Keep a constant watch over yourselves in order to maintain your zeal and devotion to the pupils and try not only to give them good sound teaching in all subjects and in religious knowledge, but be still more anxious to help them and to become good, virtuous truly Christian persons.
Let us be very careful not to fail in our duty by allowing enthusiasm and devotion to weaken, or any relaxation our the practice of virtue, because then the failure can only be attributed to ourselves and we shall be held responsible for it by our Divine Master who chose us to be His apostles and followers.
So again I say to you, watch over yourselves in order to preserve, at all times, the spirit of your holy vocation and the practice of the basic virtues of your Institute; and these are Simplicity, that is zeal, practical humility, Obedience which includes all the sacrifices that self denial and mortification require; Charity which knows no limits in rendering cheerful service and in showing friendly concern for our neighbor, leading us to forget ourselves completely for the good of our sisters and the salvation of our pupils; and lastly Seclusion (Silence) that one learns how to observe silence and avoid all imprudent and merely curious talk that only distracts us from our duty and even from God Himself.
Fr. Debrabant, Excerpt from the Circular Letter dated 20th January 1863
So again I say to you, watch over yourselves in order to preserve, at all times, the spirit of your holy vocation and the practice of the basic virtues of your Institute.