14th General Chapter's Directions (2012)
Communion with God
We nurture our personal relationship with the Triune God as the source and center of our life and mission. We treasure our name, Missionary Sisters, Servants of the Holy Spirit. It gives expression and impetus to our missionary spirituality and charism.
We strive to rediscover the Holy spirit as primary agent of
mission, who accomplishes God's mission through us.
Communion with Congregation
Humankind is expanding its consciousness to global horizons. At the same time, people struggle to maintain their cultural identity and national sovereignty. Our interculturality as SSpS is an expression of the Spirit's many faces. We experience both the richness and the struggles of intercultural and intergenerational community living.
We become aware of and honestly own the lights and shadows of our intercultural and intergenerational living.
We open ourselves to continuous transformation as we befriend diversity and the unknown.
Our formation today, both initial and ongoing, asks us to be open to paradigm shifts in the expression of our consecrated life, community life, and leadership styles. Congregational structures and leadership styles have to facilitate participation and communion. We experience the value of communal Moreover, the way we use our resources, both human and financial, and the way we make decisions and carry out our ministries have the concerns of the poor at heart.
We evaluate and re-form congregational structures to best serve our mission.
We use appropriate methods of communal discernment in our decision-making.
We examine our lifestyle in the light of our total commitment to mission and concern for the marginalized.
Communion with Creation
We have grown in the awareness that all creation and life are interconnected and reflect the love of the Triune God. The Spirit has taught us to see that our mission to share "life in fullness" encompasses not just all people, but all of creation. We realize that Mother Earth has been violated and deprived of her dignity. As she suffers, so does all life.
We evaluate our lifestyle and our ministries through the lens of integrity of creation.
Our decisions and plans reflect our commitment to justice for creation.
We engage in ministries that protect and promote the life and well-being of all creation.
Communion with Marginalized
The needs of our planet are overwhelming and ever changing. Our Charism calls us to serve those who most need to receive the good news of God's all-inclusive love. Their stories become our story, and our story cannot be told without them. We engage in ongoing communal discernment of our priorities with the eyes of the Good Samaritan: he knew when to stop in order to help and when to place the injured one into the caring hand of others. In our diverse global context, poverty, exclusion, and deprivation take on manifold expressions. Jesus answered the question, "Who is my neighbor?" with a story, not with a definition.
We engage in ongoing communal discernment of our priorities, sharing our stories and experiences to see more clearly who the Lord is calling us to serve.
As individuals and communities, we enter the process of conversion toward greater communion and friendship with those we serve.
We identify the root causes of poverty and injustice and work for systemic change.
We evaluate our existing institutions and ministries and adapt them to better respond to the needs of the marginalized and excluded.
We acknowledge our own poverty and vulnerability and accept the help of others.
Communion with Others
The movement towards globalization and planetization is changing our patterns of collaboration and communication. We are called to join hands with all those who are inspired by the same Spirit, such as our lay partners in mission and those who belong to other organizations, cultures, and religions. Our efforts to promote universal communion would be incomplete without building bridges of friendship with people of other beliefs. Sharing our stories allows us to discover the God of many names and faces.
We respect the distinct vocation of our lay partners and engage in mutual discernment and decision-making for the sake of the mission.
We network with other organizations and widen the circle of collaboration and friendship.
We reverently enter into a dialogue of life and action with people of other beliefs.
We creatively and responsibly use social media and modern technology to share the Good News of God's love.
