St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians is so important that we actually hear parts of that letter in all three cycles of the Sunday Lectionary for Mass. It is in this letter that we find St. Paul's famous description of the various gifts or charisms present in the Church by virtue of its many and diverse members. St. Paul prefaces that description with these words: There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)
I am sure that most of us have read this passage with a eye to trying to discover which charisms are my own and which charisms are found in the various members to whom we are close. However, sometimes that discovery fails to pay attention to a crucial part of the understanding of the gifts present in the Church; namely, that those gifts are given to be used for the benefit of others. They are, as St. Paul reminds us, "given for some benefit." In other words, if we do not use the gifts with which we have been invested, they lose their efficacy. In modern parlance, you might say "Use it or lose it."
Pope Francis specifically references this fact when he writes in paragraph 130 of Evangelii Gaudium: The Holy Spirit also enriches the entire evangelizing Church with different charisms. These gifts are meant to renew and build up the Church. They are not an inheritance, safely secured and entrusted to a small group for safekeeping; rather they are gifts of the Spirit integrated into the body of the Church, drawn to the centre which is Christ and then channelled into an evangelizing impulse. A sure sign of the authenticity of a charism is its ecclesial character, its ability to be integrated harmoniously into the life of God's holy and faithful people for the good of all. It is important that we keep this in mind when discerning our various gifts. For if we fail to use them for the sake of the Gospel, they simply lose their effectiveness and become nothing more than a burden to the one who possesses the gift.
In other words, the gifts or charisms with which we have been individually invested have a "use by" date. If we simply try to horde these gifts or use them sparingly, they will be taken from us and given to someone else who will use them to build up the reign of God. A teacher who does not teach, a preacher who does not preach, an administrator who does not administrate, etc., simply loses the gifts God has bestowed.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator