SPRING 2018 Vol. 3 Issue 1, April 2018

Transcription

1 Serving the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Orlando THE CHARISMATIC NEWS SPRING 2018 Vol. 3 Issue 1, April 2018 He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30 Be open to the surprises of the Holy Spirit Pope Francis Dear Brothers and Sisters, Peace be with you. This is another cold day in Central Florida. I know what you are thinking; are we living in Florida? I hope you're all preparing for Easter and the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Last newsletter I informed you about our new Facebook page. Since then, we have had a graphic designer create a new logo for the Charismatic Renewal. I hope you like it. We have a little over six months before our conference. The dates this year will be October 5 7, It will be held at the Caribe Royale in Orlando. Last year we had rave reviews. The room rate is the same as last year, $129.per night (double occupancy), parking is also free. Go to our website orlandocharismatic.net, to register online for the conference and the hotel. Our speakers will include Father Bill Halbing, Jim Murphy, Mark Nimo, Dr. Carol Razza, and Valli Leone. This is a powerful lineup. Their Bios are available for your review at the end of the newsletter & on our web site. Continued on page 2, column 1 Pope: All of Mass is important don t be late! Pope Francis at the General Audience in St. Peter's Square on Sept. 20, Credit: Marina Testino/ CNA.-EWTN news).- Pope Francis on Wednesday stressed the importance of getting to Mass on time, noting that every piece is important, especially the opening Sign of the Cross, where we prepare as a community to worship God together. It is not a good habit to look at the clock and say: I am on time, I will arrive after the sermon and with this fulfill the commandment, the Pope said Dec. 20. The Mass begins with the Sign of the Cross, with these introductory rites, because we begin to adore God as a community. And for this reason, it is important to plan to not arrive late, but in advance, to prepare the heart for this rite, for this celebration of the community. Calling it a symphony of prayers, the Pope continued his catechesis on the Mass and Eucharist at the general audience, laying out each part of the Mass step-by-step. In the symphony of the Mass, various tones of voices resonate, Continued on column 3 including times of silence, he said, creating a moment of agreement between all the participants. In this way, the common faith and mutual desire to be with the Lord, and to live unity with the whole community, is expressed. The purpose of the introductory rites is, as it says in the Roman Missal, to gather the faithful together and dispose themselves to listen with faith to the word of God and to worthily celebrate the Eucharist, he said. Beginning by explaining the opening Sign of the Cross, the Pope said that when we mark ourselves it is not only to remember our baptism, but to affirm that the liturgical prayer is an encounter with God in Christ Jesus, who became incarnate, died on the cross and rose gloriously for us. As he has encouraged before, Francis asked parents and grandparents to teach their children how to make the Sign of the Cross correctly, while explaining to them how it is a way of invoking the protection of the cross of Jesus. He said that every part of the Mass is important, pointing to even the little elements we might not always notice, like when the priest bows and kisses the altar at the end of the entrance procession, Here the priest makes a sign of veneration, kisses (the altar) and, when there is incense, incenses it, because the altar is a figure of Christ, he explained. Continued page 2

