Sacred Heart Charism
In October, I was in Mexico to participate in the international conference of heads of Sacred Heart schools. We represented 49 schools in 19 countries - from the Congo, Egypt, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, to Europe, Autralia, New Zealand and the Americas. Held in a new location every four years since 2000, this conference focuses on qualities that form our Sacred Heart identity.
Despite differing widely in cultural context, governance, and social make-up, our Sacred Heart Schools share the same charism (pronounced care-ism). Charism describes our spirit, mission, traditions - in short, our Sacred Heart fingerprints, DNA or that "special sauce" that makes us who we are.
Charism is a gift, something we continue to “catch” from the vision and spirit of our founder Madeleine Sophie Barat. We are challenged to understand Sophie's fuel and energy, her reality and personality, and today we are called to articulate this with our students and for ourselves. Our charism is rooted in Sophie's experience of God's love and the way she was impelled to share this through her schools. For Sacred Heart folks, our charism is not static, it asks us to be open to the movement of God's love in our community. We are to listen, ponder, and articulate with words and actions the vision, energy, and mission expressed in our Goals and Criteria. Resting on our storied past is not consistent with our charism; on the contrary, we need to understand our history, as well as our current context and the movement of the spirit in 2015 as we interpret the way forward in our schools - wherever we are around the world.
We convey our charism incompletely because it is always in process.
Our attempt is itself part of making our charism more complete.
This blog is one attempt to put language on what is beyond words. As we grow in understanding and make this charism our own, we experience belonging, alignment, coherence. It is personal and living. Charism involves movement within our hearts and heads that we can’t force or fully control. We can only open ourselves to it. We know the charism fits when it leads us to the essence of our being, to a sense of union and joy – to truth. We know it fits when we are drawn and impelled to share it with others.
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| With students at Colegio Sagrado Corazon, Mex. DF |
When I was 14 years old and in my first year at Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in Omaha, I was drawn into the story of Mater Admiriabilis. Sr. Shirley Miller captivated me/us as she described the painting in personal terms, and invited us to consider our own current symbols of security, faith, work and play. Sr. Miller described Congé, and gave us the chance to plan this surprise on Mater’s special day.
Last week, I enjoyed a reunion in Léon with José, Luz Rachel, and Jessica - recent ESL alums of our school. Tears stung their eyes as they spoke of relational experiences at Sacred Heart School of Halifax.
I had lunch with two alums of SH/San Luis Potosi who have children considering enrolling at SHSH for a year of ESL. Upon meeting one another, we instantly understood and trusted the other. Of course, we discovered we know people in common, but more importantly we share the same fingerprints on our hearts, minds, and souls.
Our Sacred Heart Halifax students claim this charism that asks each to be utterly and uniquely herself/himself. Each belongs, and our family is a global, local, and personal experience.
