Charisma

“If anyone has the gift of serving, let him serve
If someone has the gift of teaching, let him teach
If someone has the gift of encouraging,
whom he encourages.”

(Rom 12, 7-8a)

Having received these gifts of the Spirit, the Van Biervliet Sisters, concerned
to train, to accompany, to “do good”, were dedicated to education and
teaching, aware that this service leads to the integral development and fulfillment of every person.

Their desire to promote the Reign of God and their love for the Church inspired them to bold and effective initiatives to find the most adequate forms of education and other commitments at the service of the family and
poor.

OUR SPIRIT

From the start, in 1829, their family spirit was an attractive force.

What the Van Biervliet sisters experienced as a family: faith, union, trust, openness, personal and mutual respect, taste and effort for work, capacity for admiration, simplicity, discretion, permeated their “living
together”, their lifestyle.

OUR S P I R I T U A L I T Y

It is not surprising that the Van Biervliet Sisters, at the time of the founding of the Congregation in 1856, found their inspiration in the mystery of Nazareth.

Indeed, in this blessed home of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, they found enough to fertilize both their educational project and their family spirit.

U C T U A L I S AT I O N

Our fidelity to the Spirit, our union with the Foundresses, stimulate us to seek, with the same spiritual dynamism, where, how, with whom, to actualize the initial gift

OUR SLOGAN :

“Non fallit te Deus”

It is inscribed on the cross we carry and on our crest.

It expresses our faith in “God who walks with us” and never forsakes us.

Our crest displays the three colors of the Holy Family: red, yellow and blue. In the red part are the letters SF for Holy Family. The blue part shows birds and lilies corresponding to verses 26-29 of the 6th chapter of the Gospel of Saint Matthew, illustrating the inspiration of our motto.

“Look at the birds of the sky: they neither sow nor reap…

and your heavenly Father feeds them!

Observe the lilies of the field…they neither toil nor spin,

And I tell you,

Solomon himself…was never arrayed like one of them.”

Matt 6.26-29

Our charism, our spirit and our spirituality are enshrined in our Constitutions. These give us the deep meaning of our religious life. They are written or reviewed by members of the congregation during chapters (meeting of delegates from all the sisters). To enter into force, they are subject to the approval of the Holy See in Rome. We are called to know them, to study them and to pray to them and to ask ourselves if we remain faithful to the spirit and the goal that the Misses Van Biervliet had set for themselves.

This spiritual heritage has been inspiring for several years, lay people who have formed themselves into a Fraternity. They take as a model of their family life, the Holy Family of Nazareth and seek to live the virtues of the family spirit of the Misses Van Biervliet. They share with our congregation the concern to promote the Christian family in their environment.