Vowed Consecration

Alphonsian Spirituality also implies a commitment to the redeeming Christ first by consecrated dedication to the three vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

By her vow of chastity, a sister commits herself to a life of consecrated celibacy; the spirit of this vow frees her to live out her vocation to love in a deeper personal union with Christ.

By the vow of poverty, a sister freely renounces her natural right to the independent use of material goods. The spirit of poverty relieves her from personal material concerns and frees her to direct her heart to the building up of the Kingdom.

By her vow of obedience, a sister unites herself more completely to the Will of God by freely yielding her right of free choice in order to engage more fully in the apostolic mission of the Church.

The term, spirituality, refers to the way in which an individual or a religious group manifests a particular prayer tradition. Alphonsian spirituality emerged out of the eighteenth century period in which the saint lived, a period of rigoristic legalism balanced by the warmly emotional art and music of the Italian rococo. Alphonsus Liguori, the lawyer, poet, musician, and artist was a saint who was equally at home in both of these worlds.

Saint Alphonsus developed a spirituality containing a fourfold focus: that of the Crib, the Cross, the Blessed Sacrament, and the Mother of God. The sisters model their prayer life on these essential themes of the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption.

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