Charismata and the Four Pillars

Ask any Dominican about the Four Pillars, and they'll tell you that the Four Pillars are the aspects of a Christian life which a Dominican must nurture and balance. They are

• Community
• Study
• Apostolate
• Contemplation

So, how do the Charismatic gifts fit into this paradigm?

As Roger Stronsand points out in "The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke", Luke and Acts present the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (or Filling with the Holy Spirit) as an empowering for service. So the Charismata are the tools of that service.

To put it another way, just as God will give a Ministerial Priest Sacramental Grace to perform those works proper to his ministry (i.e., the Sacraments), so He gives the Royal Priest (i.e, all Christians) Charismatic Grace to perform the work proper to his ministry. The Gifts of the Spirit are, first and foremost, meant for ministry - for Apostolate.

In the Gospel of John, we see Jesus talking to the Samaritan. How did he know that she had had 5 husbands and was now living with another man? Because He was God? When He walked this earth, prior to His resurrection, He was like us in all ways except sin (Gaudium et Spes, 22). So, no, this was not a manifestation of His divinity. It was the Word of Knowledge (1 Cor 12:8), one of the Gifts of the Spirit.

Likewise, every healing which He performed was a manifestation of the Gift of Healing.
And Jesus said that we would do greater things than Him.

My Brothers and Sisters, the primary Apostolate of ALL DOMINICANS is preaching the Gospel to the lost. And with the Gifts of the Spirit, we are equipped to minister to the needs of the people, show the Love of Christ to people, which opens the door for the preaching of the Gospel.