Apostolic Service

After drinking in the water from the wellspring springing up into eternal life through a life in community in prayer and study, brothers and sisters fill their canteens of apostolic service and take living water to those dying of thirst in the desert. After giving the thirsty water to drink from our canteens of apostolic service, we carefully lead those stranded in the desert back to the well of eternal life, which is a mature and personal love relationship of heart and mind with Jesus our Lord. Brothers and sisters must be careful to always return to the oasis of prayer and study before our canteens of apostolic service run dry. 

Ministry of Presence 

The most basic apostolate of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity is to simply live the gospel with a humble and joyful heart. In this sense our apostolate includes both our simple presence among the people and our proclamation of the gospel to the people through work and word. This is the ministry of presence.

Itinerancy

The brothers' and sisters' main ministry is to go forth in apostolic itinerancy from place to place after the pattern of Matthew 10 and 19. As little ones, we go forth not as the rich and powerful of the world, but as the poorest of the poor. The bigness of professional training is not absolutely necessary to minister God's simple love. All that is needed is a caring heart. Thus, the ministry of presence is the most important ministry of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. To simply greet people on the streets with a cheerful greeting of Christ's peace is ministry enough. To go to the homes of the shut-ins, the lonely, and the unchurched, simply to say we care is preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ profoundly.

Stabilized Ministry

There are also more stabilized ministries which need some planning and organization at both the community and in places to which we go. Due to the need for money to maintain these ministries, they are patterned on the common life of Acts 2 and 4.

Notwithstanding our call to itinerate poverty, we also recognize the need for stability within today's overly transient world. Consequently, we seek to be a witness of the stability Jesus brings to our life as a family of God. This manifests itself through keeping the commitments included in our covenants, our Scripture Rule, and these Constitutions, as a universal community as we travel about the world. It also manifests itself in the family-like ties evident in the local community. Solid family commitments and availability should be evidenced in our relationships with the brothers and sisters of each local community and the laity of each local area.

Period of Ministry 

The community seeks a peaceful balance between prayer and activity. Yet, the primacy of prayer is always recognized and protected. A rhythm of the Spirit leads us from prayer into action, and from action back into prayer. This rhythm exists on both communal and individual levels, according to particular statutes of the particular expressions of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity.