A&B CDSC Team

2025 CDSC Event Schedule

2025-08-272025-03-10 by Admin

Arundel and Brighton Charismatic Service of Communion Team Supporting the Vision of CHARIS

Your A&B Charismatic Service of Communion team have some wonderful events lined up for our Diocese for the 2025 ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ Jubilee Year. You can see details of these below and this page will be kept up-dated as details are confirmed and if any changes are made.

Lighthouse Saturday 26th April

26th April Lighthouse starting 11:30am at St Edward the Confessor, Poundhill, Crawley, RH10 7EQ.

Lighthouse events are a special Day of Renewal for the A&B Diocese and rotated around the Diocese. The focus of this Lighthouse is to give thanks for and to reflect upon the Jubilee Year, and to support parishes and societies who serve the poor.

Prayer Ministry Training – Set the Captives Free

Diocesan Charismatic Prayer Group and Community Meeting 19th July at St Edward the Confessor, Poundhill, Crawley, RH10 7EQ.

A day to grow our wonderful prayer ministry team.

Uprising Life in the Spirit Seminar 11th and 12th October

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” John 10:10

Have you ever felt that pull inside you? — the sense that you were made for something more?

We invite you to Uprising: “A generation burning for Jesus”, a powerful seminar where you will be equipped to live the miraculous life Jesus promised. This is your invitation to walk boldly in the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring healing where there is brokenness, hope where there is despair, and light into the deepest darkness.

Hosted at the University of Sussex, excellent teaching specially for 18-30s. Full details here: https://www.abcharismatic.org/uprising-a-generation-burning-for-jesus/

15th November Lighthouse

Our final Lighthouse of 2025 will be on Saturday 15th November at St Joseph’s Parish in Guildford, the site of one of the Diocesan Holy Doors. The theme has yet to be announced but will be based on “Pilgrims of Hope”. This lighthouse event will follow-on from the various Life in the Spirit Seminars held around the Diocese through 2025.

Gifts of the Spirit – A Personal Experience by Robin d’A Hirsch

2025-04-102025-02-27 by Robin d'A Hirsch

I would like to express my great gratitude to Alastair Emblem, leader of ADoRE, for his excellent summary of the teachings of the Catholic Church on this topic. His book, “Pray as you can’t” is also invaluable.

Many Catholics are suspicious of the charismatic renewal and its supernatural gifts on the grounds that it doesn’t seem, well, really CATHOLIC, does it? Isn’t it just for Protestants, in particular for Pentecostals and those many evangelical sects?

It is certainly true that over the centuries since the early Church, the baptism or immersion in the Holy Spirit became the exception rather than the rule, which had applied in the time of the Acts of the Apostles and for the first few centuries after that. This neglect for so long of the Holy Spirit was a grave fault, not only in the Catholic Church but in most mainstream churches. Baptists even believed until only a few years ago that the time for the gifts of the Holy Spirit was limited to the time of the Apostles! But again and again, the Holy Spirit made His presence felt, inspiring people such as St Augustine, St Francis of Assisi, the Methodists, the Pentecostal Church, and finally the Catholic Church. In the last century a succession of Popes from Pope Leo XIII, Pope John XXIII, Pope John Paul II and especially Pope Francis have given the Church more and more encouragement to welcome the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Indeed, Pope Francis in 2019, when inaugurating CHARIS, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service (the successor to ICCRS), said that he expected CHARIS to do 3 things:

to share baptism in the Holy Spirit with everyone in the Church. It is the grace you have received. Share it! Don’t keep it to yourselves!
to serve the unity of the Body of Christ, the Church, the community of believers…
and to serve the poor and those in greatest need, physical or spiritual…”

If we are to bear fruit from the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we must make full use of all the gifts He gives us – and He is ready to give us all of the gifts that we are ready to use. It is we who are not ready to ask Him for and use some of them, it is not that He does not offer them to us.

But even many Catholics who have attended more or less charismatic prayer groups and to use one person’s words, “have received huge graces through charismatic prayer” have not really bought in to all the opportunities that God is offering to us. They point to Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:30 “not all have gifts of healing, not all speak in tongues, not all interpret, do they?” This can lead them (wrongly) to think that not all gifts are offered to all believers. But the truth is that they are freely offered, but some of us are not ready to receive them. My own opinion is that we should actively ask the Holy Spirit for all of the ones for which we are ready and willing to use – which may be at different times of our lives.

