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Three basic signs of a Charism
Sherry Weddell, the Associate Director of the Catherine of Sienna Institute, which is dedicated to equipping and forming lay people for mission in the parish and the world, explains how people can know if they have a particular charism or not.
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Charisms|
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Some time ago I attended a gathering of lay people committed to the mission of evangelisation. Near the end of the two days sharing, the time had come for the part that most of us dread: try to get practical and figure out where we wanted to go from here. As we discussed the always- exciting prospect of creating yet another ad hoc committee, one of the our members suddenly interrupted: "I was feeling great about this whole meeting until this point. I think we're off track. I'm losing energy and I don't feel the Spirit anymore." Another member echoed his concerns, "Me too. I don't feel the Spirit any more." It looked like the meeting was going to come to a screeching halt when our moderator, who knew both speakers well, intervened. "Greg and Allen," he said, "you are both practictioners - you just want to get out there and evangelise." Both men nodded. "That's what energises you. Committee work bores you, so of course you feel a loss of energy. But we must not confuse that lack of interest with the leading of the Holy Spirit." My friends had not yet learned to distinguish between the signs that they were working in an area of their own giftedness and other ways in which the presence of the Holy Spirit and our feelings interact. Of the three basic signs of a charism - your experience, your effectiveness, and the feedback that you receive from others - one's personal experience can be the most difficult to sort out. Discernment is often complicated by the fact that many Catholics have only one category for unusual experiences and the very human feelings that may accompany them. Unlike many Catholics, the charismatics expect to feel God's love and presence in tangible, even remarkable ways. But it can seem irreverent and ungrateful to evaluate their source and meaning further. We can unintentionally set such store by direct, supernatural interventions that we regard more ordinary means of discernment such as prayerful, critical thinking as "unspiritual". But the God who created our minds and gave us the Holy Spirit never intended these tow means of discernment to be in conflict. What does this mean for the discernment of our charisms? Typically 9but not always) we expereinc renewed energy, satisfaction and joy at the moment that we are exercising a charism. We may have a strong sense of the presence of God when doing the activity in question of find that we are spontaneously moved to prayer or contemplation. Don't rely on feelings alone However, if we depend for our discernment upon our personal experience alone, it can be easy to confuse one of the signs of a gift with the emotional ups and owns that are just part of being human. That is why the other two signs of a charism are actually more important. Because a charism is always for others and does what it is supposed to do, we must pay attention to what God really does through us when we take action, and to what people tell us they observe. If we have a charism of healing, people will get well. If we have a charism of mercy, those who suffer are truly comforted. If they are worse off after we're done trying to "help", then we need to pay attention! How we felt while we were engaged in the activity is never the final word in discernment. This also means that we cannot assume that just because a supernatural joy often accompanies the use of a charism that the lack of joy and energy necessarily means that we are no longer doing God's will. It is entirely normal to experience a drop in energy and satisfaction when we are involved in activities to which God is truly calling us but that do not draw upon our charisms. No longer feeling the extraordinary energy that frequently accompanies a charism does not mean that the Holy Spirit is no longer present or that we have somehow missed God's will. Experiences of extended dryness or "desolation" are an important and common part of spiritual growth as we mature, but their meaning must be carefully discerned. We must be careful not to jump to hasty conclusions. We need to take the joyful side effects of using a charism seriously, but hold them lightly. As one guide in a larger discernment process, our personal experience is valuable. But if we take it as our only clue to the leading of the Holy Spirit, our feelings can quickly become erratic tyrants that obscure and undermine the quiet but powerful ways in which the Holy Spirit works when God feels farthest away. Reprinted from Apr/May/Jun 2003 issue of Pentecost
Today. For more information about the Catherine of Sienna Institute
and their courses contact www.siena.org
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