- What is Catholic Charismatic Renewal?
(Article from the Catholic Charismatic Renewal website – Melbourne, Australia - www.ccr.org.au)
Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) is a spiritual movement within the Catholic Church that emphasises the availability of the power and the many gifts of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer, and the need for a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ in order to live life to the fullest.
CCR has its international office in Rome, and consists of thousands of local prayer groups and communities, as well as special ministries and servies, in almost every country around the world.
CCR emphasises the goodness of God, and proclaims, with the Church, that God’s grace is freely given to everyone. Jesus Christ fully revealed God, enabling each person to know God as good, as totally giving, and as one who shares fully in the human experience.
The experience of the first followers of Jesus was that they were empowered by God through the Holy Spirit to live a new kind of life — life in a fuller dimension whereby God’s power worked in them and through them in order to bring God’s love and grace to all who would receive it. Essentially, it is this experience of God that is at the basis of the Catholic faith.
The Church has experienced through the centuries the power of God working in and through imperfect people, all seeking to know God. CCR lies firmly within this tradition.
- What is Distinctive about the Spirituality of CCR?
CCR originated in 1967 when some Catholics experienced the presence and power of God working in a new and deeper way in their lives. This experience of God, which they described as being “baptised in the Spirit,” drew them into a far deeper spiritual life than before. They wanted to give their lives more fully to God. They experienced his love more deeply, and appreciated even more deeply the spiritual riches to be found in the Catholic Church.
They discovered, in particular, that God was wanting to be far more active in their lives than they had previously understood. They experienced gifts of the Holy Spirit that enabled them to help and serve others, such as praying for healing, and teaching and preaching in more powerful ways. They found God to be vitally interested and involved in every aspect of their lives, no matter how seemingly minor. God worked in their lives in a powerful way and, through them, healed and transformed others.
- Baptism in the Spirit
Although each person's experience of God is unique, the experience within CCR is that there is usually a moment of deeper conversion in each person's life which brings them into this deeper spiritual dimension. This is called “the Baptism in the Spirit,” or ”a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit” (as the person has usually already received the Spirit in many ways in their life). The word “baptism” is not to be confused with sacramental Baptism, but simply means immersion — immersion into God in a fuller way, and being immersed in the Holy Spirit. It is a grace of God that often brings with it new spiritual gifts, and sometimes a calling and enabling to move into new roles in serving others.
The receiving of this grace is pure gift, and the recipient does nothing to earn it, but must allow God to act, as he always respects our free will. It empowers the individual to serve others, and to move into a deeper spiritual awareness and longing to know God. It empowers the person to using the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are always for the benefit of others.
People who have experienced this grace speak of a new love of God, a desire to pray and to attend Mass, to join with other Christians in sharing their faith life, to serve others, to read Scripture and other spiritual reading, and to learn more about the ways of God. They have a new desire to praise God, and experience a deep peace and joy as they find a new awareness of the presence of God in their lives.
Typically, those coming into CCR attend a Life in the Spirit Seminar within a prayer group. The seminar lasts a number of weeks, and facilitates a process of openness to new graces that God might give that person. In one of those sessions, there is specific prayer for the Baptism in the Spirit.
- Gifts of the Spirit
For the early Christians, the Holy Spirit was experienced as a real power in their lives. The Holy Spirit empowered them to continue the work of Jesus. When a person received the Holy Spirit, they experienced a very real difference in their lives — and others noticed it. That is still true today.
Although all Christians receive the Holy Spirit through Baptism, God’s Spirit works in many ways in the world, in both Christians and non-Christians. Yet the experience of being ‘baptised in the Spirit’ is a time of entering a deeper spiritual dimension. Similarly, St Teresa of Avila describes a person entering her ‘Fourth Mansion’: “Supernatural experiences begin here” (Interior Castle 4.1.1).
Those who experience this deeper infilling, or new outpouring, of God’s Spirit usually begin to discover new spiritual gifts. Some of these are:
Paul describes some of the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12, but the Spirit works in many ways. The Spirit also empowers people to move into new roles of service and ministry to others. In all case, the gifts are given to serve others. God works through people, and these gifts help spread his goodness in the world.
