AR03 – Spiritual Gifts Test
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
OBJECTIVE
God has given us all unique gifts – and some of them might surprise us! Have you ever considered whether being good at administration could be a spiritual gift from the lord? How about feeling unusually content in your singleness, or having extra compassion for people?
Jesus, thank you for the unique gifts you’ve created me with, Help me to be aware of them, so I can use them as You intended – to build Your kingdom, and for the good of others around me. Please help remove any sense of false humility or fear, anything that might be preventing me from fully acknowledging what You have given me. Amen.
INTRODUCTION TO SPIRITUAL GIFTS
The Bible gives us clear indications that God has given us all different kinds of gifts.
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one.”
1 Cor 12:4-6 RSVCE
Some of the gifts the Lord has give us seem obvious: musicians with a clear gift of singing, or playing an instrument for example. But what other kinds of gifts are there?
“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Rom 12:6-8 RSVCE
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the
utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to
another various kinds of tongues, to another the
interpretation of tongues. All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”
1 Cor 12:7-11 RSVCE
These gifts shouldn’t be confused with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit that we receive through the Sacrament of Confirmation which we explored in an earlier module (“The Power of Confirmation), or the Fruits of the Holy Spirit which we develop throughout our spiritual life.
Through this Spiritual Gifts Test, you will explore 24 particular spiritual gifts that may be present in your life. It’s important to realize that there aren’t any ‘best’ or ‘worst’ gifts, and this isn’t a test that you can get wrong or right. It’s simply a tool to help you explore the gifts God may have given you.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single organ, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
1 Cor 12:12-20 RSVCE
WATCH
Put aside any distractions, such as music or your phone, and give your full attention to the short tutorial.
Through this Catholic Spiritual Gifts Test, you will explore 23 particular spiritual gifts that may be present in your life. It’s important to realize that there aren’t any ‘best’ or ‘worst’ gifts, and this isn’t a test that you can get wrong or right. And it’s certainly not intended to define you! It’s simply a tool to help you explore the gifts God may have given you.
You should un-tick the box that says: Submit Results to parish (St. John’s may reach out to you about your gifts) as this is relating to a parish based in the USA! When you see your results, please take a screenshot and write down your results in your YLP journal. These results are necessary for this Youth Leadership Pathway program, as well as for you personally to monitor your growth.
Take your time! This might be outside of your comfort zone, so be open to new ways the Lord might challenge or encourage you today.