I was baptized Catholic as an infant, went to a Kindergarten that was run by the Canossian Sisters (the same order that our sisters here belong to) and attended Catholic Elementary School up to 4th grade. Then I continued my studies in public school but received my religious education through the CCD program. By the way, CCD stands for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, a lay association that was set up in Rome in 1562, with the purpose of giving religious instruction. In 8th grade, while studying at Herbert Hoover Jr. High School, I was confirmed at St. Anne’s by Bishop Hurley. Thereafter , I stopped going to regular Sunday Mass, like we did when we were kids, and by the time I was in college I became an atheist.
Only when I was wondering in what to major in my studies, considering what to do with the rest of my life, did I begin to ask myself about the meaning of life. As I began to explore the different religious traditions and philosophies of life, a co-worker who was formally Catholic, invited me to her Pentecostal Church. Although I enjoyed their music and worship, I found their praying in tongues a little strange. But she explained to me afterwards, that it was part of the gift of the Holy Spirit, according to St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians,Chapter 12, Verses 28-30. There, St. Paul speaks of the different gifts from teaching, to prophecy, to healing, to speaking in tongues and interpreting it. In Chapter 14 of the same letter, St. Paul even gives instruction in the use of tongues. With my anxiety about it settled, I stayed with the Pentecostal Church a couple of years, until I discovered that in the Catholic Church, we have a similar praying experience in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
Since 1960, this charismatic experience has appeared in mainline Protestant denominations and in our Catholic Church. Speaking to the International Conference on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal on May 19, 1975, Pope Paul VI encouraged the attendees in their renewal efforts and, especially, to remain anchored in the Church. Pope John Paul II, speaking to a group of international leaders of the Renewal on December 11, 1979 said, “I am convinced that this movement is a very important component of the entire renewal of the Church.” And before Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he acknowledged the good occurring in the Charismatic Renewal and said:
At the heart of a world imbued with a rationalistic skepticism, a new experience of the Holy Spirit suddenly burst forth. And, since then, that experience has assumed a breadth of a Worldwide Renewal Movement. What the New Testament tells us about the charisms - which were seen as visible signs of the coming of the Spirit - is not just ancient history, over and done with, for it is once again becoming extremely topical.
It was through the Catholic Charismatic Renewal that I found my way back to Church. Through them, God is no longer a character in a history book, but alive and present in my heart. I learned to listen to the movement of the Holy Spirit in my life, use the gifts God has given me and discover God’s call. And that is the heart of the movement, which is to help us know God not only in our heads but especially in our hearts through His Holy Spirit. If you are interested to learn more, there is a Life in the Spirit Seminar on July 9th, 16th (9:00 am - 1:45 pm) and 23rd (9:00 am – 3:00 pm) at St. Paul of the Shipwreck, 1122 Jamestown Ave., in San Francisco. There will be free lunch and parking. I will be one of their speakers on July 23rd.. For more information, please contact Norma Guerrero at 650-219-4556. Also, on Sep 16-18, at Archbishop Riordan High School, there will be a Holy Spirit Conference. Please visit sfspirit.com for more information.
Fr. Dan
