The Renewal and Church Leaders
Pope Francis
I expect you to share with everyone in the Church the grace of baptism in the Holy Spirit... Go out into the streets and evangelize!
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The charismatic renewal is a great force meant to serve the preaching of the Gospel in the joy of the Holy Spirit. You received the Holy Spirit and he has made you appreciate God's love for all his children; he has also made you love God's word...
This is your path: evangelization, spiritual ecumenism, caring for the poor and needy, and welcoming the marginalized. And all of it is based on worship! The foundation of the renewal is worshiping God! I expect you to share with everyone in the Church the grace of baptism in the Holy Spirit... Seek holiness in the new life of the Holy Spirit. Be dispensers of the grace of God. Avoid the danger of excessive organization... Go out into the streets and evangelize. Proclaim the Gospel. Remember that the Church was born "on the move", that Pentecost morning. Draw close to the poor and touch in their flesh the wounded flesh of Jesus. Let yourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit, in freedom; and please, don't put the Holy Spirit in a cage! From: ADDRESS OF POPE FRANCIS TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE 37TH NATIONAL CONVOCATION OF THE RENEWAL IN THE HOLY SPIRIT June 2014 |
Pope Benedict XVI
At the heart of a world imbued with a rationalistic skepticism, a new experience of the Holy Spirit suddenly burst forth. And, since then, that experience has assumed a breadth of a worldwide Renewal movement...
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Pope Benedict XVI, in his Apostolic Blessing through the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Sodano, mentioned to the National Congress of the Italian "Renewal in the Holy Spirit" in Rimini, Italy 22 Apr 2005 " that He will continue to guide the movement with His fatherly love for Christ's body to be built up."
In a forward to a book by Cardinal Suenens "Renewal and the Powers of Darkness (1983)", while the Pope was then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger acting as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, he noted: "At the heart of a world imbued with a rationalistic skepticism, a new experience of the Holy Spirit suddenly burst forth. And, since then, that experience has assumed a breadth of a worldwide Renewal movement" "To those responsible for the ecclesiastical ministry - from parish priests to bishops - not to let the Renewal pass them by but to welcome it fully; ....to the members of the Renewal to cherish and maintain their link with the whole Church and with the charisms of their pastors." From: Church Viewpoint On Catholic Charismatic Renewal |
Pope John Paul II
Thanks to the Charismatic Movement, a multitude of Christians, men and women, young people and adults have rediscovered Pentecost as a living reality in their daily lives
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"The emergence of the Renewal following the Second Vatican Council was a particular gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church. It was a sign of a desire on the part of many Catholics to live more fully their Baptismal dignity and vocation as adopted sons and daughters of the Father, to know the redeeming power of Christ our Saviour in a more intense experience of individual and group prayer, and to follow the teaching of the Scriptures by reading them in the light of the same Spirit who inspired their writing. "1
"I am praying with you, my dear friends, for the gift of the Holy Spirit. May the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, fill you with the love of Christ to whom you entrust your future. I cordially bless you all. I greet in a special way the members of Renewal in the Spirit, one of the various branches of the great family of the Catholic Charismatic Movement. Thanks to the Charismatic Movement, a multitude of Christians, men and women, young people and adults have rediscovered Pentecost as a living reality in their daily lives. I hope that the spirituality of Pentecost will spread in the Church as a renewed incentive to prayer, holiness, communion and proclamation."2 1 https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1992/march/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19920314_charismatic-renewal.html 2 A Homily from Delivered on the Eve of Pentecost to the Italian Charismatic Renewal |
Pope Paul VI
Nothing is more necessary to this increasingly secularized world than the witness of this ‘spiritual renewal’ that we see the Holy Spirit evoking in the most diverse regions and milieu
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In May 1975, Pope Paul VI welcomed 10,000 Catholic charismatics who were attending an International Conference on the Charismatic Renewal in the Church in Rome. In his address to them, Pope Paul stated, “As we said last October in the presence of some of you, the Church and the world need more than ever that ‘miracle of Pentecost should continue in history’….Nothing is more necessary to this increasingly secularized world than the witness of this ‘spiritual renewal’ that we see the Holy Spirit evoking in the most diverse regions and milieu. How then could this spiritual renewal not be good fortune (sometimes translated “a chance”) for the church and for the world?”
From: Address to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal on the 2nd International Leaders' Conference in Rome, Italy - 19 May 1975 |
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB):
Message for the 50th anniversary of Charismatic Renewal in Canada 2018
...thanks to the Lord for the blessings of God which Catholic charismatics have brought our dioceses and parishes.
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The message expresses “thanks to the Lord for the blessings of God which Catholic charismatics have brought our dioceses and parishes.” It also recalls how the “faithfully-attended prayer groups, the careful study of the word of God, catechesis, times of praise, prayers of intercession, the blessings and constructive challenges of life in community – all these have marked the life of Charismatic communities across Canada and have contributed to the building up of the Church in our land.” Read full message here: CCCB Message to the Renewal 2018 also: How can we not give thanks for the precious spiritual 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 and women, young people, adults and the 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! CCCB 2003 |