The importance of tongues, and other signs of baptism in the Spirit

The gateway gift to all the other gifts is normally the gift of tongues. This was a gift which existed at least from the Exodus and is described in Numbers 11:24-29. Like many other gifts, in the Old Testament it was only given to specific individuals and it was often (usually?) only for a period of time. This was the case with Saul, as described in 1 Samuel 10. David also asked for the Holy Spirit not to be taken from him. Tongues are described in Isaiah 28:11-12 and in Acts 2:17-18 Peter explains that all the believers speaking in tongues are a fulfilment of Joel 2:28-29. And indeed, it is after Pentecost that the Holy Spirit is given to ALL who put their trust in Jesus, first as tongues of flame and tongues in the languages of all who came to hear the disciples, then as a power that shakes the whole building. In Acts 10 it comes on Cornelius and all of his household as they hear the Good News from Peter: the sign of their receiving the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues, which proves that even the Gentiles can share in the Holy Spirit and can be demonstrably saved. As the ICCRS Doctrinal Commission said, quoting Acts 11:18, “This evidence was crucial for those who had challenged Peter, who when they “heard this, stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, ‘God has then granted life-giving repentance to the gentiles too’”

In Mark 16, Jesus makes it clear that the gift of tongues, as well as driving out demons and healing the sick are for every believer: 16:16-18 says “WHOEVER who trusts and is immersed will be saved…and these signs will accompany those who trust: in my name they will drive out demons, speak with new tongues, not be injured if they handle snakes or drink poison, and heal the sick by laying hands on them.”

These signs were taken very seriously indeed by the early Church and when any were absent, the apostles would try to rectify this: Two examples are given in Acts:

When (in Acts 8) the Samaritans did not receive the obvious signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit (such as the gift of tongues) in spite of the great miracles following Philip’s proclamation of the Gospel to them, the apostles considered that they had not received the Holy Spirit and they sent Peter and John to them, who laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
In Ephesus, after Apollos had made a number of converts, as Acts 19:1-6 describes:
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples ²and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when^[a] you believed?”
They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied.
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

These passages have been used by the Pentecostalists and many other charismatics from other evangelical churches to claim that tongues are ALWAYS given to EVERYONE who is immersed in the Holy Spirit. But this is not what the Catholic Church teaches: The ICCRS Doctrinal Commission comments: “The observable evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit was an essential part of the Church’s understanding of the Christian life, even though no single effect—such as tongues, for example— was ever considered a “litmus test” of having received the Holy Spirit.”

I can testify to this, because God first immersed me in the Holy Spirit while I was driving my car on the motorway in Germany, after I had just realised that all my many qualifications, my great career culminating in my position as a Finance Director, and my loving wife and sons, all of these wonderful things were so much rubbish compared with actually knowing Jesus personally and belonging to Him. (I did not realise that I was paraphrasing Philippians 3:4-9!) But I did not receive the gift of tongues for nearly another 2 years. I simply did not realise its importance or its great value.

The Catholic Church’s view is that we receive the Holy Spirit at our baptism. But Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa also taught that “Catholic theology recognises the concept of a valid but “tied” sacrament. A sacrament is called tied if the fruit that should accompany it remains bound, [or unreleased,] because of certain blocks that prevent its effectiveness.” The fruits of the Holy Spirit are “tied” until we have first given our lives to Christ (the Kerygma, which Pope Francis taught about in Evangelii Gaudium.) They are then fully untied when we are baptised or immersed in the Holy Spirit. These two events occurred in my own life 22 years after my infant baptism, while immersion in the Spirit occurred another 13 years later! So 2 years was not long to wait from baptism in the Holy Spirit to speaking in tongues! And other gifts (“greater gifts” according to Paul in 1 Corinthians followed almost immediately after I started speaking in tongues. I do not know that this happens for everyone, but I expect that it is very common.

