CNSC Formation Weekend, My Experience

CDSC Supporting the work of CHARIS in A&B

By Stuart Burman A&B CDSC Co-ordinator

My attendance at the CNSC formation weekend on the 9th and 10th November was in doubt and then seemed impossible. There was a clash with my son’s 18th birthday celebration and family has to come first, after all being a husband and father is my first vocation! The Lord though had different ideas and a few days before the weekend, my son decided that revision for his mock A-level exams must take precedence and he’d like to postpone his celebrations to the next weekend. He then confirmed that he was happy for me to go to Milton Keynes, famously the place of the concrete cows!

Even though my preparations were hurried, I’d been praying for the weekend for some time. I sensed that the Lord was calling those in the Charismatic renewal to not be puffed up, but to be stripped back. To be in a place where in our weakness we have to rely on God’s love and His power and not ours (Ezekiel 16:8 was the word), after all we are not superhuman.

On arrival in Milton Keynes, after a very early 5:30am start which turned out to be two hours later than my colleagues from Hexham and Newcastle (poor souls!), I found around 50 people taking part in the opening Mass. The spirit of the event was encapsulated by the pentecostal worship band in the room next door partly drowning out our Mass with a rhythmic boom and bang of the bass and drum. Through supernatural grace they were quiet during the Gospel and Eucharistic prayers – God carefully protecting the silence of his passion, death and resurrection for our service.

We then were called to the other room for Maria Heath’s talk called “The Journey”. She reminded us that our Catholic Charismatic Renewal started through a vision given to an Italian nun called Elena Geurra. She wrote letters to Pope Leo XIII asking for all Catholics to pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit and in response, on New Year’s Day 1901, Pope Leo XIII invoked the Holy Spirit over the worldwide church. On that same day, a woman named Agnes Ozman, in a protestant church in Kansas, asked her congregation to lay hands on her so she could become a missionary. Through this prayer she received the Holy Spirit in abundance, only being able to speak and write Chinese for three days. The teachings from this church in Kansas led to the birth of the Pentecostal church. The Catholic church had its own outpouring of the Holy Spirit, described as a “current of grace” when in 1967 Catholics from Duquesne University attended a Protestant worship service when they were “baptised in the Holy Spirit”. This was the start of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and fifty years later Pope Francis founded CHARIS to be a “current of grace” for the whole church. It’s on these memories that we now stand.

Bishop David Oakley in his talk “The Fullness of Baptism”, reminded us that our baptism plunges us into the life and death and resurrection of Jesus and that the birth of the Charismatic Renewal, which was brought about through the power of God, helps us to understand what baptism is all about. He also advised against being too full of ourselves and that we need to empty ourselves out. With divine inspiration he echoed the words spoken to me in prayer from before the meeting. He went on, “We need to lean into supernatural grace like those hanging onto a piece of wood after a shipwreck”. He outlined that the Catholic Charismatic Renewal has a mission to rebuild the church, like St Francis of Assisi. In our life in the Holy Spirit we are reborn as sons of God and are made sharers in the mission of the Church. Pope John XXIII prayed for the Holy Spirit to come as on that day of Pentecost. Jesus answered that prayer and the Holy Spirit is with us as on that day of Pentecost. The calling of the attendees in our diocesan roles, is to take these supernatural charisms given by the Holy Spirit, to use them in a new way to help us serve our Bishops and our local churches. Amen!

Abhy Thomas, the CHARIS Co-ordinator for England and Wales, gave a powerful talk where he exhorted us in many ways. Memorably his call was to join the universal church in prayer for 2023, which marks 2000 years since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He asked us to set an alarm on our phones for every day at 20:33 so that we can pray together with all christians, “May your kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven, come Holy Spirit. Veni Creator Spiritus”. He set out that the Jubilee next year will be a season of grace and as “Pilgrims of Hope”, we should increasingly strive to spread the grace of the Holy Spirit to everyone in the church.

He also asked for us, as diocesan teams to focus on three areas, communion, formation and mission. For communion we need to be aware of the present times, and be aware of the need to expand the tent making sure that we involve every expression of the renewal into our Diocesan teams so that gifts, charisms and inspirations can be widely shared.

For formation we need to bring about disciples who can bring the love of God to the world, leading people to the fullness of baptism, to be a transformative force for the renewal in the Church and society.

And finally for mission, by 2033, Abhy aims to have 20 Missionary hubs across the UK and these will be dedicated to evangelistic social outreach. The vision is to train, commission and equip 3,000 missionary disciples so that they can lead and serve in ministry and outreach. Finally, the goal is to have three major gatherings for missionaries from all charismatic communities and expressions to bring fellowship, formation and collaboration. If you didn’t notice, the numbers used for each goal spell out 2033! He closed with the words from Habakkuk 2:3, “For the vision is yet due at an appointed time. It will surely come. It will not tarry.”

Enthused by Abhy’s vision and powerful teaching, we reflected in small groups on our respective diocesan missions through five memories and three challenges. It was wonderful to hear the different approaches being taken to live out the CHARIS vision in our local churches and also to look back with some satisfaction on all that has happened since when we were last together in Northampton two years before. We are now two years wiser, two years more experienced and two years older (maybe not so much a positive!) but we are ageing, faithful children in the eyes of God, who are led and nourished by the presence of the Holy Spirit. During this time I also got to know Alex more deeply, our latest recruit to our A&B CDSC team. I could see that he had an astonishing testimony, from full on atheism to being full on on fire in the Holy Spirit in an inspired flash in Gaudi’s cathedral in Barcelona. Here, he knew in an instant that the Gospel was all true while looking at a statue of Judas kissing Jesus at the last supper.

Abhy had every right to be annoyed with me as the weekend went on, every time I met him I said, “You’ve got to speak to Alex”. Little did I know that Alex had already told Michelle Moran his story while on a train after a Divine Renovation meeting a few weeks before, so Alex’s part in the event and the sharing of his story was secured, you see God can’t keep a good thing to himself and as such, He wants to share all that is good despite our lack of trust.

In a flash the first day was over and we retired to dinner and then to the bar. The sharing across the diocesan CDSC teams at this time was powerful while reflecting on our first day together, our CDSC work and on God’s calling and work in our lives. We shared our testimonies and could see that our many times of struggle brought about fruit that we didn’t plan and couldn’t have anticipated. There were many ‘God-incidences’ shared and this became increasingly apparent as we talked together. For those that don’t know, a ‘God-incidence’ is a phrase that refers to a coincidence that had been divinely arranged by God. We could see that God was leading us through our work in prayer groups, our parishes and in the Charismatic Renewal and through our families and professional lives to serve him in our CDSC work to support the vision of CHARIS. It all was making sense, at least for now!

