When a sister "professes" vows, she is making promises to God to live a certain way in a particular form of life, and she consecrates her life to God and to God's people. Incarnate Word Sisters take the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

One way to understand the vows is within the context of the prophet Micah. Micah states clearly that we please God, we honor God, if we love tenderly (chastity), act justly (poverty), and walk humbly with our God (obedience).

To love tenderly is to live in right relationship, and to let compassion dominate all of our relationships. We must promote reconciliation, and make non-violence a way of life. We must be vulnerable and open to transformation. To love tenderly celebrates the worth and dignity of the human person, indeed-all of creation-and calls us to act in all of our relationships accordingly.

To act justly is to be in right relationship with God, people, creation, and material goods. It means living a spirituality of sufficiency: to live with a minimum; to be content with what we have. We must work for structural and systemic changes in view of justice. It means to treat all with equity, and to relate to all without exclusion. We must give of ourselves totally and generously; we must not control or dominate.

To walk humbly with God is an obedience that demands that we are faithful to an inclusive and more just way of being. We must stand at the edges, in solidarity with any person or created thing that is left out or left behind. Obedience demands that we are in active dialogue with God, listening and responding with an open and tender heart