	Causal Event	Change in Behaviour	Impact
1	Infant Baptism	Baptism seals the infant but the change also relies on parents.	Spirit present, but impact tied until the Spirit is blown into flame in steps 2 and 3.
2	Kerygma (giving one’s life to Christ)	Forgiving, loving & praying for one’s enemies. Trust begins.	Seeing prayers clearly answered; Some ability to hear God’s voice.
3	Baptism/immersion in the Spirit (for the first time)	Immediate: near drunkenness or falling over (“slain in the Spirit”); Much more trust in Christ.	A sense of God’s presence; Hearing God’s voice clearly. Openness to go on being filled/immersed.
4	Speaking in Tongues (a result of immersion in the Holy Spirit)	Trusting God with the speech centres of our brains; Readiness to pray for a much longer time than before; Praying for what God wants us to pray.	Hearing God even more clearly; Receiving other gifts of the Spirit and readiness to ask for them; Greater intimacy in prayer; “Praying at all times in the Spirit” (Eph 6:18) and for what God wants us to pray for; Power in healing and in spiritual warfare; Zeal & confidence to evangelise.
5	Receiving the “greater gifts” (1 Cor 12:31)	Greater trust that God would do mighty supernatural works; Greater ability to hear what to pray for.	Releasing those supernatural works – interpreting tongues; giving words of knowledge; prophesying; healing the sick; casting out demons.

Let me tabulate the impact of these four events or stages in my own life. I would suggest that these may the normal impacts when the four events are separated by such very significant time. I have excluded the step of confirmation because it was not, for me, followed immediately by immersion in the Spirit (unlike the disciples in Ephesus) and did not seem to have any effect at all on me.

Many of these impacts (and more) are quoted in the Doctrinal Commission – International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services 2017. Of course, the order may not be always as shown in the table. For example, where baptism takes place as an adult, it usually follows the kerygma or surrender to Christ, rather than preceding it. (In Acts 10:44-48 with Cornelius, it followed baptism in the Spirit.) It is also possible for all these events to happen on a single occasion, as described repeatedly in Jackie Pullinger’s book, “Chasing the Dragon”, where kerygma and the laying on of hands resulted immediately in people speaking in tongues and being delivered of drug addiction.

Why should we all pray in tongues?

Paul is clear that the gift of tongues is less important than prophecy or the other gifts that lead up to prophecy – the interpretation of tongues to reveal the prophetic message, and words of knowledge that clearly demonstrate that one has heard directly from God. These gifts are the “greater gifts” because they have a direct, demonstrably beneficial impact on other believers. But Paul still says in 1 Corinthians 14:5 “Now I want you ALL to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.” (And indeed, interpretation converts a message in tongues into a convincing prophecy. So if one is in a group or church where one knows that there are others who can interpret, there is no reason not to give a message in tongues.)

But there are many, even after the baptism of the Holy Spirit, who do not speak in tongues. One thing that held me back from asking for the gift of tongues was that I did not see why Paul wanted it for us all. What were the benefits, I asked? And Jackie Pullinger initially had exactly the same reaction, though later, it was to play a vital, essential part of her ministry and that of her converts. So it is worth mentioning some of the reasons why this particular gift is a key gateway one and is such an essential support for our whole prayer life and our ministry.

Prayer in tongues (alone or in the presence of others):

This is something that is a sign that will be associated with all who trust in Jesus – Mark 16:17

It is valuable for a person’s own spiritual growth (1 Cor 14:4,18)
By enabling us to hear much more clearly what God is saying to us, it is a powerful agent in assisting us to do what God is telling us to do, and to identify (He tells us!) what we need to change in ourselves in order to be more like Him.
It enables us to “pray constantly” (1 Thess 5:17) or “pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph 6:18) and the Spirit prays through us when “we do not know how we ought to pray” (Rom 8:26-27)
We surrender to the Spirit and are changed as He prays through us: Rom 8:26-27; 1 Cor 14:2
It is a sign of the presence of the Spirit to those who do not yet have this gift, making it clear to them that we can lay hands on them and impart (and encourage them in) the freedom to use it. Recently, when we were praying in tongues for the healing of others, a lady at our prayer group was overjoyed to hear us because she had wanted this gift for a long time.
It is also a sign of the Spirit to unbelievers – especially if they then recognise that we are speaking in their language. This breaks down any resistance to conversion and baptism in the Holy Spirit in a way that only miracles can do. In the first Pentecost, “about 3,000 were added to their number.” I know of one who was given an unusual Romanian country dialect, another who was given modern Greek – his wife’s language, which healed the rift in their marriage, and one or two foreigners who were given English as their tongue.
It releases us to ask for the “greater gifts” (such as prophecy, healing and casting out demons) and enables us to hear God’s voice and know more precisely what to pray for.