Day two was Sunday, the Lord’s day, and it started early with breakfast and more sharing with CDSC colleagues. I had a good discussion on our respective missions with Liz Corcoran from Southwark over a coffee and afterward we quickly walked along the long cold corridor to get to the room on time for Michelle Moran’s talk called “The Road Ahead”.

Michelle reminded us of Maria Heath’s talk from the day before with Pope Leo’s intercession for the coming of the Holy Spirit bringing about the birth of the Pentecost movement. She outlined that we are now living in a special time in the Holy Spirit. This is a quickening where charismatics must step-up and go deeper into the well of the Holy Spirit. She asked us to Bring, Build and Serve. Bring the grace of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit into everyone’s lives, Build the body of Christ through prayer and being Holy Spirit led. Then to Serve as the CCR is not a middle class, prayer group movement but a place from which we can serve the poor and needy. After all, this is a ‘Season of Surprises’, the ‘Season of the New Wineskin’, a ‘Season of Expansion’ and the ‘Season of the Harvest’, a time where the Holy Spirit is quickening, a time when God is calling his people to him more powerfully but concurrently a time where many are increasingly losing heart and hope, and are choosing to desert Jesus and the Church. These times are much like those outlined in Acts 4.

Then I could see that Abhy did indeed listen to my nagging (or was it another ‘God-incident’) and Alex (the newest recruit to our A&B CDSC team) was given the microphone by Michelle to tell the whole meeting his powerful testimony. Indeed our Lord is seeking the lost souls, from the darkness and turmoil of atheism to bring them into the fullness of His truth and life. This work of calling the lost is being done by Him in our times and through Alex’s testimony we are all witnesses of this. Alleluia!

Alex Testimony

The final talk of the weekend was with Abhy Thomas who gave a talk called “Heart for Mission”. This was a powerful reminder of the need for social outreach, to serve the poor and needy with the heart of Jesus. We need to have eyes to see the poverty and to use what the Lord has given us to respond. St Therese of Avila said, “Mine are the hands with which He blesses all the earth”. Abhy shared three interviews with us, the first was a remarkable story from North Somerset where Christians against Poverty are ministering to people helping them to manage household debts. As part of the service the team offer prayer to those who have received help, “ Would you like me to pray with you?”. When they agree this often gives a remarkable and unexpected outcome. Fr Chris Thomas outlined his work on the Irenaeus project, where in the Liverpool Archdiocese they help people to have opportunities to pray, explore the Scriptures, reflect on what it means to be human and alive and to know the truth that God is with us. Real and powerful social outreach in action. The last interview was for me the most inspiring, we were shown a video of the Emmanuel City Mission in Australia which is a daytime sanctuary for the most vulnerable people in a centre based on Catholic Christian values and behaviour. The centre consists of regular activities, basic facilities such as laundry and showers and other services to assist those with many basic needs and those with more complex needs, including addictions. Even offering daily Catholic Mass to those who come. Could it be possible and please, let it be God’s will to have one of these centres in every city across the UK. Please God, please!

Abhy inspired us to go forward from the meeting with an open heart of love so that we can serve our communities in many ways. To quote St Augustine, “Our hearts are restless until it rests in Him”.

A Story of Three Sailors

Breton Fisherman's Prayer

Several of the attendees at the recent Lighthouse event requested the text to the story of three sailors. This reflection was written to explore how participants could receive the promised signs that believers would receive (Mark 16:17-18).

“These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages, They will pick up serpents [with their hands], and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” Mark 16:17-18

Stuart outlined the three essential ingredients he felt important to receiving these promises; Recognising the awesome majesty of God and our weakness, Faith and belief and finally and importantly Moving to action in Love.

A Story of Three Sailors

The first sailor was in his yacht in the harbour. He delighted in the goings on of the port, drinking and feasting, experiencing pleasures of all kinds – he didn’t want to leave the harbour as his life was good. The harbour lights outshone the stars and the harbour wall gave him shelter from the worst of the storms. He also had a good phone signal so could watch the many people dancing on Tik-Tok. In between all the sensual stimulation he occasionally looked up out to sea and could see the bigger life and broad horizons – but why would he go anywhere as he had his fill.

The second sailor was intrigued by the bigger world beyond the harbour and understood a greater good beyond pleasure – his heart desired to serve others. He saw the fixed lights of the stars and was curious about the movement of the winds and the tides of the sea. So he decided to pull up his anchor, turned on his diesel motor and went out to sea in search of the greater life toiling on his own strength. His boat was pushed and pulled by the eddy and flow – but he soldiered on. Where he could he helped other sailors on his way. He told them of the bigger world and of his struggles in the sea. Some of them even followed him to serve others. His strength was running low, he tired of being tossed around by the storms and was beset by worry of the rocks and tides and decided that he should head into the safety of the harbour. Here his journey ended.

The third sailor, like the second saw the bigger world and a greater good beyond pleasure, his heart burned with love to serve others. He pulled up his anchor and left the distractions of the harbour. When a little out to sea, in his wisdom, he could hear the movement of the wind, he could see the lights of the stars and feel the changing tide and currents. He recognised his many weaknesses and the greatness of God and prayed the Breton Fisherman’s prayer, “Dear God be good to me: the sea is so wide and my boat is so small”. He was then inspired, and he turned off his motor, recognising that there was a better way. He unfurled his sails to catch the wind, faithfully trusting that the wind would take him to where he was meant to be. He used the fixed lights of the stars to guide him and he could feel the changing eddies of the tide and currents under his feet. In this way he found that he was guided by God, the sea gave him food and the rain drinking water and in the silence of the night he gazed at the stars and he felt ever closer to God and for this with joy, he gave thanks. His journey was fruitful and he was guided to serve other sailors with love and he told them of the goodness of our Lord, how He provided for him. They were inspired by him, they saw God’s wonders being undertaken through him and they learned his ways from him and in faith and trust they went and served others reaching all the harbours of the sea. This man was very fruitful for God.

