their creation in the image and likeness of God.

Inspired by the Gospel of Life we feel called as individuals with our own unique gifts to address creatively and imaginatively and in a way that is radical and dynamic, the needs of Church and society today.

These specific needs concern combating the culture of death by creating a civilisation of love. Our primary mission is to centre our lives on Jesus Christ through a call to personal holiness achieved by a life of prayer and action, the contemplative dimension of which focuses on personal and community prayer, the Sacrifice of the Mass and Adoration.

Through our contemplation, we lovingly embrace the joy of the Cross in the total surrender of our lives. Our community aims to be a witness to the world that Christ came that we might have life and have it to the full.

Each is called to reach a personal freedom through poverty, chastity and obedience and in living lives of simplicity and truth. The community should seek to use the gifts of each member of the community for the greater glory of God, the joy of the individual and the salvation of the world, always in constant fidelity to the Holy Father and the Magisterium of the Church.

The main apostolate is the promotion of the dignity of the human being, particularly as regards the role of the family, the sanctity of motherhood, a renewed understanding of the complementarity of the sexes and catechesis. Our prime model in this is Our Lady, Mother of the Church.

An ‘Average’ Weekday

The most important aspect of our lives is our prayer in community. An outline of our normal day follows. Being a new and small community, our timetable inevitably varies occasionally to accommodate pastoral emergencies, study time, retreats and apostolic engagements away from home.

The one thing that never changes is our commitment to, and desire for, prayer in community. At the heart of each day wherever we are and whatever we do, is Mass, Holy Hour, the Divine Office and Rosary. The times and places may change, the necessity never does.

· 7:15am- Holy Hour and Morning Prayer

· 8:15am- Breakfast

· 9:00am- Work or study

· 12noon- Angelus and Midday Prayer followed by lunch

· 1:00pm- Work or study

· 5:30pm- Evening Prayer and the Rosary

· 6:00pm- Mass followed by dinner

· 7:30pm-Evening Activities

· 10:00pm- Night Prayer followed by silence.

The Weekend

On Saturday our timetable changes slightly due to the availability of morning Mass. We also try to use the work time of this day to catch up on domestic chores and pastoral work. One Saturday a month is spent on more in depth time for reflection and for spiritual conferences. Sunday is a day of rest and we try to ensure that no work is undertaken. It’s often a day for having friends over for lunch or dinner, or for making an often long-overdue phone call or two.As with everything we do, living in union with the mind and heart of the Church is very important to us. We therefore try to live the seasons of the Church’s year to the full.

When the Church fasts, we fast and when she feasts, we feast.