One of many spiritual renewals within the Catholic Church, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal started in 1967 when a handful of students and university theology professors from Duquesne University got together for a retreat weekend. From this small and inconspicuous beginning, by 1990 the movement had grown to include more than 72 million Catholics world wide (over 15 million in America). It has official organizations in 120 countries around the world. Many believe that this renewal is a direct result of Vatican II and Pope John XXIII's prayer: "O Holy Spirit ... pour fourth the fullness of your gifts ... Renew your wonders in this our day as by a new Pentecost."
The Catholic Charismatic movement is not simply a renewal of the charisms found in the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians [Chapter 12]. It centers on the renewal of individual commitment to the person of Jesus Christ.
This commitment has been the center of every authentic renewal in the history of the Church. The commitment begins by the reanointing with the presence of the Holy Spirit; what is sometimes called "The Baptism in the Holy Spirit." This occurs when individuals ask Jesus Christ, who is the one who gives the Holy Spirit, to stir up the gift of the Holy Spirit within their hearts. St. Paul admonished Timothy: "I remind you to stir into flame the Gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands." [2 Tim 1:6]
This is primarily a renewal of the gifts received in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. The results are many. Along with the reception of the charisms, people who have experienced this renewal in the Holy Spirit talk of a new and deeper personal knowledge of Jesus. They find new power in prayer, a new love of scripture, and a new and deeper appreciation of the Church, of the liturgy, and of the sacraments. These characteristics of the Charismatic Renewal have led both Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II to actively encourage the faithful and the clergy to become involved in the Charismatic Renewal.
This approval was first dramatically demonstrated by Pope Paul VI in 1975. He, personally, invited the renewal to hold its annual conference in Rome. In a special session during that conference the Pope stated: "Nothing is more necessary to this more and more secularized world than the witness of the `spiritual renewal' that we see the Holy Spirit evoking in the most diverse regions and milieux...How then could this `spiritual renewal' not be a `chance' for the Church and for the world? And how, in this case, could one not take all the means to ensure that it remains so."
Pope John Paul II, following the lead of Pope Paul VI, has also met with groups of charismatic people and, at one such encounter, said: "Remain in an attitude of constant and grateful availability for every gift that the Spirit wishes to pour into your hearts."
Encouraged by the leadership of Pope Paul VI and John Paul II, the Catholic bishops of the United States, Canada, and many bishops in South America and Europe, have written pastoral statements supporting and encouraging the renewal. The bishops of the United States, in their pastoral letter to the American Church on the Charismatic Renewal, wrote the following in 1984:
Perhaps a few words about the charisms are in order. Vatican II echoes St. Paul in stating:
So the gifts, supernatural and ordinary, are gifts not to individuals, but to the community. These gifts are given to build up God's people, and the Holy Spirit distributes "them individually to each person as he wishes. " [1 Cor 12:11] Hence, they do not indicate the sanctity of the individual. The gifts that are found in the Charismatic Renewal are outlined in St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians [Chapter 12] :
Hence, the list includes gifts through which God gives understanding about himself and the Christian walk; wisdom, knowledge, and discernment. Gifts through which God acts in his community; faith, healing, and miracles. And gifts through which God speaks to his people; prophecy, tongues, and interpretation of tongues.
The following is a brief description of these gifts:
Collectively, these gifts are for the building up of God's people. They have existed in one form or another throughout the history of the Christian church. For example, the Orthodox Communions have them listed in their canon law, and many of their monks exhibit them.
At the present time in the Catholic Church, these "charismatic" gifts are usually experienced in the context of a prayer meeting. The main purpose of prayer meetings is to give glory to God our Father through our Lord Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Most of the meeting consists of praising God with spontaneous prayers and with singing. These periods of prayer will be punctuated by scripture reading, sharing, and prayers for the particular needs of individuals.
During the meeting the charisms will be exercised, although they do not always play a part. The typical meeting follows St. Paul's directive: "When you assemble, one has a psalm, another an instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or interpretation. Everything should be done for building up." [1 Cor 14:26] In another place, St. Paul charges the Christians: "be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and praying to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father." [Eph 5:18-20]
Finally, in one of his earliest writings, St. Paul exhorts Christians to "Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil" [1 Thes 5:16-22]
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