A Further Reflection:

Paul says when we’re weak, God’s power is strong. Let’s look at: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The third sailor acted in Love – Lets look at a writing by St Therese of the Child Jesus (of Lisieux). She was reading 1 Corinthians 12-13 and wrote this:

I persevered in the reading and did not let my mind wander until I found this encouraging theme: Set your desires on the greater gifts. And I will show you the way which surpasses all others. For the Apostle insists that the greater gifts are nothing at all without love and that this same love is surely the best path leading directly to God. At length I had found peace of mind.

The greatest gifts are nothing without Love – and this is the best path leading to God and a place where God’s power is made manifest and will be shared with us.

What are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

By Margaret McGettrick

This article was first published in the ‘Faith Companion’ as a series of three articles in 2022/3 and is reprinted here with the kind permission of the editor.

The first gift we receive is the gift of ‘sanctifying grace’ which is a participation in the nature and life of God’ [2 Peter1:4 & CCC 1997 & 2009]. It is the gift by which we are inserted into the ‘intimacy of the Trinitarian life’ [CCC 1997]. It is a gift that is infused by the Holy Spirit into the soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it [CCC 2023]. It raises us to a new supernatural level of being, which is capable of living an elevated supernatural life. It is the grace by which we are born again. ‘It perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God and to act by His love [CCC 2000]. It remains in us while we are in a state of grace and is lost by mortal sin. It is a permanent grace which is given for us to keep. Jesus calls us all to holiness [Matthew 5:48]. Sanctifying grace is therefore given to us for our personal sanctification or holiness. With it comes all the additional helps we need to co-operate with the Holy Spirit in the work of our own sanctification. These helps are known as the ’seven virtues’ and the ‘seven gifts of the Holy Spirit’.

The seven virtues are divided into two groups. The theological virtues are the virtues of faith hope and charity. They are called theological because they unite us to God. ’They enable us to believe in God, to hope in him and to love Him’ [CCC 1266].The second group are called the cardinal virtues. ‘They allow [us] to grow in goodness’ and lead virtuous lives [CCC 1266]. These are prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude.

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are known as the ‘Isaiah 11 gifts,’ to distinguish them from the ‘charismatic gifts’ that Paul spoke about in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10. These are the gifts that we were taught about in preparation for our confirmation and they are probably the gifts that we are most familiar with. Isaiah prophesied that when the promised Messiah came, the Spirit of the Lord would rest on Him and that he would demonstrate a number of attributes. They are: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might [i.e. courage or fortitude], the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord’ [Isaiah 11:2-3]. The final gift is that of piety [reverence] which the church fathers always included with them. This prophesy was fulfilled in Jesus.

The ‘charismatic’ gifts of the Holy Spirit refer to a second group of gifts. It is to this group I refer to primarily in this article. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church ‘grace also includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with His work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth in the body of Christ, the Church’ [CCC 2003].The term ‘charismatic’ simply means ‘free gift’. These are free gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to us to be given away to others. They are not given as permanent abilities but are given afresh on each occasion they are needed. They are given in order to help others to grow in holiness. They are given as actual graces. An actual grace refers simply to an intervention by God [CCC 2000]. The gifts most usually recognised are those in the group that Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 12. However, there are others and it is important for us to know about them too.

The first group is given to us by Paul in Ephesians 4:1-12. In this list, he refers to the different leadership roles needed in the church. He outlines five. They are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, whose roles are given to equip the saints for ministry [and] for building up the body of Christ.

The second group of charismatic graces are given to us by Peter. He urges us to be good stewards of the manifold graces of God and to serve one another with whatever gift we have received. He singles out speech and service: ’Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the words of God, whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies…’[1 Peter 4:10].

The third group are of seven charismatic graces that I like to define as ‘everyday graces. These are:’ prophesy…ministry in ministering, the teacher in teaching, the exhorter in exhortation, the giver in generosity, the leader in diligence, and the compassionate, in cheerfulness’ [Romans 12:6-8]. This group is less well known but it is important that we know about them.

Prophesy I will reflect on later. Ministry is service. It is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s generosity in the giving of Himself in service to others. It is the ability to notice need anywhere, and looks for the means to help. It is the spirit enabled willingness to meet the need of others. This may be a simple practical thing like offering to clean the church, or it may mean helping in more difficult situation such as to minister to the needs of others as described in the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

Exhortation is the spirit enabled ability, to bring God’s word of encouragement, to someone experiencing a time of discouragement, who may be feeling down or dejected. With this gift my presence and encouraging word are empowered by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to break those feelings off the person experiencing them. It is the power to say the right thing, at the right time and in the right place.

The gift of compassion is so important for the spiritual life. Our God is a God of compassion [James 5:11, Hebrews 13-14 & Matthew 20:34]. Compassion is an attribute of God. Compassion is the God given ability to ‘feel with’ the pain or distress of another. It is God’s compassion flowing through me to the one in need. There are four stages in the ministry of compassion. First is the ability to notice the need. The second is to feel empathy [feel with] the other as if the pain and distress were my own. The third is a compulsion to act in some way to relieve the pain or distress. The fourth is to act on the compulsion.  The recognition of compulsion, is the spirit enabled authority of God for us to act in His name in a particular situation. This may mean simply to offer a prayer or to take action against an unjust system.

The fourth group of charismatic graces of the Holy Spirit are those outlined by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. There are nine of them. It is helpful to explore them in groups of three. The ‘word gifts’ are prophesy, tongues and the interpretation of tongues. The ‘revelation’ gifts are the utterance of a word of knowledge, the utterance of a word of wisdom and discernment of spirits. The third group are the ‘manifestation’ gifts.  They are called manifestation gifts because they manifest the power of God and are often accompanied by ‘signs and wonders’. They are faith, healing and miracles. I will give a brief explanation of each.

When speaking of the word gifts, the word ‘utterance’ is significant because the Sprit is at work in both the one who speaks and in the one who hears.

Prophesy can mean two things. It can mean foretelling something in the future. More usually it means ‘forth telling’ a word from God. Paul explains: ‘those who prophesy speak to other people for their building up and encouragement and consolation…and those who prophesy build up the church’ [1 Corinthians 14:3].

