Pastor's Corner
June 25, 2017
Last week I mentioned that we would be hosting a Called & Gifted workshop on Friday evening, August 11 from 7-9:30 p.m. and on Saturday, August 12 from 9-4:30 p.m. The workshop helps lay people discern the spiritual gifts, or charisms, that God gave them at baptism, as well as how to discern the call that those charisms will help them fulfill. Unfortunately, I have decided to postpone that workshop, because of other events happening, like the kickoff of our capital campaign the same weekend, and the changing of the friars in the priory and on the staff. Plus, putting on the workshop requires a team of helpers, and I don't have that team, yet.
Nevertheless, discerning our charisms is essential to our Christian life. Often when we pray for vocations we think only of the vocation to priesthood or religious life, but all of us share a common vocation – the call to holiness. This call was mentioned this past Tuesday at daily Mass, when we heard Jesus command his disciples to “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Pope Francis has said holiness, “is not the prerogative of only a few: holiness is a gift that is offered to all, without exception, so that it constitutes the distinctive character of every Christian.”
In addition to this vocation to holiness to which we are all called, there are lifestyle vocations: priesthood, marriage, religious life, dedicated single life. But there is also a personal call: a unique work of love to which only we can respond or not. For the lay person, that personal call is most likely going to be lived out in the midst of secular society. The call may be connected to one’s career, or it may completely separate from it.
I have a friend who is a physical therapist who’s participating in changing in the way physicians and therapists communicate and treat their patients. He built a thriving PT practice and then sold most of it to focus on teaching therapists and speaking at conferences. He is using charisms of teaching and leadership that he has discerned.
Another friend, after several options were closed to him, realized that his call is to be a contractor who does honest work at a just price. This gives him time to develop relationships with homeowners and business people and to seek opportunities to share his faith in Jesus. He is using a charism of craftsmanship.
The charisms can be quite useful in secular pursuits, which makes sense since the secular realm is the arena the lay person is called to transform. What charisms did God give you? What is your personal vocation? For more information about the workshop, go to www.siena.org/called-gifted. If you would like to help with organizing the event, please contact me, Fr. Michael Fones, at pastor@saintdominics.org.