The Spiritual Gifts Inventory can help you recognize the spiritual gifts God has given you and how you might use them in living out your baptismal and Franciscan call — in your fraternity, in our region, and in your parish.
What are spiritual gifts?
- They are special abilities given to Christians to make us channels of God’s love and presence in the world.
- We do not choose our gifts; we receive them from God.
- When we use them, we feel energized, as if we have found our “place” and “fit.”
How do we know what spiritual gifts we have been given?
It is through the process of discernment that we identify our spiritual gifts. The Spiritual Gifts Inventory is a very useful online tool to help us identify them.
How it works
The inventory has 115 statements covering 23 gifts. For each one, choose Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely or Never. Don’t be modest; answer spontaneously and honestly. Allow about 20–30 minutes.
When you submit, a “My Gifts” report is emailed to you, so that you can discern where your gifts might serve the fraternity, the region, and your parish. Your answers and results are sent only to you.
If you would like to discuss your results to understand them better, please email Ellen Ferrone, OFS, at ferrone.ofs@gmail.com to set up an appointment. Ellen has been trained in helping people understand and discern their gifts.
What happens next
- Prayerfully discern the gifts for which you scored highest.
- We encourage you to share your results with your minister, formation director, or Spiritual Assistant.
The gifts in this inventory are not a complete list of the gifts described in Scripture; they are a starting point for discernment. Adapted with gratitude from the Spiritual Gifts Inventory (Haywood, 1998), St. Austin’s Parish, Austin, TX; The Catholic Spiritual Gifts Inventory (Catherine of Siena Institute); and Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Durham, NC.