The gift of tongues has a number of possible explanations. It can be a private prayer language given for one’s personal use. It can be a gift that when used in public, expresses a word from God for the congregation. When this happens the gift of interpretation accompanies its giving, usually by another person. Two types of tongues are recognised. Xenoglossi is the type of tongues which was experienced at Pentecost when Paul tells us that the ‘disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability’ [Acts 2:4]. The people were amazed and they said: ‘are not all these who are speaking to us Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? [Acts 2: 7-8]’. There is some evidence from the lives of the saints that xenoglossi could also mean that the listeners heard the evangelist in their own native language even though the speaker spoke in his own language. Glossolalia was what Paul referred to in 1 Corinthians 14:2 & 4 ‘for those who speak in a tongues do not speak to other people but to God: for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries in the Spirit…Those  who  speak in a tongue build up themselves’. Lastly, it can be a gift that manifests to others the presence of the Holy Spirit which Paul declares to be ‘a sign for unbelievers’ [1Corinthians 14:22].

The utterance of a Word of knowledge is a supernatural revelation of an unknown fact. In ministry, its effect can be powerful as Paul relates to us in 1 Corinthians 14:25: ’after the secrets of the believer’s heart are disclosed, the person will bow down before God and worship Him, declaring ’’God is really among you’’. People with a healing ministry find this gift extremely useful. It can be given as a word seen on one’s spiritual screen, or as a picture or felt as a pain on the body. When declared, it helps us to know speedily and correctly how to minister to the person it has been revealed to.

The utterance of a word of wisdom is a supernatural revelation which gives God’s insight into a difficult situation and His guidance as to how to resolve it.

Discernment of spirits is the supernatural ability to know whether a person, thing or event is from my own spirit, from God’s Spirit or from an evil spirit. It is particularly useful for knowing when to pray for deliverance. In Mark 16:17, in his final discourse to his believers Jesus said that one of the signs that will accompany believers would be that they would cast out demons using His name.

The gift of faith is the gift that gives us a supernatural certainty that God is going to act powerfully in the moment. It is the kind of faith ‘that can move mountains’ and is often associated with healing or miracles. It is given with boldness to step out in faith. The gift is given to meet a specific need.

The gift of healing can be physical, emotional or spiritual. It is a gift that is much needed today. Life is so complex and so difficult for so many people.  In his final discourse to his disciples Jesus promised that they would lay hands on the sick and they would recover [Mark 16:18]. In the early church, healing was practiced by all Christians and healing played an important part in the rapid spread of Christianity through the Roman Empire.

The word miracle means ‘a wonder’. Jesus performed ‘signs’ which revealed the presence of God through His gifts, and ‘wonders’ which revealed the power of God through His miracles. A miracle is a supernatural power to perform a deed that is above nature. Jesus performed many miracles such as raising the dead, calming a storm, walking on water, changing water into wine etc. In Galatians 3:5, Paul declared to the disciples that God ‘worked miracles among you’ also.

Who gives us the baptism in the Holy Spirit?

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

 

Jesus gives this life to ‘whomever He wishes ‘[John 5:21]. Jesus is the one who asks the Father to send the Gift of the Holy Spirit to us.

How do we receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit?

We receive the gift by asking for it. We can do this ourselves in private prayer. Someone else may pray for the gift to be released in us. They may also lay hands on us while doing this. The gift may be given during a ‘Life in the Spirit Seminar’ or during an ‘Alpha Course’. The gift is given in one of two ways, both of which are life changing. Sometimes nothing is experienced at the time of the prayer, but slowly and gently, you may notice significant changes taking place in your life. For others, the experience is an immediate ‘Damascus’ type overwhelming experience.

What are the effects of the Gift of the Holy spirit?

The person feels full of the love of God flowing through him or her. God is real and really present and it is this presence that fills him or her with joy.

There is a deep joy, a jubilant joy like that experienced by Mary when she visited Elizabeth. It is a joy that exults in God our saviour. It is accompanied by a deep peace. The person experiencing this joy can’t help but want to share what has happened with other people. Peter expressed it this way: ’we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard’ [Acts 4:13 & 20]. Peter described the boldness that accompanied their witness for ‘they spoke the word of God with boldness’ [Acts 4:23, 25, 29-31].

This joy explodes in the desire to praise and worship God. The person feels drawn to prayer both private and sacramental just to be in the presence of the one who loves him or her. Jesus becomes real to us and uses us as willing vessels through whom He can continue His work of bringing the kingdom to birth on the earth.

The person is drawn to read the bible, which comes alive for them and they find there that God is speaking a personal word for them.

The person sees the presence of God in his or her neighbour and is moved to reach out and help those in need. The person notices the power of the Holy Spirit working within and begins to recognise the charismatic gifts and how to use them in ministry. These usually relate in some way to the purpose God has for his or her life. The person begins to discern the specific calling of God for them. Life has meaning and purpose.

Who wouldn’t want this beautiful gift?

Is there more?

We have explored here the sanctifying gifts and the evangelising gifts of the Holy Spirit. They have been treated as two separate groups and in this article I have emphasised the evangelising charismatic gifts. But they are meant to be united together in the Christian’s spiritual journey. We need both for a balance Christian life. In the Catholic tradition, we have a rich source of teaching on the means to grow to Christian maturity, particularly through the stages of prayer. Through them we grow through stages towards contemplative prayer in which union with God is experienced. Our charismatic experience has a similarity with stage four of St Teresa of Avila’s ‘mansions’. This is the stage of prayer where we experience the presence of God for the first time in prayer. This is the beginning of ‘contemplative’ prayer and this union continues to grow deeper through the remaining stages. St Teresa teaches that we are all meant to grow to spiritual maturity and reach these later stages. This begs the question for us: are we meant to become contemplative charismatics? This contemplative tradition was once confined to the ‘spiritual elite’. It has largely disappeared from the life of the Church today but has been rediscovered recently especially by the laity and by Pope Francis who has encouraged it. People need to know about the spiritual gifts, and the life of prayer. This poses a real challenge to the laity. There is always more for us to explore. Knowing and using our spiritual gifts is an important beginning. Is this the next step? Is this the ‘something more’ we need to move on towards as we continue on our spiritual journey?

Bibliography

All bible quotes are from the New Revised Standard Catholic Edition, 2005.

All quotes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church are taken from the Catholic Truth Society, revised edition 2016.

CHARIS: A current of grace for the whole Church

CDSC Supporting the work of CHARIS in A&B

An article By Margaret McGettrick reproduced with the kind permission of the Faith Companion.

The letters CHARIS stand for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service.

CHARIS is a new ecclesial body in the church. It was erected in 2019 by Pope Francis personally, as an instrument of reform which is capable of evangelising the culture. It is addressed to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal [henceforward referred to as CCR] but is meant as ‘a current of grace’ that will revitalise and become the norm for the whole church.

Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, in an address to the CCR, at the inauguration of CHARIS said: ’we have a duty to ourselves and to the Church to explain what this current of grace consist of and why it is intended and necessary for the whole Church. In brief, we need to explain who we are and what we offer- or better, what God offers-to the Church through this current of grace [Cantalamessa 2019]. This article addresses this need. It explores the context, the vision, the objectives, the structure and some thoughts on the implementation of CHARIS.

CHARIS and the Context of change.

The context that produced the vision of CHARIS was a cultural change in society and crisis in the church [Farrel 2019].

As Cardinal in Argentina Jorge Bergoglio, recognised that a change in the culture of society had occurred ‘that was making the transmission of the faith so hard’ [Ivereigh 2019:242].

Modern secularism had excluded God from the culture and scientism declared that truth was verified by science alone. The new post-modern era introduced relativism. Relativism does not accept the objective truth claims made by large organisations such as the church. Truth is relative and is verified by personal experience. 

The church was in crisis. Research showed that Mass attendance and vocations had fallen. Church members had been ‘catechised’ but not ‘evangelised. They practised their faith nominally, but did not have the experience of a personal encounter with God to underpin it. Baptised Catholics were leaving the Church in large numbers.  The number of disaffected ’none’s among the young especially, was increasing. The Church which exists to evangelise, no longer did so. It could not rely on its traditional mechanisms of faith transmission. New ways had to be found. 

It was within this context, that in 2007 the then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio called a conference of Latin American bishops to be held at the national Argentina shrine of Aparacida. Its purpose was to reflect on the changes needed by the Church in order to evangelise in this new post-modern era. It concluded that indeed it was possible, but this would require ‘new forms’ and ‘new people’, terms that Bergoglio preferred to ‘reform’.                                                                                                    

When Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio became Pope Francis, he included the findings of ‘Aparacida’ into his Apostolic Exhortation ‘Evangelii Gaudium’. Together, these two documents became his blueprint for change. The ‘new form’ is the structure of CHARIS and the ‘new people’ are its ‘renewed, missionary disciples’ capable of evangelising the culture.

These changes incorporated ‘experience’, and particularly the experience of ‘encounter’ as central. The Church of the future would be transformed by  its members having a ’primary encounter with Christ’ [Ivereigh 2019]. 

To complete his vision, pope  Francis has introduced into CHARIS the concepts of  ‘pastoral conversion, a culture of encounter, a focus on the peripheries, missionary discipleship…building bonds of belonging across social divides…and…a shift in focus…out to the poor [Ivereigh 2019:226].                  

The importance of a Charismatic Spirituality for the future of the Church

Francis is a charismatic Pope. The ‘charismatic spirituality’ is important to him. He was a supporter of the Renewal as a cardinal in Argentina. People became part of the ‘current of grace’ called the Catholic Charismatic Renewal [CCR] because they had the experience of baptism in the Spirit and sought and to be faithful to it within the Church. They have been doing this for over 50 years [ICCRSDC2012:1].

The Renewal was a response to Pope John XXIII’s prayer for a New Pentecost for the Church that he made prior to the opening of Vatican II in 1962. His prayer was answered in 1967, when a group of catholic students from Duquesne University received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit during a retreat. They had a powerful experience of being loved by God. God renews us by His love and transforms us into ‘other Christs’. The Renewal spread rapidly to a 120 million Catholics world-wide. Today, the Southern Hemisphere Churches are growing rapidly and now represent the majority of Catholics. These Catholics are charismatic.

‘Renewal’ has been described as ‘God’s action to revitalize elements of the Church that have been neglected or forgotten’. The element of the Church that has been forgotten, is the baptism in the Holy Spirit and its associated charisms [Shreck 2017:14 & 15]. It is the Renewal that has brought this ‘forgotten grace’ to the attention of the Church. Recent research into the life of the early Christians, has clearly demonstrated that baptism in the Spirit and its associated charisms were expected to be received in baptism [McDonnell & Montague 1991]. As all Christians have been baptized, baptism in the spirit is now considered to be normative for all Christians. Pope Francis therefore wants baptism in the Spirit ‘to be pastored as a current of grace for the whole church’. The Catholic Charismatic Renewal has over 50 years of ‘bearing this grace to the Church’, and so is uniquely placed to help make the Pope’s vision a reality [Shreck 2017:9 & 89]. CHARIS has now been given this specific task.

What is the vision of CHARIS?

The Pope Francis’s vision for CHARIS is to renew the church to evangelise the culture.

What are the objectives of CHARIS?

There are six of them:

  • To promote and serve the communion among the different realities of the Renewal
  • To promote the grace of the ‘Baptism in the Holy Spirit.’ 
  • To promote Christian unity.
  • To reach out to the poor.  
  • To participate in the evangelising mission of the church
  • To incorporate youth in its programmes

What is new about CHARIS is its incorporation of three specifically new dimensions of the church’s vision for the CCR’s future. These are: to spread the Baptism in the Holy Spirit to the whole church; to work towards the unity of all Christians by going back to its ecumenical roots; to serve the poor and needy. In pursuing these goals, CHARIS helps to revitalise the church and evangelise the culture. 

The structure of CHARIS

As an ecclesial body, CHARIS has a structure and statutes. It has curial, international, national and diocesan structures.

Each structure CHARIS acts as a ‘service of communion’ to the different expressions of the Charismatic Renewal. Its objectives and new concepts are incorporated into its statutes.                                                                                          

Each structure incorporates the concept of ‘collegiality’, the requirement for ‘servant leadership’ and the requirement for a regular change of leadership.  

In 2015, Pope Francis erected in the Curia, a new Dicastry for the Laity and Family Life. Its first ‘prefect’ is Cardinal Farrel. Its purpose is to promote in the laity ‘people who are formed well, animated by a clear and sincere faith and whose lives have been touched by a personal and renewing encounter with the love of Jesus Christ [Ivereigh 2019:97]. Pope Francis wanted to incorporate CHARIS officially, so that both the church and CHARIS would know that it belongs in the heart of the church.

To enable this development, the then organisational structures of the CCR, the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant Communities [CFCCC] known as ‘the Fraternity’, and the ‘International Catholic Charismatic Services’ known as ICCR], graciously terminated their activities to make way for this new body.

The Dicastry for the Laity and Family Life appointed the CHARIS International Service, to co-ordinate activities at the international level. It is placed under the responsibility of a ‘moderator,’ assisted by an ‘ecclesial assistant’ and a council called the ‘International Service of Communion’. This is composed of 18 people drawn from different expressions of the charismatic renewal, from all over the world and to include one person under the age of thirty. The first Moderator is Jean-Luc Moens. The first Ecclesial Assistant is Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa.

At each level of CHARIS, members are at the ‘service of the communion’ of the various expressions of CCR, such as individuals, prayer groups, communities etc. Community is an important concept. It means unity in diversity. None has priority over the others and none can claim leadership of the Renewal. there will be no lifelong leaders in the church because of the temptation to believe they are indispensable.

The CHARIS National Service of Communion [henceforth described as the CNSC] is the principal co-ordinating organisation for CHARIS at the national level. It has now been formed in England. It is the responsibility of a Co-ordinator, and an assistant co-ordinator together with 15 members who meet four times a year. Currently, the members of CNSC are reflecting on three themes which they describe themselves on their website:

  • Fire starters: how do we encourage and equip more people to experience Baptism in the Holy Spirit?
  • Fanning the Flame: how do we help those who have experienced CCR to live out the fullness of their charismatic identity in a mature and holistic way?
  • Spreading the fire? How do we serve the church and engage with wider society more effectively to help transform our world?

The CNSC has now invited each diocese to establish a CHARIS Diocesan Service of Communion [hence forward described as the CDSC]. Each has a coordinator, an assistant coordinator and a membership of no more than 15 people. Membership is drawn from all expressions of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal [CCR] in the diocese. In particular, it is asked to reflect a ‘breadth of ages’ and especially to encourage young people ‘to lead us forward in holiness and mission’. It should have at least one deacon or priest. Regulations for member’s terms of office are included in its statutes. The coordinator and assistant coordinator are held for 3 years with an option to renew consecutively for one more term. The CDSC is accountable to the local Bishop, with whom it seeks to work together in partnership and to whom the co-ordinator reports on activities once a year. The coordinator keeps the CNSC informed of its diocesan activities. Some of the key activities of the CDSC are: to support, promote and encourage all expressions of CCR within the diocese and to foster communion among them; to share the grace of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit: to be in relationship with the church as a whole and other Christian churches and communities working in unity for the building up of the church; and to promote concern for the poor. The CDSC is accountable to the Bishop, is in good standing with him and seeks to work in partnership with him. The statutes for CDSC’s require that the coordinator should meet with the bishop or his representative at least once a year to report on the CDSC’s activities. There should be at least one annual gathering to bring together all the expressions of CCR in the diocese. The CDSC’s full range of activities may be viewed in the document entitled: Guidance for Establishing a Diocesan Service of Communion [CDSC.]

To Promote and Serve the Different Realities of the Renewal.

CHARIS is called to be a unified ‘collegial body’ with a unified organisational structure.

Prior to CHARIS, the CCR had not been a single entity with a unified organisational structure ‘but rather a stream of movements and groups united by a common experience of Baptism in the Holy Spirit, including prayer groups, covenant communities, schools of evangelisation, healing ministries, some ecumenical and some solely Catholic’ They had never come together as one body’ [ICCRSDC 4.1].

CHARIS is to incorporate the concept of ‘communion’ and ‘collegiality’ with and between these different expressions of the Renewal, and to be of service to them all. By Communion is meant ‘unity in diversity’. A collegial body is one that comes together in such a way that ‘no one person dominates and everyone has the chance to speak [Ivereigh 2019:75].

To Promote the Grace of Baptism in the Spirit

The Pope wants everyone to have the experience of being known and loved by God. The Holy Spirit is ‘the power of God’s love’ [Lombardi 2014:143]

‘Baptism in the Spirit is a life-transforming experience of the love of God the father poured into one’s heart by the Holy Spirit, received through surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ. It brings alive sacramental baptism and confirmation, deepens communion with God and fellow Christians, enkindles evangelistic fervour and equips a person with charisms for service and mission’. It is the ‘central grace at the heart of the Renewal. Through baptism in the Spirit the experience of the first Pentecost has been made present anew in our time’ [ICCRSDC n.1] we are known and loved by God [See Galatians 4:9 ‘Now you have come to know God’ and Romans 5:5 ‘the love of the father has been poured into our hearts the Holy Spirit who has been given to us]. Baptism in the Spirit is given to all Christians as an initial baptismal grace. For some, it is given by asking for it as an ‘awakening’ of their original baptismal grace received but not yet activated. For others it is received repeatedly as a ‘reawakening’ or ‘refreshing’ of the original grace.

The gifts of the spirit are referred to as ‘charisms’. With the gift of the Holy Spirit there is a release of them, particularly those Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. While these charisms have always been present in the church, in the charismatic renewal they have reappeared and been used extensively. These charisms are: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, and discernment of spirits, tongues and interpretation of tongues. They are given to the recipient for the up building of the church and for the common good.

It is important to distinguish the Corinthian gifts from the ‘Isaiah gifts’. They are: wisdom, understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord [Isaiah 11:2-3]. These are given in baptism with sanctifying grace, as permanent gifts given for our personal sanctification. 

At Pentecost the Holy Spirit empowered the apostles for mission with His gifts. He does the same for us today. Each one of us has a unique mission and God gives us the gifts we need to accomplish it.

It is through the baptism in the Spirit that we are known and loved by God and gifted for ministry. Pope Francis wants everyone to have this experience and he has asked CHARIS to promote it to the whole Church. 

To Reach out to the Poor

The church teaches that we are all called to serve everyone because Christ has united himself in some fashion to every person.

Pope Francis has asked that renewed Catholics go out from a ‘Samaritan’ Church to serve the poor and needy as a witness of love. He reminds us that: ‘in their flesh’ we will touch the wounds of Christ. We need to reach out to the periphery to find the poor who often remain hidden there. There we can meet them face to face, close and concrete. This is what Pope Francis calls ‘pastoral conversion’. In noticing the needs of the poor, we recognise the cause of their suffering, which compels us to take any required actions to alleviate it. This may involve taking action to promote social justice, or to campaign for change in the structures of society that promote injustice. In this way, the Church is able to evangelize the culture from within.

