A charism, as defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is a gift or grace from the Holy Spirit that benefits the Church and helps people live out the Christian life.
Christina Krutza, a staff member of St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park and a co-presenter of the Called and Gifted charism discernment process workshop, referred to charism by St. Thomas Aquinas’ definition of the word: a gratuitous grace that is freely given.
“It’s not something that you choose, but it’s something that the Lord chooses to give you at your baptism,” Krutza explained to “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley during an interview airing at 9 p.m. Sept. 20 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. “It’s a gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Krutza is originally from Babbitt and now lives in the northwest suburbs with her husband and two toddlers, and one on the way. Krutza and her family are parishioners of St. Michael in St. Michael.
“It’s also something you can’t choose,” Krutza said. “Sometimes when we’re doing workshops, people will come up and say, ‘How do I get the charism of prophecy?’ or some other more flashy charism. We’ll say, ‘Well, it’s too late. You are already given your charism at baptism, so we don’t choose them. God chooses them for us. … Usually, we find that people receive about two to six.”
Krutza explained that once an individual is baptized and living the life of a disciple, these charisms will begin to emerge in an individual’s life. The charism discernment process, Called and Gifted, was put together in 1993 by laywoman Sherry Weddell and a Dominican priest, Father Michael Sweeney.
“A charism is not so much for your own growth in holiness but for the building up of the local Church,” Krutza said. “The Lord gives them to us because he wants us to be laborers in the vineyard bringing the kingdom of God about here and now and in our local archdiocese, in the United States and throughout the world.”
Krutza said charisms make individuals instruments of God’s providence.
To hear more from Krutza about the Called and Gifted charism discernment process workshop, tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. Sept. 21 and 2 p.m. Sept. 22.
The program also includes an interview with Father Jim Livingston about healing Masses and how they work. Also, Joanne Schulzetenberg from the Way of the Shepherd School in Blaine dives into Montessori education.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the program can also be heard after it has aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
