Apostolic and Contemplative Sisters

 

 

We are an international Catholic Congregation, of vowed women, both contemplative and apostolic, who are rooted in the Scriptures.

 

 

 

 

 

Whatever our ministry we keep before the Church the awareness of God’s faithful love for the Jewish People and the biblical requirement “to do justice, to love tenderly and walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8

 

We are women who set out “To Heal a Fractured World”

• by building bridges of understanding among Christians, Jews, Muslims and all other faith traditions.
• by working for justice, peace and love among the peoples of the world
• by choosing life, including all of creation in all that we do

From our Constitution:

We are called to witness by our life to God’s faithful love for the Jewish people. This call implies that our apostolic life is characterized by a three fold commitment: to the Church, to the Jewish people and to a world of justice, peace and love.
Whatever task we are engaged in, we are called to integrate in some way, these three dimensions of our apostolic commitment. (Constitution 13)

Our vocation gives us a particular responsibility to promote understanding and justice for the Jewish community, and to keep alive in the Church the consciousness that, in some mysterious way, Christianity is linked to Judaism from its origin to its final destiny.
In each province we will take means to ensure that this priority becomes effective. (Constitution 14)

Wherever we are, we must become involved in the situation in which we live.
Our charism is not defined by activity alone: nor is it limited to a specific task. A presence in faith and hope, an appreciation of the values and significance of cultures and religions different from our own is already an apostolic response. (Constitution 16)

Different Forms of Life

 

The vocation of the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion is expressed through different forms of life:

• Apostolic communities of sisters were the first to be founded and now are present in 22 countries around the world
• Communities of contemplative sisters, called to be the centres of prayer and intercession within the Congregation in the service of the same apostolate. Desired by Fr. Theodore from the outset, this contemplative branch was founded in 1926 on the first feast of Christ the King. Today the comunities are in France and Brasil.

To read more about La Solitude see Website: http://nds-lasolitude.org/

La Solitude – History of the Contemplative Branch

 

In 1910, Mother Christine, then the superior of the Sion boarding school in San Jose, Costa Rica first felt called by God to fulfill Father Theodore’s desire for a contemplative house in Sion. But it was only in 1926 that Mother Christine and two sisters were able to create the first community. In 1930, the community moved into “La Solitude”, Father Theodore’s country house. Hence, the custom of naming all the houses of the Contemplative Branch “Solitude”. The small community put down its roots here and developed. Later on new foundations were made.

Each of the communties of the Solitude has its own special character, according to the country in which it is rooted. In each place the rhythm of daily life is the same:

• Liturgy of Hours,
• studying and meditating on the Word in both Jewish and Christian traditions,
• silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament,
• community life: a sign of the Kingdom already mysteriously present among us, that is yet to come,
• work: expression of the incompleteness of God’s creation and solidarity with all people,
• everything becoming united in the celebration of the Mystery of the Eucharist, the memorial of Jesus Christ.

The sisters keep their vigil in faith and hope, giving thanks for the wonders of God’s saving Love for God’s people Israel and to the nations, knowing that God is faithful to what God has promised and what God will accomplish.