Welcome to this workshop on charism discernment. Two questions that need to be addressed before fully launching into the material are “what is a charism?” and “what is discernment?” The first few video segments will be devoted to these topics as a primer for discussion. The remaining lessons detail each charism themselves.
This workshop is meant to serve as a resource that enables you to begin discerning the specific ways in which the Holy Spirit has been working and continues to work through you and through others. It is necessary to undertake a process of discernment in common with others who are likewise working through the material, or who already know it well.
In addition to taking notes like you would for a regular course, it is strongly recommended that you journal as you learn about each charism. Your entries need not be lengthy or formal. Bullet-points may suffice if preferred. Discernment, however, requires tracking real evidence, and journaling will most effectively help you pay attention to the sorts of signs that indicate a particular charism. Although entries need not be lengthy, they should be specific. For example, include things like describing the subjective, objective, or communal sign, naming the person or people whom the charism was for. The purpose of the journal entries is for your own discernment. It will help you recall the specifics of the situation when recounting this in the group or one-on-one part of the discernment.
The purpose of charism discernment is to begin to recognize the specific gifts you (and others) have been given, in baptism, for the restoration and healing of others. The charisms empower us truly to participate in the mission of our Lord. Once you begin to notice the patterns of their presence in your own life, that recognition can help you see more clearly where you might be called, freely and joyfully, to focus your attention, energy, and work in the saving mission of our Lord.
For your convenience, you may wish to refer to the below short definitions quick reference.
