“[The Charismatic Renewal] is evidence of hope, a positive sign of the times, a gift of God to our age.  It is a rediscovery of the joy and wealth of prayer over against theories and practices, which had become increasingly ossified and shriveled as a result of secularized rationalism.

     “I myself have observed the effectiveness of the [Charismatic} Movement:  in Munich I saw a number of good vocations to the priesthood come from it.  As I have already said, like every other reality entrusted to human beings, it too is exposed to misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and exaggerations.  But it would be dangerous to see only the risks and not also the gift offered by God.

     “The necessary caution does not alter my fundamentally positive judgment.”
               – The Ratzinger Report, 1985

“We are not some casual or meaningless product of evolution.  Each of us is the result of a thought of God.  Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.”
- Homily, Mass of Installation, 2005
 

“What the New Testament describes, with reference to the charisms, as visible signs of the coming of the Spirit is no longer merely ancient, past history – this history is becoming a burning reality today.”        Pope Benedict XVI

For the beauty of the earth, For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth Over and around us lies:

For your Church, that evermore  Lifts its holy hands above,
Off’ring up on ev’ry shore A pure sacrifice of love:

For Yourself, O Gift Divine!
To our world so freely giv’n;
For that love from which will shine,
Peace on earth and joy in heav’n:

Lord of all to you we raise
This our gift of grateful praise.

(Folliot S. Pierpont   1835-1917) 

For the gift of the Holy Spirit,
For the redemption won for us by Jesus,
For the brothers and sisters in our prayer groups,
For the faithfulness of those who persevere in ministry,
For the presence of Christ in His Word, His Sacrament, and His People,
For the bounty of the earth given to us,
For family, friends, and parish family,
For health, happiness, and grace,
For healing, strength in sorrow, and determination in difficulties,
For clergy and religious who encourage and model righteous Christian living,
For the poor who teach us humility and gratefulness,
For music, beauty, peace, and blessings,
We give you thanks,
O Loving Father and Creator of us all!

What is Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

Baptism in the Holy Spirit is an experience of the person of the Holy Spirit bringing alive in new ways the graces we have already received through our baptism.  And it’s the Holy Spirit coming and bringing new gifts in our lives. – Charles Whitehead, National Director of Catholic Charismatic Renewal, England.

           In 1967, at Duquesne University, the Holy Spirit ignited the flame of a new Pentecost within a small group of faculty and students – a powerful burst which resulted in the “baptism in the Holy Spirit” and the beginning of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.  The flame leaped and spread to other universities across the United States and around the world.  Today, the lives of over 100 million Catholics have been touched by the power and love of the Holy Spirit.