Our commitment to identify ourselves with the sufferings of the oppressed and to contribute to their upliftment stems from the call we have received from Jesus Christ to follow Him.This commitment involves a deep union with God, an awareness of God’s plan for the world and a vision of the new heaven and the new earth through contemplation and prayer. Our union with God drives us to be involved in the struggles of the marginalized, because our faith tells us that God has pitched his tent in the midst of the poor.
We get engaged with God’s mission of saving, only by getting engaged in the struggles of the poor and oppressed. Such an understanding of our commitment emerges from the spirituality we have received from our foundress Thatipathri Gnanamma as well as from the Vision of our Congregation: “To grow in God-experience in solidarity with the oppressed and contribute towards a just society”.
Spirituality of involvement
For a sister of St.Anne, spirituality is a way of life. She lives it in every aspect and activity of her life. It is not compartmentalized into specific times, places or activities but embraces all the dimensions of her life. She lives it in her community as well as in her mission field, in the place of worship as well as in the field of ministry. It is a discipleship to Jesus who prayed, preached and decisively acted. She must live like Him and die like Him for a cause. It is towards such an integrated spirituality that her entire life is oriented.
Our spirituality is oriented towards the realization of the Vision of our Congregation in our life, in our community, in our mission to the world. Ours, therefore, is a spirituality of involvement. We are disciples of a God who became human in Jesus Christ. God becomes one of us – Emmanuel. He fought against forces that were a hindrance to others from leading a full life. He liberated the woman caught in adultery; after curing the lepers, he sent them to be reintegrated in society; he spoke against oppressive political and religious structures.
Jesus promoted a life in abundance. “Whoever leaves behind father and mother…..will receive a hundred fold” (Mk 10:29). He made water into wine at marriage in Cana; he forgave sinners and advised them not to sin anymore; he cured the sick and the lepers and had table fellowship with the entire outcast and despised persons.
Since spirituality for us is a journey towards the fullness of life (ref Jn.10:10), it demands our active involvement in all its dimensions including social, cultural, religious and ecological. On the one hand, we seek to promote and support whatever contributes to a fuller life; on the other hand, we struggle to overcome the hurdles that hinder a full life or destroy it.
Our devotional practices
Our devotional practices prepare us to get involved in the world to build up a new heaven and a new earth with enthusiasm and commitment.
Following the footsteps of Jesus, we spend time exclusively for prayer, meditation and other devotional practices every day and many times a day. The more we involve ourselves in the struggles against whatever is a hindrance for life in abundance, the more we take efforts to be alone with God in prayer and contemplation. Prayer is integral to our life. Our ministries are supported by prayer and our prayer gets us involved more deeply in our ministries. Prayer challenges us to fight against the obstacles for a full life. From this perspective, we give a new meaning to our spiritual exercises and devotional practices:
The Eucharistic celebration commemorates the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus and offers us an occasion to bring to the altar the struggles, successes and failures of our ministries to promote life in abundance.
The recitation of the prayer of the church recalls to us the need to raise our hearts to God at regular intervals with the church, namely the people of God. Their concerns and yearnings become ours.
Monthly recollections and annual retreats are like the desert experience of Jesus. They help us to come to a lonely place with Jesus to learn from his teachings and examples and to renew our commitment and deepen our faith.
The celebration of the sacrament of Reconciliation gives us an experience of the compassion and mercy of God, helps us to remove feelings of hatred and empowers us to forgive others including those who perpetrate injustice and oppression.
The lives and experiences of the poor provide joyful and sorrowful and glorious events for our meditation as we recite the rosary. In them, we discover the pattern of human predicaments, God’s involvement and the humanizing responses, as it happened in the lives of Mary and Jesus the poor of Yahweh.
Moments of meditative silence are a part of our daily routine. They nourish, deepen and personalize our prayer and self-examination.
We equip us with the truth and deepen our faith by reading the Word of God every day.
We do observe silence day to have deeper introspection and speak with the Lord who speaks loud in silence.
We set aside the final moments of the day for a self – examination that gives us a sharper insight into our life as religious and our involvement in our ministry. It is a moment of accepting the truth about ourselves and purifying our motivations.
We observe fasting as a way to enhance the spiritual awareness.