- CCR worldwide
(Text from the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service website – www.iccrs.org)
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal began at a retreat for college students at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in February 1967. The students had spent much of the weekend in prayer, asking God to allow them to experience the grace of both baptism and confirmation. The students, that weekend, had a powerful and transforming experience of God, which came to be known as 'baptism in the Spirit'. The account of the weekend and the experience of the Spirit quickly spread across the college campus, then to other campuses throughout the country.
The charismatic experience soon moved beyond colleges and began to have an impact on regular parishes and other Catholic institutions. Loose organisations and networks were formed. Catholic charismatic conferences began to be held, drawing over 30,000 at Notre Dame campus in South Bend Indiana in the mid 1970's.
The Renewal caught the attention of the Church, and the leaders of the movement met Pope Paul VI (1975) as well as Pope John Paul II several times. In addition, several of the bishops' conferences, of various countries, have written pastoral letters of encouragement and support for the movement.
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is not a single, unified worldwide movement. It does not have a single founder or group of founders as many other movements do. It has no membership lists. It is a highly diverse collection of individuals, groups and activities - covenant communities, prayer groups, small faith sharing groups, renewed parishes, conferences, retreats, and even involvement in various apostolates and ministries -, often quite independent of one another, in different stages and modes of development and with different emphases, that nevertheless share the same fundamental experience and espouse the same general goals.
The common thread for the Movement is the ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’. For many people, this new, powerful, and life-transforming outpouring of the Holy Spirit takes place in the context of a specifically designed seminar called ‘Life in the Spirit’, although many have been ‘baptised in the Spirit’ outside of the seminar.
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is present in 238 countries and has touched the lives of over 100,000,000 Catholics. In some countries the number of participants seems to have diminished in recent years, while in other places the number continue to rise at an amazing rate.
Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church
- Statements by Popes and Bishops
At the highest levels, the Church has repeatedly supported and encouraged Catholic Charismatic Renewal. On 1 October, 1973, Pope Paul VI gave his blessing to CCR leaders who had gathered together from all over the world to attend the International Leaders Conference in Rome. He said that the Renewal fostered:
Pope John Paul II said to CCR leaders on 14 March, 1992: The emergence of the Renewal following the Second Vatican Council was a particular gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church … Certainly one of the most important results of this spiritual awakening has been that increased thirst for holiness which is seen in the lives of individuals and in the whole Church.
Cardinal Suenens described the Renewal as a “moving of the Holy Spirit,” and as “a high voltage current of Grace which is coursing through the Church.”
International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (ICCRS) is based in Rome and acts as the centre of communications within the worldwide Charismatic Renewal. It also serves as liaison between the Charismatic Renewal and the Vatican. Catholic Charismatic Renewal is active in 130 countries, and is fully supported and encouraged by the bishops of the Church.
The Bishops of Australia have given their full support to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and have appointed full-time and part-time chaplains and liaison priests. In November, 1996, Archbishop George Pell issued a statement expressing his fullest support for the work of Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
First of all I want to reiterate the words of Pope John Paul II when he said that "the emergence of Renewal following the second Vatican Council was a particular gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church" (Address to the International Council for Catholic Charismatic Renewal, 14 March, 1992).
Therefore I fully endorse the work of Catholic Charismatic Renewal within the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
I pray that your closeness to Jesus Christ will help the whole Church to become an instrument of God's healing presence in the world.
- Another Statements of Popes Paul VI and John Paul II
(Text from the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service website – www.iccrs.org)
«We rejoice with you, dear friends, at the renewal of the spiritual
life manifested in the Church today, in different forms and in various environments.
[...] In all that, we can recognize the mysterious and hidden work of the Spirit,
who is the soul of the church.»
Address of Paul VI on occasion of the first International Leaders' Conference,
Grottaferrata (Rome) 10 October 1973.
«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? [...] Nothing is more
necessary for such a world, more and more secularized, than the testimony of
this "spiritual renewal", which we see the Holy Spirit bring about
today in the most diverse regions and environments. Its manifestations are varied:
deep communion of souls, close contact with God in faithfulness to the commitments
undertaken at Baptism, in prayer that is often community prayer, in which each
one, expressing himself freely, helps, supports and nourishes the prayer of
others, and, at the basis of everything, a personal conviction. This conviction
has its source not only in instruction received by faith but also in a certain
experience of real life, namely, that without God, man can do nothing, that
with him, on the contrary, everything becomes possible.»
