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Talk given by Rt Rev Kevin McDonald, the Archbishop of Southwark at the Consultation for leaders in Charismatic Renewal from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales at Newman College, Birmingham, in June 2005 (Slightly edited part one of two)
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The
Role of Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Church|
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When Charles Whitehead asked me to speak at this gathering, it was a challenge but also an opportunity to do some thinking. The reason Charles asked me was that he wanted someone who has been involved in the Renewal but who also holds an office in the Church. My brief is to reflect from that vantage point on the situation of Charismatic Renewal today. I want to begin with a quote from the important address Pope John Paul gave at the gathering of new ecclesial communities that took place in Rome in 1998. He was making the point that the official and the charismatic aspects of the life of the Church are complementary but also said that the Second Vatican Council brought with it a strengthening of the charismatic aspect of the Church's life. He said: "The institutional and charismatic elements are almost co-essential to the configuration of the Church and they cooperate, although in different ways, towards its life, its renewal and the sanctification of the People of God. It is from this providential rediscovery of the Church's charismatic dimension that before and after the Council, there has been a remarkable development of ecclesial movements and new communities." Now the first thing I want to note in relation to that quote is that Charismatic Renewal is not a movement or a community in the sense that most of the groups at that meeting in Rome were. There is no founder, no rule of life. It is quite simply a grace that was received in the Church during the last century that brought with it an outpouring and a rediscovery of gifts of the Holy Spirit. Crucially it was, and is, a gift of prayer. But that grace and that gift did not happen in isolation. It is part of the whole picture of how God's saving work is going on in our world today. And one of the things that I shall be considering is the connections, affinities and interaction between the Charismatic Renewal and other developments in the life of the Church that have taken place in modem times. "Cross fertilisation between institutional and charismatic aspects or the Church" The work of the Spirit is one work. But I quote that passage because I want to draw attention to the first sentence of it. This focuses on one particular kind of connection and interaction - link and cross-fertilisation between the institutional and charismatic aspects of the Church. We saw it in the person of Pope John Paul himself. The Pope by virtue of his office embodies the institutional aspect of the Church. But Pope John Paul was also in many senses a very charismatic figure. The two are not separate and it is specifically out of their connectedness that I am speaking. Now I focus on this because the institutional-charismatic dialectic is especially important and especially characteristic of the way in which the Charismatic Renewal has developed in the Catholic Church. Charismatic Renewal has not become a separate Church.
A priest involved in Charismatic Renewal, for example, will probably
be fully engaged in pastoral work and may not exercise his ministry
entirely in terms of the Renewal, although it will influence his ministry
quite deeply. All Catholics involved in the Renewal live, work and pray
within the whole life of the Church. Catholics involved in the Renewal
are very likely to be involved in spiritual and devotional activities "Shared experience focus or unity" All Catholics share the same faith, the same sacraments, and belong within the same Church order. They live in a communion which is expressed in the Eucharistic Prayer when we mention the Pope and the local Bishop. We belong, we are rooted in the Church. Indeed, I would say that Catholic identity is very strong in Catholics formed by the Renewal. And, in speaking to you today, I speak first of all as someone who has received the Holy Spirit in Baptism, Confirmation and Ordination but also as someone whose life and prayer has been informed and enriched by the grace of Renewal. All of us have been formed by the sacramental life of the Church as well as by the particular way in which the Holy Spirit has touched our lives. It's that specific shared experience that brings us together and it's out of that that I speak. "Where is Charismatic Renewal now?" The other thing I want to comment on as part of the context of this gathering is the questions and concerns that perhaps lie behind it. As I read through the questionnaire that was sent out ahead of this consultation, I sensed some concerns and anxieties and I just want to note some of these. I hope I'm not reading more into the questions than is really there. Concerns like: is the grace of Renewal still there? Is it still explicitly acknowledged as such? Have people who were involved and who did identify with the Renewal now become more detached or moved on to other things? Are the