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Catholic Charismatic
RenewalN
Contents
March-August 2012Vol. 16 No. 2-3
(Continued on the next page. )
Proclaim the
Good NewsBy Blaine Comfort
"We cannot keep to ourselves the words of
eternal life given to us in our encounter
with Jesus Christ: they are meant for
everyone, for every man and woman....It is
our responsibility to pass on what, by God's
grace, we ourselves have received." Pope
Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, on the
importance of evangelization.
Over the centuries, the church has been
built up on the shoulders of the saints and
the blood of the martyrs, those courageous
men and women who were so convicted of
the truth of their Catholic faith that not
only were they willing to live for it and live
by it, but they were willing to die for it as
well, all because they were unwilling to
compromise the truth which Christ teaches
for the illusions of truth which the world
proclaims. Those saints and martyrs are
the living stones upon which the church
has been erected, stone by living stone.
And Jesus Christ is the cornerstone.
Today, the word “martyr” has frightening
connotations. But martyr, literally
translated, means witness. And to witness
is the essence of evangelization. Whenever
we witness by word or deed, we give
credence to the teachings of Jesus Christ
and cooperate with the Holy Spirit in
promoting God's plan of salvation. For God
"desires all men to be saved and to come to
the knowledge of the truth." (1Tim 2:4)
We live in a culture today however, that is
dangerously adrift on a sea of moral
relativism, no longer united under the
banner of "In God We Trust" nor wedded to
the truth of things as they really are. We
now live in a society where many have
asserted their own absolute sovereignty
and decided that God is irrelevant in their
lives and that for them, "there is no truth
but my truth." Unfortunately, when God
and truth are severed from the individual
consciousness as well as the national
consciousness, disastrous consequences
follow. For we are now a nation whose
citizens are at odds with one another and
whose leaders are often at odds with our
founding Christian principles. As a nation,
we don't seem to know where we are, nor
is there any consensus as to where we
ought to be going. We are adrift on a
turbulent sea and can't seem to find our
moral bearings.
Christianity, which historically has
provided the moral compass by which to
steer our nation, is now being
characterized by many as as old-fashioned
and unreliable. Our values are being
pushed into a remote corner of our ship of
state and we are told to keep our moral
bearings to ourselves.
The Catholic Church in particular, with her
stand against abortion, contraception, gay
marriage, and euthanasia to name just a
few issues, is being demonized as
disruptive, divisive, subversive, and totally
out of step with the culture. As as
consequence, we are told that we cannot
bring our so-called radical religious views
into the public square. To which the
church and her faithful respond, "yes we
can," or even more emphatically, "yes we
must."
For most of the last 2000 years, the church
has always been a counter-cultural
movement. The saints and the martyrs are
a testament to that tradition. They have
laid for us a firm foundation. It is up to us
to build upon that foundation by becoming
living stones ourselves, proclaiming the
faith which we believe and most
importantly, living the faith which we
proclaim. We may never be called to
literally die for our faith, but we are called
every day to live our faith, by dying to self,
picking up our cross, offering it up, loving
our neighbor, praying for our enemy, and
participating in the corporal and spiritual
works of mercy. We are called to practice
our faith and what our faith calls us to and
to do so every day, with joy and patience
and conviction. Let others see the faith that
defines us, the hope that encourages us,
and the love that animates us, and we
will be bearing witness that the culture of
death cannot withstand the Way, the
Truth and the Life.
To witness is the essenceof evangelization. AndGod “desires all men tobe saved and to come tothe knowledge of thetruth.”
If a train station is where a train stops and a bus
station is where a bus stops, what’s a workstation?
Two students were talking about food. “ I’ve
got a cookbook,” said one.”But I’ve never been
able to use it.” “Why not?”Asked the other. “Were
the recipes too complicated?” “Not really, but each
one began the same way: take a clean dish…”
A man accidentally swallowed all the tiles from
his Scrabble game. He went to the doctor and was
told that the problem would sort itself out, but not
in so many words.
A newly hired nurse could not understand why
the house surgeon was walking the corridors of
the hospital yelling “Typhoid, Tetanus,
Measles!!” “Why does he keep doing that?” She
asked a colleague. “Oh, he likes to call the shots
around here!”
Did you hear about the man who put on a pair
of clean socks every day? By the end of the week
he couldn’t get his shoes on.
What happens if you play country music
backwards? Your wife returns to you, your dog
comes back to life, and you get out of prison.
No one has ever complained about a parachute
not opening.opening.
513-471-LITE
HEALING SERVICES AND MASSES With Healing Services
July 6, (Friday), Mass with healing service, 7:15 p.m. Mother of God Church, Sixth Street, Covington ,Ky
July 11, (Wednesday) Healing Service,7:30 p.m., St. Ignatius Church, I-74 and North Bend Road, Cincinnati, Ohio. Sponsored byLighthouse Community. Call (513) 47l-LITE for more Information.
