Many of us are really into taking personality quizzes and learning more about ourselves. We know which Myers-Briggs personality we have, which character in our favorite book or movie series we are most like, even which Hogwarts House we would be sorted into it. However, most of the time, we don’t connect our personality and preferences with our relationship with God. It is true that we may find out what our strengths and weaknesses are, but we rarely consider what that means in our spiritual life.
In The Temperament God Gave You quiz, Art and Laraine Bennett do what most other quizzes don’t—they tell us which are our spiritual strengths and weaknesses, which saint shared our temperament, and they even give advice on what you can do to enrich your spiritual life.
If you haven’t figured out which is your primary (and/or secondary) temperament is, you can take the quiz and find out here. If you already know which temperament you are, find it on the list below and see what you can do to breathe new life into your spiritual life.
Here’s some possibilities:
Choleric
Your spiritual gifts include: Knowledge and fortitude.
Your spiritual weaknesses include: Anger, control, and haughtiness.
The saint who shares your temperament is: St. Paul.
Advice for your spiritual life: As a natural leader, getting involved in parish projects and leading prayer groups can be great for your spiritual life. Frequenting confession and taking the time to focus on Scriptures (e.g. daily Mass readings) can also be very beneficial.
Melancholic
Your spiritual gifts include: Wisdom and piety.
Your spiritual weaknesses include: Scrupulosity, despair, and judgmentalism.
The saint who shares your temperament is: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein).
Advice for your spiritual life: Try saying prayers of thanksgiving, performing acts of charity, and frequenting the sacraments to bring peace during overwhelming times. Having a spiritual director is very important due to the streak of perfectionism that can run deep.
Sanguine
Your spiritual gifts include: Mercy and gratitude.
Your spiritual weaknesses include: Seeking human respect, envy, and self-love.
The saint who shares your temperament is: St. Peter.
Advice for your spiritual life: Try using the Ignatius form of meditation or praying in an environment that involves more than one of your senses (e.g. a church with stained glass windows and candles flickering in the background). Being active in parish groups is also a good idea as long as you don’t join too many and do too much all at once.
Phlegmatic
Your spiritual gifts include: Understanding and meekness.
Your spiritual weaknesses include: Sloth, sensuality, and complacency.
The saint who shares your temperament is: St. Thomas Aquinas
Advice for your spiritual life: Try praying the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary, or the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. You can also keep a prayer journal or find a prayer group to help keep you accountable and motivated in your prayer life since you’re more prone to laziness than the other temperaments.
Please remember that these are only suggestions on what you should do, solely based on your temperament. Not all the spiritual gifts and weaknesses will apply to everyone that has that particular temperament. If you’re really determined to work on your spiritual life, it’s highly recommended that you find a spiritual director who can help you figure out exactly what you need to do.
Also, remember that these types of personality tests are just a guideline for discovering who you are. Take it with a grain of salt . . . and if it’s blessed salt even better.