Charisms, vocations must be fostered
By Agnieszka Krawczynski
The B.C. Catholic
The author of a popular program that helps Catholics understand their unique gifts will visit Vancouver.
Sherry Weddell, the mind behind the Called and Gifted program and a co-founder of the Colorado-based Catherine of Siena Institute, has made a career of helping people know their charisms and become disciples.
“The Holy Spirit is planting charisms and vocations of amazing diversity in the hearts of all His people,” she said.
“Just as the gifts of children must be fostered deliberately and with great energy by parents if their children are to reach their full potential, so charisms and vocations must be fostered by the Church.”
When people understand their gifts and get excited about their faith, Weddell says, they can revitalize their parishes and make a real difference in the world.
She has written about this in Forming Intentional Disciples, a book that came out in 2012 and sold more than 100,000 copies in its first three years.
“Having the conscious goal of making disciples and systematically going after it changes parish leadership, culture, and practice,” she said.
“The lives of many thousands of Catholics change in amazing ways. What God will do through the fruit of their personal ‘yes’ will change Catholicism’s future.”
She will lead a seminar on the topic Sept. 10.
The day-long event, titled “Discover the Path to Parish Renewal,” will be held at St. Francis Xavier School Gymnasium from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. More information and tickets are available at www.rcav.org/event/making-disciples.
