What Is Charism?

Religious life is, of itself, a gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church and contains the charism of prophetic witness and service.  

Each religious congregation is also blessed with a unique gift of the Holy Spirit called “charism.”  Although this word is used in the singular, “charism” refers to a set of spiritual gifts.  The charism of a congregation gives it a certain flavor.  To explain the concept further,  since families have their own charism, If you think about the families you know, this concept becomes clearer.  One family may place great value on hospitality, bending over backward to make sure that guests feel at home; another family might be rooted  in self-giving and prioritize volunteerism; yet another, gifted with a strong sense of charity, always has  room for someone in need.  All are  fine people, yet one home may feel much more familiar to you.  When this happens, it is usually because your charisms match. In fact, one of the things we hear most often from  those who have joined our SSCM (Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary) family, whether as a Sister, a Servant Companion, an Affiliate, a Consecrated Lay Person, or a Prayer Partner, is “From the moment I first stepped on the grounds, I felt like I had come home.”

The charism of the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary is described as faith, family spirit and self-giving.  I have witnessed this charism in the following ways:

* I see faith at work in the openness of the sisters to God’s Word.  They allow the gospels to lead, guide and form them so that they become the living face of Christ in our world.

* Their spirit of self-giving is evident in the way they seek the good of the other, setting aside their own wishes and desires. 

* Family love is demonstrated in their spirit of welcome and loving acceptance of one another and of others.

Have you thought about your own charism?  What are the particular gifts that the Spirit has bestowed on you?  When you look at your family of origin, can you see the common thread?  How may your personal or familial charism intersect with that of the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary?

What Is a Religious Vocation?

What Is a Religious Vocation?

By Loretta Finn, SSCM

What is a religious vocation?  It’s an invitation from God to come and dedicate your life to Him and witness his love and compassion in service to others.  I don’t think you choose it; I think it chooses you.

Preparation time for this commitment varies.  When I entered we had 6 months as a postulant, two years as a novice and then we took our first vows of Chastity, Poverty and Obedience.  We renewed our vows each year for 3 years, then for 2 years and finally we made Perpetual vows.  (Wouldn’t it be great if people who got married had this much time before making their final commitment!)

As religious we are called to love God above all else and yet stay part of a world that has many values we do not accept.  And how do we do this?  Through professing the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and practicing these virtues in our everyday lives.  These virtues express our dependence on God, love for all of God’s people and attentive listening to God’s desires for us.

In the vow of POVERTY, we bind ourselves to live in dependence on our superiors regarding temporal goods: in using, receiving and giving.  We also bind ourselves to hold goods in common and to share according to need in the spirit of the early Christians.

In the vow of CHASTITY we commit ourselves to practice the Christian virtue of chastity.  This enables us more freedom to share our lives and love with others, especially those in need.

In the vow of OBEDIENCE we bind ourselves to obey our legitimate superior in matters that concern the observance of the Fundamental Code of the Institute.

As religious we are called to live these virtues radically by renouncing ownership of property, renouncing exclusive and sexual relationships, and sometimes by renouncing our own will to the will of another.

These virtues challenge us to live simply in a consumer society and chastely in a society of sexual excess.  We find support and encouragement in our communities, others who have made the same commitment.

Vowed religious communities serve as a reminder to everyone, their own members included, that happiness lies only in God and in living the kind of life that God desires for us.  By publicly professing vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, we point to an aspect of God that is meant to be known by all: the reality that God is enough for us.  Just as marriage vows give witness to God’s faithful and generative love, religious vows give witness to the sufficiency of God.

When we can say that our fundamental security lies not in wealth, or another person, or power, but rather in God, then we are living the virtues of the religious vows, whether we have professed them or not.  When we live in reliance on a provident God, with love and concern for all of God’s people and attentiveness to God’s direction in our lives, we live in the reign of God, present among us and filling our lives with everything we need.

Community lifeis essential to our vocation as Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary.  In order to be a center of communion, our communities must be communities of faith which derive their life from the Spirit of God and remain ever under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

In fidelity to our tradition of the family spirit we seek to share what we are as well as what we have, to be thoughtfully attentive to one another’s needs and to develop simple, loving relationships among ourselves.

FAITH and PRAYER are the foundation of our commitment.  Our prayer life must be rooted in a desire to know and share the life of God.  It must be deeply personal, faithfully shared in community and universally ecclesial.

Eucharist is the center of our prayer life.  As far as possible, we participate daily in Eucharist.

I volunteer in the Surgical Waiting room at St. Mary’s Hospital.  After I tell the people that I prayed for all who are having surgeries or procedures that day, I ask them to say a prayer for me.  If they can’t remember my name, just say, “That little old nun.”  They laugh.  Then I tell them I’m 90 hears old and they say, “In no way.”  And, I ask them if they want to know the secret, so I share it with them…3 things:  good connection with God, happy heart and keep busy.  May you all be blessed in that way.