As missionary disciples, each of us is called by virtue of our baptism to respond to and cooperate with God’s grace in the world.
This grace is both life-giving and sustaining, fulfilling every aching heart that yearns for more. We seek, with wonderment and awe, the revelation of God intimately with us through the Holy Spirit. Through this life-long process of discernment, God reveals our role in his great plan and invites an active response that offers our restless hearts purpose and meaning.
As Missionary Disciples, discernment must continually be part of our daily regimen. Let this inventory be a spring board for conversation and dialogue, prayer and meditation, and recognition of the Holy Spirit animating your life and challenging you to more deeply encounter the love of Christ within your life.
The Called by the Spirit Gifts Inventory is a tool that can be used and adapted by individuals and groups to identify the gifts with which they have been graced so that they can begin to discern how to best use those to bring about God’s kingdom. It is intended to provide the foundation for enriching conversation, prayer, and spiritual direction that can yield much fruit in the Holy Spirit.
"The Holy Spirit also enriches the entire evangelizing Church with different charisms. These gifts are meant to renew and build up the Church. They are not an inheritance, safely secured and entrusted to a small group for safekeeping; rather they are gifts of the Spirit integrated into the body of the Church, drawn to the center which is Christ and then channeled into an evangelizing impulse" (Evangelii Gaudium, 130).
1. Before taking the Gifts Inventory, focus a concerted amount of time on intentional prayer and active listening with the heart. Identify a prayer partner to accompany you through this process.
2. After a time of prayer, take the Gifts Inventory with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
3. Seek out a spiritual director or mentor (this may be a priest, deacon, or a certified spiritual director) who can accompany and challenge you in using your gifts as a disciple. Use the Called by the Spirit Gospel of Mark Journal to facilitate reflection and conversation.
4. Use your gifts to serve as missionary disciples and continue your discernment through the Holy Spirit.
"As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God; whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen!" - 1 Peter 4:10-11
If you are reviewing the Called by the Spirit material on your own, take some time in prayer with the Holy Spirit. Open your heart to learn how God is calling you to use your gifts.
Print the Inventory Response Form (Calculation Rubric) before you begin so you can record your answers to the Called by the Spirit Gifts Inventory. The Description of the Gifts will help you better understand your top charisms. Follow up with the Gospel of Mark Journal for your own prayer and reflection, and begin to practice some of the recommended next steps in your discernment process.
Do everything in prayer, listening to God's Spirit moving within you.
The following resources can be used to organize and facilitate a Called by the Spirit retreat for your community. We have structured everything in user-friendly resources that can be used as is or adapted to better suit your needs.
If you would like to host a Called by the Spirit retreat and wish to have a trained facilitator lead the experience, please contact Kim Kocuba and we can schedule accordingly.
Share your feedback and let us know how you use this material. Email Christy Cabaniss with your comments.
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