Our Vows

The vows of the Community of Nazareth are made in the midst of ordinary life. They are not an escape from responsibility, nor a withdrawal from the world, but a way of consenting more deeply to Christ in the places where we already live and serve. These vows are lived in dispersion — in parishes, workplaces, families, and daily obligations — and are shaped to sustain a monastic heart without a cloister.

Our vows are promises made for the sake of faithfulness, relationship, and perseverance.

Why Vows?

Vows give shape to a life that might otherwise remain well-intentioned but unfocused. They offer a shared grammar for discipleship, anchoring prayer, commitment, and belonging over time. In a culture that prizes mobility and constant self-reinvention, vows teach us how to remain — with God, with one another, and with the life we have been given. They are not about achieving spiritual perfection, but about learning how to stay.

Members of the Community of Nazareth vow stability of heart.

Though we are geographically dispersed, this vow commits us to rootedness: remaining faithful to our place, our parish, our responsibilities, and our community. Stability resists spiritual restlessness and the temptation to treat prayer or community as something to be consumed and moved on from.

This vow teaches us that God is encountered not only in change and intensity, but in long obedience in the same direction.

Our vow of obedience is understood as attentive listening.

It is a commitment to listen for God’s voice in Scripture, prayer, the Church, the wisdom of others, and the realities of our own lives. Obedience here is not coercive or infantilising, but relational and discerning — shaped by trust, humility, and conversation.

Through this vow, we learn to be taught, to be corrected, and to grow in freedom.

The vow of conversion of life is a commitment to ongoing transformation.

It recognises that discipleship is never finished, and that our lives must remain open to change as God reveals truth, calls us deeper, and heals what is broken. Conversion is not a single moment, but a lifelong turning toward Christ — again and again.

This vow holds together prayer, ethics, relationships, work, and desire, allowing the whole of life to become the place where God is at work.

Living the Vows Gently

These vows are lived with realism and mercy. The Community of Nazareth values perseverance over intensity, faithfulness over performance. Members are encouraged to return to prayer and commitment without shame when life becomes difficult or practice is interrupted.

Weakness and limitation are not failures of vocation, but places where grace is learned.

A Shared Promise

Vows in this community are never private acts. They are made within the life of the Church and received by the community as a shared responsibility. Through them, members commit not only to a personal way of life, but to one another — to pray for one another, to remain accountable, and to walk together in hope across distance and difference. This shared promise is what makes a dispersed community truly communal.

Discernment and Freedom

Not all who are drawn to the Community of Nazareth are called to lifelong vows. Some walk alongside the community for a season; others enter a longer process of formation and discernment. Vows are never rushed or imposed, but received slowly, prayerfully, and freely.

If you are exploring whether this form of commitment might be part of your own calling, we invite you to explore our Vocations pages.

Our Vocation Stories share how this way of life has taken shape in the lives of different members.

Questions about discernment or formation can be shared with our Novice Director, who accompanies enquirers. He can be contacted at: novicedirector@nazarethcommunity.org.