TO GROUP OF RENEWAL IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Pope John Paul II
CHARISMATIC RENEWAL IS GIFT TO THE CHURCH
On Thursday, 14 March, the Holy Father celebrated the 30th anniversary of the advent of the Charismatic Renewal in Italy when he received a delegation of members of this important ecclesial movement. In Italy the movement of Renewal in the Spirit has about 200,000 members in 1,800 communities or prayer groups. The Holy Father summed up the Charismatic Renewal in this wonderful way: “The Renewal in the Spirit can be considered a special gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church in our time. Born in the Church and for the Church, your movement is one in which, following the light of the Gospel, the members experience the living encounter with Jesus, fidelity to God in personal and community prayer, confident listening to his Word and a vital rediscovery of the Sacraments, not forgetting courage in trials and hope in hardship”.
- In the final analysis, all your evangelizing activities tend to foster in the People of God constant growth in holiness. Indeed, holiness is the priority in every age, and therefore also in our own time. The Church and the world need saints, and we ourselves become holier the more we allow the Holy Spirit to configure us to Christ. This is the secret of the regenerating experience of the “outpouring of the Spirit”, a typical experience that defines the process of growth proposed for the members of your groups and communities. With all my heart I hope that Renewal in the Spirit may be a true “gymnasium” in the Church for prayer, asceticism, virtue and holiness.
In a special way continue to love and spread love for the prayer of praise, the form of prayer that recognizes more immediately that God is God; praises him for his own sake, gives him glory for who he is, long before thinking of what he does (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2639).
In our time that is so hungry for hope, make the Holy Spirit known and loved. Help bring to life that “culture of Pentecost”, that alone can make fruitful the civilization of love and friendly coexistence among peoples. With fervent insistence, never tire of praying “Come Holy Spirit! Come! Come!”.
May the Blessed Mother of Christ and of the Church, the Virgin at prayer in the Upper Room, always be with you! May the Blessing I cordially impart to you, and to all the members of Renewal of the Holy Spirit, also go with you!
Taken from:
L’Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
20 March 2002, page 3
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