Charismatic Renewal
"Tongues as of fire appeared, which parted and came to rest on each of them. All were filled with the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:3-4
The Charismatic Renewal invites all people to experience the Holy Spirit who opens us to a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ and the love of the Father. The Holy Spirit empowers us for personal holiness, renewed Catholic life, and evangelization. Father Richard Rice continues to serve the Charismatic Renewal in Maine through his support of individuals and groups involved in the Renewal with healing services at parishes in our diocese and by coordinating updates for the Charismatic Renewal page of our website. He was the diocesan liaison between Bishop Robert P. Deeley and Charismatic Renewal in the state of Maine for many years.
About the Catholic Charismatic Renewal
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal as it exists today is the outgrowth of a retreat held in February 1967 with several faculty members and students from Duquesne University. Many of the students – though not all – experienced a movement of God’s Spirit called being “baptized in the Holy Spirit.” The professors had previously been “baptized in the Spirit” a week or two before. God’s action was also prepared for in a very human way by the students’ prayerful preparation in reading the Acts of the Apostles and a book entitled The Cross and the Switchblade. What happened quickly spread to graduate students and professors at the University of Notre Dame and others serving in campus ministry in Lansing, Michigan. It continued to spread so that, as of this date, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal exists in over 238 countries in the world, having touched over 100 million Catholics in its nearly 40-year existence. https://www.nsc-chariscenter.org/about-ccr/)
New Coordinating Body for Catholic Charismatic Activities
The two international bodies that had been supporting and coordinating the international activities of Charismatic Catholics will become one new organization.
“Charis” will take over the roles previously played by the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service and the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant Communities and Fellowships, the Vatican announced in 2018.
The Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, which certifies international Catholic lay organizations, said Charis began operating in December 2018.
Announcing the new body, the dicastery said that its ecclesiastical adviser would be Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher of the papal household.
For more information, visit the official Charis website. Our diocese has supported the Catholic Charismatic Renewal since its inception more than 50 years ago. It is our prayer that Charis will lay the foundation for something new for the Renewal in Maine and show the ways to a renewed life in God, the Holy Spirit.
Pope Francis on Pentecost Sunday 2018
“Though people may promise to change things, it is the third person of the Holy Trinity that creates real change through the reinvigoration and renewal of hearts,” Pope Francis said on Pentecost Sunday.
“Plenty of people promise change, new beginnings, prodigious renewals, but experience teaches us that no earthly attempt to change reality can ever completely satisfy the human heart,” the pope said May 20.
“Yet the change that the Spirit brings is different. It does not revolutionize life around us, but changes our hearts.”
This change, Francis continued, does not take away all of our problems, but “liberates us within so that we can face them. It does not give us everything at once, but makes us press on confidently, never growing weary of life. The Spirit keeps our hearts young.”
Speaking during Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the Solemnity of Pentecost, Pope Francis noted that when Catholics want to bring about real change in their lives, they should pray to the Holy Spirit.
“Who among us does not need a change? Particularly when we are downcast, wearied by life’s burdens, oppressed by our own weakness, at those times when it is hard to keep going and loving seems impossible,” the pope said.
In those moments, people need a powerful “jolt” or “reinvigoration” of the Spirit, he stated, pointing out how in the creed, Catholics profess that the Holy Spirit is the “giver of life.” “How good it would be for us each day to feel this jolt of life!” he encouraged. “To say when we wake up each morning: ‘Come, Holy Spirit, come into my heart, come into my day.’”
Just as wind brings change to the environment – “warmth when it is cold, cool when it is hot” – the Holy Spirit, “on a very different level, does the same.”
“He is the divine force that changes the world,” Francis stated.
Reflecting on the Acts of the Apostles, and how the power of the Holy Spirit sent the disciples to preach and convert pagans in different lands, including Philip who was sent “from Jerusalem to Gaza,” the pope exclaimed: “How heartrending that name [Gaza] sounds to us today! May the Spirit change hearts and situations and bring peace to the Holy Land.”
After Mass, Pope Francis led the Regina Coeli in St. Peter’s Square, where he also prayed for Jerusalem, saying he was spiritually united to a prayer vigil which took place May 19 in Jerusalem for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
“Today we continue to invoke the Holy Spirit to inspire the will and gestures of dialogue and reconciliation in the Holy Land and Middle East,” he said.
He also spoke about his “beloved Venezuela,” asking the Holy Spirit to give the Venezuelan people – citizens and political leaders – “the wisdom to meet the path of peace and unity,” and prayed for the 11 prisoners who died Saturday during a prison riot.
(Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA; May 20, 2018)
Story Link: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-on-pentecost-only-the-holy-spirit-can-change-hearts-81065.
Resources
New coordinating body for Catholic charismatic activities
“Charis” will take over the roles previously played by the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service and the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant Communities and Fellowships.
Catholic Charismatic Renewal National Service Committee
The National Service Committee is a body of leaders in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal who work together to serve the Lord in renewing the grace of Pentecost in the life and mission of the Church.
The mission of the magazine Pentecost Today is to serve and be a voice for the National Service Committee’s mission “to foster the dynamic grace of baptism in the Holy Spirit.” The magazine publishes articles that instruct
and give practical wisdom with a particular emphasis on strengthening leaders and leader formation. It can be downloaded at the NSC website (scroll down to Pentecost Today at link above).
Fr. Pivonka's Video Series about the Holy Spirit (Free)
A 14-part series centering on the Holy Spirit is available for streaming. The “Wild Goose” was a term that the ancient Celts had for the Holy Spirit. Discover the immense power and beauty of the unconditional love of God that is the Holy Spirit.
Each segment is about 30 minutes long and includes: God’s Love Poured Out, Breath of God, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, The Spirit and Our Lady, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, The Spirit and the Eucharist, The Spirit of Adoption, The Spirit of the Sacraments, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, The Spirit and the Desert, The Spirit Convicts, The Spirit’s Freedom, The Spirit Gives Witness, The Spirit Remembers.
Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, is a nationally known author and speaker dedicated to helping others come to know God’s love for them through preaching and writing. Fr. Pivonka has held several ministry positions at Franciscan University of Steubenville.
"Charismatic Renewal and Young Adults" by John Beaulieu
Click the link above to view an article by John Beaulieu, who works in the Christian Outreach Office at Franciscan University, entitled "Charismatic Renewal and Young Adults."
Beaulieu discusses the relationship between young adults, the Catholic Church, and the great hope this demographic holds for the Church.
He also details the challenges facing the Church in reaching this group as it tries to present the fullness of the faith in a way that is "transformative and transcendent and empowering for young people to live the faith."
Beaulieu developed his passion for ministry while traveling as a missionary with NET ministries. During his thirty years of ministry, he has spoken to thousands of teens and adults each year at parish, diocesan and national events.
John lives in Steubenville, Ohio, with his wife Lisa and their five children.
Dave VanVickle is the Young Adult Coordinator for the National Service Committee of Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
He is married and has four children, and is currently the Director of Evangelization for a parish in Pittsburgh.
He grew up in the Community of God’s Delight in Dallas, Texas, and a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. On campus, he was active in the Charismatic Renewal there.
He is a gifted speaker who loves to evangelize and to bring the power of the Holy Spirit to all that God puts in his path. The work of the young adult coordinator is to network with already existing ministries reaching young adults in the power of the Holy Spirit, and to serve the Renewal with new initiatives to reach out to young adults.
For more information:
Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland
510 Ocean Avenue
Portland, ME 04103
Tel. (207) 773-6471
