The spiritual gift of missionary empowers individuals to be channels of God’s love and goodness by caring deeply about the salvation of people all over the world. This charism has evolved to include various contexts and how it can be lived out in our daily lives.
Expanding Perspectives on Missionary Work
Traditionally, missionary work was associated with going to another country and ministering to a different culture. However, with the ever-changing landscape of globalization and the diversity of cultures within a small geographical area, the definition of missionary work has shifted. Today, it can encompass engaging with different cultures right next to our homes or even immersing ourselves in secular environments. The key is to reach out to those who might not have encountered the love of Christ and to minister wherever God calls us.
Missionary Charism and Evangelism
The missionary charism often goes hand in hand with evangelism, which involves actively sharing the Gospel message. While some individuals possess both charisms, it is not a requirement. Missionaries serve as the advance team of the Church, going beyond its boundaries and inviting people from unchurched backgrounds into a relationship with Christ. Their deep hunger and passion for souls inspire all of us to grow in our desire to lead others to salvation.
Discovering Your Charism
If the thought of stepping into a different culture and sharing your faith causes anxiety, it may not be your specific charism. Our charisms are meant to be areas of fulfillment and freedom, so it’s essential to discern where the Holy Spirit is leading us. Embracing your unique charisms allows you to experience the fruits of the Holy Spirit, such as peace and joy, as you follow your calling.
Living Out the Missionary Charism
For those with a gift for the missionary charism, it is characterized by a burning desire for people to encounter Jesus. This desire extends to those you have never met, demonstrating a selfless love for every soul bound for Heaven. While some might embark on bold international mission journeys, the unique expression of this charism can vary throughout one’s life. It could mean engaging intentionally with your children’s school community or eventually moving to another country. The forum for using your charism may change, but the essence remains the same: sharing God’s love with others.
The spiritual gift of missionary illuminates the path for all believers to pursue the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our lives. While not everyone may possess this specific charism, it offers a powerful example of selfless love, passion, and commitment to the salvation of souls. Let us support and honor those with the missionary charism, recognizing the unique contribution they make to the Church. And for those who feel called to this charism, continue seeking God’s guidance through prayer and discernment, knowing that the forum for your mission may evolve as you walk in faith each day. May you embrace the missionary charism, and may God’s love and goodness flow through you to touch lives all over the world.
Jill Simons [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome to Charisms for Catholics. My name is Jill Simons and I’m the executive director at Many Parts Ministries where we equip the Body of Christ by helping people learn about and discern their charisms which is really another word for spiritual gifts. When you discern your charisms you’re able to see how the Holy Spirit is already active in your life and where he is inviting you to further build the Church. Let’s dive in. Right now we’re going to be chatting about the missionary charism which is a charism that empowers an individual to be a channel of God’s love and goodness by caring very deeply about the salvation of people all over the world and being urged to act on that passion that they feel by ministering to other cultures. And that’s really the key piece of missionary is going into cultures that are different from your own. We used to, as a Church, define this very specifically as going to another country and ministering to another culture. But as globalization has happened and as there has been a greater variety of cultures in a small geographical area, this definition has kind of shifted.
Jill Simons [00:01:22]:
Not because something has changed about the charism but how we experience diversity of cultures has really shifted. And so now it’s very possible that you could encounter an entirely different culture from your own, just a few blocks from your house or right next to your house, even to a certain extent, going into the secular culture as a whole. And working maybe in a secular job or being primarily in a secular environment could be seen in a very real way as ministering to a different culture, because there is less and less and less in common amongst popular culture and Christian culture. And so a person with a missionary charism is going to have that fire of really caring about other people’s souls. And again, like we’ve talked about so many times with the other charisms I feel like a broken record here. But this is an example for the rest of us. This is meant to show us what it is that we’re going for here. So if you do not have the missionary charism, again, that’s not a judgment on you.
Jill Simons [00:02:31]:
You’re not less than the missionary charism is given to certain people to show the rest of us really what kind of fire and what kind of passion we are all called to really grow in for people’s salvation for the saving of souls. The same passion that the Sacred Heart of Christ feels. That everyone might be drawn to himself, that everyone might be saved. And so these people with this missionary charism are one of we talked about hospitality being kind of front lines of the Church. Missionary is like the advance squad of the Church. They are going out beyond the bounds of the Church and really moving in totally unchurched places whatever that looks like and inviting people in. This is similar to evangelism. A lot of times people have both.
