Trinity, Cosmic Principles and Charism
Our faith experience reveals that the Trinity, ‘Father, Son, and Spirit,’ is One—i.e. three ways of being totally given one to the other with nothing held back. So too, the three cosmic principles (interiority, communion, and diversity) are themselves features of each other. And thirdly, the three attributes of the charism are themselves features of each other: contemplation (Father), mission (Son) and communion (Holy Spirit) as One.
Life-Giving Unity
One aspect does not come before the other; one is not of greater importance than the others. They are held in endless life-giving unity. They are dynamically intertwined as the One vital movement we call God (Deut. 6:6). Fr. Richard Rohr calls this ever-creating movement the Divine Dance of Love ¹. Euphrasie Barbier called it the Divine Missions!
Love is a Creative Life Force
It is noteworthy to see that the power of the charism as a force for life is found in the relationship among each of its three components. (This is true in science too. For example, power is generated from the relationship between protons, electrons, and neutrons, not in the particles themselves.) As is true with God, these relationships are not a closed circuit! But rather the energy of the relationships spirals out into ever new and diverse expressions of itself (creativity/creation), what Cynthia Bourgeault calls “new arisings.” ² We call this creative life force, Love.
The Dance of Love
An RNDM then is one who is gets caught up in this dance of contemplating, communion-ing, missioning, the dance of Love. She is alive with new possibility, steadfast in the dark and the light of things, attentive and faithful to her Beloved who proclaims, from quarks to galaxies,
“See, I am doing something new…can you not see it?” (Isaiah 43:19)
Let me offer a few images that capture the points I am musing on.
Three Essentials of the Charism
The three essentials of the charism are like three strands in a braid; all three are required for the weaving (Bourgeault). Or is it like three legs of a tripod with all three required for stability and function? Or another more earthy image I prefer from Bourgeault: seed/earth/sun = sprout! For a “vital” sprout—seed, soil and sun need to be in a vital relationship. And ‘the sprout’ is a completely new arising emerging from the dynamic intertwining of the three.
Divine Missions
Finally, the charism is how we RNDMs live the Divine Missions. The Divine Missions reflect the pattern of self-emptying Love at the heart of all Creation, which is the new arising that emerges from the dynamic intertwining of Father, Son, and Spirit – the shape of God! When we live this charism as a dynamic unity it has practical implications for our RNDM life.
Three come to mind:
Contemplation is not something we “do” when we can’t “do” anymore; it is part of who we are, energized by our constant “yes” to God. “Seeing anew” is a gift to be received and an ongoing invitation into deeper communion and mission.
Communion in community-living, for instance, is not a given, but we can learn the ‘skills’ of living well interpersonally and inter-culturally as one body; the more unity we experience the more we see anew what Love is up to and we learn how to participate (mission) with it.
Ministry is mission, but mission in more than ministry. I am on mission—sent out to announce with my life the Good News—until I surrender my very last breath.
Daily we continue to live and explore the vast reaches of this charism from its resonance in the cosmic process to its animation of our own spiritual paths. In this I believe that we are discovering, both personally and collectively, the inner stability of the monastery in communion with the outer movement of the missionary.
May this give rise to ever-new meaning and manifestation of our calling to be an RNDM ‘religious missionary,’ alive in God, for the demanding times in which we live.
This is the second and concluding part of the charism series first published on February 19, 2024: A Musing on Charism Part I
¹ Rohr, Richard, with Mike Morrell. The Divine Dance. London, England: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), 2016.
² Bourgeault, Cynthia. The Holy Trinity and The Law of Three: Discovering the Radical Truth at the Heart of Christianity. Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2013.
Sandra Stewart is a member of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions in Winnipeg. Originally from Windsor, ON she has spent most of her religious life in Manitoba but has also served in France, Senegal and Papua New Guinea. She holds a Masters degree in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University in Chicago, majoring in spiritual accompaniment from the Institute for Spiritual Leadership.
Presently she serves as a spiritual director, a facilitator of Centering Prayer workshops, and an advocate for social and environmental justice.
Sandra currently serves on her community’s province leadership team in Canada.
Thank you so much Sr Sandy for your reflective sharing and showing the joy of being participated in the Divine Missions – an endless Dance.
Thank you, Sandy for sharing this excellent article. I am very familiar with both Rohr and Bourgeault so I totally appreciate what you are saying and I agree with the way in which you connected contemplation, communion, and mission. Thank you for an outstanding way of presenting who the RNDM’s are as a religious community. What a gift you have! Thanks for sharing. It helps define what is witnessed by all who know you.