A message in tongues for the community

Not every believer will be given such a message to deliver, and one should only be given if the recipient knows or suspects that someone in the community will be able to interpret it.)

The message in tongues is a clarion call, a “heads up” signal to all to pay attention to what is being said. It lends greater credibility and acceptance of the prophecy that follows.
If there are any present who do not themselves speak in tongues, it is also a demonstration of the supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the community and may open them up to a greater grace in their own lives.
If there are several interpretations, it will demonstrate that the interpretations are correct, because they will normally be similar and/or complementary to each other.
It may be of value to the whole community if someone who first is confident that he or she has receive an interpretation waits for a moment to deliver it, because it may pave the way for someone who has not previously interpreted to do so first. This is how I first received this gift.
When we are commanded by God to give such a message in tongues, we should always wait for a while after delivering it until there has been plenty of time for people to receive and announce interpretations. These may well have the impact of prophecy or words of knowledge which we could not possibly ourselves have know and must have heard from the Lord – just like Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well.

Singing in tongues – a way of expressing our praise of God and our joy in His presence

Praying in tongues is speaking in one’s “secret place” with God, but it can also have expression in song, expressing the joy that we feel in God’s presence and the emotion that we feel, the overpowering of love that God puts into our hearts. This can be alone or with a group of people
Communal praise using tongues can bring groups closely together with a sense of harmony, which is very unifying. There is that danger that this use of tongues can be preferred to the more important use which is in delivering messages that can, with interpretation, be turned into prophecy, but the joy in praising God in such a way is such a deep and rich experience that it should not be resisted. It is described by many early Christian writers.

Making progress with tongues – distinguishing between translation and interpretation

When we first receive the gift of tongues, it may be very rudimentary, like baby talk. Some charismatics seem to feel that this is enough, but the more one uses this gift, the wider one’s “vocabulary” and the more complex one’s “syntax” seems to become. Regular practice is therefore essential in getting and delivering the full value of this precious gift.
Those of us who already spoke many languages face the danger that we tend to try to recognise this syntax and elements of the vocabulary, and try to translate it as we can translate French, German, Spanish or Chinese. This is a great mistake. If we listen carefully to what God is saying through us, we may be able to perceive the gist of what is being said. This is how we can then interpret it – through a rough paraphrase, relying on hearing what God is revealing what the tongues are saying. But when I tried to translate what my first tongue was saying, the Holy Spirit changed the tongue to one that I could not understand!
It is important to gradually increase the amount of time we speak in tongues. In “Chasing the Dragon”, Jackie Pullinger only started hearing whom to approach and seeing miracles happen after she was regularly praying for at least a quarter of an hour in tongues. In the last year I have found exactly the same.

Moving on to the the “greater gifts” and evangelisation

First of all, “moving on” does not mean leaving tongues behind. It simply means using our gift of tongues and our trust in God to ask for and practise those other gifts that have a direct (as opposed to an indirect) beneficial impact on others. These are what Paul wanted us to “eagerly seek”. But what it does mean is that we should be actively asking for those “greater gifts” and we will receive them when we are ready to use them.
Whether we are praying on our own but much more when we pray for healing, or are delivering a word of prophecy, it may be helpful to alternate between tongues and our mother tongue or the language of the person for whom we are praying. We can also alternate between both of these and singing in tongues.
In spiritual warfare, we may find it useful to remember that praying in tongues is the only reliable way of praying only what God wants to pray through us. So if we are then casting out demons, what the Spirit was saying may be hidden from the demon and at the same time, we will have been strengthened to be ready to cast them out. (God has used me to cast out demons on only two occasions. We should keep our eyes on God and not seek out demons, but should be ready to act with Christ’s authority when we do encounter them.)
When we pray for those who give their lives to Jesus, it is good to encourage them at the same time to ask for the gift of tongues straight away. If they have truly surrendered to the Lord, they will probably receive both the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues at the same time. This will anchor them in their trust that they have indeed received both these gifts and will receive more in due course.
If you ask for the gift of tongues and do not receive it, do not be concerned, because you will probably receive it sooner or later – instead, ask for “the greater gifts” – prophecy, words of knowledge and any others that you are ready to use. And keep on praying!
Always remember that (as Pope Francis has taught), ALL charisms are given to individuals to use in love for the benefit of all, and to sanctify the Church.

