BETTENDORF — Catholics are welcome to discern their spiritual gifts and vocation through the Called and Gifted program in the activities center at Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. from April 16 to May 14.
Produced by the Catherine of Siena Institute, the program aims to help participants learn Church teaching on the laity and lay apostleship, the steps of discerning their gifts from God, the signs of 24 of the most common spiritual gifts, and how discerning a calling can help Catholics change their lives, parishes and the world.
Participants will receive a 60-page copy of the Catholic Spiritual Gifts inventory, a list of resources for each of the 24 gifts, Scripture and Catechism references for teaching the gifts, and an optional interview with a trained discernment interviewer.
Cost is $32. Registration is due April 15. For more information, contact Nikki Gartner at (563) 370-3360 or jngartner@aol.com.
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I went to this “Called and Gifted” program a couple months ago in the Syracuse Diocese and I thought it was basically silly and a way for people to make money. It doesn’t begin and end with the 32$ seminar. If you want more of an explanation re: individual charisms, it’s a 40$ an hour charge after the seminar. It recalled the time about a decade ago when “life coaches” were coming in vogue.
Finding out one’s charisms is relegated to a bit of an ambiguous “spiritual” inventory seemingly patterned after Briggs-Meyers. The content of the inventory was written in an elementary style – and again, ambiguous. After taking the inventory the conclusion of the book makes no affirmations that one actually has or doesn’t have a particular gift. I thought that it was quite secular – I mean, we can really pin down the Holy Spirit in our lives like that?
This idea that we become more self focused about our gifts – even though they state that these gifts are meant to be used to give away – fails to integrate the treasures inherent in Catholicism: The Mass, Confession, Adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament reposed or exposed, Lectio Divina, reading Scripture and the Doctors of the Church.
The individuals leading the seminar were converts – which isn’t a bad thing. However, there were some digs thrown toward “Cradle Catholics” who have been raised as Catholics, yet, unaware of our faith. That is not true for all. I asked one of the individuals privately “why” was it important to do this inventory when we could easily sit in front of the Blessed Sacrament where our relationship with Christ is strengthened. She appeared irritated with me. It was as if she had no clue regarding the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.
My advice: save your money. Go to daily Mass. REad Scripture. Spend time before our Lord. Read good Catholic literature, Doctors of the Church alone or in small groups. Go to Confession or get spiritual direction from a solid Catholic Priest, and put the 32$ in the collection basket. Our diocese paid for our seminar, I’m thinking out of the yearly appeal fund. They should have saved their money. For me, this was just a gimmick lead by people unaware of the Church’s treasures.