As the female branch of the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word, “we commit all our strength to inculturate the Gospel, that is to say, to extend the Incarnation ‘to all men, in the whole man, and in all of the manifestations of man,’ in accordance with the teachings of the Magisterium of the Church.” – Constitutions, 5
Dallas, TX
East Harlem, New York City
Santa Rosa, Guyana
Papua New Guinea
Philosophical studies
Youth Festival
... for the sake of the
kingdom of heaven.
... manifesting that God is
the only true wealth for man.
... even to death
on the cross.
... a total surrender to Mary
to better serve Jesus Christ.
“which prolongs the Incarnation under the species of bread and wine by the action of the Catholic priesthood;”
“who gave her yes so that from her flesh and blood the Word would become flesh;”
“the incarnate presence of the Truth, the Will, and the Sanctity of Christ.”
“…entirely dedicated to contemplation,…in solitude and silence, with constant
prayer and penance willingly undertaken, occupy themselves with God alone.” – Monastic Rule, 4
As Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará, also known by our name in Spanish, Servidoras, we are an institute of Catholic missionary sisters dedicated to prolonging the Incarnation of the Word through the evangelization of culture. We were founded in 1988 by Fr. Carlos Miguel Buela, IVE and belong to the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word. We wish to take seriously the demands of the Gospel in going “to make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:18) as modern missionaries. We seek to fulfill our religious vocation to be Spouses of Christ by living deeply the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience.
We wear a distinctive blue and grey habit as a sign of our total consecration to God and as a living symbol of the mystery of the Incarnation—blue representing the divinity of Christ, and grey the humanity of Christ. Our bright blue scapulars are also a way to honor the Virgin Mary, to whom we are consecrated in a fourth vow of Marian slavery of love according to St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort.
We take new religious names which are all titles of Our Lady as a way to keep her before us always as the model of our religious life and the sure guide to bring us always closer to her Divine Son. To sum up in the words of our foundational text (Constitutions, 7): “We want to be founded in Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh (1 Jn 4:2), and only in Christ, and always in Christ. We want Christ to be in everything and in all, and all of Christ, because the Rock is Christ (Cf. 1 Cor 10:4.), and no other foundation can anyone lay (1 Cor 3:11).”
If you are discerning a vocation to religious life, you can come to know the Lord’s will for you more easily by spending time in prayer and seeking out daily mass often. Try www.masstimes.org to help you find the schedule of masses close to your school or work. Mass in a quiet, out of the way chapel allows us to pause from our busy activities and to have the sacramental intimacy with Jesus in the Eucharist which is needed in order to hear what God is trying to say to us. This website also can show you where Confessions and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament are available. Spending time in silence before Our Lord in the Eucharist is one of the most important parts of the the discernment experience. Servidoras and women religious throughout the Church can attest that it was there that He clarified, strengthened, and confirmed the plans He had for them.
Province of the Immaculate Conception | United States – Canada – Guyana – Suriname – Mexico
