Coming together to celebrate 50 years of renewal

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church that started during the “Duquesne Weekend,” February 17-19, 1967.

Aug 05, 2017

By Josephine Navis
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church that started during the “Duquesne Weekend,” February 17-19, 1967.

A one-day Jubilee celebration on June 12 was organised by the Archdiocesan Service Team (AST), together with Fr Stanislaus, the Ecclesiastical Assistant of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and supported by the working committee from Saint Ignatius Church.

This event was celebrated in English, Tamil, Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia with about 900 participants from the various churches in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. The theme Come as one…Spreading the Fire. The speakers were Jude Antoine (English), Fr Stanislaus (Tamil), Fr George Harrison (Mandarin) and Joseph Masri (BM).

Following the welcoming address by Fr Stanislaus and AST Chairperson Mathew Cheah, the participants were separated into their respective language groups for the sessions.

Jude began the first session, which centred on recalling the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. He echoed Pope Benedict’s address on Jan 13, 2008. Christ’s entire mission is summed up in this: to baptise us in the Holy Spirit, to free us from the slavery of death and to open heaven to us. He further quoted St John Paul II saying that the Church needs her eternal Pentecost; she needs fire in her heart, words on her lips and a glance that is prophetic. Jude further challenged the participants by quoting Pope Francis’ call to all Catholics to be passionate missionaries, consumed by zeal to bring the Words of Jesus to everyone.

Jude emphasised the importance of yielding to the Holy Spirit in order to be a Spirit filled Church. The seven key principles in yielding to the Holy Spirit are: the the principle of love (1Cor13:1- 2), the principle of expectant faith (Mark 11:23-24), the principle of obedience (Duet 28:1-2), the principle of Humility (1Peter 5:6), the principle of praise and worship (Psalms 22:3), the principle of association (Mark 3:14-15) and, lastly, the principle of prayer and fasting (Mark 9:28-29).

Jude continued to inspire the participants by reminding us that, just as Mother Mary prayed for the Holy Spirit in the upper room, every Catholic is called to do the same and pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in their lives daily. He further emphasised that, as Mother Mary prepared the hearts and minds of the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit which she had already experienced during the Annunciation, she continues to prepare our hearts and minds today to receive the Holy Spirit. And being our Spiritual Mother, she continues to implore from the Holy Spirit his gifts to each disciple even today, as she did on the day of Pentecost, so that we, his disciples, can continue to build and nourish the Church of God.

In our zeal to be passionate missionaries and to bring the consoling words of Jesus to the broken world, we should not quench (1Thes 5:19) nor grieve (Ephesians 4:30) the Holy Spirit. We, as disciples of Jesus, should not resist the Holy Spirit (1Thes 5:19) or fear the Holy Spirit (2 Tim1:7) We should, as disciples of Jesus, welcome the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1Tim 4:14) and not be igno-rant of spiritual gifts (1Cor12:1). Jude continued to challenge the participants to move out of their comfort zones and to bring the fire of the Holy Spirit to those who are in need of God’s love and mercy.

The Golden Jubilee celebration concluded with the participants from all the language group coming together to participate in the Holy Eucharist celebrated by Archbishop Julian Leow.

In his homily, the Archbishop echoed the words of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, during his recent address at the Pentecost Vigil in conjunction with the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the CCR. “‘Share with all in the Church the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, praise the Lord ceaselessly, walk together with Christians of different Churches and Christian communities in prayer and in action for those most in need. Serve the poorest and the sick.’ This is what the Church and the Pope expect of you, Catholic Charismatic Renewal, but from all of you; all of you who have entered in this current of grace!”

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