We are living through very difficult times on many levels economic, spiritual and social but as Christians we know the answer is to be found, as always, in God. It is therefore wonderful to see the positive response that there seems to be towards the Life in the Spirit seminars taking place round the country (see P31). But after the initial awakening the important thing is follow up, particularly helping people deepen their understanding and living out of the Word of God. Archbishop Charles Chaput, the archbishop of Denver gave a very powerful address at the Catholic Bible Conference in the USA at the end of June in which he talked about this power of God’s Word to change hearts and history. We reproduce the first part of this talk, where he looks at the character of King Josiah, and how Josiah brought the Word of God back to the people of Israel and the huge impact this had on them. Gabriele Sedda, who works at the Goodnews office, tells us how God has been guiding his wife and himself through a very difficult time, also using the scripture and how they have endeavoured to put this into practice.

Sue Whitehead reflects on one of the past Celebrate banners, which had as its theme “the Word and the Spirit”, and she reflects on the work of each and the hidden hand of the Father upholding everything. As Catholics we are often not very biblically literate and to help us grow in our understanding of the Scriptures and its relevance in our daily lives we also feature some wonderful bible DVDs. With some friends I have been following American bible teacher Jeff Cavin’s series of 24 one hour long presentations on the whole sweep of salvation history which we have found very helpful. Eileen O’Kane, meanwhile recommends the teaching of Frances Hogan and her latest DVDs (see back page for details) while Fr Chris Thomas shares his enthusiasm for Richard Rohr. Pat Kennedy, who is a member of the English NSC, encourages us to reflect on the meaning of Baptism and how through it we receive the essence of our calling and all the gifts natural and supernatural that we need to carry this out. When someone gives their lives to God, He uses everything about their personality, background and talents to bring about his kingdom. This is shown in Liz Tanner’s testimony, as she tells us how she discovered that she had the gift of hospitality and how the Holy Spirit has been leading her to use this charism for the good of God’s kingdom. Diana Russell meanwhile, in response to the English Bishops’ questionnaire “Listening 2004” about the state of family life in the UK, reflects on what holiness in family life means today. It can be hard to bring up children in a Christian ethos in today’s consumerist society which can lead some people to take radical decisions. In our readers’ feedback Maisy and Nick Nicholaoau tell how they felt prompted to home school their children and they share about their experiences of this and the benefits they feel it has brought to their family life.

For a long time now people have been asking us to say something about the dangers of Reiki, an alternative form of healing therapy. The American bishops have recently brought out a very balanced document on this, which Fr Pat Collins CM summarises for us and helps explain the Catholic position. We continue our series about some of the different foreign groups and communities currently in the UK and this month feature Marcin Stetner, who is Polish and part of the Cor et Lumen Christi community, who leads the community’s outreach to the Polish community in London. Fr Chris Thomas, on the Agape page, calls on us as the body of Christ, to bring Christ’s peace and compassion to the world. Michelle Moran, the chairperson of the English NSC and ICCRS president, meanwhile reflects on her experiences at the recent ICCRS International conference in Korea, and what she saw there of “Love in Action” at the famous charismatic centre at Kkottongnae, where the handicapped and broken take care of each other. In the West she says our approach to helping others can become little more than a Christianised social services project, but in Korea, the emphasis is much more that of family and people helping each other.