THE CHARISMATIC RENEWAL
A CURRENT GRACE FOR THE WHOLE CHURCH
Since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has been working on the growth and vitality of Holy Mother Church. “The history of the Catholic Church is replete with countless examples of renewal, often initiated by saints or by groups and movements devoted to living out, often in a new way, some aspect of the Church’s life or identity that is needed at particular times and places.” (A Mighty Current of Grace, Schreck). Examples include SaintsFrancis, Clare and Dominic in the thirteenth century and SaintPhilip Neri in Rome in the sixteenth century. Throughout the centuries, individuals, groups and movements beginning in the early Church have operated in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit including tongues, healing, prophecy and deliverance from evil spirits, and Charisms of wisdom and knowledge. Today these “Gifts of the Spirit” are manifest in a particular way in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
HISTORICAL MOMENT
In the mid to late nineteenth century, the Holy Spirit moved in a mighty way in both the Catholic Church and Protestant churches (mainly Pentecostal). An Italian religious sister, recently beautified by Pope Francis, St. Elena Guerra wrote to Pope Leo XIII urging him to promote a lively devotion to the Holy Spirit throughout the Catholic Church. In response to her request, Pope Leo wrote an encyclical on the Holy Spirit and urged all the bishops of the Church to observe the nine days between Holy Thursday and Pentecost with prayer in their dioceses and parishes for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Pope Leo offered a votive Mass of the Holy Ghost on the first day of the new century which was also the day that the Pentecostal movement started in Topeka, Kansas. It is important to remember that when the Spirit moves in power, He moves among believers regardless of Christian denomination, therefore the “Charismatic Renewal” is ecumenical in its scope.
DUQUESNE MOMENT
Many consider the birth of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States to have begun at a retreat for college students at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh on February 17-19, 1967. The Chi Rho Society retreatants at Duquesne University were asked to reflect on the first four chapters of the Acts of the Apostles and during the retreat, the Holy Spirit fell in a powerful way upon the students. This event led to large gatherings of people at prayer meetings, parishes and conferences starting at colleges and moving into parishes especially with the completion of the Team manual for the Life in the Spirit seminar in 1970.
BAPTISM IN THE SPIRIT
The Baptism in the Spirit is an activation of what we receive in the sacraments of initiation. Because we are often Baptized as infants, we are unaware of the Gifts that have been poured in during Baptism and sealed during Confirmation. Similarly, we remain unsure of our relationship with the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity who empowers the faith life of the believer. All of the baptized are called to operate in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and to fulfill God’s call to complete the ministry of Jesus. The Charismatic Renewal is a current of Grace for the entire Church.
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