2 Pope Francis continued These gestures, which risk passing unobserved, are very significant, because they express from the beginning that the Mass is a meeting of love with Christ, who offering his body on the cross [...] became altar, victim and priest, Pope Francis said. Dear Brothers and Sisters, Help us in marketing as we continue to serve the flock of Jesus. Please keep in the Charismatic Renewal of Orlando in your prayers. Our conference is basically the only source of income for the office and finances are getting a little tight. Please consider making a donation (CCRC ) to the office. CCRC P.O. Box 215 Windermere, Florida Sincerely, Vincent Maldonado, Administrator of Operations Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Orlando Saint of the Day St. Polycarp (1st century) Polycarp was converted by St. John the Apostle, and a friend of St. Ignatius of Antioch. He was the first bishop of Smyrna. Reflections from the Saints Stand fast, therefore, in this conduct and follow the example of the Lord, 'firm and unchangeable in faith, lovers of the brotherhood, loving each other, united in truth,' helping each other with the mildness of the Lord, despising no man. St. Polycarp pray for us. That s one of Jesus specialties! by Greg Trainor, Catholic lay evangelist. Last month, while Lydia and I were traveling, we were praying over people at the end of a prayer meeting. We always invite people to come forward for prayer for whatever need they have: to be healed of sickness, to receive a miracle, to receive a fresh flow of the Holy Spirit to empower them in the Christian walk. I often conclude my invitation to come and receive prayer with this statement: There is no need that you have that is either too great or too small to bring to Jesus. Come forward and someone will pray with you. Even if you don t have a problem and want the power of the Holy Spirit to move in your life, come and someone will pray with you. Over the past month, we saw God move very powerfully in these times of prayer. Many received physical healing, being freed of pain and even crippledness. Many who come forward asking for the Holy Spirit to give them power to fulfill their call as a Christian receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, some praying in tongues for the first time. A prayer need. One young girl, around 11 years old or so, came up to us in our prayer line and didn t say anything. She just looked down at the floor. I asked her, Do you want to pray for something? She shook her head yes but didn t speak. What do you want prayer for? I asked again. She finally looked at us and said, My fish died and I just can t stop thinking about it. I knew what she needed. I told her, Continued on column 3 The reason that you can t stop thinking about it is because you are brokenhearted. Did you know that the first time that Jesus preached, he read from the Words that the prophet Isaiah had said about Jesus hundreds of years before? It says that Jesus came to preach the Gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to release captives and to comfort those that mourn. She looked at us. I said, Let s ask Jesus to heal your broken heart. That s one of Jesus specialties! It is true: Jesus came to heal the broken hearted. The Gospel is more than fire insurance against hell. Jesus did not come only to rescue us from hell so that we could one day live in heaven forever. The promise of the Gospel is of a new and better life on the face of the earth: I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly John 10:10. The promise of the Gospel is a restored life: spirit, soul, and body. In fact, Paul prayed that Christ would find you restored in all of these areas at the time of his coming: May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body be preserved for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 5:22) Reach out to the brokenhearted. I think that it is important to recognize that an integral part of the work of Jesus is to heal the brokenhearted. Let s face it: brokenhearted people aren t usually a lot of fun to be around. Frankly, I think that most people (including Christians) simply avoid them. Even a believer that would be quick to offer to pray for someone with an obvious physical illness could be quite likely to avoid the brokenhearted person. Continued on page 3

3 We need to be quick to recognize their need and offer them hope in Jesus: I see that you are hurting. Let s ask Jesus to help you. Can I pray with you? It is really quite simple. I don t have to be their counselor, psychiatrist, or even a long-time friend. I don t have to understand every detail of what caused their broken heartedness. I don t have to ask them for a timeline of the series of events that led them to this point, evaluating whether or not they have made correct decisions and are looking at the situation with a proper attitude. I merely need to recognize their hurting condition and encourage them to open to God s healing grace. Praying for the healing of the brokenhearted is quite similar to praying for the healing of the sick. All that you need to do is pray a simple prayer in your own words asking for the healing in the name of Jesus. It isn t the eloquence of your prayer or even your sensitivity to their condition that will bring healing. Encourage them to open their heart to God and receive his healing grace. God, who understands the situation even more than the hurting person does, will flood them with his grace as they make a decision of their will to open their lives to him through prayer. Comfort the mourning. In the prophecy of Isaiah, it says that Jesus will comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. (Isaiah 61:3) Just as I described the necessity to proclaim hope and healing to the brokenhearted, we must also proclaim this hope to those that are mourning. We have more to offer those that are mourning than our physical presence and words of solace. We can offer to pray for them. People quite often come up for prayer in our meetings that are mourning the death of a loved one months or even years after they have died. The same evening that the young girl came for prayer saying that her fish had died, an elderly woman came saying that she lost both her husband and son over a year ago. Her only remaining family was her daughter. She began to cry as she described her grief and sorrow. She said that she had gone without a good night s sleep for months. When she returned to the mission the next morning, she reported that God had touched her heart and she enjoyed a good night sleep. Another woman in the same series of meetings had not been able to fall asleep without coughing for more than 70 years. She reported that God had taken away her cough and she fell asleep peacefully the night before. God is so wonderful. These are just a few instances of the beautiful work that we see God doing as we travel, preach the Gospel and pray for the healing of the sick. Many of the great works aren t in the healing of physical sickness, but they happen when people are encouraged to open to God s grace and they receive the abundant life that Jesus came to bring them. Lydia and I are so thankful for you and your partnership with us in this ministry. Through your support in prayer and finances, we are able to bring the Gospel, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to the world around us. May God richly bless you! Greg Trainor is married. Greg and his wife, Lydia have four children. Since 1986, they have worked fulltime preaching the Gospel throughout the United States, the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Cuba, & Africa. Holy Spirit Missionary Assoc.; PO Box 14778; North Palm Beach, FL 33408; (561) ; partner@hsma.net From the Word: heal the Broken hearted; comfort the mourning. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:19 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, To announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God, to comfort all who mourn; To place on those who mourn in Zion a diadem instead of ashes, To give them oil of gladness in place of mourning, a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit. They will be called oaks of justice, planted by the Lord to show his glory. Is. 61:1-3 Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4 Hear, O Lord, have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper." You changed my mourning into dancing; you took off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. With my whole being I sing endless praise to you. O Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks. Psalm 30:11-13

