Spirituality of SJL
29/03/2023 2024-10-23 9:53Spirituality of SJL
Spirituality of Sisters of ST. Joseph of Lyon
INTRODUCTION
Our identity as Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon springs from living and expressing all that we are called to be, all that we are at the present moment and all that we do.
In order to have a gospel impact through our life and work for the kingdom, we need to communicate who we are as Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon – all that is deeply human, authentically Christian and integrally religious in our lives as persons and as a faith community.
Our basic identity is that of being the children of god. We have an ecclesial identity as Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon – an evangelical identity that is characterized and contextualized by our foundational charism and the spirit of our Founders Fr. John Peter Medaille, S.J., and Mother Saint John Fontbonne.
In order to have a gospel impact through our life and work for the kingdom, we need to communicate who we are as Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon – all that is deeply human, authentically Christian and integrally religious in our lives as persons and as a faith community.
Our basic identity is that of being the children of god. We have an ecclesial identity as Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon – an evangelical identity that is characterized and contextualized by our foundational charism and the spirit of our Founders Fr. John Peter Medaille, S.J., and Mother Saint John Fontbonne.
CHARISM AND SPIRITUALITY OF SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH OF LYON
The congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon was founded in the mid-seventeenth century by Jean Pierre Medaille, S.J. and restored after the French Revolution by Mother Saint John Fontbonne.
JEAN PIERRE MEDAILLE, S.J.
06.10.1610 - 30.12.1669
06.10.1610 - 30.12.1669
MOTHER SAINT
JOHN FONTBONNE
31.03.1759 - 22.11.1843
JOHN FONTBONNE
31.03.1759 - 22.11.1843
Religious charism is a unique and unifying experience of God’s love which gives us a unique identity in the church. The charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph is rooted in the Trinitarian Love as lived by Fr. Medailee. The core experience of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon is found in Jn 17:21.
“May they all be one, Father,
May they be one in us,
As you are in me and I am in you,
So that the world may believe
It was you who sent me.”
May they be one in us,
As you are in me and I am in you,
So that the world may believe
It was you who sent me.”
In each of the members there is this unique and unifying experience of God’s love enabling us to belong to the one family of Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon. Mission, therefore, is sharing of this unique experience of god’s love and our ministries are concrete expressions of our mission.
Our mission as Sisters of St. Joseph flows from the Trinitarian love. Hence it is a call to commit ourselves in bringing about the unity of all people in Jesus Christ. Being contemplatively active, we remain in dialogue with Him in order to do His Will. Discernment, therefore, becomes our way of life.
Inserted in the context of multiple realities, we live our mission of unity for the cause of the Kingdom.
We commit ourselves courageously in faith and in freedom to our mission of reconciliation and communion.
Our Eucharist – centred life urges us to live the “Spirituality of communion” and be of effective service for the sake of the Kingdom. This demands from us the exercise of self-emptying love.
God’s creative plan is unfolded in our everyday reality and expressed through simplicity, humility and cordial charity.
The whole life of our “Little Design” and the means it provides for a creative fidelity to our charism impels us towards the final end, the GLORY OF GOD.
Our mission as Sisters of St. Joseph flows from the Trinitarian love. Hence it is a call to commit ourselves in bringing about the unity of all people in Jesus Christ. Being contemplatively active, we remain in dialogue with Him in order to do His Will. Discernment, therefore, becomes our way of life.
Inserted in the context of multiple realities, we live our mission of unity for the cause of the Kingdom.
We commit ourselves courageously in faith and in freedom to our mission of reconciliation and communion.
Our Eucharist – centred life urges us to live the “Spirituality of communion” and be of effective service for the sake of the Kingdom. This demands from us the exercise of self-emptying love.
God’s creative plan is unfolded in our everyday reality and expressed through simplicity, humility and cordial charity.
The whole life of our “Little Design” and the means it provides for a creative fidelity to our charism impels us towards the final end, the GLORY OF GOD.
SPIRITUALITY OF SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH OF LYON
SJL spirituality is the primary expression of our charism mandating us to live the kingdom values which always move us towards or fuller life for every human person. (Jn 10:10) Thus SJL charism is a living response of our Founder’s faith relationship with God and it is the lens through which Fr.Medaille saw, understood and interpreted the reality of his time. His integral experience of god, humans and creation urges the SJL to promote a ‘contra society’ directed towards the kingdom of God.
The heart of the SJL charism is the Trinitarian spirituality sustained and nourished by contemplation and concretized in the life of the created Trinity. Fr. Medaille, a true son of St.Ignatius infleshed this Trinitarian spirituality as a core element in his life. Fr. Medaille’s skillful and subtle associations of the passages of the sacred scriptures with each of the three persons throw more light on the implications of understanding God’s inclusive love for a broken world ridden by divisive forces.
The heart of the SJL charism is the Trinitarian spirituality sustained and nourished by contemplation and concretized in the life of the created Trinity. Fr. Medaille, a true son of St.Ignatius infleshed this Trinitarian spirituality as a core element in his life. Fr. Medaille’s skillful and subtle associations of the passages of the sacred scriptures with each of the three persons throw more light on the implications of understanding God’s inclusive love for a broken world ridden by divisive forces.
Mt 5:1-48 Inclusive love of the Father
Phil 2:1-11 Effusive and poured-out love of the sorrow
Eph 3:1-21 Unboundaried and unconditional love of the Holy Spirit.
Phil 2:1-11 Effusive and poured-out love of the sorrow
Eph 3:1-21 Unboundaried and unconditional love of the Holy Spirit.
This is also implied in the Eucharistic Letter No: 22 and 24. To be channels of god’s profound love requires of us a deep sense of compassionate justice whereby we consider all human beings as equals, transcending all barriers of race, colour and class.
The created Trinity has a missionary dimension.
- The zeal of Jesus which is an overflow of self-emptying love calls us to respond adequately through a love that is sacrificial.
- Like St. Joseph, we allow ourselves to be moulded into His design and enter into right relationship with God, self, others, world of reality and the whole of creation.
- Like Mary, we are called to emerge as prophetesses with a revolutionary vision of life directed towards the affirmation of the human family and their liberation.
In the final analysis, our SJL spirituality can be schematically presented as:
- The heart of our SJL charism is Trinitarian love deepened by contemplation. Fr. Medaille allowed this experience of Trinitarian love colour his entire life and mission.
- The core values that sustain the heart of our charism are:
- Living Faith
- Trust in God
- Will of God
The missionary dimension of the charism is expressed through:
- Missionary zeal
- Eucharist-centred life
- Compassionate justice
The interior spiritual movements in the life of our founder enriched his life and mission, deepened the heart of SJL charism and enriched the supportive values and its missionary dimension. These interior movements were also manifested through,
- Discernment
- Reconciliation
- Humility
- Simplicity
- Availability
- Creative Newness
Which make our SJL charism living and lived.
