New stirring of the Spirit in the Church

Kristina Cooper reports: There seems to be a new stirring of the Holy Spirit at the moment. People are suddenly turning up in church who haven't been for a long time or have never been. Apparently there were so many people trying to enter Westminster Cathedral this Easter that they couldn't all fit in! There are reports of similar things happening at parish level.

This is perhaps not surprising in the face of the state of the world, and the inability of politicians and world leaders to fix things. People are now beginning, perhaps, to look elsewhere for deeper truth and meaning. But how is the Church to deal with these new spiritual seekers? How do we help them open themselves up to the transforming power of the gospel message and to a personal relationship with Christ?

One of the most effective evangelistic tools that have emerged in the past 60 years is a course called The Life in the Spirit Seminars. This is not an academic course, despite the name. Rather it is a series of seven sessions, often led by lay people which takes participants on a journey of conversion through a mix of talks, prayer and small group sharing. This culminates in a time of special prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Through this participants come to a more conscious experience of their baptism and its meaning and are empowered by the Holy Spirit to become more effective disciples of Christ in the secular world today.

Pope Francis considers the Life in the Spirit seminars to be so effective that he has asked the Charismatic Renewal to run them throughout the Church worldwide. This has been happening over the last few years, particularly in the Southwark diocese. Here the local diocesan charismatic team has partnered with the Southwark diocesan Agency for Evangelisation and Catechesis to put these on. This began during COVID with the talks and small group sharing taking place online. This year, however, as last year, the seminars will take place live at St George's Cathedral (Tuesdays 8pm-9.30pm starting 23rd April - 28th May 2024 including Pentecost retreat day Saturday 18th May) and then beamed to a dozen or so hubs both in Southwark and Westminster dioceses. Here groups will meet locally in homes and parish halls and access the talks virtually. To register and get more info about the individual hubs and timing see: www.bit.ly/LISS2024

This three tier concept was developed in Southwark but has been picked up by other dioceses too. Hexham and Newcastle ran the seminars in the same way in Lent 2024. While this Easter tide Arundel and Brighton and Northampton, will both follow the same format of a central location with live speakers and local hubs or online groups. Other groups and parishes in Southwark have also been inspired to run their own fully live versions of the LISS seminars. These include St Mary's in Croydon and St Andrew's in Thornton Heath which is being organised by the All Nations Catholic Charismatic Renewal network.

One of the diocesan organisers commented, "Our aim is not to recruit people to the charismatic renewal as a movement. It is simply to help Catholics discover the fullness of their baptism and the spiritual gifts that God wants to give them. As Catholics, we prepare for Christmas and Easter, but often Pentecost, is the forgotten feast. Yet this is an essential part of the gospel message and underlines the importance of the sending out of the disciples to evangelise. We hope by putting on the seminars at this time, and facilitating their use, we will encourage a fuller celebration and understanding of the meaning of Pentecost in our lives as Catholics and equip us better to evangelise."