Our Spirituality
Our charism in the Church is to live and proclaim the Incarnation of the Word (Proposed Constitution for the Order of the Incarnate Word).
Our Spirit calls us in a special way to represent the Incarnate Word before the world as perfectly as possible. We strive, therefore, to achieve the complete self-emptying of the Word made flesh, the simplicity and graciousness of Jesus with all, especially the children and the poor, His virginal chastity, His strength and obedience at Gethsemane, His total love, culminating on the cross.
We will to radiate Him as the warm, gracious, loving Person Who walked with people and lived in communion with them (IWBS Constitution).
8 Characteristics of Our Spirituality
Incarnational
In the words of our Foundress, the Incarnate Word calls us to be “an extension of the Incarnation.” We are called to be bearers of the Word, to take the light of Christ to the ends of the earth, and to teach people to love as the Incarnate Word loved. We are sent to extend the Reign of God and to be in the world as loving proclamation of the Gospel by our words and by the testimony of our lives.
Trinitarian
We center our lives in the Person of Jesus Christ, the Word Incarnate. With Him, we live for the glory of the Father in the love of the Holy Spirit. This Trinitarian relationship is the basis and model of our consecrated life.
Ecclesial
True to the spirit of Jeanne Chezard de Matel, we rejoice in being daughters of the Church. We commit ourselves to share in the building up of the Reign of God for the People of God and our fidelity to the magisterium of the Church.
Biblical
We are nourished by daily encounter with Jesus in contemplation of the Word. We seek especially to live the spirit of the Beatitudes, expressed in the Sermon on the Mount, which Jeanne considered to be the center of our spirituality and our rule of life. Attentive to the movement of the Spirit Who speaks to us through Holy Scripture, we continually deepen our knowledge of it, adhering to it in the obedience of faith.
Eucharistic
We experience the presence of the Incarnate Word in our lives especially through the Eucharist and with Him we worship the Father in the Spirit. Because the celebration of the Eucharist is central to our lives, we adore the Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament, reverence Him present in all of creation, and serve Him in others.
Liturgical
Knowing that the liturgical year was for Jeanne de Matel a continual source of inspiration for her prayer, we, too, try to enter into the mysteries of Christ’s life. In our liturgical prayer, we gather as an ecclesial community to celebrate the Paschal Mystery and to strengthen our union with the whole Church through word, song, silence, sign, and gesture.
Marian
Through Mary’s total surrender to God expressed in her “Fiat,” the Word first became Incarnate. Mary’s central role in the Incarnation of the Word, her nurturing presence to her Son, her receptivity to the Holy Spirit, all inspire us to acknowledge her as our model. We honor her especially in the mystery of the Immaculate Conception as model and prototype
of the Church.
Contemplative/Apostolic
The ideal of combining contemplation with apostolic love is reflected in our congregational mission: to adore the Incarnate Word and to proclaim the mystery of the Incarnation. The living out of this contemplative dimension calls us to an attitude of continuous and humble adoration of God’s presence in people, events and things as a loving proclamation.