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Help your deacons build a Holy Spirit-led vision for their service to the Church.
Deacons in active ministry, aspirants and candidates in formation, and wives — who we'd encourage you to include. This formation is valuable for all Catholics.
Continuing formation hours. The National Directory asks each diocese to set its own annual minimum for deacons in active ministry; the dioceses that publish theirs often land between 24 and 30 hours a year. A full day covers a helpful share of that. We are happy to document hours in whatever form your diaconate office uses.
Four sessions, with questions and a break after each. This is the spine of every day we run — the examples change with the room, the teaching doesn't.
We start with what we believe about ourselves, God, and the relationship between us. This then leads into a deeper conversation about how this identity impacts how we live service and mission in our lives, and why clarity in this area has to come first.
Then we'll get into the theology of grace, charisms, and how these gifts differ from talents and from the Gifts of the Spirit discussed in sacramental prep. Everything is grounded in Scripture, Vatican II, and the Catechism, with easy-to-understand framing.
A walk through each charism on our list — both hallmarks of the gift and what it looks like in daily life.
We end by breaking open how discernment works, starting with a most-likely list, not a definitive answer. We'll explain how to create test scenarios, the steps of the process, how long to take, and what commitment means.
The full day isn't the half day stretched out. It's the same four sessions with room to breathe, plus the pieces there is never time for in a half day.
A guided worksheet and time to pray before charisms are introduced, so people have processed where they are at personally in this aspect of their spiritual development.
Three discernment questions per charism — the things we always ask when we have someone in front of us discerning a certain charism. These questions are often very clarifying and have people smiling knowingly across the table at each other.
Everyone takes the assessment in the room on a personal device, with the presenter there to answer questions while they do.
Thirty to forty-five minutes of feedback from peers about what gifts they see in each other. At many events, this is what really changes things for people.
The full walkthrough — the work, the struggles, the virtues, and what discernment looks like at each stage. This foundational information is key to approaching discernment well, but it's too in-depth to make time for in the half-day workshop.
Discernment worksheet time built in, so everyone leaves with a plan to move into commitment.
Recommended for this room: full day. We strongly recommend the full day format. The three-stage identity section is very helpful for understanding how you have approached service historically and where God is leading you next. The additional time also leaves space for questions, group discussions, and deeper moments of prayer.
| What | Cost |
|---|---|
| Half day — roughly three hours | $1,500 |
| Full dayRecommended | $1,800 |
| Travel | at cost |
| Charism assessment, per person | $6.99 |
Assessments are billed after the day for the people who actually took one — never a guess at attendance, and never a block you have to buy up front. If your group has already taken the assessment, that line is simply zero.
Their own results, a most-likely list of three or four charisms to test, and a plan for finishing discernment — so nobody walks out with a good feeling and nowhere to put it.
A charism assessment is a starting point, not a verdict. It tells someone what they most likely carry; using it is how they find out.
We have many other resources that can support your ongoing use of the Charism assessment data from your event, as well as follow-up tools like small group studies, books, and more. Just let us know your goals when we talk. We'd be happy to create a custom solution.