What’s a Charismatic Conference Like?
What is it? What can I expect?

Since I take care of the registration for the conference, I get many, many calls inquiring about the conference, and I end up sharing what my first conference was like as I am sharing here. My first conference was in 1995 at the 13th Conference entitled, "Say But the Word".

If this is your first conference or your first taste of the charismatic, it will be unlike ANYTHING you have ever attended or experienced. I tell people to come with open hearts and great expectation and a seat belt because the Lord is waiting to catapult you into His Heart like you never knew could be done on this earth!!!

I found out about the conference from people at church mentioning it, encouraging me to go. I managed to find a friend to go with me, although I would have been quite comfortable alone -- people are quite friendly. When I first walked into the auditorium what surprised me was the music -- very upbeat, and people were standing, clapping to the beat, getting into the music. Gosh, I looked around the auditorium and was so surprised to see most everybody was singing, many people had their hands raised in prayer, many had their eyes closed, and there was an atmosphere of reverence and worship I had never observed at Sunday Mass. Never had I seen Catholics so expressive of their love of the Lord!!!! Never before had I seen Catholics so deep into prayer. There was a sense of something quite different, I didn’t know how to describe it at the time, but now I realize it was the power of the Holy Spirit.

The format of the conference followed a schedule that was listed in the conference booklet, but I missed that my first year. I also didn’t realize there was a book store and confessors at lunchtime and a chapel -- what with coming with a friend and the talks being so inspiring, there was so much I couldn’t take it all in at once!!!

There were a few special events that will remain in my mind forever -- things created just for me by the Lord -- there was a Healing Service Saturday night. Well, having watched the televangelists in surfing through the channels, my thinking was that the "healed people" were planted in the audience. I did not believe any of it. I thought it was all fake, phony, a scam. The Priest selected five people from the auditorium, and I couldn’t believe that one of the five was a woman I knew from my parish, a woman I considered to be of good character and integrity. She had chronic back pain since being involved in an accident and -- praise God -- she was healed of her pain that night!!! I could hardly believe it!!! Here it is, five years later, and she remains pain-free. God is sooooooo generous in His Love, His Mercy, His Healing, His Gifts. So, was that healing for the woman or for me to grow in faith or for others at the conference? God’s Plan is immense and awesome, He continually calls us, draws us to Himself.

During the conference, I had difficulty with the worship and praise. I liked that people were singing, many had their hands raised or outstretched, I really enjoyed watching such different expressions of prayer, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. I wasn’t uncomfortable with NOT doing anything, but I was uncomfortable that my hands were almost itching to be raised yet my inhibitions kept me from participating. I closed my eyes and in my mind I prayed, asked the Lord if perhaps I held hands with someone and raised them I could break through my inhibition. Just at that moment my hand was lifted and raised, and I was on my feet with my arms in the air. A gal had crossed the aisle, taken my hand, and was praising God. I had no choice but to keep my arms raised in prayer. While this may seem like a small matter, it was a prayer answered before it was fully spoken. It was what I needed at that moment to grow, and the growth continues.