Our Mission
"The Cusmanian charism is made concrete in the Works of Mercy: In the poor abandoned man is the suffering Jesus".
Believing and loving dynamic realities
In faith, the search itself is not a vain struggle or useless toil, it is already a reward, it instills serenity, it gives at first certainty.
Believing and loving are, in fact, dynamic realities that do not end with possession, but always push you beyond.
By their very nature, they are always in motion, in tension, in growth.
For this reason, the enemies of faith and love are indifference, inertia, the absence of expectation and the search for hope.
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Jesus hidden in the poor
The Missionary Servant of the Poor (bocconista), inspired by Blessed Giacomo Cusmano, shares his life with the poor; his time, his attention, his material goods.
Poverty in the Palermo of the nineteenth century inspired and oriented this charism and still today the multiple forms of poverty are the “place” where the Bocconisti missionaries live the centrality of their mission; discovering and serving the same Jesus hidden in the Poor, as Father Giacomo exhorted: “Do you want to see Jesus? There he is in the poor”.
Motivated by the promise of the Lord who said, “as often as you have done this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you have done it to me.” (Mt 25:40), the Servants of the Poor embrace the desire for limitless charity in works of assistance, parishes, chaplaincies and conviviality.
Becoming poor
In order to be close to and in solidarity with the poor, understanding well their labors and sufferings, the religious Servants of the Poor choose to live in sobriety and simplicity.
Referring to the experience of Jesus, who “did not consider it a privilege to be like God, but emptied himself and took the form of a servant” (Phil 2:6-7). His humble total donation inspires in a particular way the Bocconisti religious and predisposes them to live this condition as a free act of love that gives the right value to the best part, to the fundamental elements of human existence.
The vow of poverty, sustained by obedience and chastity, determines the Bocconisti religious as a servant stripped of himself, who experiences in earthly life the surprising benefits of Divine Providence.
A call for All
Faith in Jesus Christ opens the heart to God and to love of neighbor.
Being a Christian necessarily entails loving and working in charity in order to live fully the commandment of the Lord. For this reason, the charism of the Missionary Servants of the Poor does not have an exclusive character but urges awareness of a universal call.
Everyone, without distinction, can collaborate in the mission of the Bocconisti religious. In the first place with prayer, so that the charism may be consolidated in those who live it, may be fruitful and may develop also through new vocations. In a more personal way… if one feels in one’s heart the call to a radical love for the least, by adhering, offering and consecrating one’s life in the family of the Servants of the Poor. Finally, economically by supporting the initiatives and works of the Congregation, by offering “morsels” for the poor throughout the world.
