While things in the world seem to be getting worse and worse as more corruption and wrong doing is revealed in many of our civic and financial institutions including unfortunately the Church too, with the publication of the Child Abuse report in Dublin in May this year, God seems to be pouring out his mercy and anointing in even greater measure too. In the media we only hear about the Tamil Tigers and the war in Sri Lanka, but God is doing wonderful things at the grass roots through the work of the Risen Lord Community out there. They are sending a team for the second year running to London this summer to run their 4 step retreat which has seen thousands converted and healed in Sri Lanka. Particularly in London we are aware of the contribution to the life of the Church and the charismatic renewal of many of our immigrant Catholics who have a deep and strong faith. This issue we focus on Jesus Youth, a charismatic youth movement founded in Kerala, India, which is doing great work in the UK. Sibi Joseph the UK director of Jesus Youth, tells his own faith story and how the movement has helped him grow in his faith. We also reproduce in this issue an excellent article that first appeared in Charisindia, the charismatic renewal magazine from India, on tithing. In it Errol Fernandes encourages us to see giving our money in tithing as a sign of giving ourselves and an act of worship and thanksgiving to the Lord.

The Lord seems to be encouraging us all to go out of our churches and onto the streets. In this issue we hear from Jenny Baker, who is involved with a group that goes out on the streets to pray for healing every Saturday, and Tessa McLeod, one of our readers tells how she became involved with the Street Pastors ministry and what is involved. John Ghazal from Brighton also goes out on the streets. He tells us about the way God led him to set up among the Tarot Card readers and mediums of Brighton’s busy tourist area and offer to pray with people and the results he is seeing. In our news pages we also hear about some of the recent conferences and events that have been taking place, which seem to be full of hope and excitement. Evangelising is going on everywhere it seems. Jimmy Doherty, who is in prison in the north of England, shares how he has grown in faith and is attempting to evangelise his fellow prisoners and how this has been going. It can be very difficult to hold in tension an understanding of a loving, good and all powerful God in the face of so much suffering in the world. Fr Pat Collins CM encourages us to look at Jesus’ own suffering in the garden of Gethsemane and what we can learn through his example for our own lives. Fr Chris Thomas on the Agape page, reflects on how God speaks to us through the Scriptures, through inspired passages. He also challenges us to look at the context of passages if we are to understand fully what God is saying to us.

It can be very difficult sometimes to know what God is calling us to do. Fr Bob Faricy, the American Jesuit who has been involved in the CCR since the early days, draws on Ignatian wisdom, and gives us some pointers as how we can discern when we are faced with two good options what it is that God wants us to do. We are trying to update our list of Charismatic groups, but is proving very difficult. Out of 300 letters sent out, Eileen O’Kane has only had 70 replies. Please, if you haven’t already done so, fill in the enclosed form in this issue and let us know who and where you are. If you used to be in a group which has closed please let us know too; and also if you know of one that has just started. We are interested in hearing about bible groups, music groups, and any other charismatic small group you might belong to or know about.