Our Community Life
As Missionaries of Charity we choose to live as close as possible to the poor we serve by opening our houses in visibly impoverished areas. We share a common life that is simple and dignified. The Lord generously imparts to each one of us a supernatural strength that comes from leaving our families, countries, and languages in order to serve the poorest of the poor without distractions or attachments!
“By living together in the simplicity and fraternity of the Twelve, gathered together in prayer by and around Our Lady, sustaining each other in the bond of our common call in charity, we render visible the unity of Jesus’ one Priesthood and of His Church. It is our vocation to reflect the Trinity through fraternal and ministerial charity lived in the union of community, “that the world might believe.” (John 17:21)”
— MC Fathers Constitutions 10.3
“Where two or three are united together in My name, there am I in the midst of them…”
— Matthew 18:20
Our Lifestyle
One of the first fruits of Pentecost in the early Church was the creation of community life – “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” (Acts 2:44) A religious community is an eschatological sign of the Kingdom of God in our midst. Today our broken and distracted world is thirsting for evidence of the presence of God; we seek to radiate His Light and Love to all peoples by our witness of common poverty and life together.
“As source and model of our charism, Our Lady hold a central role in the midst of our communities, fostering unity in prayer and service in the bond of our common call.”
— MC Fathers Constitutions 10.8
“Love begins at home and so from here – from our own home – love will spread to my neighbor, in the street (where) I live, in the town (where) I live, in the whole world.”
— Mother Teresa
We try to live in simple houses and follow a daily timetable that includes, among other things, a morning and evening Holy Hour, shared meals, housework, and recreation. Usually, we celebrate Mass outside of our communities in a variety of different locations: convents of MC Sisters, houses of MC Brothers, rehabilitation centers, prison chapels, mental hospitals, nursing homes, hospitals for the poor, etc.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus, calls us together as Missionaries of Charity and forms us in her Immaculate Heart. With her maternal solicitude we are able to share a common life in our religious houses and a call to go out in search of the last, the least, and the lost. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is our constant consolation and support in this challenging way of life!