Come Holy Spirit
The Feast of Pentecost is tomorrow, and that prompted me to do some research on the Charismatic Movement in Canada. Well, sort of because I had been trying for a year to dig up some information on the 1981 Ontario Conference that I went to with Mom and Dad. In the process, I found some newspaper articles on the 1977 Conference that Mom and Dad and my sister Barb went to. At that Conference, almost one-third of the participants were youth ( Barb being one of them).
below is an excerpt from The Catholic Register
- August 13, 2077 -
"One of the major currents that flowed throughout the three-day meeting was the continual call for repentance and reconciliation so that the obstacles hindering a person's relationship with the Lord would be removed. So many answered this call that the number of priests hearing confessions had to be doubled"
The Catholic Register - August 13, 2077
5,000 expected at Charismatic Meeting
( transcribed by me for easier reading )
Seven different workshops, reviewing such topics as prayer, Life in the Spirit, and Scriptures will be included in the Ontario Catholic Conference here, from August 19 to 21. These workshops will be held in addition to the three general sessions slated for the Memorial Center Arena.
Auxiliary Bishop Gerard Dionne of Sault Ste, Marie will conduct a French-speaking workshop on prayer. Terry and Bill Taylor of the Peace Prayer Group in Ottawa will present the Team approach to the Life in the Spirit Seminar.
Father George Montague SM of Saint Michael's College in Toronto and Rector of the Marianist Seminary, will discuss the workshop topic Seeking Him in Scripture
Father Joseph Lange, OSFSm editor of the Catholic Charismatic of Allentown, Penna, will review Finding Jesus in our Weakness
Father Gerry McConnell CSSp of Toronto will explain how the Spirit speaks in Daily Life.
Father John Quigley OFM, and a team from the New Jerusalem Community in Cincinnati, Ohio will discuss Seeking Within the Body
Father Joseph Kane O.M.I.of Galilee House in Arnprior Ontario and Mrs. Barbara Shlemon of Clearwater Florida will lead the workshop on Healing
The Theme of the Conference expected to attract about 5,000 delegates is "Wise Men Still Seek Him"
The Register
4,500 Charismatics open their hearts at a Major rally
by Stan Koma Associate editor
( This article is transcribed below by me for easier reading )
About 4,500 charismatics were inspired here to open up their hearts to the gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit and live a life of intense prayer and Christian action.
Attending the Ontario Catholic Charismatic Conference they listened to challenging speakers, praised the Lord with songs of joy at the masses, and workshops, encouraged and prayed for one another, and lived the unifying spirit of the Christian Community.
They came from every corner of Ontario as well as other parts of Canada and the US to participate in seven workshops and three general services.
The workshop themes included:
- Healing
- Seeking within the Holy
- How the Spirit Speaks in Daily Life
- Finding Jesus in our weakness
- Life in the Spirit
- Seeking Him in Scripture
- There was also a French Workshop
Five Bishops and about 70 priests the two three-hour charismatic masses at Kingston Memorial Centre.
Almost everyone who attended the concluding mass stood up to proclaim "Inner Healing" - that they had been touched in some special way by the Holy Spirit. A sprinkling of people also attested to physical healing
Love....
During the workshops and general sessions, delegates were reminded - again and again - that they were loved intensely by God who wanted to share His Divine Life with them,
And one of the major currents that flowed throughout the three-day meeting was the continual call for repentance and reconciliation so that the obstacles hindering a person's relationship with the Lord would be removed. So many answered this call that the number of priests hearing confessions had to be doubled
Bishop Joseph Windle of Pembroke representing the Groups of Ontario at the Conference urged the people to be joyful always in their work and prayer.
"Be joyful" he said in his homily. "Clap your hands. Our sad world needs joy....there are too many sad people around us."
The bishop also encouraged the gathering to bring the Lord to others. "Help them to taste the goodness of the Lord." he said, "Pray, for you can set the world with the help of our Saviour."
Bishop Windle called on Charismatics to work closely with the bishops who support them in their endeavors
Bishop Roger Despatie encouraged a call to Christian activism during the final Charismatic mass
Assistance
Our effective action in today's milieu requires the assistance of the Holy Spirit." he said. Ask the Lord to inspire you to love others." he said
"When we seek Jesus with our whole being He will transform us and people will notice and they too will want to seek Him."
Other bishops who attended the meeting included Archbishop Joseph Wilhelm of Kingston who welcomed the delegates: auxiliary Bishop Gerard Dionne of Sault Ste. Marie who led the French workshop and Bisop Eugene Larocque of Alexandria
Cornwall
Father T James Hanrahan of Toronto, Superior general of the worldwide Basilian Order said God was renewing His people "and we rejoice in His action"
He explained that God was working in many ways through the numerous gifts He has bestowed. And he compared the harmony and unity of those gifts to "the singing in the Spirit." - when Charismatics join in that harmonious and wordless song as the Holy Spirit prompts them.
