Our Missions Today - What We Do

The OLA Sisters are modern missionary religious women who proclaim the Gospel message through the witness of their lives. Living as 'contemplatives in action', we live a committed personal and communal prayer life, paying particular attention to the life of Jesus of the Gospels. This life of prayer and contemplation is the motivation for the various ministries in whcih we engage, in whatever country we are living.

In modern missionary work, there is a greater emphasis on “being with” people rather than on “doing” with or for them. Nevertheless, there are still great needs in our world and our presence in most mission areas is in response to specific needs for service in medical care, education, Christian and religious formation and small-scale local initiatives to improve people’s living standards.


		'The promotion of woman and the marginalized takes priority in our apostolates' OLA Mission Statement, 1994
Working with women has always been a priority for OLA’s. We consider the setting up, supporting and maintaining of culturally appropriate Women’s Groups to be a major way of spreading the Gospel of Christ. Sometimes linked with such Women’s Groups we encourage, where appropriate, some income generating industries such as cooperative farming, knitting, sewing, catering… The promotion of women takes priority in all of our work


		In our missions, where medical services are not yet adequate, we work in clinics, dispensaries and hospitals.
In rural areas, our small maternity clinics/hospitals provide a vital service. By mobile clinics we take some of the benefits of basic health care to remote villages and rural areas where no such services exist. On a daily basis, those of us in the medical ministry face the challenge of coping with the phenomenal spread of T.B. and HIV/AIDS.


		Convinced of the vital role of education in empowering people, we continue to seek opportunities for active involvement in formal education in schools - from Nursery to University level.
Outside of the formal education sector, the process of education and formation goes on in the wider community. Leadership training is an important aspect of our work and contributes to the sustainability of our missionary work which may then continue when the Sisters withdraw.


		In the parishes, some OLA’s are full-time Parish Sisters; others help with the liturgy, with parish retreats, with Basic Christian Communities, with church groups, in the training of catechists and with various parish activities.
We also participate in the initial and on-going religious formation of Sisters and priests.


		'Our presence and collaboration encourages the missionary dimension of the local church.' A major back-up activity for direct evangelisation is ‘missionary animation’
‘missionary animation’ is a major back-up activity for direct evangelisation is ‘missionary animation’ –creating or reawakening among all the baptised an awareness of the importance of the missionary dimension of being a Christian. In Ireland, we do this in collaboration with the Irish Missionary Union - speaking at Sunday Masses in parishes throughout the country and by participating in mission awareness projects such as the annual “Mission Alive” project which highlights during the month of October, the lives and work of missionaries.. For the past twenty years we have been in Argentina - a country with a long history of Catholicism but with no missionary tradition. Our three international communities there are involved in pastoral work, work with youth, with the poor and street people, with Basic Christian Communities, formation of women, bible formation, counselling, and missionary formation of the local church, and are primarily a witness to the missionary dimension of our faith.


		Any work with the poor and marginalized in our world challenges us to have the struggle for justice at the centre of our work. There are many unjust global structures which worsen the plight of the poor. Catholic Social Teaching challenges us to become aware of such structures and to actively engage in changing these injustices and inequalities. The OLA Commitment throughout the world is to building a more just, peaceful and harmonious world, a commitment which is at the very heart of our Mission towards the building of God’s Kingdom.