July 19 (Thursday) Mass with healing service, St. Teresa of Avila.
July 23 (Monday), Mass with healing service, 7:00 p.m. St. Patrick Church, Troy, Ohio
July 29,Living Waters Prayer Group at Maximillian Kolbe Church has a Healing Service
August 1 (Wednesday) MASS with healing service 7:30 p.m., St. Ignatius Church, I-74 and North Bend Road, Cincinnati, Ohio.Sponsored by Lighthouse Community. Call (513) 47l-LITE for more Information.
August 3, (Friday), Mass with healing service, 7:15 p.m. Mother of God Church, Sixth Street, Covington ,Ky
August 16, (Thursday) Mass with healing service, St. Teresa of Avila.
August 27 (Monday), Mass with healing service, 7:00 p.m. St. Patrick Church, Troy, Ohio
September 5 (Wednesday) MASS WITH HEALING SERVICE, Bishop Binzer Celebrant 7:30 p.m., St. Ignatius Church, I-74 andNorth Bend Road, Cincinnati, Ohio. Sponsored by Lighthouse Community. Call (513) 47l-LITE for more Information
September 7, (Friday), Mass with healing service, 7:15 p.m. Mother of God Church, Sixth Street, Covington ,Ky
September 20, (Thursday) Mass with healing service, St. Teresa of Avila
September 24, (Monday),Mass with healing service, 7:00 p.m. St. Patrick Church, Troy, Ohio
September 30, (Sunday)Living Waters Prayer Group at Maximillian Kolbe Church has a Healing Service
October 3 (Wednesday) MASS WITH HEALING SERVICE 7:30 p.m., St. Ignatius Church, I-74 and North Bend Road, Cincinnati,Ohio. Sponsored by Lighthouse Community. Call (513) 47l-LITE for more Information.
October 5, (Friday), Mass with healing service, 7:15 p.m. Mother of God Church, Sixth Street, Covington ,Ky
October 20, (Thursday) Mass with healing service, St. Teresa of Avila.
October 24, (Monday), Mass with healing service, 7:00 p.m. St. Patrick Church, Troy, Ohio
CHARISMATIC MEN'S PRAYER BREAKFASTS
July 14, (Saturday) 7:30 to 9:00 a.m., Price Hill Chili, 4920 Glenway Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio. For information call Jerry Schmitt (513)385-0513
August 11, (Saturday) 7:30 to 9:00 a.m., Price Hill Chili, 4920 Glenway Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio. For information call Jerry Schmitt(513) 385-0513
September 8, (Saturday) 7:30 to 9:00 a.m., Price Hill Chili, 4920 Glenway Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio. For information call Jerry Schmitt(513) 385-0513
October 8, (Saturday) 7:30 to 9:00 a.m.,Price Hill Chili, 4920 Glenway Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio. For information call Jerry Schmitt(513) 385-0513
LIFE IN THE SPIRIT SEMINAR
Starting September 19 (Wednesdays) 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. A Life in the Spirit Seminar will be held in Fr. Hilvert Center at St.Ignatius Church at I-74 and North Bend Rd., Cincinnati, OH. It is sponsored by Lighthouse Renewal Center. For further informationcall (513) 471-LITE.
CHARISMATIC RETREAT
On September 14 & 15, 2012 there will be a Charismatic Retreat in Cincinnati. Fran Franchina from Dayton, will be the speaker.This dynamic Retreat is designed to better help us live the Gospel way of life as adult Christians in today's culture. There will be timefor personal prayer and reflection on beautiful Retreat like grounds. For more details, contact Lighthouse Renewal Center at 513- 471-5483 .
COMING EVENTS SECTIONAny area happenings may be placed on this calendar. The nextnewsletter will be in September. So any retreats, seminars, day ofrecollection, or other special happenings from September throughNovember or later can be advertised here.
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By Sr. Chris Edwards
Have you ever met someone who had such grace
about them and exuded so much love, joy and
peace, that you felt drawn to them? Love, joy and
peace are God’s great gifts to us and are actually
the normal state of a Christian. Yet these gifts don’t
come to us naturally, but come through the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That’s why they’re
called the fruits of the Spirit. We can’t produce
them by our own power.
“God’s love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to
us.” (Rom. 5:5) And love is His first gift,
containing all others. It’s in God’s love that we find
joy and peace. It is the love of the Holy Spirit that
flows through us as we love with God’s own love.
It’s far different from the world’s counterfeit for
love, which can be brute passion or vile egoism.
Jesus says, “Abide in My love so that My joy may
be in you and that your joy may be full.” (Jn. 15:10)
Abide means a constant presence – to live there.
