As Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales we lead an active life of loving service that springs from a compassionate heart, formed in prayer and contemplation, in the tradition of St. Francis de Sales.
Beneath all we do, as its foundation, lies our prayer life. Our good works, service to the needy, compassion for the suffering, dedication to the children, and all else that we do, must flow from the fountain of our prayer and union with God.
As do all religious, we have structured prayer that forms the outline of our day. We gather for the Liturgy of the Hours and for times of Meditation in both the morning and the evening. We take time for spiritual reading and to pray the rosary. These times of prayer are very important and nurture our spiritual lives. But they are only the beginning of our prayer life.
From the moment we awake, we cast our souls completely into God and offer him the day by a loving aspiration. As we go through the early morning motions of getting ready for our day, we plan all that we will do with God and renew our loving trust in his divine
providence in all that we will encounter.
Our time dedicated to contemplation is not long since we are an active order, but we are called to continue this contemplation throughout the day. We recall that we are in God's holy presence and that all we do is for him. We direct our intention and offer him our work, regardless of the outcome, trusting in his goodness and love.
Our attendance at daily Mass is the central event in our day's prayer. We come together in community or in our parish Church to be fed by both the Word and the Body of Christ. We allow the Scripture from each day to penetrate into our inmost being and to direct our minds and hearts to know and follow Christ as he is leading us. As we receive the wondrous gift of the Eucharist, we bring ourselves, our gifts and our weaknesses, our courage and our fears, before the Lord to praise and serve him.
As Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, we have formed our prayer lives according to the spirit of this great saint as he taught in both the Introduction to the Devout Life and the Treatise on the Love of God . These works, together with our own Spiritual Directory , lead our souls to union with God and a dependence on his holy love.
Our prayer life is our whole life. It allows us to serve God and our brothers and sisters with love and devotion. |
