“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them.” This admonition from St. Paul needs to be take seriously. The needs are countless, we are limited by temperament, ability, training, energy level, time. A necessary part of Christian discernment is discovering what I can do given my particular set of gifts. I can’t do everything but I can do something. At a lecture in 1969 Mother Teresa was asked “shouldn’t you be working to end the systems that cause poverty rather than caring for the result of those systems?” She answered, “That is not my gift. My calling is to provide care for the poor. I pray every day for whoever is called to work for systemic change.”
