March 14, 1992
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
- 1.
- In the joy and peace of the Holy Spirit I welcome the Council of the
International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Office. As you celebrate the
twenty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Catholic Charismatic
Renewal, I willingly join you in giving praise to God for the many
fruits which it has borne in the life of the Church. The emergence of
the Renewal following the Second Vatican Council was a particular gift
of the Holy Spirit to the Church. It was a sign of a desire on the part
of many Catholics to live more fully their Baptismal dignity and
vocation as adopted sons and daughters of the Father, to know the
redeeming power of Christ our Savior in a more intense experience of
individual and group prayer, and to follow the teaching of the
Scriptures by reading them in the light of the same Spirit who inspired
their writing. Certainly one of the most important results of this
spiritual reawakening has been that increased thirst for holiness which
is seen in the lives of individuals and in the whole Church.
-
- At the end of this Second Millennium, the Church needs more than
ever to turn in confidence and hope to the Holy Spirit, who unceasingly
draws believers into the Trinitarian communion of love, builds up their
visible unity in the one Body of Christ, and sends them forth on mission
in obedience to the mandate entrusted to the Apostles by the Risen
Christ. We must be convinced that a deepening awareness of the Person
and work of the Holy Spirit responds to the needs of our times, for the
Spirit "is at the center of the Christian faith and is the source and
dynamic power of the Church's renewal" (Dominum et Vivificantem, 2).
Indeed, the Holy Spirit is the "principle agent of the Church's mission"
(Redemptoris Missio, 21), sustaining and guiding the efforts to bring
the graces of Pentecost to all people.
- 2.
- Since the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given for the building up of
the Church, you, as leaders of the Charismatic Renewal, are challenged
to seek increasingly effective ways in which the various groups you
represent can manifest their complete communion of mind and heart with
the Apostolic See and the College of Bishops, and cooperate ever more
fruitfully in the Church's mission in the world. On the international
level, your Office's close links with its Episcopal Advisor, Bishop Paul
Cordes, and the coordination of Ecclesial Movements and Associations
provided by the Pontifical Council of the Laity, are important means of
fostering such cooperation, which is so essential for the prudent
stewardship of the Spirit's manifold gifts. Only in this way will the
renewal truly serve its ecclesial purpose, helping to ensure that "the
whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and
ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God" [Col. 2:19].
- 3.
- At this moment in the Church's history, the Charismatic Renewal can
play a significant role in promoting the much-needed defense of
Christian life in societies where secularism and materialism have
weakend many people's ability to respond to the Spirit and to discern
God's loving call. Your contribution to the re-evangelization of society
will be made in the first place by personal witness to the indwelling
Spirit and by showing forth His presence through works of holiness and
solidarity. "The witness of a Christian life is the first and
irreplaceable form of mission" (Redemptoris Missio, 42). What more
effective means can there be for drawing those who have lost their
spiritual bearings towards that truth which alone can calm the
restlessness of the human heart than the living example of fervent
Christian believers? To bear witness is to be a powerful leaven among
people who perhaps do not fully recognize the value of the salvation
that only Jesus Christ can offer.
- 4.
- The Charismatic Renewal can also help foster the growth of a solid
spiritual life based on the Holy Spirit's power at work in the Church,
in the richness of her Tradition, and particularly in her celebration of
the Sacraments. Frequent reception of the Eucharist and regular use of
the Sacrament of Penance are essential for a genuine life in the Holy
Spirit, for these are the means which Christ himself has given us to
restore and sustain the Spirit's gift of grace. Since the ways of the
Spirit always lead to Christ and His Church, since it is the Spirit
Himself who guides those He has established as Bishops to care for the
Church of God (cf. Acts 20:28), there can be no conflict between the
fidelity to the Spirit and fidelity to the Church and her Magisterium.
Whatever shape the Charismatic Renewal takes - in prayer groups, in
covenant communities, in communities of life and service - the sign of
its spiritual fruitfulness will always be a strengthening of communion
with the universal Church and the local Churches. Your role as a
coordinating organization is to help all these various facets of the
Renewal to work together in union with the Pastors of the Church for the
good of the whole Body. At the same time, the deepening of your Catholic
identity by drawing from the spiritual wealth of the Catholic Tradition
is an irreplaceable part of your contribution to genuine ecumenical
dialogue which, fostered by the Holy Spirit, must lead to the perfection
of "fellowship in unity: in the confession of one faith, in the common
celebration of divine worship and in the fraternal harmony of the family
of God" (Unitatis Redintegratio, 2).
- 5.
- Dear friends, at the beginning of this Lenten season, I pray that
your work will contribute to the growth of the Church, in fidelity to
the Lord's will and to the mission which she has received. I commend all
of you to the loving intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, who
"through the same faith which makes her blessed ..., is present in the
Church's mission, present in the Church's work of introducing into the
world the Kingdom of her Son" (Redemptoris Mater, 28). May her prayers
accompany those who strive to extend the Kingdom of Christ in obedience
to the prompting of His Holy Spirit. To all of you I cordially impart my
Apostolic Blessing.
March-April 1992