ABOUT RSCJ SPIRITUALITY

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The Religious of the Sacred Heart have been in Halifax since 1849. The congregation  was founded by Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat in France in 1800. We are present in more than 35 countries around the world and engaged in ministries centred on our charism, or particular foundational focus for our works: To discover and reveal the love of the Heart of Jesus. This includes retreat houses, formal schools, popular education, and a whole range of other works in collaboration with others. Together, trusting in God, we seek to make this Love known and manifest. 

 

A community's unique focus inspires its spirituality, defines its mission, and forms its culture. In the case of the Society of the Sacred Heart, ours is from Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, who desired nothing more than to share God's love with the others and through them with the world. What is the distinctive spirit of the Society of the Sacred Heart and how does it influence us at Barat Spirituality Centre?

 

As the founder’s charism becomes embodied in a community, the group manifests

a distinctive spirit. It is this spirit or ethos that informs the culture of the ministries sponsored by the particular congregation. In our case, our works are imbued with Sophie’s desire and the Society’s spirit. 

 

This spirit becomes active through mission. Inspired by Sophie, the Religious of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ) believe the mission of the Society is to reveal God’s love in the heart of the world. To live oriented towards this objective, RSCJ commit themselves to a life that is wholly contemplative and wholly apostolic. Our way of life is characterized by a dual orientation—both inward and outward—towards both silence and action. The dynamic within this dual orientation creates the energy that fuels mission.

 

Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart

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Faithful to the inspiration of Saint Madeleine Sophie and like her open to new situations, we make her desires our own...

• that people become ever more aware of the truth, of love and freedom

• that they discover the significance of their lives and devote themselves to others

• that they take part creatively in the common effort to transform the world

• that they be enabled to encounter the love of Jesus

• that they let their lives be shaped by an active faith.

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— Society of the Sacred Heart, Constitutions of 1982, Paragraph 11

 

The call to and living out of this mission of discovering and revealing God’s love is what inspires and infuses the welcome and the work of Barat Spirituality Centre.