The Crest & Motto
PrintThe motto of the Sisters of Charity of Australia – Caritas Christi urget nos (the love of Christ urges us) – is drawn from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 5:14).
The extract emphasises the concept of life after death. Paul, having concluded that one man, Jesus, died for us all, now stresses that we who now live might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who for our sake died and was raised.
The powerful and inspiring sentence that begins v.14 is: Caritas Christi urget nos.
The crest features the primary colours of the Sisters of Charity – deep blue, signifying the Virgin Mary, and gold which signifies the glory of God.
The cross and the crown are symbols of redemption and eternal life.
The intertwined MAs on the shield are the initials of one of the titles given to the Mother of God, Maria Angelorum (Mary of the Angels), the patroness of the Sisters of Charity.
In the New Testament (Revelations 12:1), a scriptural symbol of the Mother of God is an image with a crown of 12 stars on her head and the moon beneath her feet. So, in the crest, the stars above the letters MA and the crescent moon below indicate Mary as the Queen of Heaven.