THE FIVE DIMENSIONS - The Theresian Way of Life Making a Difference

Christians have always responded to the Gospel in different ways, depending on the time and culture in which they found themselves.  The mid sixties were filled with the spirit of change.  The prophetic wisdom of Vatican II opened the door for the greater role of the laity, particularly women.   It called lay people to nurture their gifts in service of the Kingdom of God.  These challenges of our time and our culture, and the response to these gave birth to the Theresian movement.  As the ministry of Theresians developed, the Five Dimensions came to define the Theresian lifestyle.  If you can make a difference, if you can be different, it will be in terms of these Five Dimensions.  By exploring each dimension we can learn to become a different person, to live a different lifestyle, and to make a difference in the world.

SPIRITUALITY
Spirituality encompasses Prayer and Meditation.  Prayer was an essential component of the Theresian movement from its very inception in 1961 and remains a basic, fundamental dimension of the Theresian lifestyle and of the Christian way of life.

Prayer is the only way in which we can really know the difference between a gospel way of living and a worldly way of living. Prayer alone enables the enlightenment that leads to discernment. In prayer, we can see life as it is, compared to life as God intends it. A different lifestyle, without prayer, would be impossible.

Prayer gives a perspective in which we can reflect upon and evaluate our life. We can sort out values and become more discriminating about the way we live. Without this perspective it is so easy to get caught up in a material way of life, without even being conscious of it.  Prayer, then, is a consciousness raising exercise. It expands our awareness of life in the world.

Our culture is a busy, noisy one. A Theresian way of life calls you away, to be different, to cultivate a private and silent place in your life in which you hear your calling.  “God speaks to us in the silence of the heart.” (Blessed Teresa of Calcutta)

Jesus Christ lived a different lifestyle. For Jesus, life began with prayer. It was His dedication to prayer that gave Him the vision and courage to be so different.  He defied convention and custom. He heard a different drumbeat.

It is in the stillness and silence of prayer, of listening, that we can hear the soft, subtle sound of Gods call, calling us to be different, calling us away. 

Mark 1:35 "Rising early the next morning Jesus went off to a lonely place in the desert: there He was absorbed in prayer."

VOCATION
A vocation is a call or urge to enter a certain career or ministry toward which one believes herself to be called.

Our basic vocation is a call to be conformed, configured to the image and likeness of Christ. Because Jesus was different, so we are called to be different. Jesus was a person of freedom, so we are called to live in freedom, i.e., not be swept along by our culture and its customs, but living out of the center of ourselves, freely and decisively. The Christian woman, particularly today, is being called to consider her life as a fulfillment of Gods call to love through her vocation in life.

The Theresian woman is called to make love real; to make it tangible in our world, a vocation to love, especially reaching out and inviting others into our lives and helping them realize their vocations.  This is also in keeping with the spirituality and charism of St. Therese of Lisieux. 
The challenge to a Christian is to become a living reminder of God.

Micah 6:8 "You have been told what the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

EDUCATION
Education is a vital component of the Theresian way of life. The objective of the Theresian education dimension is the challenge to provide informative and creative life-enriching programs for monthly meetings. This dimension calls for a spirit of openness so that members are willing to look at all sides of issues, thus avoiding the pitfalls that result from tunnel vision and closed minds. Ongoing spiritual formation is the means by which we grow in the likeness of Christ.

Knowledge enables decisions.   Education frees people from childhood limitations and invites them to the maturity of life and judgment. Education in the Theresian movement has been dedicated particularly to helping the members keep up with a changing Church, a growing Community, and a new global spirituality and economy. Through excellent programs, women are encouraged to be aware of what is going on in the world.

Adult education is at the center of our educational efforts. Children need education, too, but adults need it even more! Theresians develop their spiritual maturity by internalizing the values of Jesus in the Gospels. Education in principles, values and decision-making helps us become more discriminating in our culture, especially with regard to commercialism and consumerism.

Program chairpersons have at their fingertips a variety of resources for speakers and topics. Theresian conference leaders provide inspirational, spiritual, psychological and sociological programs and do not shy away from controversial issues of the day.

In your culture, "What does a Christian do?"

Ephesians 3:16 May He give you the power through His spirit for your hidden self to grow strong.

COMMUNITY
Community in the Theresian movement is the basic component of a Christian lifestyle. It is in the context of a small group that women become companions. There, each can be known and appreciated for her gifts and concerns, and can be affirmed, and challenged to grow to her full potential.

To meet the challenges to today and to be counter cultural, we need support. The monks knew this. They gathered in communities. Small faith communities characterized early Christianity. To be small today is to be different!

Life today can be very impersonal, even in the Church. We become a number, a member, not a person known by name. Theresians create a small community of warm, loving, supportive relationships. We are called to discover, share, and celebrate our gifts. Community is the place where we learn the basic lessons of our humanity. How to be human, how to be a life giving presence, how to love, and to reconcile.

Talking community is easy. Living it is the greatest challenge of our lives today. Community provides an opportunity for building trusting mutual relationships that call one another to personal and spiritual growth.  Jesus formed communities. The God of Jesus is a God of community, the God of the gathering. God wants us to be in communion with one another; to share our lives and carry out our salvation stories with one another.

The dynamics of community can help the Theresian create a loving community wherever she lives, works, prays and plays. What is shared in the Theresian gathering remains confidential in each one's heart!

God has called us to live out our lives in the presence of one another, and thus Theresians pledge to live out their lives in the presence of their Theresian sister, being Christ to one another.

Jeremiah 3:33 "I will be their God and they shall be my people."

MINISTRY
Our mission is making a difference in the world, making an impact on life today. It is a personal ministry in our everyday life to our husbands, our children, our grandchildren, and our Theresian community, but also the broader Church, the civic community and the world. 

We must reach out in loving service to make love real. That is our vocation as Theresian women. We come full circle by growing in our inner spirit and then reaching out to those in need. We move through our spiritual lives into action and into ministry.

Jesus is our model of ministry. He spent time in growing in relationship to God and the fruit of that relationship flows out into his ministry. Jesus identity and our identity is in the anointing by the Spirit, which we all received at our baptisms.

Our going forth in ministry is the call to release those who are imprisoned by whatever burden holds them captive; perhaps addictions, loneliness, hunger, or poverty.

Leadership in the Theresian group is a very important ministry to women.  Stepping out of your comfort zones to share your gifts as local leaders, district leaders, national and international board members, is ministry in the fifth dimension. 

Reaching out in ministry in the local area could be soup kitchens, homes for unwed mothers, homes for the mentally handicapped, abused women, abandoned children: or doing works within the civic community and within your parish church.

Wherever we are called to share and use our gifts, we are sharing in the gift of Ministry, the call of Jesus.  Ministry is our loving presence in the lives of others and sharing their burden.

John 13:14 "But if I washed your feet, I who am teacher and Lord, then you must wash each others feet."