Who We Are
He has clearly identified our role in the contemporary world expressing his desire that lay consecrated people should live like “a salt, a seasoning, kept salt by the vocation given, unfailing, a light which shines out and is not overcome in the darkness of the world, and the little yeast, always and everywhere at work, kneaded into every kind of society, from the humblest to the highest, to permeate each and all by word, example and in every way, until it forms and shapes the whole of it, making of it a new paste in Christ.”
We believe that our community of Secular Institute of Mary Servant of the Lord is also the fruit of the action of the Holy Spirit. We have been officially present in the Church since 2002, when Cardinal Joseph Glemp, Archbishop of Warsaw has approved our institute according to diocesan law.
We live an ordinary secular lifestyle, at the same time we are consecrated to God, so that we can help to shape the reality of this world in accordance with God’s plans.
The essence of our vocation is a synthesis of a secular existence and consecration. We express our consecration to God through the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience.
Consistent with the specificity of secular institutes, we do not uphold community life in the sense of community of residence. On the other hand, we try to create deep spiritual bonds among us which can be based on reciprocal prayer and mutual support in our vocations. We stay together for our retreats and days of recollections and this helps us to persevere in unity and to be enriched by each other’s testimonies.
Jesus, at the Last Supper, turns to the Apostles with these words: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (Jn 15:16). They remind us all (…) that vocation is always an initiative of God. It is Christ who called you to follow him in the consecrated life and this means continuously making an “exodus” from yourselves in order to centre your life on Christ and on his Gospel, on the will of God, laying aside your own plans, in order to say with St Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). This “exodus” from ourselves means setting out on a path of adoration and service. The exodus leads us on a journey of adoring the Lord and of serving him in our brothers and sisters. To adore and to serve: two attitudes that cannot be separated, but must always go hand in hand. (Pope Francis, Speech 8.05.2013)Mother of Great Abandonment, Humble Servant of The Lord, I give myself to you without reservation
– so that you can lead me on the way of my vocation.