Ep 138 - Are Our Charisms the Same as the Charisms of Religious Orders?

In this episode of Charisms for Catholics, host Jill Simons explores the intriguing question: Are the charisms that individual Catholics receive from the Holy Spirit the same as those attributed to religious orders?

Jill shares her personal experiences and observations from working extensively with individual discernment of charisms, while acknowledging that her expertise with religious orders is more limited. She discusses how different religious communities describe their foundational charisms—such as prayer, hospitality, preaching, and contemplative practice—and reflects on how these might or might not align with the traditional list of spiritual gifts familiar to lay Catholics.

Listeners are encouraged to consider the connections between their own spiritual gifts and the charisms of communities or orders they are drawn to!

00:01:18 - Registration announcement for the Charism Coaching Certification Program, including details about prerequisites and what's included in the course.

01:40 - Jill introduces today's big question: Are individual charisms the same as those of religious orders? She outlines her experience and knowledge limitations related to religious orders’ charisms.

03:53 - Exploration of specific religious orders, including Benedictines, Cistercians, Trappists, and Franciscans, and attempts to map their order-level charisms to individual charisms like prayer, service, and preaching.

07:31 - Jill discusses unique charisms of less well-known orders (e.g., Children of Mary) and emphasizes that there isn’t an official, exhaustive list of charisms recognized by the Church.

10:59 - Conclusion and invitation for listener feedback, clarifying that joining an order may sometimes be the path through which the Holy Spirit grants a new charism to an individual.

Learn more about charisms and charism discernment at https://manypartsministries.com.