The above is an account of my personal experience with the Gifts of the Spirit, which enabled me to experience many miracles. I also made great use of Alastair Emblem’s article for ADoRE. To you all, I wish more trust in Jesus, and the courage and desire to ask for tongues and as many other spiritual gifts as you are ready to use, to “do the same works” as Jesus. (John 14:12)

Robin d'A Hirsch — The Author: Robin d’A Hirsch

Alastair Emblem’s bibliography of further reading, plus five added by me;

Bibliography of further reading

More detailed explanation of the difference between speaking and praying in tongues: “Glossolalia, Xenolalia and Xenoglossia Q&A by Doctrinal Commission – International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services, 2015.” Link here.
The link to Alastair Emblem’s article is: https://files.secure.website/wscfus/9860907/30909504/understanding-the-gift-of-tongues.pdf
“A Practical Guide to the Gift of Tongues” – John Vaughan-Neil (ISBN978-1-903623-47-3)
“Sounds of Wonder – 20 centuries of Praying in Tongues and Lively Worship in the Catholic Tradition.” By Deacon Eddie Ensley Ph.D. (ISBN 978-1-61956-172-4)
“Renew Your Wonders – spiritual gifts for today” (esp. Chapter 9) by Damian Stayne (ISBN 978-1-912237-00-5)
“Towards a fuller life in the Holy Spirit” (esp. chapters 4 and 5) by Charles Whitehead. (ISBN 978-1-903623-50-3)
““Baptism in the Holy Spirit” by ICCRS Doctrinal Commission (ISBN 978-1-903623-67-1)
“Pray as you can’t” Alastair Emblem, available through Amazon (ISBN 979-8-41769-454-7)
An excellent video by Fr Gareth Leyson, Sion Community for Evangelism: “GIFTS OF TONGUES AND MIRACLES”
“Chasing the Dragon” Jackie Pullinger (ISBN 978-0-340-90880-8)
The Called & Gifted website is here: https://calledandgifted.org.uk/
“Intoxication of the Spirit” – Raniero Cantalamessa OFM (ISBN 10: 0867167130 / ISBN 13: 9780867167139) – was recommended by Gerry Penfold of Called & Gifted on ADoRE on 22 Feb 2025). You can watch Gerry Penfold’s talk here: https://youtu.be/ko-Aft8q3FA?si=a6BoBuVCQ7_PeCW0

ADoRE Celebrates 50 Years with a Jubilee Programme

2025-01-14 by Admin

ADoRE (Alton Day of Renewal) is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year and launches a special Jubilee programme on 25th January with a meeting on Zoom, open to anyone. ADoRE is a monthly meeting of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, dedicated to the encouragement of a personal relationship with God, through Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Formed in 1975 in Portsmouth Diocese, it is one of the longest continually running Charismatic Days of Renewal in Britain.

ADoRE Leader Alastair Emblem explains: “Our Jubilee programme for the year shares the same theme as the Universal Church: ‘Pilgrims of Hope.’ Monthly themes will reflect various aspects of the Christian Pilgrimage of Faith, with a particular emphasis on joy in the blessings and gifts of the Holy Spirit for revitalising the Church. “In the first meeting on 25th January ‘Jesus is the Way,’ we remind ourselves of the importance of following His call to follow Him on the Pilgrimage of Faith. Guest speaker is Daniella Stephens, a young and dynamic Catholic Evangelist who travels the UK and abroad speaking at churches, schools, conferences, retreats, prayer groups, youth groups and more.”

