Personal Charisms/gift In Discernment?

[thepiaheart]

Hi all! I was wondering if anyone's read anything or been given any context in spiritual direction for the concept of personal charisms & gifts given by the Holy Spirit, and what role they ought to play in the discernment of vocation?

 

My question is rather specific: I recently heard the phrase "prayer gift" thrown out, and it got me thinking. Does such a thing exist in a way recognized by the Church? (It must...) And what implications do these gifts hold for the discernment of vocation -- does someone with a gift for prayer, for example, necessarily enter a world in which prayer is built into it (i.e., contemplative life), whereas someone with another kind of gift seek out a vocation in which that gift is nourished?

[TheresaThoma]

I think your personal charisms/gifts should play a large role in your discernment. When I start looking into a community I look to see if my gifts would contribute to the community and if my personal charism (styles of prayer, amount of time spent in prayer, work I am good at/enjoy) fits with the community charism. For example I personally don't have a charism for nursing or caring for the elderly so obviously a community like the Little Sisters of the Poor is not going to be the community for me. Remember God has given us our gifts for a reason and there won't be a gift that is not used in your vocation. Sometimes it may not be clear at first how it fits but if you look at the deeper gift then it will start to make sense.

 

As far as a "prayer gift" I have not specifically heard the term before. However I think that someone might have a gift for contemplative prayer while others might find their "prayer" is in working and serving others. This definitely would influence discernment but it isn't to say that someone who finds their prayer in serving others isn't called to a contemplative community, they may be called there as perhaps an extern Sister.

[maximillion]

I was a fully qualified nurse when I started discerning, and visited active and contemplative communities.

 

Almost all of the active communities who had nursing as their charism were enthusiastic untill I spoke about prayer. Three told me I had a prayer vocation or inclination, two said they recommended I seek a more contemplative community than their own.

 

I eventually entered a cloistered contemplative community, where I never acted as Infirmarian.

[AccountDeleted]

This is an interesting topic but I think it comes back to the fact that whatever gifts a person has, God will find a use for them, in or out of religious live. One of the nuns I knew in Carmel had a Masters degree in maths and music. She had been a maths teacher and a musician but chose to live in Carmel. God had her playing the organ in choir and doing the accounts for the convent. Perhaps not what her parents thought she would do with her degrees but the community was very blessed by her gifts and God didn't waste them.

 

That's not to say that a person shouldn't chose to enter a place whether their particular gifts are needed and used (such as nursing or teaching communities) if that is attractive to them, but discernment of a vocation is about more than just our physical capabilities - it is also about listening for the call.  Vocation from vocare = to call

 

As for prayer gift - I hope we all have some of that because it's how we communicate with God! Prayer is what it possible for the active apostolates to do their work, so a person with a love for prayer doesn't have to rule out an active community any more than someone who has many practical skills has to rule out contemplative life.

 

Discernment is a mixture of common sense, research, affinities, and the grace of God.

Edited August 21, 2013 by nunsense

[petitpèlerin]

Personally I've found personality typing extremely helpful in understanding myself and the people around me and it enables me to be more patient, understanding, and appreciative of the preferences, dispositions, motivations, etc., of others, and myself. I have a very uncommon type for females and I used to think there was something wrong with me and that I had no personality. (ISTP in Myers-Briggs, the one system besides the four temperaments that I believe is based in reality.) I'm glad I discovered this before entering religious life.

 

For the record, ISTPs are some of the least likely personalities to be interested in spirituality and religion. In Myers-Briggs, NF types tend to be interested in spiritual things, and SJ types tend to be drawn to traditions, such as religion. I would guess that there's a higher proportion of those types in religious life, but I'm neither and I found my way to God in a different sort of way and now I'm entering, proof that type does not determine spirituality, religion, or vocation. Hey, every community of sisters needs one who can fix stuff around the house and keep the fleet of bicycles rolling, right?

 

One thing worth mentioning is that extraverts are not necessarily better suited for active orders, and introverts not necessarily better suited for contemplative ones. It's really just about God's call.

Edited August 26, 2013 by petitpèlerin

[petitpèlerin]

Oops. Slow/choppy connection and doubled posted in wrong thread. Sorry.