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Pathways to Discipleship: Serving Jesus

Session 5: Charisms

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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Lord Jesus, you are the life of our community. You save us and lead us in right paths. You established the Church to be your body in the world to carry your work forward and bestow your grace through the sacraments.

Holy One, you are Lord of all Gifts. Today we ask you to revive and unleash the power we receive through the sacraments. We ask that the charisms you have given to the members of our community would emerge and become visible. Help us encourage and nurture each other as we discern and share our charisms. (con’d)

OPENING PRAYER

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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Together with you, may we become a channel of Your mercy and love for the individuals, the neighborhood, the town, the city, and the nation in which you have placed us.

When you called, even Lazarus awoke. Call us, Lord, and unite us to your loving purposes.

Amen.

Pathways to Discipleship

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Serving Jesus: Generosity

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Our hope for this session:

Learn about charisms and discover charisms at work in our lives
Generously offer our charisms to build up the Church in love

In this session we learn how we may live the 7^th Habit of a Disciple:

Serves others through acts of mercy

Pathways to Discipleship

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Serving Jesus: Generosity

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Pathways to Discipleship

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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CHARISMS

“Signs will accompany those who believe” (Mk 16:17).

“Charisms” are special gifts of grace
They are supernatural gifts that build on our natural gifts

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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Various gifts are given to believers for the common good, activated by the Holy Spirit for the building up of the Church. (see 1 Cor 12)

“Charisms” are special gifts of grace
They are supernatural gifts that build on our natural gifts

Special gifts of grace
Supernatural gifts that build on natural gifts

Pathways to Discipleship

⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. ⁷To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

Charisms have a supernatural effect on the receiver, and often the dispenser. One can feel that something supernatural is happening.

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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SEVEN GIFTS (BAPTISM & CONFIRMATION) FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR OWN SPIRITUAL FORMATION	NATURAL TALENTS	EXAMPLES OF CHARISMATIC GIFTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
Wisdom Understanding Counsel Fortitude Knowledge Piety Fear of God	God-given traits that are integral to our personality Present in us throughout our whole life	Writing/Communication Craftsmanship Encouragement Giving Helps Music Prophecy Discernment of spirits Service Administration Knowledge Pastoring Miracles Evangelization	Wisdom Faith Leadership Teaching Intercession Celibacy Hospitality Healing Voluntary Poverty Mercy Missionary Tongues Interpretation of tongues

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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SHARING GOD’S LOVE
SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS
HELPING OTHERS GROW
LEADING OTHERS TO JESUS

CATEGORIES OF GIFTS

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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Healing
Serving
Giving
Miracle Working

SHARING GOD’S LOVE

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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Evangelizing
Languages / Tongues
Interpretation of Tongues

SPREADING THE

GOOD NEWS

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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Teaching
Exhorting
Prophecy
Discerning Spirits

HELPING OTHERS GROW

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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Leadership
Apostleship
Pastoring

LEADING OTHERS TO JESUS

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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Pathways to Discipleship

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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EVERYONE’S CHARISMS ARE ESSENTIAL

“Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received” (1 Pt 4:10).

“For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another” (Rom 12:4-5).

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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WHAT ROLE DO CHARISMS PLAY �IN OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY?

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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ACTIVATING CHARISMS

We pray for the grace to recognize the promptings of the Holy Spirit to help others

As we act on these promptings

We use our natural talents and skills for others
We remain open to special charisms from the Holy Spirit to do God’s work on earth

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Serving Jesus: Charisms

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GROWING IN AWARENESS OF CHARISMS

It takes time, prayer, and spiritual maturity to recognize our charisms.

Others can notice and point out our gifts to us
We can detect patterns in how we are drawn to help others
We can ask the Holy Spirit to reveal our gifts to us

https://spiritualgiftsinventory.com/explore-charisms

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We pray to be open to all charisms and graciously receive whatever charisms the Holy Spirit supplies.
We pray for the wisdom to discern how we are called to use them for the good of those God places in our lives.

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SPOTLIGHT DISCIPLE: ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA (1347-1380)

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Displayed openness to the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit
Could read the hearts of others, often challenging them to repent and seek Truth
She healed many in body and in spirit
She was called by God to face powerful leaders and restore the papacy to Rome

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PRACTICE TOGETHER

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Help each other in your group recognize his or her own unique gift or charism:

When have you noticed someone in your group exhibiting a charism on behalf of others? Take turns sharing with one another the charisms you have noticed in them.

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DISCIPLESHIP NEXT STEP

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Be especially attentive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit this coming week. Try to notice how He might be prompting you to use your unique gifts to share God’s love through works of mercy on behalf of another.

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REMINDERS FOR NEXT SESSION

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Read or listen to Session 6: Sent on Mission before our next meeting.
Thank you to those who brought tonight’s snacks!

*If you would like to go deeper on Charisms, check out our additional resources here:

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CLOSING PRAYER

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O God, you gave St. Catherine many spiritual gifts, especially patience to overcome the assault of evil spirits and perseverance to stand unshaken in the love of your Son, Jesus Christ. Grant, we beseech you, that after her example of singular devotion, we may rise above the wickedness of the world and pass safely onward to your glory. Grant us the courage and endurance to follow your will in all things. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us.

Pathways to Discipleship