As well as the inspiring talk, there will be live-streamed Mass and Adoration, Prophecy, Praise, and Prayer for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The free retreat morning takes place on Zoom from 10.00am to 1.00pm and advance registration is required at bit.ly/ADOREJAN2025 More information at www.altonrenewal.com

Alastair continues: “We are delighted to have received an encouraging message, in our special year of Jubilee, from Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher to the Papal Household 1980-2024. Part of his message reads as follows: ‘I want to congratulate you for your 50 years of faithfulness to the Holy Spirit and the current of grace of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal…. I will pray the Risen Lord to pour down his Spirit in a new powerful way upon the speakers and the participants to the programme.’. “The Cardinal’s prayer will be a powerful support for our programme, and we are confident, in this year of Hope, that many new participants will join our meetings and be blessed by the Holy Spirit.”

A colour poster for this month is attached, and other publicity materials can be downloaded from: https://www.altonrenewal.com/your_parish

Website and email contact details are given at the foot of this message. We hope and pray that you can publicise this event.

You can see the full ADoRe schedule foe 2025 here: https://www.altonrenewal.com/2025_more_details

Rethinking Abortion Interactive Training Day 8th Feb 2025

2025-01-14 by Admin

Our A&B Diocese are hosting an event organised by Rethinking Abortion, a national pro-life organisation.

In the midst of the challenging experience faced by many women in today’s world, Rethinking Abortion will be providing educational sessions looking at the lived experiences and reality of women that led them to facing the lonely choice of abortion.

The aim is to help build an understanding on how to tactfully and empathetically talk about abortion with those around you in a meaningful way. Come along to build a better understanding of the full reality of the pro-life agenda, becoming more articulate and effective in holding conversations with those considering this pathway.

We will begin our day with an optional Mass at 10.00am, followed by discussion and talks on how we can accompany people in their time of need. Please bring a packed lunch.

If you have any questions regarding this event please contact Formation Advisers, Tessa Ricketts or Simon South E: tessa.ricketts@abdiocse.org.uk or simon.south@abdiocese.org.uk

Visit the March for Life Website: March for Life

Download Event Poster: Rethink A&B Poster A4

Celebrate Nativity Online Resources

2025-01-142024-11-17 by Admin

Celebrate have released some excellent resources as we prepare for Advent, you can find the details and links to the content below.

CELEBRATE Nativity – this online pack is part of our new BIBLE CELEBRATIONS parish resource which aims to help create community and relationship with the hope of encouraging non-Christians and non-attending Catholics towards attendance at church and developing a close relationship with God. It’s a great precursor to the Alpha Course and encourages a community to come together to encounter and reflect on a Bible story in an imaginative and entertaining way.

Available to download free from our website, CELEBRATE Nativity contains a plan for the afternoon, a simple drama, a prayerful reflection and a take home family prayer activity – the CELEBRATE Advent Matchbox Manger. There are also helpful Leader’s notes available. To find out more, visit https://www.celebratetrust.org/bible-celebrations

The CELEBRATE Advent matchbox Manger can also be used by itself in Children’s Liturgy, children’s groups and in primary schools. To download a copy, follow this link https://www.celebratetrust.org/celebrate-prayer-resources

All our resources are free to download but not free to make, so any donations, large or small, would be very gratefully received towards future projects.

ADoRE Renewal 23rd NOVEMBER 2024

2025-11-142024-11-17 by Admin

“YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES”

There is one fear that unites almost everyone in our parishes – the thought of talking to someone about our faith! It’s easy to make many excuses for not doing so, maintaining that our actions speak louder than words. It’s true that we should witness through the way we live, but it’s also vital that we follow St Peter’s advice: “if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” (1 Pet 3:15)

On November 23rd there is an opportunity to participate in a free mini-retreat morning that will explore in more depth why and how we can be effective witnesses through sharing our own testimonies. This meeting on Zoom, “YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES – giving your testimony in the power of the Holy Spirit” is hosted by “ADoRE” one of the longest-running charismatic days of renewal in the country.

