Spirituality, in general, is that which moves the human family to channel its deepest energies and directs its efforts to give the best of itself and to transcend. Christian spirituality is learning to let oneself be led by the Spirit in order to respond to God’s call and to make his dream, his project for each one, come true. Every response to a call from God creates a spirituality of its own.
The spirituality of the Claretian Missionary Sisters starts from the gift of grace that God made first to the Founders: Venerable María Antonia París and Saint Anthony Maria Claret, and then to each one of those who have followed in their footsteps through their style of life and mission. It is a peculiar way of being that leads to assume attitudes of faith, love, commitment and service before God, the brothers and creation, according to the charism received. This gift is not particular to religious women, but is shared by lay people who discover in it a place from which to live and realize in fullness their baptismal vocation.
The Claretian spirituality is characterized by some features that inspire this “peculiar way” of following Jesus and constitute the common thread of the personal or group life creating, at the same time, an own identity. They are:
To follow the footsteps of Christ our good central element of the claretian spirituality around which all others revolve. It is the way of identification with Christ, bringing to life his words, works, actions, feelings, through a deep relationship of friendship with Him, based on the Word of God that transforms and sends.
Mary Immaculate is a sign and signal in the journey her presence in the claretian spirituality is key from the very beginning, as her name indicated: Apostles of Jesus Christ in imitation of the Most Pure Virgin Mary. The imitation of Mary in her laborious, simple life, in her recollection and humility is intertwined with the fight against evil in any of its forms, proper to the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. Mary’s attitudes are the bases that support the sending to a mission without frontiers.
The Church’s vocation to contribute to its constant reform is translated into a commitment to permanent conversion to the Gospel, in a spirituality of communion, building Family within the congregation and in its social environment, and of a cordial adhesion to the missionary sending. Concern, occupation and prayer for the Church are part of this spiritual patrimony: “The Holy Spirit has urged us from the beginning of the Institute to renew the Church by guarding the Gospel and living the evangelical counsels radically with a special love for poverty”.
To teach every creature the Gospel of Jesus expresses the apostolic spirit of the congregation, insofar as it is a participation in the one mission of Christ, in the style of the Apostles, leads to work to the end, so that God may be known, loved, served and praised by all, with a style of life that places us at the side of the poorest, fighting for justice, peace and the care of creation.Combining action with contemplation is the necessary condition for a life of dedication to missionary service to be a true mystical experience because it is carried out by Jesus and his Spirit in us and from us, for the good of others.