Address of Pope Paul VI to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal on occasion of the
Second International Leaders' Conference, Rome, 19 May 1975.
«I am convinced that this movement is a sign of His action (of the
Spirit). The world is much in need of this action of the Holy Spirit, and it
needs many instruments for this action. [...] Now I see this movement, this
activity everywhere.»
Private audience of Pope John Paul II with the ICCRO Council, Rome, 11 December
1979.
«This morning I have the joy of meeting this assembly of yours, in
which I see young people, adults, old people, men and women, united in the profession
of the same faith, sustained by longing for the same hope, bound together by
bonds of that charity which "has been poured into our hearts through the
Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Rm. 5:5). To this effusion of
the Spirit we know we owe a deeper and deeper experience of the presence of
Christ, thanks to which we can grow daily in loving knowledge of the Father.
Rightly, therefore, your movement pays particular attention to the action, mysterious
but real, that the third person of the Holy Trinity plays in the Christian's
life.»
First audience of Pope John Paul II with the Italian Renewal, Rome, 23 November
1980.
«Your reputation goes before you, like that of his beloved Philippians,
which prompted the Apostle Paul to begin his letter to them with a sentiment
I am happy to echo: "I give thanks to my God every time I think of you"
[...] The Church has seen the fruits of your devotion to prayer in a deepened
commitment to holiness of life and love for the word of God.»
Address of Pope John Paul II at the Fourth International Leaders' Conference,
Rome, 7 May 1981.
«[...] I ask you, and all the members of the Charismatic Renewal,
to continue to cry aloud to the world with me: "Open the doors to the Redeemer"
[...] The church's mission is to proclaim Christ to the world. You share effectively
in this mission insofar as your groups and communities are rooted in the local
churches, in your dioceses and parishes.»
Address of Pope John Paul II at the Fifth International Leaders' Conference,
Rome, 30 April 1984.
«The first dimension of renewal consists, therefore, in this: "to
live according the Spirit", in this continual growing in the Spirit, resisting
the gratifications of the "flesh", opening oneself to the strong,
sweet attraction of God. This inner renewal, this healing of the very roots
of life and this formation of a mentality dominated by the "promptings
of the Spirit" is your vocation as Christians, your vocation as men and
women, youths and adults of our time who want to give witness, who want that
model to flourish in the world of today, the model of spirituality and even
of courtesy...»
Address of Pope John Paul II to the participants in the National Congress of
the Italian "Renewal in the Spirit", Rome, 15 November 1986.
«[...] But there is yet another positive chance today: that of the
group of prayer which have multiplied in the Catholic Church as in other ecclesial
communities, spontaneously, in an unforeseen fashion. [...] a grace which has
come precisely to sanctify the Church and to renew in her the taste for prayer
through the rediscovery, with the Holy Spirit, of the sense of gratuitousness,
of joyful praise, of confidence in intercession; and this becomes a new source
of evangelisation.»
Audience of Pope John Paul II with the Bishops of Nothern France, 22 January
1987.
«This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Charismatic Renewal
in the Catholic Church. The vigour and fruitfulness of the Renewal certainly
attest to the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit at work in the Church in
these years after the Second Vatican Council. Of course, the Spirit has guided
the Church in every age, producing a great variety of gifts among the faithful.
Because of the Spirit, the church preserves a continual youthful vitality, and
the Charismatic Renewal is an eloquent manifestation of this vitality today,
a bold statement of what "the Spirit is saying to the churches" (Rev.
2:7) as we approach the close of the second millennium.»
Address of Pope John Paul II at the Sixth International Leaders' conference,
Rome, 15 May 1987.
«The Holy Spirit is at work in groups such as yours, drawing you
to prayer and filling you with joy in adoring and praising the Lord. As I wrote
for the whole Church in my Encyclical Dominum et Vivificantem: "Recent
years have been seeing a growth in the number of people who, in ever more widespread
movements and groups, are giving first place to prayer and seeking in prayer
a renewal of their spiritual life". In the same Spirit who send you forth
to bear witness. How can anyone who has tasted the goodness of Christ remain
silent and inactive? How can one lock away the good that has been so fully received?»
