In the history of our Church, the Holy Spirit has blessed communities and groups with gifts called charism. If you went to a religious primary or high school, you may be familiar with the charism of the Josephite sisters, Mercy sisters, Jesuits or Christian brothers. There are many different religious groups and movements in the Catholic Church, all with their own particular charism. If a charism is a call from the Holy Spirit to a community, what is the Holy Spirits gift to an individual? If you have never heard of spiritual gifts you are not alone, many people don’t realise that the Holy Spirit has blessed them with gifts to build the Church.
Spiritual gifts are not talents or skills; they are not hobbies or interests. Spiritual gifts are not tasks or activities that you are good at. Whilst these could reveal something about your spiritual gifts, they are more than this. When reflecting on your spiritual gifts you need to look beyond what ministries you are involved in to look at why you chose that ministry. For example a person who is studying to become a teacher, may not have the spiritual gift of teaching, but chose the teaching profession because they have the gift of encouragement.
Spiritual gifts are special graces given to you by the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church. The Holy Spirit is calling each one of us to build the Church in a variety of ways. So whilst you may have a favourite ministry in the Church, your spiritual gifts are not for your benefit but for the benefit of the Church. Once you understand what your spiritual gifts are, you can move between ministries with more freedom, because you know how you can build the Church in a variety of ways.
As in intern you may find that certain ministries appeal to you and others don’t. If you find yourself attracted to one ministry over another, you need to explore why you choose this ministry. Whilst you might like the people in the ministry, perhaps you chose this ministry because this is an environment where you can use your spiritual gifts.
Here are some examples, if you have the spiritual gift of leadership, you may be able to lead the young adult group, but is there another ministry that need your leadership? Or say your spiritual gift was service, you may serve the young adult ministry because your friends are there, but have you thought of serving the seniors ministry? If your spiritual gift is evangelisation, rather than working in overseas missions, how can you evangelise the people in your own backyard?
It is helpful to remember that your spiritual gifts are not for your benefit but for the benefit of your church community. As an intern how can you best serve your community using your spiritual gifts? If you serve based on your spiritual gifts rather than your interests then you are less likely to burn out and more likely to benefit the lives of those around you.
Good luck in exploring your spiritual gifts, please leave a comment about your reactions to this post or to share your spiritual gifts with us.
Mark McDonald
Coordinator of Broken Bay Youth Ministry
Spiritual gifts are not talents or skills; they are not hobbies or interests. Spiritual gifts are not tasks or activities that you are good at. Whilst these could reveal something about your spiritual gifts, they are more than this. When reflecting on your spiritual gifts you need to look beyond what ministries you are involved in to look at why you chose that ministry. For example a person who is studying to become a teacher, may not have the spiritual gift of teaching, but chose the teaching profession because they have the gift of encouragement.
Spiritual gifts are special graces given to you by the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church. The Holy Spirit is calling each one of us to build the Church in a variety of ways. So whilst you may have a favourite ministry in the Church, your spiritual gifts are not for your benefit but for the benefit of the Church. Once you understand what your spiritual gifts are, you can move between ministries with more freedom, because you know how you can build the Church in a variety of ways.
As in intern you may find that certain ministries appeal to you and others don’t. If you find yourself attracted to one ministry over another, you need to explore why you choose this ministry. Whilst you might like the people in the ministry, perhaps you chose this ministry because this is an environment where you can use your spiritual gifts.
Here are some examples, if you have the spiritual gift of leadership, you may be able to lead the young adult group, but is there another ministry that need your leadership? Or say your spiritual gift was service, you may serve the young adult ministry because your friends are there, but have you thought of serving the seniors ministry? If your spiritual gift is evangelisation, rather than working in overseas missions, how can you evangelise the people in your own backyard?
It is helpful to remember that your spiritual gifts are not for your benefit but for the benefit of your church community. As an intern how can you best serve your community using your spiritual gifts? If you serve based on your spiritual gifts rather than your interests then you are less likely to burn out and more likely to benefit the lives of those around you.
Good luck in exploring your spiritual gifts, please leave a comment about your reactions to this post or to share your spiritual gifts with us.
Mark McDonald
Coordinator of Broken Bay Youth Ministry
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