From the 9th to the 13th of August we celebrated the seventh International Conference of the Bethany Association in Glasgow, Scotland. 26 sisters gathered from 10 countries and many different cultures but together in one same ideal: to love the Lord with an undivided heart, being totally consecrated to him and making him our portion and our treasure.
The Golden Jubilee of the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church just held in Rome has been described by many as “an ecumenical Pentecost,” with Pope Francis being the foremost to insist on the “ecumenical character” of this renewal from its inception.
The 50th Anniversary of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal was celebrated in Rome at the Feast of Pentecost, 4th of June. The event attracted tens of thousands of members of the renewal, and many came early for days of prayer events, talks and seminars.
The brothers and sisters from Emmanuel Community in Aleppo Syria just finished a long-awaited retreat in the first week of June where they came upon a renewed commitment to the vision and mission they have from the Lord. There are about 60 people in the core community. Earlier this month an additional 19 made their commitment to join this core group.
The community of Christ the Redeemer has its origins in a prayer meeting that started at a youth center in St. Paul in the fall of 1972. From its very origin the community of Christ the Redeemer has had a strong orientation to bringing youth and young adults closer to Christ, which has been both a great blessing and a great challenge –striving to keep the overall vision and call in its rightful balance.
One of the first recorded results of Pentecost was the new church, the new community. Pentecost is seen as the birthday of the church, and the church is, at the beginning, a community.
How much dead weight do you carry around in your spiritual journey? Wouldn’t you prefer to run towards heaven with a lesser dead weight?
From the very beginning of the charismatic renewal in Northern Ireland, the Holy Spirit worked to bring Christians from different denominations together, and in the autumn of 1972 charismatic prayer meetings began in West Belfast and Queens University Belfast.
The A Boa Nova Community was founded in 1989 by 4 couples from the Ex-Portuguese Colonies, mainly Mozambique. The couples all belonged to the same Catholic Couples chairing Group and all felt they needed something more. A way of life that involved in living a more committed day to day way of life. Our community didn’t start like many other communities with youth groups or young couples etc. It started with four retired couples who belonged to a movement for Couples “ Our Lady of Charity” in their sixties and their search for something more than just their sharing of faith.
James Munk and Ed Moccia went on retreat at the Mor Aphrem Center in New Jersey. They joined the clergy of the Syriac Orthodox Church Eastern US Archdiocese for a conference focused on improving youth work in the Archdiocese.
