“ God is love. God's love for us was revealed when God sent into the world his only Son so that we could have life through him.
My dear people, since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another.”
(1 Jn 4:8-9.11)
Try, then to imitate God, as children of his that he loves, and follow Christ by loving as he loved you, giving himself up in our place.”
(Ep 5:12)
“I am the way, the Truth and the Life”
(Jn 14:6)
“So though I am not a slave of any man I have made myself the slave of everyone so as to win as many as I could.
For the weak I made myself weak. I made myself all things to all men in order to save some at any cost; and I still do this, for the sake of the Gospel, to have a share in its blessings.”
(1 Cor 9:19.22-23)
“Yes, you love all that exists, you hold nothing of what you have made in abhorrence, for had you hated anything, you would not have formed it.”
(Ws 11:24)
1 The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres is a religious Institute of pontifical right dedicated to the apostolate in the Church.
In response to the love whereby God first loved them, the Sisters of St. Paul aspire to the perfection of charity through union with God and service of neighbor.
2 After the example of St. Paul, spurred on by the love of Christ, the sisters make themselves all things to all men.
3 The sisters, true to their humble origins, want to live the poverty and the simplicity of the Gospel; genuine charity is rooted in humility.
But self-effacement does not rule out the tranquil daring of those who trust in God alone.
4 St. Paul is the patron of the Congregation. The spirituality of the Sisters of St. Paul is based on his epistles:
Christocentric spirituality expressed by a deep Love for Christ and an ardent zeal for his Gospel;
Paschal spirituality which discovers in mortifycation and death the seed of new life and unending joy.
The sisters recognize the action of God in their origins and their history. They find there an incentive to spend themselves with greater apostolic zeal and to open themselves to the paschal mystery in their lives.
5 From the beginning, the Congregation has been placed under the protection of the Virgin Mary.
The sisters seek to know her better through Holy Scripture and the teaching of the Church; they find it Mary the model of:
Deep faith and complete trust, Absolute conformity to the plan of God, Perfect participation in the mystery of salvation, Thoughtful, warmhearted service of others.
6 The Sisters of St. Paul were founded to meet the needs of their fellowmen and, from the start, have recognized in each one of them, the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
“In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me”.
Dedicated by foundation to education, the care of the sick and the underprivileged, they are available for all forms of activity within these fields.
Whatever kind of work they may be engaged in, the sisters kept in mind that their first aim in life is to further the growth of the kingdom of God.
7 As servant of the poor throughout the world, the Congregation has no territorial preference, and the far-off missions reap the benefit of its zeal. It responds with fidelity to the call of the Church, serving the needs of mankind with a special love for the most neglected.
The sending to the far-off missions depends on a personal option clearly expressed by the sister.
8 The Sisters of St. Paul bind themselves by public vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience to live a life consecrated to Christ in the Church. The vows are at first temporary, then perpetual.
In the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit,
Lord Jesus, In the power of your Spirit I desire to consecrate myself to the kingdom of the Father in the service of mankind. United to your sacrifice of praise I vow chastity, poverty, and obedience (for one year, forever) in the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres into the hands of Reverend Mother General and I bind myself to live according to the rule of life of this Congregation.
Grant me, Lord, the grace to fulfill this offering which I now make. Enable me to remain faithful until your return. Amen.