Address of Pope John Paul II to the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic
Covenant Communities and Fellowships, Rome, 7 December 1991.
«As you celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of
the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, I willingly join you in giving praise to God
for the many fruits which it has borne in the life of the Church. The emergence
of the Renewal following the Second Vatican Council was a particular gift of
the Holy Spirit to the Church. [...] At this moment in the Church's history,
the Charismatic Renewal can play a significant role in promoting the much-needed
defence of Christian life in societies where secularism and materialism have
weakened many people's ability to respond to the Spirit and to discern God's
loving call.»
Audience of Pope John Paul II with the ICCRO Council, Rome 14 March 1992.
«You have just completed a spiritual retreat in Assisi, the city
of St. Francis and also of St. Clare [...] These great figures of holiness in
the Church made their own the words of St. Paul: "It is no longer I who
live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal 2:20)". Is this not the ideal and
goal which permeates the Charismatic Renewal? Is it not the programme of life
which your prayer groups and your communities have set themselves under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit? May the example and intercession of the great Saints
of Assisi strengthen your resolve to grow continually in evangelical love and
service "to the measure and the stature of the fullness of Christ"
(Eph 4:13).»
Address of Pope John Paul II to Catholic Charismatic Renewal Leaders after ICCRS'
Assisi Retreat, Castelgandolfo, 18 September 1993.
«Your efforts to make known to others the joy of your faith in Christ
will not only contribute to strengthening the life of the local Churches to
which you belong, but will also inspire a deeper and more mature faith among
your own members. [...] your emphasis on the centrality of Scripture for the
Christian life can greatly help ecumenical understanding and co-operation, as
all believers seek to hear the voice of the Spirit which continues to speak
to the churches.»
Message of Pope John Paul II to participants in the plenary assembly of the
CFCCCF, Rome, 14 November 1994.
«How can we fail to praise God for the abundant fruit which in recent
decades the Renewal has brought about in the lives of individuals and in communities?
Countless people have appreciate the importance of Sacred Scripture for Christian
living; they have acquired a new sense of the value of prayer and a profound
yearning for holiness; many have returned to the sacraments; and a great number
of men and women have achieved a deeper understanding of their baptismal call,
and have committed themselves to the Church's mission with admirable dedication.»
Message of Pope John Paul II to participants to the Seventh International meeting
of the CFCCCF, Rome, 9 November 1996.
«The Catholic charismatic movement is one of the many fruits of the
Second Vatican Council, which, like a new Pentecost, led to an extraordinary
flourishing in the Church's life of groups and movements particularly sensitive
to the action of the Spirit. How can we not give thanks for the precious spirituals
fruits that the Renewal has produced in the life of the Church and in the lives
of so many people? How many lay faithful - men, women, young people, adults
and elderly - have been able to experience in their own lives the amazing power
of the Spirit and his gifts! How many people have rediscovered faith, the joy
of prayer, the power and beauty of the Word of God, translating all this into
generous service in the Church's mission! How many lives have been profoundly
changed! For all this today, together with you, I wish to praise and thank the
Holy Spirit.»
Audience of Pope John Paul II with the National Service Committee of the Italian
"Renewal in the Spirit", Rome, 4 April 1998.
«Thanks to this powerful ecclesial experience, wonderful Christian
families have come into being which are open to life, true "domestic churches",
and many vocations to the ministerial priesthood and the religious life have
blossomed, as well as new forms of lay life inspired by the evangelical counsels.
You have learned in the movements and new communities that faith is not abstract
talk, nor vague religious sentiment, but new life in Christ instilled by the
Holy Spirit.»
Message at the meeting between Pope John Paul II and the ecclesial movements
and new communities in St. Peter's Square, Rome, 30 May 1998.
«Certainly, your own charism leads you to direct your life towards
a special "intimacy" with the Holy Spirit. And a survey of the thirty
years of the history of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal shows that you have
helped many people to rediscover the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in
their lives, in the life of the Church and in the life of the world. [...] From
the very beginning of my ministry as the Successor of Peter, I have considered
the movements as a great spiritual resource for the Church and for humanity,
a gift of the Holy Spirit for our time, a sign of hope for all people.»