To Promote Christian Unity

Baptism in the Spirit gives people ‘a strong impetus towards ecumenism’. This impetus has always been present since early days of the Renewal because of the influx of the Pentecostal and Protestant churches who ‘had already received the grace’ [ICCRSDC 2012:2.11 & 92].].                                                         

Baptism in the Holy Spirit is an experience that unites Christians, because it is an experience each of them has personally encountered. The CCR has demonstrated already that it is possible to experience ‘unity in diversity’. In the early days of the Renewal many of the prayer groups and communities were ecumenical. Groups shared together in praise, worship, prayer and ministry. Because of this history, the Pope has identified CHARIS as an instrument of choice for the Church’s ecumenical effort. He wants CHARIS to return to is ecumenical roots for Christians to pray together and to reach out to the poor together.

To Participate in the Evangelising Mission of the Church

The church exists to evangelise. We are Christians because we have been loved and encountered by God in a life changing experience [Ivereigh 2019:339]. We evangelise to make possible that same ‘primary encounter’ for others. In doing so, we help them ‘to know God, to know they are loved and they can be transformed’ [Lombardi 2014:144].

The ‘new evangelisation’ directs our evangelising efforts toward three groups: those who have never heard the the gospel, those who have heard it but no longer affiliate themselves with it and those within the Church who who need to deepen their affiliation through  a personal encounter with God .

Promoting baptism in the Spirit, together with our ecumenical efforts and our outreach to the poor, all serve evangelisation. In promoting baptism in the Spirit we testify to others from our own experience. In our ecumenical efforts we testify to others by the witness of our lives. In reaching out to the poor we act as conduits of God’s presence. The people we are ministering to recognise that presence and receive him in the encounter with our love. In this encounter, we too are evangelised as we meet and serve the suffering Jesus present there. 

CHARIS, with its key goals, which if implemented, is capable of raising up the ‘new people’ described by Pope Francis who are capable of evangelising the culture.

To Incorporate Youth into its Programmes

Young people are a priority for CHARIS. CHARIS recognises the gifts that Renewed young people have and which the church needs. CHARIS therefore invites young people to be active participants in its communities and to help lead them forward in ‘holiness and mission’ [VN 2019.] They are important too as CHARIS plans for its future ‘when others must come to the fore’ [Farrel 2019].

Becoming Christian Disciples

The Renewal introduces people to a new way of life, ‘Life in the Spirit’. It ‘awakens’ in them a call to Christian Discipleship. God has a purpose for each of us and He empowers us with the gifts we need to fulfil it. 

When we live the ‘life in the spirit’ and use our gifts, they begin to produce fruit in our lives. They make us like Christ. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self–control. There are some more benefits of this ‘current of grace’, which we have not yet considered, but which we need to be able to explain when promoting the baptism in the Spirit to the Church. Theses have been documented by the ICCRSDC:

  • ‘Our worship is revitalised as we are filled with joy and offer praise to God often with uplifted hands
  • ‘Scripture comes alive as a living word in which God speaks to us personally’ and we ‘thirst to study it’ more deeply [BIHS 2.3].’
  • We have a new awareness of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit and are attentive to His promptings [BIHS 2.2].
  • We experience a deeper love for the Church, a new closeness to Mary and a new appreciation for the teaching of the saints’ [BIHS2.5].                                           

To promote Christian unity 

Pope Francis calls this spiritual ‘ecumenism’. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is an experience that unites Christians because it has been experienced by them all. This grace has passed through all Christian denominations. In its early days, the CCR prayer groups were ecumenical sharing together in praise, worship, prayer and ministry together. Because of this the Pope has ‘identified the CCR as an instrument of choice for the Church’s ecumenical effort [Farrel 2019]. Pope Francis wants the CCR to return to is ecumenical roots, to pray together and reach out to the poor together.

Christian Discipleship.

Cardinal Cantalamessa has said that if CHARIS is going to promote the Baptism in the Holy Spirit to the whole Church, its benefits need to be clearly explained. There are some more which are worthy of note. ICCRSDC has produced a list:

  • Our worship is revitalised as we are filled with joy and offer praise to God often with uplifted hands.
  • Scripture comes alive as a living word in which God speaks to us personally’ and we ‘thirst to study it’ more deeply [BIHS 2.3].’
  • We have a new awareness of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit and are attentive to His promptings [BIHS 2.2].
  • We have a commitment to social justice. This solidarity with the poor led to action [Acts 4:33-34].
  • We experience a deeper love for the church, a new closeness to Mary and a new appreciation for the teaching of the saints’ [BIHS 2.5]. 

The implementation of CHARIS

Implementing CHARIS will be challenging.                                                  

It will require the Church at all levels, the bishops, priests, the local parish and members of CHARIS to reflect on its vision and goals.

It will involve reviewing current structures and practices and considering how we can incorporate the CHARIS vision into them.                                                              

It will be necessary to establish some indicators for reviewing how we are meeting the challenge.                                                                                                 

We will also need to reflect on what resources are needed and how to access them.

All those involved should be prepared to ‘undertake training, formation and to grow in their gifts of service’ [Boroden]. 

Richard Rohr in a recent video teaching, describes the maturing of the spiritual life as a pathway represented by six levels. The first three represent ‘religion’ as an ‘information’ gathering time. Biblical ‘faith’ starts at stage 4 when we have the ‘God experience’. It is the time we are connected to and start to live within the Trinitarian flow of love. It is a time of immense compassion. He describes ‘Baptism in the Holy Spirit’ as a ‘mini mystical’ stage 4 experience.’ Stage 4 is the beginning of  adult spirituality. Rohr specifically mentions the CCR. He bemoans the fact that in the CCR, there is no one around to help with this growth and to give people the tools they need to develop further in the spiritual life. He recognises an important challenge therefore to CHARIS. Following baptism in the Spirit, how do we help Renewed Catholics to grow in the spiritual life towards spiritual union? 

The clergy did not receive training in their seminary days into the nature and practice of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Some became actively involved. Others accepted its presence but kept it firmly on the periphery of parish life. Helping this group to understand the vision and goal of CHARIS will be very important for its successful implementation.

There will be resistance to change.  There will be hidden resistance from ‘people who are outwardly supportive but inwardly determine that everything should stay as it is [Ivereigh 2919].

Conclusion

CHARIS is at the service of revitalising the whole church and evangelising the culture.                     

