Act of Hope
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As
Religious of the Sacred Heart we do not stand outside our national
culture and institutions, which at their best hold out the promise of
equality and opportunity for all, and at their worst perpetuate
poverty, violence, racism, sexism, and educational inequity. We know we
often share in the prejudices and choices that our culture promotes. We
also discover, however, within the most negative forces, our call to be
women who seek to heal division and create communion. Moreover, the
Catholic Church in the United States has a long tradition of work for
justice and concern for the poor. In recent times we have been
particularly challenged by the pastoral letters of our Bishops on
social justice, peace, racism, the economy, and most recently on the
environment. While we know that we alone can neither change the course
of poverty, racism, sexism, and violence in our country, nor redress
the inequities of American education, we know, too, that we have gifts
and resources to bring to this endeavor.
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The voice of the Society of the
Sacred Heart—the Constitutions, the Chapter of l988, the Working Paper
of the International Education Commission—and the voice of the United
States Province in our ongoing reflection continually reinforce the
following convictions.
First, we strongly
affirm the centrality of prayer and contemplation in our lives. They
guide our response to human need, enabling us to see the face of God in
the painful realities of the world and to respond wholeheartedly in
faith. As we deepen our life of prayer and the desire to make known
God’s love, we strengthen the foundation from which we act together, in
union with the international Society and in solidarity with each other
and those we serve.
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At this moment in our
history we want to focus our energies anew, in an act of hope, in
response to God’s call discerned through our charism and the needs of
our time. We choose as Province to orient our life and apostolic
service toward:
- joining the poor in the
struggle for resources and conditions essential for human well-being,
recognizing that education is central to this effort and to our
vocation;
- working
against racism, sexism, and violence of every kind, recognizing in
these forces a call to become, in truth, women who build communion.
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Mission Statement of the Society of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus,
United States Province
The
Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is an international community of
women in the Catholic Church, founded in 1800 by St. Madeleine Sophie
Barat. Sharing her vision and mission, we are convinced of the
centrality of prayer and contemplation in our lives. We are committed
to discover, live and announce God’s love through the service of
education for transformation, in diverse ministries, particularly
addressing the needs of children, young people, women and those in
society who are marginalized.
What the Mission Entails
The love of Christ impels us:
- to work for justice and reconciliation, especially in the face of racism, sexism and violence of every kind;
- to join the struggle of the poor for the resources and conditions essential for human well-being;
- to build community;
- to be challenged and broadened by other cultures;
- to live in interdependence with others and with all of creation.
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