Lent

Charismatic renewal helped me 'Praise the Lord!'

By Patti Christensen

	A Compass Lenten series

Praise the Lord! became a familiar saying around our home when I was a young adult. My sisters and brother abbreviated the saying to "PTL!" Our prayer life at home had been very typical for a Catholic family - the rosary, meal prayer, bedtime prayer, and Sunday Mass. All very quiet and formulated.

However, in the late 1960s my parents joined a Charismatic prayer group at our parish and family prayer changed. Our prayer became more spontaneous and we gave praise to God more freely. The Bible became a focus for our family and we regularly shared the Word of God. Bible study became a part of everyday life.

Facts about Charismatic Renewal • Both Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II actively encouraged the faithful and the clergy to become involved in the Charismatic Renewal. • Since it began in 1967 at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Bogotá, Columbia, the Renewal has grown to include 119 million Catholics in 235 countries as of the year 2000. • The Diocesan Charismatic Renewal Center was established in 1987. It is a meeting place for prayer group leaders, a resource center for media and an information center for Charismatic activities. It is located in the little white house next to St. Joseph rectory, 1227 13th Ave., Green Bay. It is staffed by volunteers and is open 9-11:45 a.m. Monday through Thursday and by appointment. (Phone: 920-405-1960) • There are 30 listed prayer groups in the Green Bay Diocese - some for youth, some for adults. • The Spirit Among Us newsletter is free to anyone who wishes to receive it. • Life in the Spirit Seminars are held throughout the Diocese of Green Bay. Check The Compass for upcoming seminars.

My parents laid their hands on our heads and prayed over us thanking God for each of us and asking God to bless our lives. They made the sign of the cross with blessed oil on our foreheads. We were amazed and asked our parents, "What is the Catholic Charismatic Renewal" and "Why do you go to prayer meetings?"

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Our parents wanted to deepen their relationship with God and so they went to a "Life in the Spirit" seminar offered at our parish. This eight-week program deepened their relationship with Jesus and they became more aware of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

They had then been "baptized in the Holy Spirit" which is a release of the power of the Holy Spirit already within us that we received at Confirmation and empowers our lives as witnesses of Christ. Individuals ask Jesus Christ, who is the one who gives the Holy Spirit, to stir up the gift of the Holy Spirit within their hearts (see 2 Tim 1:6). Some people had received the gifts mentioned in 1 Cor 12:7-10 and they found new power in prayer, a love of Scripture, a deeper appreciation of the church, liturgy, and sacraments and renewed involvement in the life of the church.

Prayer meetings were held once a week to praise, worship, and honor God and to build up the Body of Christ. The prayer meeting began with song; there was opening prayer; a time of praise and worship; prophecy (God inspiring someone to speak); tongues in song, praise or prophecy; interpretation of tongues; ministering the gifts of the Spirit to the people gathered in healing; Scripture reading; teaching; testimony; and sharing (see 1Cor 12).

My parents enjoyed their prayer meetings and began to attend Mass as often as their schedules allowed. Two years later, I got married and moved out of my parent's home.

As a young wife and mother, I began to experience a hunger to know more about God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Following my Mom's suggestion, I went to a "Life in the Spirit" seminar at my parish. Wow! The fire of my faith was "fanned into flame!" Bible study and the weekly prayer meetings were a part of my new growth in faith. My involvement in religious education, parish council, committees, and so on, grew and eventually I was called to study and received a master's degree from St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee.

I thank God everyday that I was led to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal by my parents' example. Praise the Lord!

(Christensen lives in Menasha. She is the director of family life for the Green Bay Diocese.)