What a privilege it is for the CCR to have been chosen to help bring this vision to birth in the Church. We all have a part to play in making it happen. The Renewal is truly in and for the church and not peripheral to it as it once was. I leave the reader with the words of Pope St John Paul II: ‘Make the Holy Spirit known and loved. Help bring to life that ’’culture of Pentecost’’ that can alone make fruitful the civilisation of love…never tire of praying ’’Come Holy Spirit! Come! Come.

Bibliography 

Bishops Liaison Committee with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.[1984]. Catholic Charismatic Renewal, United States Catholic Conference. Washington, DC. Publication no. 931 

Boroden. Joe. A challenging vision for catholic Charismatic Renewal for Catholic Charismatic Prayer groups. Retrieved 24.09.2021 https//you.tu/Fcu-557qhdQ

Cantalamessa, Cardinal Raniero. [2019].The Catholic Charismatic Renewal: a current of grace for the whole Church. Cantalamessa, Raniero [2019] Retrieved 24.09.2021 https/www.charis.international/en/the-catholic-charismatic-renewal-a-current-of-grace-for-the-whole-church 

CDSC. Guidance for establishing a Diocesan Service of Communion

Craig, Philippa [1989] This is the Laity: Simplification of Christifideles Laici an apostolic Exhortation. Text prepared by Philipa Craig. Pinner, Middlesex: The Grail

Downey, Michael [1997] Understanding Christian Spirituality. Mahwah, N.J: Paulist Press.

Farrel, Cardinal Kevin [2019] The birth of Charis and its importance for Catholic Charismatic Renewal.  Inaugural speech to CHARIS.  Charis International retrieved 28.09.2021.

ICCRSDC [2012] Baptism in the Holy Spirit. International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services Doctrinal commission. Luton, Beds: New life publishing.

Ivereigh, Austin [2019] Wounded Shepherd: Pope Francis and his Struggle to Convert the Catholic Church. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.

Lombardi, Josephine [2014] Disciples of all Nations. Toronto, Canada: Novalis Publishing Inc.

McDonnell, Kilian,  & Montague, George T.  [1991,1994 2nd revised edition]. Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit: Evidence from the First Eight Centuries. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press

Rohr, Richard. Video. Contemplative Vision: Presentation three. You Tube Outreach Retrieved 01.12.2020

Shreck, Alan [2017] A Mighty Current of Grace: The story of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Frederick, Maryland: The word among us press

Vatican news [VN] [2019] A new service for the catholic charismatic renewal-Vatican News. Retrieved 24.09.2021 https:vaticannews.va/envatican-city/news/2019-06/charis-a-new-service-for-the-catholic-charismatic-renewal.html

Pope Francis message to CCR 2014-2017. Video. Retrieved 21.11.202

Of all things Visible and Invisible

All that is visible and invisible

If you could tell a caterpillar that one day he’d be able to fly and have the most beautiful wings in all of creation, do you think he’d believe you? Similarly, if you tell a typical person living anywhere across Britain today that “they are beautiful and made in the perfect image of God, who loves you so much that He wants you to come and join him for an eternal feast at his ‘pad’, which of course is Heaven”, do you think they’d believe you? I think that most of the population of Britain (and also the caterpillar) would think that you were crazy! I’m also sure that most people would go on to explain that man with his acres of modern wisdom and scientific research formed over centuries of experiments, debate and study have proven that the invisible or spiritual realm couldn’t possibly exist. The internet and ‘cyber-world’ is full of content explaining these rational perspectives.

Let’s put science to one side very briefly. During holy Mass we say the Nicene Creed as the profession of our faith which was written around 325AD and it starts with the following words, “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.”. Quite a few Sundays ago the word ‘invisible’ stuck in my mind. I can easily see that ‘visible’ relates to the physical world that surrounds us and expanding knowledge of science explains 99.9% of how it all works. The invisible world is much harder to comprehend and human intelligence doesn’t quite understand it yet. According to CERN, physical matter (galaxies, stars and planets) makes up about 5% of the known universe and dark matter (which isn’t understood, has been observed in experiments but isn’t visible) accounts for an estimated 27%. The same is true of the spiritual world – our souls, angels, the kingdom of Heaven, the Holy Spirit, God our father. In this list, which isn’t complete, I should also include the daily miracle, where Jesus becomes wholly present in the Eucharist (if you doubt read John 6:51-58). Also and lastly (and rightfully so) satan and his cronies, the demons.

OK, so all these spiritual ‘invisible things’ are hard to accept and I’m sure even some mature Christians incorrectly doubt the eucharistic miracle, but also angels, dark spiritual forces, such as satan and demons and they are rationally put down to a quirk of ancient writing, not to be literally believed in today’s technologically advanced and street savvy world. Hebrews (12:22-23) documents a view of a subset of this majestic invisible world, “We have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in Heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.”.

A scientist must demonstrate any theory using experiments to create physical evidence for their work to be believed by other scientists. In John 20:25, Thomas refused to believe Jesus had risen from the dead unless he could ‘see the mark of the nails in his hands, put his finger into the nail marks and put his hand into his side’. Jesus’ resurrection was so unimaginable to him that it was like he wanted to conduct his own little science experiment in order to believe. After he did this, Jesus said, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”.

In the words, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed”, Jesus is calling us to have faith in the things we haven’t seen or touched, these invisible things. To do this we need to put aside scepticism and in Jesus’ words in doing this we will be ‘blessed’. It will bring us closer to God.

Like Thomas, must we physically see and touch before we accept these and other core spiritual elements of our faith? While we are alive, our spiritual self and our future inheritance is hidden from us, maybe we are distracted by the splendour of the physical world. As in the caterpillar at the beginning, one day he will go into the tomb of the cocoon and then he’ll be metamorphosed (resurrected) into this magnificent beautiful creation. We too all have an eternal future which will be far beyond our wildest expectations, although to take our place we must allow ourselves to descend into our spiritual ‘tomb’, to then rise in God’s strength and in faith, and grow spiritually by letting go of the world and holding tight to the word of God and His church.

St Paul describes this in 1 Corinthians 15:46 onwards: “But first came the natural body, not the spiritual one; that came only afterwards. The first man, being made of earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. The earthly man is the pattern for earthly people, the heavenly man for heavenly ones. And as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so we shall bear the likeness of the heavenly one. What I am saying, brothers, is that mere human nature cannot inherit the kingdom of God: what is perishable cannot inherit what is imperishable.”. Therefore let us have faith and truly believe in, “all things visible and invisible.”.

All that is visible and invisible