Chastity
The gift of chastity frees the heart and makes it love God and man more and more. Far from closing oneself in a sterile life, Christ, by binding us to Him opens us to a sublime apostolic fruitfulness in continuous and generous dedication to serving Him and the Church. Chastity, an expression of love given entirely to Christ, allows us to live with an undivided heart in intimate and profound friendship with God, seeking to please Him alone (see 1 Cor. 7,29-35). It is a gift that must grow day by day, so that we are able to stay ever closer to Christ in love, vigilantly awaiting His coming.
Since we carry the treasure of chastity in clay vases, we must not rely on our own strength, but humbly trust in God and rely on Prayer, the Sacraments, especially the Eucharistic sacrament, and the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary. It also calls for a spirit of sacrifice, practicing mortification, taking care of our hearts and senses, and using those natural means that foster holiness of mind and body.
Chastity can best be kept in a setting full of goodness, joy, and sincere and authentic love, in which the nuns feel they are understood and appreciated and are treated with affection and courtesy.
Poverty
By practicing poverty the nun strips herself of all her goods to have a heart free of material goods and dedicate herself more fully to the service of God and the Church. They voluntarily share in the sanctifying poverty of Christ that “being rich, became poor” (2 Cor 8:9) for love of us.
Poverty is the necessary condition set by Jesus for those called to follow Him (see Mt 19:21) and is the visible test of the love of whoever has answered his call.
Poverty cannot consist only of dependence and so in practicing it we undertake, with a sense of responsibility before God, to apply that degree of effective poverty to our lives that testifies to the world that we do not wish to possess anything other than Jesus Christ.
To do so we also have to depend on the Mother Prioress. She may grant general authorisations for the ordinary things, which are renewed periodically, to individual nuns according to the specific needs of each of them. The nuns are subject to a common law of work – they therefore apply themselves to the tasks assigned to them quickly and diligently, however, without excessive concern, sure that those that first seek the Kingdom of God and His justice will never go without what they need.
Obedience
The Incarnation is a mystery of obedience in which Jesus Christ, “Taking the form of a servant” (Phil 2:7) humbled himself even to accepting death on the cross to fulfil the saving will of the Father. The nuns, with an eye on their sublime model, moved by the Holy Spirit, submit to the will of the Superior and, freely giving it up, offer themselves to Him as a precious holocaust for the salvation of their brothers and sisters.
Enclosure
A privileged way of better dedicating oneself to seeking God, engaging more fully in His service, immersing oneself in the way to perfection and contemplation is Papal enclosure, which constitutes out style of monastic life, according to the inspiration of the Blessed Mother Maria Vittoria De Fornari Strata, the founderess of our Order.
Formula for the Solemn Vows
I, Sister (Name)
to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity,
in honour of the Blessed Virgin of the Annunciation,
St. Augustine and Blessed Mother Maria Vittoria,
driven by a firm wish
to consecrate myself more intimately to God
and to follow Christ more closely,
before all those present,
in your hands
Rev. Mother (Name)
Prioress of this Convent of the Most Holy Annunciation
solemnly vow perpetual chastity, poverty, and obedience,
according to the Rule of St Augustine
and the Constitution of the Order of the Holy Annunciation,
and entrust myself with my whole heart to this religious family,
so that, with the grace of the Holy Spirit,
and with the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
I may achieve perfect charity
in serving God and the Church.
Amen.