“The key to overcoming our fear and our inadequacy in witnessing,” says the retreat organiser Alastair Emblem, “is to understand fully what Jesus said to his followers immediately before he told them to be his witnesses: ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.’ The purpose of this and all ADoRE retreats is to encourage participants to open their hearts to the action of the Holy Spirit, who transforms us and gives us the courage and ability to carry out God’s commands.”

The retreat includes Mass, Adoration, Praise and Worship, inspired Teaching and Prayer for all participants to foster the presence of the Holy Spirit in them. It is the conclusion of the 2024 ADoRE programme developing our understanding and appreciation of how we are to respond to God’s call to holiness; co-operating with the Holy Spirit as He transforms our lives so that we can be inspired and equipped to help others.

The main talk is given by Allegra Mutanda, Director of Evangelisation and Leadership at St Peter’s Winchester, where she is helping the parish fulfil its vision of bringing people closer to Jesus Christ in hope and joy.

The free retreat morning takes place on Zoom from 10.00am to 1.00pm and advance registration is required. Please register at bit.ly/ADORENOV2024 More information at www.altonrenewal.com

People from all over the country (and beyond) have been joining the ADoRE mini-retreat Zoom mornings over the last four years and thoroughly enjoying them. Here is what two recent participants said about ADoRE:

“The whole experience of the meeting is very comforting and keeps me feeling alive and well in the Spirit.”

“I genuinely feel that these meetings help me to change my life.”

ADoRE (Alton Day of Renewal) is a monthly meeting of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Formed in 1975, it is now one of the longest continually running Charismatic Days of Renewal in Britain, dedicated to the encouragement of a personal relationship with God, through Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is affiliated with CHARIS, an international body established by Pope Francis in 2019 to support all those working to share the current of grace which is the charismatic renewal. “Charismatic Renewal is a great force at the service of the proclamation of the Gospel, in the joy of the Holy Spirit.” – Pope Francis June 2014

We hope and pray that you can attend and can also forward this email and the attached poster to publicise the event.

Alastair Emblem
Core Group Leader,
ADoRE

CNSC Formation Weekend, My Experience

2024-11-17 by Admin

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!

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

2024-10-152024-10-15 by Admin

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.

ADoRE spiritual mini-retreat 26 Oct “Heal the sick – ministering in the charisms of the Holy Spirit”

2024-10-12 by Admin

Healing the sick was an integral part of Jesus’ mission of salvation. As the Catechism says: “Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive sins; he has come to heal the whole man, soul and body; he is the physician the sick have need of.” (CCC #1503)

On October 26th there is an opportunity to participate in a free mini-retreat morning that will explore in more depth how we can have the confidence to realise that Jesus has chosen us to pray for healing, in God’s will. The Church teaches that it is “praiseworthy for individual members of the faithful to ask for healing for themselves and for others.” (Instruction on Prayers for Healing 1999 by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.)

This meeting on Zoom, “Heal the sick – ministering in the charisms of the Holy Spirit” is hosted by “ADoRE” one of the longest-running charismatic days of renewal in the country. The session includes Mass, Adoration, Praise and Worship, inspired Teaching and Prayer for all participants to foster the presence of the Holy Spirit in them. The main talk is given by Joe Livingston, a Catholic evangelist with a powerful ministry of healing.

It is part of the 2024 ADoRE programme developing our understanding and appreciation of how we are to respond to God’s call to holiness; co-operating with the Holy Spirit as He transforms our lives so that we can be inspired and equipped to help others.

“Healing is an undervalued ministry in the Catholic Church,” said ADoRE Leader Alastair Emblem. “People outside the Church are turning to all sorts of New Age and non-Christi

an healing remedies, yet the Church can offer physical and spiritual healing from the Divine Physician Himself, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

“We at Alton Day of Renewal have been guiding people to the Holy Spirit for the last 49 years at our monthly Days of Renewal, and we invite people from across the country to find out more at what promises to be an exciting session.”. Please register for the Zoom meeting in advance at bit.ly/ADOREOCT2024 More information at www.altonrenewal.com

A colour picture for this month is attached, and a poster plus other publicity materials can be downloaded from: https://www.altonrenewal.com/your_parish

What are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

2024-10-152024-10-12 by Admin

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?

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.