Voice of the Spirit
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Voice of the Spirit NSW CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL NEWSLETTER 19a Quirk St Rozelle 2039 ♦ Phone 02)9810 2499 ♦ Fax (02)9555 5962 ♦Email: [email protected] ♦ Website: ccrnsw.org.au Issue 76 May 2014 The Inauguration of the Missionaries of God’s Love as a Religious Institute of Diocesan Rite he following is the Homily given by Archbishop three young men experienced a call to the Priesthood that T Christopher Prowse at this event in St. Christopher’s was to be expressed in the Disciples of Jesus Catholic Cathedral, February 8, 2014…. Covenant Community. This Charismatic Community is an “He will exult over you; he will renew you by his love.” expression of an extraordinary impulse of the Holy Spirit The Prophet Zephaniah locates the biblical word which in recent decades that we now call the New Ecclesial properly summarises our feelings at this historic occasion Movements. In this instance, the Disciples of Jesus are of the establishment of the Missionaries of God’s Love as families, singles, Priests, Brothers, Sisters, and all are a Religious Institute of Diocesan Rite - and that word is united under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to live a “joy”. common life of prayer, sharing and service. The God of all mercies exults with joy over us all and It is this impulse of grace that formed the womb from renews us all with his love in this Mass. He feeds us with which was born the Missionaries of God’s Love. It is truly his living Word; he nourishes us with his Body and Blood difficult to imagine arriving at this point today without the by an “act of mercy” - a phrase from the second reading. ongoing docility to the Holy Spirit of Fr. Ken Barker, the God looks on all that has brought us to this moment and Founder and Moderator, and also of the Community, his food feeds us for the journey; feeds us for the together with the paternal guidance of the Archdiocese of pilgrimage ahead. Canberra and Goulburn, particularly our former beloved The Spirit of the Living God has brought us to this Bishops, Francis Carroll and also Mark Coleridge. moment and it is indeed historic, not just for the Whoever these personalities are, I am sure they would Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, but for the entire resonate with the sentiments of St. Paul in the second Catholic Church in Australia. It is not too often that a reading today: “We are only the earthenware jars that hold new Religious Institute, totally Australian in its this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming inspiration and development, is formed in our new but power comes from God and not from us.” ancient land. It is all a grace of God. This grace has been Shortly we will witness many Priests and Brothers of the responded to by faith-filled men and women and, indeed, Missionaries of God’s Love professing publicly vows of we are filled with joy. Poverty, Chastity and Obedience before God and his The historical genesis of the Missionaries of God’s Love people, hence establishing themselves as an Institute of is well articulated. In 1986, Fr. Ken Barker along with Diocesan Rite. Continued on Page 3…... Page 2 Voice of the Spirit Issue 76 Voice of the Spirit Editorial Official Newsletter of never cease to be addressing its truth and setting in motion a the NSW Catholic I surprised when I hear means of eradicating the fear, the suspicion Charismatic Pope Francis speak. But existing amongst God’s people which keeps us Renewal his heartfelt words blew apart. my mind when I viewed There is no doubt that, for this to be This newsletter is his recent spontaneous accomplished, a spirit of forgiveness and published quarterly. address to the acceptance is essential; a forgiveness which Articles, news items Sr. Margaret participants at a will set all free that “all may be one”. and other contribu- Scully rsc Conference for In my own life I ask myself the question, “Do tions are welcome and Pentecostal Leaders in I desire to be one with another where should be forwarded America. And he spoke with such sincerity. disharmony and division separates within the to: Without going into details regarding the family, the Parish, the neighbourhood, the The Editor circumstances which led to this historic Prayer Group, the Community?” I invite you to Voice of the Spirit and graced event, one or two things struck ask the same question of yourself. Or is it CCR Centre me which I would like to share with you. easier to point the finger of blame at another or 19a Quirk Street And it has to do with our capacity to others and excuse oneself from being a catalyst Rozelle 2039 remember. for peace and harmony. After all, it’s not my fault and so I crawl back into my cocoon of Pope Francis would be deeply aware of righteousness and pretend, in the name of Chief Editor: the divisions which have created literally “forgetting”, that I’m Ok. Sr. Margaret Scully thousands of denominations throughout the Christian world. Yet as Tony Palmer To be honest, the people of God, including (Bishop and Ecumenical officer for the Catholics, have done this for centuries; fingers Production Team: communion of Evangelical Churches and have been pointed, truths have been distorted, Michael van Ommen long-time friend of Pope Francis) said, diversity became division and the spirit of Grant Dodds “Diversity is divine; division is diabolical”. loving acceptance of where another is at no Bishop Tony referred to this as part of our longer existed. And this even in the name of Deadline for history, that is, part of “His story”. What a Jesus who is the truth! August issue: great concept! Yes, we are now living in a My memory is a great gift from God and as I Friday, July 11, 2014 wonderful time of history - God’s story; have grown older so do I appreciate it more. and a new chapter is being written. But this gift can be easily abused by failing to Permission is granted It occurred to me upon reflection that use it for good. Or as the old adage says, “Use it to reprint any article each of us has a personal history; so often or lose it!” If I fail to allow the Holy Spirit to divisions are rife in that history which have from Voice of the Spir- use me for good, enabling harmony to exist in caused and continue to cause much pain. It it (VOS) as long as the events of my own personal life through may have to do with a past experience VOS is quoted as the dealing with what “keeps us apart”, how can I through which one has been emotionally possibly presume to reach out in his name to source. charged, whether it be from within the those where the ‘apartness’ has deeper, more family or sourced elsewhere. widespread roots? Hypocrisy has no place in Articles in VOS are It has been said that “the strength of the life of one who professes to be Christian. the personal views of one’s memory can be determined by the Certainly, it is far better to remember an the writer and, unless emotional state that accompanied the indicated, do not original experience.” Somewhere else it emotionally charged experience rather than necessarily reflect the says that “emotion - negative or positive - constantly entertaining it and allowing it to view of the tends to embed events in our memory like control our lives. We need to bring it to Jesus, NSW Service Team. a chisel carves lines in a stone.” That seems the Healer; receive his grace to forgive; ‘turn Also, because of lack of to be a good analogy. the page’ and allow God to create a new space, the editor How very often do we - do I - allow a chapter in the history of our lives. We will then reserves the right to painful past experience to colour a present remember instead the “good things the Lord edit articles. situation. We continue to regurgitate the has done”. past hurts, indeed, we continue to live Maybe we could also bring to prayer those CCR Centre them out. And as they shape our lives we roots of division within relationships in the office hours: deny the grace of the present moment. It’s wider Christian Community, so that 9.00 am to 4.00 pm easy to say “Forget it!’ but that’s easier said ultimately we are not forgetting but rather than done and, to be honest, I don’t want to Monday to Friday. responding to Pope Francis’ exhortation to get into the mode of forgetting, for surely Ph. (02) 9810 2499 “Move forward” . Let us do so in truth, in the that will come soon enough with the ageing Fax (02) 9555 5962 name of Jesus and under the power of the Holy process! But neither do I want to keep Spirit, the Spirit of peace. harking back to it. In turning this page in history - ‘His story’ - E-mail: Pope Francis, it seems, is initiating God’s story - we will surely hear him say , [email protected] something quite profound concerning the “ See, I am doing a new thing; do you not division that exists among the people of perceive it?” ■■ Web Page: God. He is addressing the situation; he is ccrnsw.org.au Page 3 Voice of the Spirit Issue 76 Chairperson’s Message… Unity within the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a visible sign of the Holy Spirit in action.