Jill Simons [00:03:28]:
It’s very common to see both evangelism and missionary in an individual, but it’s not necessarily the case where there’s this desire to go out and bring people in. And so these people are obviously kind of the growth wing of the Church with those with evangelism that is not exclusive to them, but it is something that they demonstrate to the rest of us in a really, really powerful way. And I’ve met several families, individuals who this is just an incredibly strong call on their life. And again, just kind of a note for anyone who feels maybe guilty or anxious that evangelism and or a missionary are not some of your charisms, that’s okay. If that thought of going into another culture and sharing your faith makes you kind of anxious, then that’s likely not one of your charisms, as a lot of times at events when I’m going through the definitions of all of them, I will go through a few of them, and people will be like, oh, God, please, no, I don’t want that one. Please don’t give me that one. If you have that response to a charism, you don’t have it. That isn’t what you’re going to be asked to do because your charisms are going to be areas that are just incredibly freeing and filling to you.
Jill Simons [00:04:48]:
And I can think of one family that just in this last year felt this incredibly strong call for the whole family to move into missionary life. And it was wild. They had to get rid of almost all their stuff and just had this upend their entire life. They moved to India and it was so crazy because in the midst of it, the mother had just this wild kind of peace and awareness of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in following this call. And that’s the kind of thing that is really that litmus test that this is from the Holy Spirit. Like an average off the street person is not going to have that kind of peace and joy and fulfillment in making this seemingly crazy life decision. That is a great piece of evidence that the Holy Spirit is present there. And so if that is not something that you could ever see yourself doing, we don’t want to limit what the God could do in the future, but it’s pretty safe to say that right now that’s not one of your charisms, that’s not one of your gifts.
Jill Simons [00:05:55]:
If you do have a gift for missionary, typically that’s characterized by this hunger, by this passion for people that you’ve never met, for people that you don’t know to come to know Jesus, to come to encounter the Lord and be saved and be with you in Heaven someday. And that is just such a beautiful desire that I think that we need to hear more and see more about in the Church because again, that’s really a great example, what we’re all meant to be going for. We’re all meant to possess kind of the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And that looks like having sort of the fullness of charisms, which is, I think, part of what’s going to happen in heaven. Not that we need to go be missionaries when we’re in heaven, but we’re going to have the fullness of the Holy Spirit within us. And what that looks like is the fullness of all of these charisms. We’re never going to achieve that here on this earth. We’re never going to receive all that God has for us because he is infinite and our lives are finite.
Jill Simons [00:07:00]:
And so each of these charisms is just a beautiful example of who the person of God is and what he’s inviting us into. And that is why when we see people really intentionally pursuing spiritual growth, more charisms being given. Missionary is a really common one that I see being given. When someone really intentionally invests in their spiritual growth, maybe they had several to begin with. But once they get very serious, very perseverant about their faith, for some people, this is one that’s given, because then the Lord really lights that supernatural fire in them for souls and for salvation for other people that don’t have access to the truth. So we thank all of you with the missionary charism. And if you have a missionary charism and aren’t sure what to do with it, that’s what you take to prayer. Lord, I feel this fire in my heart. I love your people.
Jill Simons [00:07:56]:
I love the people that don’t know you yet. What’s the forum for this? And remember, the forum for your charisms can change and shift throughout your life. Maybe missionary when you are in one stage of your life, maybe small kids stage of your life looks like the fact that you are very intentionally engaging with your children’s public school culture and bringing people in the other parents that you meet. Maybe later in your life, post kids or something like that. Or all the kids are out of the house. That’s going to look like moving to another country. Who knows? It could be a whole host of different scenarios. But just because you’re not leaving for Africa tomorrow doesn’t mean that you don’t have a forum to use your missionary charism and that you can’t start walking in it fully, even today.
Jill Simons [00:08:51]:
Thanks so much for joining us on today’s episode of Charisms for Catholics. If you would like to learn more about your charisms or begin your own discernment journey, head to our website at manypartsministries.com where you can download our free PDF guide to all 24 care and also begin your own journey by taking our charism assessment.