The key to our joy is our abiding in Jesus. It’s not
the world’s joy, which is a superficial fleeting
happiness.
St. James says, “Consider it pure joy whenever you
face trials of many kinds, because you know that
the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”
(Jas. 1:2-4) So joy can be present even in suffering.
It’s not a surface emotion, but it’s a depth
experience – it’s deeper and inner. We have access
to a love, peace and joy that cannot be destroyed by
pain, suffering and death, as long as we live in the
Lord.
Can we grow spiritually to a point of having joy
even in the midst of trials? The saints did. Jesus
said, “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will
be complete.” (Jn. 16:24)
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem the Angels
proclaimed peace. On the last night Jesus spent on
earth he said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I
give to you.” (Jn. 14:27) His customary greeting to
His apostles after His resurrection was, “Peace be
upon you!” (Jn. 20:21) Peace is a gift so beautiful,
so profound, and so efficacious, that we shall never
fully comprehend it. It’s the fruit of the Holy Spirit
in us and the synthesis of all the graces and
heavenly blessings which we have received in
Christ. It’s the Peace that surpasses all
understanding. The world cannot counterfeit
peace, because peace is a Divine thing.
Since the fruits of the Spirit are such wonderful
gifts, why isn’t there more love, joy and peace
among Christians? In a world beset by terrorism,
recession, natural disasters and evil of all kinds, it
can be increasingly difficult to live in Christ’s spirit
of love, joy and peace. The world, the flesh and the
devil are at war to keep us from living in the fruit
of the Spirit.
In Gal. 5 we find the fruits of the Spirit listed by St.
Paul immediately after he is talking about the
works of the flesh - meaning all that is opposed to
the Will of God. Paul gives a list of obstacles to the
fruit of the Spirit. Here he is clearly telling us what
to avoid and oppose, and what we are to cherish
pain,
Lord.
e in the
lly to a point of having joy
ints did. Jesus
wi
pain, su s long as we live
lly to a point of having
saints did
pain, suffering and death, as
and cultivate. For Paul says the flesh has desires
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.
These are opposed to each other. Docility to the Holy
Spirit at work in us is needed, and this often
demands death to our own will and ego.
So what is the secret to a victorious life of living in
the fruits of the Spirit? Jesus tells us quite clearly. He
says that we are to remain in Him. As a branch
cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the
vine, so neither can we. Jesus is the vine and we’re
the branches. If we remain in Him we’ll bear much
fruit. Without Him we can do nothing. (John 15:4-5)
Only as we abide in the Vine, Who is Christ, can we
bear the fruit of Love, Joy and Peace. And the key
word is abide, which is the constant ongoing union
with Jesus.
Aids to abide in the vine include daily spending
quality time alone with the Lord, as well as walking
and talking with the Indwelling Presence, Who is the
fount of all love, joy and peace. Daily prayerful
reading of God’s Word, frequent Confession, regular
Mass and Communion are our nourishment. As
Jesus says, “He who eats my flesh and drinks My
blood abides in Me, and I in him.” (John 6:56)
The fruits of the Spirit are our inheritance as sons and
daughters of God. We can’t obtain these gifts by
seeking them. They are byproducts of our living in
the Lord. When we are loving, joyful and peaceful
we bring joy, comfort and consolation to those we
meet. Probably those closest to us could give us a
good idea as to how habitually we are living in the
fruits of the Spirit.
It’s so clear, so simple and yet not always easy. To
have true love, joy and peace we need to be
intimately united to Jesus, the Vine. It means living
not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
“So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old
things have passed away; behold, new things have
come.” (2 Cor. 5:17)
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Happiness in this world,when it comes, comesincidentally. Make it theobject of pursuit, and it leadsus on a wild-goose chase, andis never attained.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Regional Service Team Newsletter is published four times a
year for the Catholic CharismaticRenewal. It is specifically designed for prayer group leaders and their members.
It is supported by an annual subscription fee of $10.00 for the paper edition. An electronic copy is free via email.
Editorial Team
Fr. Richard Dressman, Sr. Christine Edwards, SFP
Regional Service Team Charirperson
St. Christine Edwards, SFP
Archdiocese of Cincinnati Liaison Southern Region
Fr. Rick Dressman
Archdiocese of Cincinnati Liaison Northern Region
Veronica And Bruce Murphy
Diocese of Covington Liaisons
Yvonne and Charlie
Contributing Writers
Veronica and Bruce Murphy,
Sr. Christine Edwards,
Tom and Marcia Cruse
Blaine Comfort
Treasurer
Jerry Imsicke
Please Do Not Forward this Newsletter
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PENTECOST The Catholic Charismatic Renewal
Regional Service Team
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Cincinnati, Ohio 45205
(513) 471-5483
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