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MARIENTHAL -- On a wintry Sunday morning, Feb. 11,
nearly 100 high school students learned the heart-warming lesson that
“Each one of us is invited to take part in a work of love, and God has
given each of us very specific gifts to help Him in that work of love.”
In the basement of St. Mary Church in Marienthal, Jen Piccotti told the
youth that by “understanding what these gifts are, we can begin to make
better decisions and choices.”
It was the first “Called & Gifted” workshop presented in the Diocese of
Dodge City that was open to all high school youth. Piccotti, a resident
of southern California, and Keith Strohm of Chicago, opened the workshop
by explaining to each young person that they are supernaturally endowed
with charisms -- gifts given them by the Holy Spirit that are designed
to serve others.
The workshop is a presentation of the St. Catherine of Siena Institute,
which has a main office in Colorado Springs. Trained presenters, such as
Strohm and Piccotti, are called upon from locations across the country
to present the workshops, which are now being offered across the globe.
“A charism is a gift of the Holy Spirit given us for the sake of
others,” Strohm said. “It is there to make us more like Jesus Christ.
When we find our charism and begin to use it, we find true joy.”
A charism isn’t necessarily a talent or a skill; it is a passion for a
specific way of serving others. For example, some of those gathered
expressed a love for playing an instrument. If a person enjoys making
music for their own purposes, then it is may not be a charism. But if
their passion is to make music to bring joy to others, then it probably
is a charism.
“Beauty is one of the most powerful ways to introduce people to God,”
Strohm said.
“How many of you have a teacher who really loves to teach?” Piccotti
asked, to which a few hands went up. “That individual probably has the
charism of ‘teaching.’ When you have the charism of ‘teaching,’ it is as
if Christ himself is teaching.”
“What does it feel like to use a charism?” Strohm asked. “We are
energized. We feel like we found our place and that we fit. We feel that
this is what we were meant to do.”
By recognizing what their charisms might be, it was hoped that the young
people might find a yet undiscovered direction for their lives. To this
end, the students spent several minutes answering questions especially
designed to help them to recognize what their charisms may be.
At noon, the group headed over to the parish center -- the former St.
Mary School -- for a chili lunch provided by the Altar Society.
Following lunch, K’cie Kinsinger, 15, from Ulysses, told the SKR that
she discovered that she had the charism of teaching. When asked if she
had ever thought about becoming a teacher, she responded that she had
long considered going into psychology.
Yesenia Garcia, 16, also of Ulysses, found that she had the charisms of
“hospitality,” “helps,” “mercy,” and “craftsmanship.”
“There were a lot I had,” she said. “I was really surprised.”
There’s not such a long road between the four gifts Garcia discovered.
Using craftsmanship could mean doing construction projects for any
number of charitable organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, or
even the Navajo Indian mission in Gallup that is visited by diocesan
volunteers each year. Or it may just mean creating something beautiful
that will move others closer to God.
“This has been really fun and exciting,” Garcia added. “I thought it
would be a bummer, but boy was I wrong. I’m happy I came. I learned a
lot and I’ll be able to use what I’ve learned.”
Charisms are given by the Holy Spirit at baptism, Piccotti said. But
it’s not until confirmation that we begin to understand and use them.
“We’re like a glass of milk,” Piccotti said. At baptism “we are given
the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and it’s like having chocolate syrup put
in the milk. At Confirmation, the Holy Spirit comes and stirs up our
souls and we become chocolate milk. We’re stirred and changed.
“We are the hands and feet of Christ,” she said. “We are the voice of
Christ. St. Francis said, ‘Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words
when necessary.’ Charisms allow us to preach the Gospel when we don’t
have the words to use.”
“I can’t tell you how sacred this time of your life is,” Strohm
concluded. “Go to parties, have fun, but don’t forget that God is
calling you.
“There are those people who will never know the love of God unless you
show it to them.”
Organizers were pleased with the high number of youth that attended.
“I was thrilled with the response we got from the youth,” said St. Mary
DRE, Jenni Winter. “The presenters said this was the biggest group of
young people they’d ever had attend one of their workshops. The day was
really made possible by the financial support and spiritual
encouragement of our parish council. Our sister churches and the local
Knights of Columbus chapters were eager to contribute as well. I feel
like the day was a blessing to everyone who participated.”
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