charisms still being prayed for, still being affirmed, still being used? Have people who were in charismatic prayer groups now moved on to other kinds of groups and if so is the specificity of the Charismatic Renewal now weakened or qualified? Have people now moved into new movements and communities and how do we view that development if they have? How has involvement in the Renewal affected parish life? what kind of ministries or leadership roles are being taken on by people involved in Renewal? What wider responsibilities have people taken on? "Relationship between the CCR and the wider lire or the Church" So, it may be that some of those are questions about decline, about dilution, about loss, but they are also about the whole relationship between Charismatic Renewal and the wider life of the Church. How has the Renewal impacted the life of the Church and what is its profile today? Some people say the Charismatic Renewal was given to the Church to enliven the life of the whole Church - to be a leaven. But then the question remains about the continuing validity and reality of the specific grace of the charismatic Renewal and particularly about the reception and use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I would also want to note that very many organisations, and not just religious ones, are asking questions about what their vision is, about how to find revival, about the involvement of youth, and so on. Several groups have come to me in recent times to say four things:
These are issues that crop up all the time, and not, as I say, just among religious groups but generally among organisations that require commitment and are seeking to revive and renew their life. We need to remember that to keep things in context and in perspective. So these are some comments in the context of our meeting, the context in which, as the questionnaire said, we are seeking to "Listen to the Lord and each other, seeking direction for the journey ahead" and seeking to "encourage and envision our leaders." "Personal experience of CCR" Next let me say something about my own involvement in the Renewal because that is part of the vantage point from which I am speaking just as being a bishop is. As a young priest in the late 1970s, teaching at Oscott College, Iwent to some Days of Renewal at Selly Park Convent here in Birmingham. But 1 became more involved when I went back to Rome in 1985. I worked from 1985 - 1993 in Rome on the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. In 1989 I began going to the Lumen Christi prayer group which then met on Sundays at the Gregorian University and on Wednesdays at San Silvestro. And I went very regularly and did the Life in the Spirit Seminars the following Lent and was prayed over for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Entering into the prayer and praise seemed to come quite naturally to me as did singing in tongues. What it provided for me was a community of prayer and praise. This was of fundamental importance: belonging to a group of people with whom one came together to pray. It was the grace of a particular depth of belonging. It was also a grace of prayer and praise. These are priceless gifts and we should never cease to thank God for them. When I returned to England as a parish priest I was part of a priest support group consisting of priests who were all involved one way or another in the Renewal. That was a marvellous group for which I shall always be grateful. We met together every month and prayed and praised and shared together. I also became spiritual director of the Birmingham Charismatic Conference and did that for four or five years. Since leaving parish life my involvement has been less but as I'm sure you will all agree, involvement in the Renewal marks you and shapes you and continues to be part of you. And it is important to remember that, when fire seems to have died down in ourselves or the people we know. God does not take back his gifts or his blessing. The many ways in which the Holy Spirit has been at work in our lives continue to have their effect and their fruitfulness. "CCR and Vatican II" The development of the Charismatic Renewal is closely bound up with the whole renewal that took place at the Second Vatican Council. Again, I quote from the Pope's address of 1998: "The Spirit is always awesome whenever he intervenes. He arouses astonishing new events, he radically changes people and history. This was the unforgettable experience of the Second Vatican Council, during which, guided by the same Spirit, the Church rediscovered the Charismatic dimension as being essential to her identity. 