Fr. Franco's Letters

The beginning of the modern Catholic charismatic renewal is associated with the Duquesne retreat weekend February 17-19, 1967. Participants on that weekend experienced baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit like speaking in tongues and prophecy. They experienced the love and power of God in a profound way.

In the wake of the recently concluded Second Vatican Council, this renewed experience of the Holy Spirit rapidly spread to Catholics on many college campuses, in religious communities and into parish life. And though people were experiencing Baptism in the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit, they did not have a standard way of referring to this experience and movement. Some people called it “neo-Pentecostalism”, because of its association with the early church’s experience at Pentecost. Other Catholic leaders in the movement thought it made the renewal too closely associated with the Pentecostal and Assembly of God traditions. I know one Catholic priest who attended a prayer group because it was called a Catholic Pentecostal prayer group. In his mind, “Catholic” and “Pentecostal” were about as radically different as it gets. He thought, “I’ve got to see this! I can’t imagine how this would work.”

Eventually, leaders of the movement settled on the phrase “the charismatic renewal”. Charisms, the spiritual gifts referred to by St. Paul (I Corinthians 12 et al) and St. Peter (I Peter 4:11), present in the early Church (and at different times throughout the history of the Church), were now being experienced by a sovereign movement of the Holy Spirit. The movement grew through prayer groups and Life in the Spirit Seminars. Catholic charismatic communities were born. Diocesan structures were set up to pastor the movement on the parish level. As a result, millions of Catholics throughout the world were renewed by this wave of the Spirit.

The many fruits of the charismatic renewal are summarized in our lead article this month by Bishop David L. Toups. For many Catholics, baptism in the Spirit opened them up to spiritual treasures of the Church in a new way. Sacred Scripture, the Sacraments, personal prayer, the lives of the saints, Christian community, evangelization and works of mercy were embraced with fresh devotion. Unfortunately for some people, baptism in the Spirit and exposure to the non-Catholic Pentecostal tradition became a gateway out of the Church, which they believed to be overly encumbered by dead traditions.

On the one hand today’s Catholic charismatic renewal is different than the movement that was spawned almost 60 years ago. Demographically, the classic charismatic renewal is older. There are fewer prayer groups. There are not as many Life in the Spirit seminars taking place.

Yet, this experience of baptism in the Spirit is still being passed on to younger generations by different means. FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) and St. Paul Outreach evangelize Catholic college students and bring them to experience Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Seek Conferences (again for college age Catholics) and Encounter Ministries (open to anyone) help people to experience baptism in the Holy Spirit and openness to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The important thing is that people continue to experience the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Though this is not the most important part of our Christian heritage (in fact, Jesus said in Matthew 7:21ff that we can exercise these gifts and be cut off from him!), baptism in the Holy Spirit is often a life-changing experience. This encounter with the Lord sets people on a new trajectory. Though the gifts of the Spirit are not the focus of the Christian life, they are vital tools that help people encounter Jesus and be converted. These gifts, active in the ministry of Jesus and in the early Church, were important methods of evangelization. Today, they still are effective in proclaiming Christ to other people.

I sometimes ask myself, Why don’t we see these powerful spiritual gifts more often? One reason, I believe, is that spiritual gifts take us out of our comfort zone. Though we “exercise” these gifts, we know that we are not in control. We can also be a bit self-conscious. We need to make the effort to exercise these gifts for the good of others, not caring what other people think about us.

Bob Roach, who headed up the Word gift ministry at this summer’s conference, recently told the story of his first prophecy.

When I was 19, I gave my first prophecy at a college prayer meeting. It was: “My children, say hello to everyone you pass on the street or I will be unhappy”. Father Ken Sommer came up to me after the meeting and said, “Bob, that was not a prophecy. But do not stop prophesying”.

Bob Roach made a mistake. However, he was humble enough to continue to seek the Lord. He continued to seek the gift of prophecy. Over time, the Lord deepened in him the gift of prophecy. Now Bob’s words are truly prophetic. They encourage and direct people in a powerful way.

In I Corinthians 12-14, St. Paul gives us three chapters on spiritual gifts. The most well known of these chapters is the middle chapter, which focuses on love. However, that chapter is framed by these two verses:

Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts…(I Corinthians 12:31a)

Pursue love, but strive eagerly for the spiritual gifts, above all that you may prophesy. (I Corinthians 14:1)

We need to “strive eagerly”, knowing that these gifts may meet someone’s pressing need or unlock their heart to the Lord. With prayer, study. faith and love, we need to seek these gifts. And if we sense a leading by the Holy Spirit, we need to step out and exercise the gift. As Mother Angelica once said, “We need to do the ridiculous for God to do the miraculous.”

Let us thank God for the charismatic renewal. We pray that this move of the Spirit renews the lives of millions of Catholics and that the gifts of the Holy Spirit, tools that can convert the hard of heart, be evident in every place in the Church! Come Holy Spirit!

PS: I wish each of you a wonderful Thanksgiving and a blessed and joyful Christmas!
PPS: CRM’s office was at the Seminary in Wickliffe for many years, and more recently, we have been housed at several parishes. To avoid more moves, our service committee has decided to close the office. Our “office” was really a landing place for the things that we use at our conference. We have distributed those things among members of the committee. Though we do not have a “landing place”, Catholic Renewal Ministries will continue to put on quality programing, publish The Flame and hold its annual conference. Members of our service team are available to assist prayer groups and parishes. Please call us at 440-944-9445 or email crmcleveland@gmail.org