About Catholic Charismatic Renewal

Catholic Charismatic Renewal, A Movement of the Holy Spirit. Renewal is a sovereign act of God, who touches our lives by the power of his Holy Spirit and changes us. Renewal is both a state-of-being and a process.

Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement of the Spirit, offered to the entire Church and destined to rejuvenate every part of the Church. When we say that the Charismatic Renewal is for the whole Church, we mean that it, indeed, is for all: the clergy, religious, and laity.

This Renewal is a personal experience of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who brings alive, in new ways, the graces of our baptism. The Holy Spirit not only renews, or sets on fire, all the graces we have already received, he comes in power to equip us with his gifts for service and ministry. We are renewed only when we open ourselves to God and accept what he is offering us—the fullness of his Holy Spirit. There is no other way!

While the Charismatic Renewal places a special emphasis on the role of the Spirit, it is also centered on God our Father, and on Jesus his Son, our Lord and Savior. It is a Trinitarian Renewal, and its goals are the same as the goals of the Roman Catholic Church, which are essential to living a Christian life:

• The need to know God as a loving and forgiving Father (Romans 8:14-16)
• The need for a personal relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior (1 Cor. 12:3)
• The need for the empowering and indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5)
• The importance of the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16) and Sacraments (Catechism section, 1131-1134).
• The call to prayer and the praise and worship of God (Acts 2:42-47)
• The importance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit to serve the Church (1 Cor. 12:4-11)
• The need to build Community (Acts 2:42-47)
• The commission to evangelize and to witness (Acts 1:8)

What Are Our Gifts to the Church?

• Prayer, praise, and worship
• The supernatural gifts of the Spirit such as tongues, prophecy, word of knowledge, etc.
• Expectant Faith— we are confident that God is going to act.
• The conviction that the Lord heals through ordinary people
• Other gifts we bring are a spirit of joy and celebration
• A desire to be witnesses empowered to proclaim Christ
• To bring alive the theological virtue of Hope
• We bring our prophetic voice in the Church and the world
• The need for and practice of intercession and spiritual warfare
• And no less important, a concern for justice, peace, and social issues