By Mark Giszczak, PhD Associate Professor of Sacred Scripture at the Augustine Institute
Each one of us is unique. I am me. You are you. No two of us are the same. Sure, we have the same basic human needs: food, shelter, clothing, income, family, friends and God. But we each have a unique soul, a unique story, a singular past, an unpredictable future. My choices shape me, and your choices shape you. I have my responsibilities, and you have yours. They are not the same. We might journey side-by-side for a while, but eventually, our paths will diverge. Even in marriage, while we might walk together for fifty years, at some point “till death do us part” arrives, and the temporary journey of marriage gives way to the eternal journey of life with God.
The flip side of our uniqueness is our need for community. None of us can go it alone. We need each other. Brothers and sisters in Christ must walk toward the Lord as a spiritual family. While the Christian spiritual tradition includes anchorites and hermits, none of us is a true loner. We must learn our faith from our parents, teachers, deacons and priests. We need to learn how to love from our family members and fellow parishioners. To do what Jesus requires – to “love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12) – we cannot hide in our homes, but rather, we must participate in Christian community in our parishes, neighborhoods, schools and small groups. But once I arrive in community, what am I to do? If I am part of the family of God, how do I exercise my role? That is where the charisms of the Holy Spirit come in.
Gifts for the Sake of Others
St. Paul says, “Each has his own special gift [charisma] from God” (1 Cor 7:7). So yes, you’re unique, but it is not just about your personality, your family history, your profession or your looks; it is about God’s special gift for your life. Each of us has received the power of the Holy Spirit in a unique way to serve others. Spiritual gifts are not private possessions: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor 12:7, emphasis added). We are built for community, and the power of the Spirit is given to me for your sake and to you for my sake. My charism is meant to build you up, and your charism should build me up. Charisms are designed by God “for building up the body of Christ” (Eph 4:12). The Second Vati- can Council likewise emphasized that the Holy Spirit “distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank” (LG §12). Charisms empower us to be spiritually generous toward our fellow Christians.
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” 1 Cor 12:7
Gifts from God, not Human Talents
But what are charisms anyway? It is easy for people to think of discerning one’s charisms as a kind of religious StrengthsFinderTM survey. But we’re not talking about talents, personality types or anything likely to find its way into a corporate training seminar. The Church teaches that “The charisms are recognized as a manifestation of the ‘multiform grace of God’ (1 Pt 4:10). They are not, therefore, simply human capacities” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Iuvenescit Ecclesia [2016], §4). The charisms are not survey material but discernment material. They are not my gifts but God’s gifts.
God grants spiritual gifts freely if only we are open to receiving them. St. Paul lists nine charisms: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues and interpretation of tongues (1 Cor 12:8–10). Elsewhere, Paul offers a different list of gifts: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, generosity, leadership, acts of mercy (Rom 12:6–8). Notice that none of these charisms are about solo spirituality. All of them are about community, about serving one another in Christ and building up one another. He even says that “the one who prophesies speaks to men for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Cor 14:3). These are spiritual realities that need a spiritual approach. We don’t all have all the gifts: “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?” (1 Cor 12:29). The implied “no” is clear. Each of us is given a gift, but we are not all given all the charisms.
“The one who prophesies speaks to men for their upbuild- ing and encour- agement and con- solation.” 1 Cor 14:3
Gifts vs. Charisms
The Church has come to distinguish between unique “charisms” on the one hand and general spiritual “gifts” on the other, even though both terms translate the same Greek word. While charisms are unique gifts distributed unevenly, there are seven gifts of the Spirit available to all Christians: wisdom, understanding, coun- sel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord (Is 11:1–2; CCC 1831). These gifts supercharge the virtues. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live Christ-like lives beyond our natural capacities. Think of the martyr facing death with joy (that’s the gift of fortitude) or the saint giving excellent spiritual advice to a troubled soul (that’s counsel). But the charisms often go beyond even supernaturally empowered virtue into the realm of the truly miraculous. Think of St. John Vianney knowing penitents’ sins before they confessed them or of the Apostles healing a lame man (Acts 3:6). Though St. Paul gives us several lists of charisms, “none of these lists claims to be exhaustive” (Iuv. Eccl. §6). The Holy Spirit is creative, so the list of charisms is open-ended.
Open Hearts
What can we do to receive, discern and live out these charisms? First, we can open our hearts to the Holy Spirit and ask for his gifts: Come, Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your faithful! God can do wonders with an open heart. Second, we must ask him to show us what gifts he has bestowed upon us. Sometimes, it will be obvious – if friends are constantly encouraged in their faith by what you say, you prob- ably have a charism of exhortation! If God answers your prayers for healing with dramatic miracles, you probably have a gift of healing! Other times, the charisms take time to emerge and will only become apparent over the years. As we draw close to the Lord in prayer and participate in Christian com- munity, he will show us the unique ways he calls us to serve others by his power. Finally, in order to live out the charisms, we have to be present in the community, participate in the life of our parish, reach out to others and be available and ready to serve. As we enter into community life, we will have many opportunities to put the charisms into action. God will use us if we only let him!