In the General Audience this Wednesday, Pope Francis reflected on the charismas, gifts granted by the Holy Spirit that help to value the role of the laity in the Church and affirmed that they are not “auxiliary troops of the clergy.”
At the beginning of his catechesis given from St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, the Holy Father cited two elements to explain the charismatic action of the Holy Spirit.
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First of all, he specified that the charisma is the gift granted “for the common good,” since it is not intended primarily for the sanctification of the person, but “for the service of humanity.”
Next, he stressed that the charisma is granted “to one or some” in particular, “not to all in the same way, and this is what distinguishes it from sanctifying grace, the theological virtues and the sacraments, which instead They are equal and common to all.” The charisma, the Pontiff added, “is for a person or a special community, it is a gift that God gives you.”
The Holy Father referred to the charismas as the “jewels” or ornaments “that the Holy Spirit distributes to beautify the Bride of Christ.”
Next, he stressed that “we must recover the charisms, because this means that the promotion of the laity and of women in particular is understood not only as an institutional and sociological fact, but in its biblical and spiritual dimension.”
In this sense, he stressed that “the laity are not the last” or “a kind of external collaborators or auxiliary troops of the clergy,” but rather they have “their own charismas and gifts with which to contribute to the mission of the Church.”
Likewise, he wanted to clarify a misunderstanding: that of identifying them with spectacular and extraordinary gifts and abilities: “These are, instead, ordinary gifts, each of us has his own charisma, which acquire an extraordinary value when inspired by the Holy Spirit. and embodied in the situations of life with love.”
He also reiterated that there are no “second-class” Christians, since each one has his own charisma, “personal and also communal.”
In conclusion, he noted that “charity multiplies charisms” and makes the charisma of one “the charisma of all.”
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
I am a graduate in Journalism and Advertising from the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. Specialized in religious information in Spain since 2015. I have been a senior correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in the Vatican for two years and I am currently a European correspondent based in Spain.