THE PRO LABORE DEI (PLD) FAMILY

The Pro Labore Dei Family comprises of persons from all walks of life- they can be full time or part time. “The harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few” (Lk. 10). The Lord of the harvest is free to pull laborers into His vineyard as He wills – married or unmarried, male or female, young or old, clergy or laity, consecrated, non consecrated persons or secular, professional or non-professional.  

'Let Pro Labore Dei grow into a giant tree with leaves that never die, giving shelter to the poor and stranger, an avenue of service for all who wish to serve you in the poor.'

CONSECRATED VIRGINS LIVING IN THE WORLD

We are young ladies who come to consecrate and to dedicate our lives entirely to God serving Him in the suffering poor/destitute. We give up father, mother, brothers, sisters, husbands, children, wealth, land to follow and model our lives after Christ in a spirit of poverty, simplicity, virginity and absolute obedience to God for the sake of His kingdom.

We go through formal spiritual formation. We are then solemnly consecrated through a liturgical rite to a life of virginity in the world according to the Code of Canon Law as set out below-

Can. 604 §1 the order of virgins is also to be added to these forms of consecrated life. Through their pledge to follow Christ more closely, virgins are consecrated to God, mystically espoused to Christ and dedicated to the service of the Church, when the diocesan Bishop consecrates them according to the approved liturgical rite.

§2 Virgins can be associated together to fulfil their pledge more faithfully, and to assist each other to serve the Church in a way that befits their state.

Our chastity and freedom from worldly attachments free us to love our spouse (Jesus Christ) more fully in the poor. Thus we live in the world in order to be more closely in touch with our poor and to reach out freely to them whenever and wherever needed but we are not of the world in essence.

We are not bound to live in community with one another but we do live in common as a community of Christ disciples striving for perfection through observing the statute of Pro Labore Dei. We are Sisters to one another, to the poor and to the members of the community in which we live and work.

The poor, the orphans, whom we serve, the volunteer members-married and unmarried may form a community around us as we live and work with them, praying together, sharing all things in common as their states of life can permit; in a mutual bond of love and in common belief that God is our Father, We are His people, He is our God. His covenant of faithful love covers us and binds us together in charity.

Married/Unmarried Members from all works of life - these work with the Consecrated Virgins. They join the Sisters in their prayers also as much as time permits apart from the practical work on the fields. They go through some training/formation. Any Christian who is not opposed to the statutes of Pro Labore Dei and teachings of the Catholic Church is welcome.

PLD Juniors (ages 9 –14 years) whom we teach to love God and to help the poor from this tender age.

These are children between the ages of 7-15 years who are being groomed to fear, love and serve God in their neighbours. Their free time is meaningfully utilized in the knowledge and service of God.

Proverb 22:6 says "Teach a child how he should live and he will remember it all his life".  

The first set, trained by Sr. Stella-Maris in 1994, are now responsible youths in Minor Seminaries, some are altar boys and all of them are a source of joy to God and their parents.  

They feed beggars on weekends.  

They assist in making rosary and keeping the compound clean.     

Let us encourage our children to join the group. It is a way of training your child in the way of God; remember, the fear of God is the begi

Mother Mary's Youth (Odichee)

Missionaries 

Support groups 

This group is also made up of people from all walks of life. They are simply a group of helpers of the work who support and help the Chief Coordinator in the smooth running of the Headquarter or branch where they exist. They are involved in all aspects of the work, striving to take care of all the physical problems in order to allow the Chief Coordinator more time to attend to more urgent and spiritual matters.