"God is calling His people to a new Pentecost." Father Hanrahan said
During the workshop on the topic: how the Holy Spirit speaks in daily life, Father Gerry McConnell, CSSp of Toronto said the Lord does not usually speak in human words.
Words....
"The Spirit 'speaks' to you by producing 'grace effects' within you," he said. This is a Charismatic experience and it's not extraordinary or unusual.
The "speaking'" comes in the form of an awareness, a conviction a "movement of the heart" a conversion.
In some, Father McConnell said, the Spirit may awaken in the heart a personal love for Jesus or a new love for Holy Scriptures and the Sacraments.
Freedom.....
Or he may give you a sense of inner freedom...that the Father loves us with all our faults and failings.
"To some, He may give the gift of awareness of belonging to the Mystical Body of Jesus, or a growing sense of God as a loving father"
Other individuals may feel encouraged by God to share the good news with others, or they may receive a new awareness of the Holy Trinity, or a great hope in the Resurrection
It's something of the heart, not the head. " A person gets heart knowledge
"The greatest obstacle in listening to the Holy Spirit's Voice is our sinfulness," he said.
"Sin blinds our hearts and leads us into darkness.......The first essential prerequisite to hearing the Holy Spirit is a conversion of the heart."
Those who hear the Spirit are authentic, genuine, sincere, pure, gentle loving people --- the qualities of a saint,
"The humble heart hears the Voice of the Spirit," he said. "The proud person is so sure of his own ideas and convictions that he closes the door to the Holy Spirit. The humble person is willing to learn, to be corrected, to change."
Weakness
At another workshop at the Conference, Father Joseph Lang, editor of the Catholic Charismatic, spoke on the theme "finding Jesus in our weakness"
His talk was so popular that Conference organizers scheduled a third session for him. Even so, so many people showed up for the final session that it was eventually held outdoors
Sprinkling his talk with humor, Father Lange compared Christians on their way to the Father to some bread that was baking in an oven. If the bread takes forty minutes to bake and you look at it in 20 minutes you're not mad that the bread is not baked, you're not disappointed. We're like the bread at that moment. We're all half-baked Christians
Father Lange of Auburn Maine said "It's ok to be on the way. This means getting up when you fall and helping others get up when they fall.
"We need the virtue of courage. We need to keep going to overcome our fears. Those who make it are those who keep on trying."
Stand
He said we should not be surprised that we fall. We should be surprised that we stood so long.
Father Lange rejected the world's notion that says be independent and stand on your own feet. "That's not the truth. The Lord says to trust in Me' It's ok to be dependent. The Lord made us that way. We not only need the Lord, we need our brothers and sisters. A husband should not hesitate to say to his spouse "I need you"
Father Lange challenged the 500 people who sat on the ground to bring the Holy Spirit into their own little worlds. "Notice the people right in your paths." he said. Touch with love those in your neighborhood.
" To be holy means to let God's life shine within you"
Catholic Register, September 3, 1977
Bishop calls today's youth hope of the Church tomorrow
Stan Koma
(transcribed below for easier reading)
Catholic Register, September 3, 1977 Bishop calls today's youth hope of the Church tomorrow
Stan Koma
" One of the joys of the Conference is to see so many young people here," said Bishop Windle of Pembroke during his homily at the mass concluding the Catholic Charismatic Conference here.
" They are the hope of the Church of tomorrow," he said. "God love them for being here as they prepare themselves for the difficult world we will pass on to them"
Young people comprised almost one-third of the 4,500 people who attended the conference. They were involved in helping to organize the meeting and provided the music and led the singing at the masses and seven workshops.
During the Conference, young people told the Register what the Charismatic Renewal meant in their lives.
Here is some of what they said:
Really Happy
Ellen 20 from Ottawa
" I found something lacking in my life. Then my sister got me into the prayer group. I love it. I love people and see Jesus in other people. I'm also excited about Communion. The Eucharist comes alive. It's the closest you can get to Christ."
Brian Childson - 20 - Toronto
" A couple of years ago I wanted to stop going to Church but this has brought me closer to Jesus. The mass is great and I get a message out of the sermon. It's as if God was speaking directly to me. It was a beautiful experience"
Ann Healey - 14 -
" God is a real part of my life. I read the Bible and get the message from it. It would be fantastic if everyone could go to our prayer meeting"
Terry Wilson -18 -Toronto
" Our family ties have been strengthened. We have a deeper relationship with one another."
Ann Evans - 17 - Oakville
" I never read the Bible. Now I enjoy prayer and reading the bible. I can also see the miracle that happens at Mass. It's heartfelt."
At Peace
Joanne Mcintyre -20 - Ottawa
" I find I'm more at peace. I trust people and really want to help them and to share more with them."
Kevin Madden - 20 - Winnipeg
" This has freed me from the bondage of sin. it's given me a hope I've never had before. My relationship with my parents has been healed and my faith in the Church has been revived. The mass has just come alive for me. I love it."
Delores Peltier - 15- Manatoulin Island
" I want to pray more
