I. Charism - La Salle.org

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II. CHARISM IN THE BIBLE
1. The promises made to the Fathers are summed up in the promise
to send the Holy Spirit. So, Christians will have all the spiritual
gifts promised by God.
2. The Promised Land is the Church which one day will be the
heavenly Jerusalem. Thanks to it, the new people of God,
Christians, will also have all the charisms of Israel.
3. The sacramental presence of God in the Body and Blood of
Jesus will offer Christians the charisms of reconciliation and
pardon.
4. The celebration of this Presence will be possible by participating
in the charism of the memory of Israel. With it we celebrate
the Passover, the passage from death to life.
5. The charism of the universality of salvation will henceforth be
transmitted through Jesus Christ and will be proposed to all men.
6. The option for the poor already preached and lived by the
prophets of Israel will be possible for Christians thanks to the
charism of mercy.
The Christian vocation is ontological: “But you are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may
declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness
into his marvellous light. Once you were no people but now you
are God’s people; once you had not received mercy but now you
have received mercy” (1 Pet 2:9). Saint Paul ties the identity of
those who believe in Christ to that of Israel. “It is not you who support
[Israel] the root, but it is [Israel] the root which supports you”
(Rom 11:19). Elsewhere the Christian vocation is defined by the
apostle as a calling:
1. To belong, well and truly, to God and the community - Rom 1:6.
2. To be holy and without reproach - Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2.
3. To live in peace - 1 Cor 7:15 and Col 3:15.