Address of Pope John Paul II to participant at the Eight meeting of the CFCCCF,
Rome, 1 June 1998.
«The Catholic Charismatic Renewal has helped many Christians to rediscover
the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in their lives, in the life of the
Church and in the world, and this rediscovery has awakened in them a faith in
Christ filled with joy, a great love of the Church and a generous dedication
to her evangelising mission. In this year of the Holy Spirit, I join you in
praise of God for the precious fruits which he has wished to bring to maturity
in your communities and, through them, in the particular Churches.»
Audience of Pope John Paul II with the participants at the Ninth Leaders' Conference,
Fiuggi, 30 October 1998.
« [...] your meeting is taking place under the patronage of an organisation.
the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (ICCRS), whose task
is to coordinate and promote exchange of experiences and reflections among Catholic
Charismatic Communities throughout the world. Thanks to this, the wealth present
in each community is for the benefit of everybody and all the communities can
more easily perceive the bond of communion which binds them to each other and
to whole Church. [...] I noticed that there was now a new stage also for the
movements, "the one of ecclesial maturity". Also charismatic communities
are called today to make this step and I am certain that, for ecclesial awareness
to mature in the different charismatic communities throughout the world, ICCRS
can have an important role.»
Address of Pope John Paul II to the participants in the National Congress of
the Italian "Renewal in the Spirit", Rimini, 24 April 2000.
«There is no holiness without prayer. In fact, as we see in the lives
of the Saints, Christians are worth as much as they pray. [...] This commits
that the groups and communities of the Renewal be ever more places of contemplation
and praise, where the heart of man is filled with the love of God, opens up
to the love towards his brother and becomes capable of building history according
to God's design. It is in the Church - home and school of communion - that we
which must oppose the culture of hatred and revenge, may the groups and Communities
of the Renewal (RnS) be significant places and models of brotherhood and love,
of patience and reciprocal welcoming. May the experience of forgiveness and
the value given to every spiritual gift help everyone to build a fellowship
nourished b the breath of the Spirit of the Risen Lord.»
Address of Pope John Paul II to the participants in the National Congress
of the Italian "Renewal in the Spirit", Rimini, 28 April 2001.
«The Church and the world need saints! And all the baptized without
exception are called to be saints! [...] Let your communities, therefore, be
more and more "genuine schools of prayer, where the meeting with Christ
is expressed not just in imploring help but also in thanksgiving, praise, adoration,
contemplation, listening and ardent devotion, until the heart truly "falls
in love". For this is what the saints are: people who have fallen in love
with Christ. And this is why the Charismatic Renewal has been such a gift to
the Church: it has led a host of men and women, young and old, into this experience
of the love which is stronger than death.»
Message of Pope John Paul II to participants to the Seventh International meeting
of the CFCCCF, Rome, 22 June 2001.
«Yes! The Renewal in the Spirit can be considered a special gift
of the Holy Spirit to the Church in our time. Born in the Church and for the
Church, your movement is one in which, following the light of the Gospel, the
members experience the living encounter with Jesus, fidelity to God in personal
and community prayer, confident listening to his Word and a vital rediscovery
of the Sacraments, not to mention courage in trials and hope in hardship. Love
for the Church and submission to her Magisterium, in the process of maturing
in the Church supported by a solid permanent formation are relevant signs of
your intention to avoid the risk of favouring, unwittingly, a purely emotional
experience of the divine, an excessive pursuit of the "extraordinary"
and a private withdrawal that may shrink from apostolic outreach.»
Address of Pope John Paul II to the participants in the National Congress
of the Italian "Renewal in the Spirit", Rimini, 14 March 2002.
- Testimony of Cardinal Suenens
(GOODNEWS PG47)
Cardinal Suenens, one of the four moderators of the Second Vatican Council, was one of the first champions of the Charismatic renewal in the Catholic Church and was given special pastoral responsibility for it by Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II (GOODNEWS PG47)
" I have come to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were blazing already." (Like 12:49)
When I was consecrated a bishop I chose as a motto "in Spiritu Sancto" (in the Holy Spirit) symbolised by a silver dove taking off from an azure ground which was a symbol of Mary. This was "in a nutshell" my entire programme of life: profound union with Mary's Fiat in order to welcome the grace and force of the Holy Spirit. On the Ecclesial plane it was the expression of my desire to be at the service, not of an administrative or canonical church but of a church open to unforeseen graces and the Holy Spirit's surprises.