'It is not only through the sacraments and the Church ministries that the same Holy Spirit sanctifies and leads the People of God and enriches it with virtues. Allotting his gifts "to each one as he wills" (1 Cor. 12, 12, 11) he distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank.. . advantageous for the renewal and up-building of the Church.' (L.G. 12)" Strong words. But the work of the Holy Spirit is one work and the grace of the Renewal is integral to a bigger picture. The power of the Holy Spirit is manifold, diverse but always seeking to elicit faith and praise, always building up the body of the Church, always for the glory of Christ. First of all, three things that have happened in the Church as a whole which one might say have nourished and been nourished by the grace of Renewal. I. FOSTERING AN ECUMENICAL SPIRIT Firstly the ecumenical movement which in its modem form began at the start of the last century. Now the grace of ecumenism is rich and varied. The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church and the Decree on Ecumenism of the Second Vatican Council established the ecumenical movement in the Catholic Church and ushered in a new era in the life of the Church. It was significant that one of the first things that Pope Benedict did was to make clear his personal commitment to ecumenism. A vital contribution he will be able to make, since it is already clear in his writings, is that ecumenism is organically integral to Catholicism. He was a peritus at the Second Vatican Council and it was there that the Church received a new sense of the tragedy of disunity among Christians, a new impetus to work for Christian unity, and a new hope for the grace of unity. As I have said, I worked in the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, the office in the Holy See that is responsible for implementing the provisions of the Decree on Ecumenism. We were involved in building up relations with other Christian World Communions and with fostering an ecumenical spirit within the Catholic Church. When I was there the Catholic Church was engaged in eleven dialogues with other Communions. What was important about these dialogues was they sought to identify and build on what we already shared. That is fundamental to the methodology of Catholic ecumenism. It is often not well understood but people involved in the Renewal should certainly grasp it and experience it. Many of the dialogues continue. Some feel disappointed that things haven't progressed more quickly. Indeed it sometimes feels as if divisions are growing deeper. But the ecumenical movement can never be quick or easy. When Churches are separated for centuries, differences are compounded. Yet one must hope in the grace of unity for it is precisely a grace. How and when the gift of full ecclesial communion will be given we cannot know, but we must seek it in hope and in faith. Nor should we underestimate what has already happened. The Renewal, for example, gave birth to a vibrant form of ecumenism based on mutual recognition of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is not, of course, a substitute for official ecumenism - this is another dimension of the institutional-charismatic dialectic. The grace of renewal is present in many Churches and communities, and it is important that the Catholic Church has an official dialogue with the Pentecostal Churches looking at theological and doctrinal issues. But the Holy Spirit works in many and various ways and we must not underestimate the importance of Christians of different Communions coming together in prayer, in praise and in the use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is an aspect of ecumenical rapprochement that is spontaneous and life-giving. It is important that this ecumenical openness remains. There has been in recent years a tendency throughout Christianity to pull back and to stay within the bounds of our own Church. There are many reasons for that and we must be prudent. We must be true to our Catholic faith, and not say or do anything that could cause misunderstanding. But the Renewal should energise and motivate us in the search for Christian Unity and the future must continue to foster and further that dimension of the Renewal. So, I propose that to you as part of the programme for the future. II. VITAL ROLE IN PROMOTING LOVE OF SCRIPTURES Connected with that is the renewal in biblical studies and the renewed understanding of the importance of the Scriptures which we find very specifically in the document Dei Verbum of the Second Vatican Council. Catholics used not to read the Bible very much and we must ask ourselves today to what extent do all Catholics find in the Scriptures the vital and indispensable nourishment and wisdom for our lives? But in the Renewal - and, again, in part because of the contact between the Catholic Renewal and evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity - the scriptures are of fundamental importance. It is a crucial moment in the spiritual life of every Christian when the Scriptures become our Living Word, the constant reference point and never-ending source of light and life. And Catholics who have discovered the Scriptures in the Renewal have a vital role to play in promoting and sharing the Scriptures in the Church. That, too, must be part of our programme for the future. III. ENCOURAGEMENT OF WORSHIP Thirdly I would mention the Liturgical Movement which bore fruit in the great liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican council. The development of the liturgy in the Catholic Church has not all been good news. There has been loss as well as gain. But one of the key gains has been the releasing of praise, the enabling of worship that is joyful, spontaneous and heartfelt. In this area the Renewal has fed into the life of the Church, and it should continue to do so.
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