Part One of our Fall discussion seriesWe want to thank our bishop for sharing his thoughts with us this weekend about our monthly discussion series on the Rule and Statutes of the Ecumenical Brothers and Sisters of the OPD. We asked Bishop Tomas to provide us with a starting off point that will help with our series of discussions that will help us live deeper spiritual lives as brothers and sisters. Below is a transcript of some of the highlights of what the bishop had to say:
Your discussion series will focus on the Rule and Statutes of the association. Hmm, I suppose this series is necessary if the members desire it. Allow me to offer some words of advice before you begin this journey of the mind and heart. …I would remind you that the Rule and Statutes simply exist as an organizing document. This is a text that provides guidelines and advice on how other members of this association (and many other associations like ours) have lived out their calling. The current Statutes reflect how we strive to live out our calling at this time. This document, however, is not intended to remain unchanged. The Rule and Statutes is a Spiritual document, therefore it is a living document. It will change as needs dictate. Our current Statutes have been updated several times in the last five years. I say this because I do not want your discussions to give birth to any type of spiritual or disciplinary rigidity. Our Community is different from many religious communities because we respect and honor the individuality of our members. In forming this community, it was my intention to foster---not limit---the diverse ways that the members expressed their spiritual identities. …Therefore, focus your discussions on how the Statutes can create more opportunities for spiritual creativity. Do not become so entrenched in procedures that you begin to police each other or scrutinize each other. The Rule is a unifying document, not a policy booklet to be enforced.
...Some may ask, what good is the document if it will not be enforced? I believe that people are endowed with the ability and the right to choose how to live out their spiritual lives. The fact that there are those who have come to this community is evidence that they have found a certain beauty in our lifestyle. Certainly the exterior way we express our faith (which includes living the Rule and Statutes) draws people to our community, but I don’t believe that this exterior practice is what keeps people with us. It is the love and acceptance one feels in the OPD that helps to develop the spiritual life of the brother or sister. It is love and acceptance and the freedom to worship in one’s own unique way that gives life to our spiritual communion. The exterior may draw people to us, but the interior builds our family. Always use the Rule and Statutes as a force of love and a tool of acceptance, never as a means of keeping anyone out or causing anyone to leave.
...You’ve asked me how you can use the Rule and Statutes to help you create a stronger more loving community. Ha, well…you can’t! A few sheets of paper can’t do that. It’s not some incantation that can enchant a person and miraculously create harmony and strength in a community. Unfortunately many people think rules and policies are magic. They are not; but there is a special magic in the heart of each person who makes up our communion. It is the love you foster towards each other that will create the spiritual bonds that will move mountains, not the rules. Some worry that the physical distance between members (being a mostly virtual community) will slow efforts to build a sense of communion. To that I say that with the spirit there is no distance. Love knows no physical boundaries. It is Love that builds this community, not material proximity.
...So as you continue with this series of talks and on-line discussions, do so with my blessing and the blessing of the Creator. God’s Love and Spirit will guide you. Choose to focus on love, acceptance, and spiritual freedom and you will journey well together.
...Adjutorium nostrum + in nomine Domini. Qui fecit coelum et terram”
Thank you Bishop Tomas for your words and for starting us off on the right path. I know that your words have already helped us to redirect our material for these discussions.
-Sr. Terese Terry, O.P.D.
Internet Prioress
Internet Prioress
