A new Pentecost

    At the Last Supper, the night before his crucifixion and death, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit: “If I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7).
    Our Catholic faith teaches that the gift of the Holy Spirit is essential. Without the Holy Spirit there would be no church, no sacraments, no clergy, no Mass – nothing! That is why Pentecost – the outpouring of the Holy Spirit – is such an important event to celebrate.
     Blessed Pope John XXIII convoked the Second Vatican Council, which began Oct. 11, 1962 – 50 years ago this year. Pope John also composed a prayer to be recited by the church the year prior to the Council. A key petition in the prayer is as follows: “Renew your wonders, O Lord, in this our day as by a new Pentecost.”
    Vatican II emphasized the Holy Spirit in different ways, as Pope Paul VI pointed out. “It is well known to everyone how the Council filled the pages of its sublime but very topical teachings with frequent mentions of the Holy Spirit. … 258 have been counted” (General Audience, May 23, 1973).  “This Council itself was a work of the Spirit and a Pentecostal gift” (Apostolic Exhortation, May 9, 1975).
    The Council taught that the scriptural charisms of the Holy Spirit are meant for today: “These charismatic gifts, whether they be the most outstanding or the more simple and widely diffused, are to be received with thanksgiving and consolation for they are exceedingly suitable and useful for the needs of the Church” (Lumen Gentium, 12).
    Our recent popes have emphasized the need for the active experience of the Holy Spirit in the church and for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In an address to ecclesial movements and new communities, Blessed Pope John Paul II stated: “The institutional and charismatic aspects are co-essential, as it were, to the Church’s constitution. … Today, I would like to cry out to all of you gathered here in St. Peter’s Square and to all Christians: Open yourselves with docility to the gifts of the Spirit! Accept gratefully and obediently the charisms which the Spirit never ceases to bestow on us!” (May 30, 1998)
    The Vatican Council closed in 1965, and just over a year later, in February 1967, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal began with a group of professors and students at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. After 45 years, the movement now numbers 120 million Catholics worldwide.
    The Catholic Charismatic Renewal has been active in New Orleans since 1969 and has held a Regional Conference since 1977. The 2012 conference, “Renew Your Wonders, O Lord, As By A New Pentecost,” will be March 23-25 at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner.
    Speakers at the conference will  include Dr. Ralph Martin, professor of the New Evangelization at Sacred Heart Seminary, Detroit; Bob Canton, who has an international praying ministry for physical healing; Father Bob Hogan, chairman of the National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the U.S.; and Patti Mansfield, who has served  as a witness, leader and worldwide speaker of the charismatic movement.
    Conference sessions will feature music, praise, worship, teaching and Mass. A special healing service is scheduled March 25 before Mass. A youth workshop for teenagers and young adults will be March 23-24. A new feature: “Late Night Worship,” with youth leaders and musicians March 24 from 10 p.m. to midnight.
    Archbishop Gregory Aymond has encouraged everyone to attend the conference “to share in that new Pentecost personally and to encourage others to be open to the Spirit.”
    Visit www.ccrno.org for registration or call 828-1368.
    Al Mansfield holds a master’s in theology from Notre Dame Seminary, is archdiocesan liaison for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and received the papal medal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.