Being a Handmaid
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
As Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we contemplate in His heart poverty and humility, kindness and mercy, meekness and tenderness, the preference for the weakest and most vulnerable, and the Love for the world that leads Him to give His life to each and every one of us. This moves us to give our lives, with Him and like Him, totally and forever.
The consecration through the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, lived in community, expresses our desire to identify with Christ, with His life and mission. We live our Consecration as a Gift that makes us want to give everything in service of Life and the building of the Kingdom of God.
Mary, the first Handmaid of the Lord, encourages us on the path of total surrender to Jesus Christ.
We contemplate in Mary the simplicity of daily life, openness to God’s Grace, and acceptance of His will. We want, in her likeness, to say: “Behold the Handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to Your word” (Luke 2, …).
We celebrate and give thanks for being called - called to share life and mission with other Handmaids. Recognizing the richness of diversity, we want to bear witness, in this fragmented and divided world, that communion is possible beyond ties of blood, nationality, and culture.
Community is a privileged space in which to live surrender and service, forgiveness and reconciliation, signs of the Eucharist we celebrate and live. In Community, we find support to live our consecration and our reparative mission absolutely, supporting one another and creating bonds of affection, trust, and freedom that allow us to remain faithful to God’s plan for each of us and for the Congregation.
We want to be “universal like the Church” and work for communion and reconciliation, building bridges, opening paths of inclusion, and seeking creative ways to reach those who are far away. We want to live our vocation as Handmaids united to the universal Church, without borders, wholeheartedly and with total availability to work in any country, place, or activity to which the Congregation sends us.
The Eucharist, celebrated and lived every day, and extended through Eucharistic Adoration, is the driving force that gives us life and meaning. We want “everyone to know Him and love Him,” like Saint Rafaela Maria, and for all humanity, without exception, to be able to sit at the same table with the dignity that God has always granted.
The initial formation process of a Handmaid goes through several stages
Postulancy | Novitiate | Juniorate | Temporary Vows | Third Probation
Respect everyone as an image of God, because we truly are!
The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, a true school of affection and prayer, are a privileged moment of encounter with Christ, helping us to find God’s will and to live daily life more like Jesus.
Ignatian Spirituality is at the core of our Congregation and gives it a very distinctive way of being and acting. We want to live with an attitude of discernment so that we can love, serve, and “find God in all things and all things in God.”
