This article first appeared in the July 1986 issue of The Notre Dame Sister (Milwaukee Province edition).
By Sister Mary Catherine Jarema
SS. Peter and Paul Parish, Merrillville, Indiana
What is that individual magic of a John F. Kennedy, a Corazon Aquino or a Martin Luther King, Jr.? Charisma, we say. The dictionary defines it with its twin, "charism," as "a gift of influence from God." The Vatican Council II urged religious communities to rediscover the charism of the women and men who started their congregations.
In the last twenty years, we 7500 SSNDs worked through a process of prayerful reflection and international dialogue to articulate the charism of Blessed Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger, our foundress. The result is our constitution, You Are Sent, which details what we believe it means to be an SSND at this time in history.
This type of renewal through reflection is ongoing. In this article, five sisters responded to two questions: 1) How do you personally describe Mother Theresa's charism? 2) How do you see the charism alive in you? Read Their Stories Here
