In an old church in Germany during World War II, there was a statue of Christ with extended arms, as if inviting all to come to Him. Sadly, the church was bombed and the arms of the statue were broken off. What to do? There was no artist who would undertake the job of restoring hands. Finally the pastor came up with this solution. He made a sign for the statue that reads: "I have no hands but yours."

This is the same message that Christ has for all peoples today: He has no hands, no feet, and no voice but the hands, feet, and voice God gave to the world.

"No greater love does one have than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." That is what many of today’s contemporaries did: they laid down their lives for others, that others might have a better life, and in some cases they actually died that others might live. They became the hands, feet, voice of Christ.

That is the message of Jesus, the model Jesus gave to the world. He was willing to lay down His life for the world which He did on that Friday called "Good." But this will not be the focus of these articles on charisms in the lives of contemporaries. Is this a call for martyrs? It could be, but it is not necessarily so. Rather these articles will be concerned with the individual gifts with which each person is gifted, and how these gifts may be used to make the world a better place. Charisms are gifts from the Holy Spirit to be given away, to be used for the benefit of others.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, charisms are defined as "special abilities given to Christians by the Holy Spirit to enable them to be peaceful channels of God’s love and redeeming presence in the world." One of the best kept secrets for many who have received the sacraments of initiation, Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist, is that the Holy Spirit has gifted each one with certain charisms or spiritual gifts which are to be used to build up the Church.

What are these gifts? How many are there? How can a person know they have been gifted? Could I possibly be a gifted person? Why should I be gifted?

St. Paul gives a list of the gifts in Romans 12, in 1 Corinthians 12, and in Ephesians 4, but his lists are not exhaustive. There are possibly as many as 24 charisms.

A simple rule to see if one has a charism is: a] one’s personal experience of joy, satisfaction. sense of prayer in the exercise, and a sense of this "fitting" in one’s life when one practices a particular charism b] one is effective without any great struggle as a channel of God’s love and provision c] direct or indirect affirmation from others. "When you did this. I could see you were gifted with faith."

"Why should I bother to figure out my charisms?" Simply because a charism is a call from God and God wants a response. God wants everyone to listen to the call and respond. Vatican Council II called Christians to be empowered to evangelize the world. All Christians have been gifted to help with the evangelization, have been called to be the hands, the feet, the voice of Christ.

The world has been blessed, especially in the 20th century, with an abundance of holy persons who have known their gifts and used them to make life better, happier, easier for others. In succeeding articles, the lives of many of these holy ones will be used to illustrate specific charisms.

Editor’s note: Sister Irene will intermittently be providing columns for the SKR.

Sister Irene Hartman is a Dominican from the Great Bend Community. For more than 30 years, she was a teacher and principal in elementary schools in the Dodge City and Wichita dioceses, and in the Lincoln diocese in Nebraska. She served on the itinerant preaching team from the House of Praise for a decade, and for seven years as chaplain on the chemical dependency unit in St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Larned where she also was the pastoral care minister. Presently she is the director of RCIA in Sacred Heart Parish in Larned. She is the historian for the Dominican community and has written the story of the Sisters’ history called, "Dominican Women of the Sunflower State."