Finger the Cruciform Bead and Pray:
Most Glorious God, Heavenly Father, enlighten the darkness of our hearts and give us a true faith, a certain hope, and a perfect love. Give us a sense of the Divine and a knowlege of yourself, so that we may do everything in fulfillment of your holy will. All this we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
3rd Meditation:
Read the following passage from 1 Corinthians 12:4-11:
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
You may wish to meditate on the following questions:
- What does this passage reveal about why we are gven spiritual gifts? Does that affect your vision about how you will use your gifts?
- "There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men." What does this mean? How many of the 7 gifts does God work in you?
- Think of a faithful friend and the spiritual gifts that this person has. How does God allow you to use that same gift, and how is it different than how your friend uses it?
- Which gifts do you most strongly use, and use most often? Think on the gifts that you don't use regularly. How is God calling you to use these gifts in your community or parish?