The Second Vatican Council marked an important ecumenical opening up both because certain important and positive texts in this direction were accepted by vote, and also because there were present about a hundred observers, Orthodox, Anglican, and Protestants of many persuasions. The Council allowed for many frank and friendly contacts and when it was over a new apostolic field opened up to me in the United States, as I was invited by some of the non-Catholic observers to prolong our dialogue in their respective churches and universities.
During my visits to the United States I heard a lot of talk about an astonishing religious renewal which had started at the beginning of this century and little by little was accepted by traditional Protestant churches and which in 1967 manifested itself in the Catholic Church. This spiritual renewal affected universities and the most diverse religious communities and parishes.
At that time I was writing a book already heralded under the title "The Holy Spirit, our Hope". I stopped writing saying to myself that if the Holy Spirit was at work, even on the other side of the world, I had to go and see what was happening. All the more so because there was talk of a revival of charisms, for the cause of which I had pleaded at the Council.
I went to some of the principal centres; Ann Arbor, South Bend. There I met a French group conducted by Pierre Goursat, the future founder of the Emmanuel community in Paris, who was on sabbatical leave abroad. The unexpected meeting in America attested to our common wish to hear and eventually to understand what "The Spirit is saying to the Churches".
When I came into contact with these first Catholic charismatic communities, in university circles, I understood that pentecostal grace was at work, and that it was not a question of a movement - there was no founder, no rule, no precise structure - but the breath of the Spirit which was vital for many aspects of life and indeed for all movements, whatever they are.
I informed Pope Paul VI of this current which was spreading with prodigious speed in the five continents and which affected the most diverse areas. On the occasion of the Holy year in 1975 I had suggested that the Catholic leaders of this Renewal come on pilgrimage to Rome with a view of witnessing to their faith and their faithfulness to the Church.
Some prominent Protestants were invited to take part as well and cane to Rome for the Feast of Pentecost which thus took on a moving ecumenical dimension. Paul VI welcomed warmly the ten thousand pilgrims coming from the most diverse countries and in his homily the Holy Father called the Renewal "the good fortune for the Church and the World".
Here he asked me to oversee the integration of the Catholic Renewal into the heart of the Church. I accepted this mission and among other things undertook to publish a series of Malines Documents of which the first - a collective work done by a highly qualified international group - forms a kind of doctrinal and pastoral charter for Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
It was a question of freeing the Catholic Renewal from all Pentecostic ambiguity, and to immunise it against the temptation that has recurred ceaselessly through the ages, to bring Christians together outside their churches in a "Super Church of the Holy Spirit". Such a church was closely analysed by Cardinal de Lubac in his book on Joachim of Flora.
I invited Ralph Martin and Steve Clark, the best known of the American pioneers to come with a whole group to live in Brussels in order to follow up the dialogue and help with this integration of the Renewal in the Church.
With the passing of time the phrase of Paul VI on the Renewal as "good fortune for the Church" remains a wish only partially fulfilled, because this grace was not grasped at the very level of the church or taken to its heart.
To interpret the Renewal as a "movement" among other movements is to misunderstand its nature; it is a movement of the Spirit offered to the entire Church and destined to rejuvenate every face of the Church's life.
The soul of Renewal - Baptism in the Spirit - is a grace of Pentecostal refreshment offered to all Christians:
As for my friends in Renewal all over the world I should like to say that the Renewal is destined for the entire Church, and that their constant preoccupation should be that the waters of the river flow into the sea in loyalty to their source.
A Christian is not fully a Christian unless he/she is the maker of Christians. The cenacle is the place where Christians allow themselves - in welcoming the Holy Spirit - to be transformed by prayer. But it is also the place from which one goes out to bring the fire of Pentecost to one's brothers the Tongues of Fire are there to remind us to conquer our silence, our fears and our mutism.