4 Eternal Life (John 3) The Echoes of Easter still stirs our souls: Visions of Death Conquered; New Birth; and Truth Revealed -the Mercy, the Miracle, the Wonder and Awe; the Promise, the Hope, the Joy all, begs our Faith to absorb. In her wisdom, Mother Church leads us, through this third chapter of John, as the Events of Easter seek to penetrate our spirit its Light wedging open the cracks in our hearts Awakened. This all seems too good to be true, too simple to be so profound. How can it be, that if I just Believe in him, in this God-Man, I will be Saved from Perdition? That I will be Born from Above? That I will receive, without reserve, the Gift of his Holy Spirit, to accomplish his Divine Plan in my life? All this can be mine, if I just believe? Is it like Dorothy -clicking her heals three times? But, doesn t even the Devil believe in Jesus? And what about my doubts, do I then, not believe? Like Nichodemus, I ask. How can that be possible? For God so Loved the world that he sent his only Son not to condemn the world but that through him the world might be saved that everyone who Believes in him may not be lost but may have Eternal Life. This is the Word of God. It is the key to Easter s Mystery the sail which allows us to catch its wind of Truth. God is Love. Everything he does, everything he wills, is framed in Love. We were created out of his Love, for his Love, and to remain in his Love. It is this framework of Love through which John s third chapter is revealed. God our Father, sent his Son, not to condemn us, for we were already condemned by our unbelief, but to Save us from the Darkness in which we walked. He came as The Light, to show us The Way, to reveal himself - The Truth. He came as the Light of the World, to show us the way to his Father. We were enslaved by Sin, we preferred Darkness, so we crucified the Light. But Darkness could not overcome the Light. Through his Death and Resurrection, he has become the Doorway to our Rebirth. The stone has been rolled away. Eternal Life now awaits all who Believe in his Name, who Prefer his Light, who Choose to live in his Truth. To grasp this Easter Vision, framed in Love, John contrasts it against the Darkness in which we are found. We prefer Darkness because our works are Evil. We hate the Light because it exposes the Lie we live, the Death we call life, and our Sinfulness shrivels in its Truth. In Clinging to Sin, we condemn ourselves to the Darkness of Death a life apart from God s Love, outside of his Truth. This is what he came to Save us from. Before the Coming of Christ into our life, we were enslaved to an existence without Hope. In the Blackness of Good Friday, when the Curtain was rent in two, Reality itself was fractured. History was forever altered. Since that Easter Sunday, all mankind has come to process the Miracle of being Born from Above. By Richard Swiderski, Blog Thoughts On God And Life, godstuffrichard.blogspot.com/ Steubenville Conference One of the main speakers and the primary celebrant priest for 2018 is Fr. Dave Pivonka, T.O.R., and there are other great speakers that you can read about at the web site. This is a great Catholic Charismatic conference that we attended last June and really look forward to next June! It is a wonderful time of prayer, some of the best liturgies and speakers we ve seen, one of the best music ministries you will experience, and such a great and joyful group of people. The campus is such a beautiful and holy place. After reading Let The Fire Fall it almost seems like home. We are able to get a discount on registration ($45 discount for early registration) and have a block of rooms at the very nice and new Best Western Plus Inn at Franciscan Square which was designed by the university and is a beautiful place to stay at the entrance to the campus. It is a great place to stay and by far the best option in the area. We have a block of rooms at a substantially discounted price ($20/night discount) and they will go fast. Anyone interested can register as a member of the Orlando Catholic Charismatic Renewal and get our group discount at: /event- summary- 414cc4c0bb644015b023b1 Make sure you indicate in the online registration process that you have not attended before. If you would like to reserve one of the rooms, please send me (Charlie - skytraveler102@gmail.com) your registration confirmation code that you will receive after you complete online registration. We will then put that into the registration process with the hotel to reserve your room adult/ppc/ For more information visit our web site at: CCRCOrlando/

5 CALENDAR ======================================================================================================================================================= An Evening of Healing Prayer When: The first Monday of each month at 6 p.m., in the Chapel. Where: St. Bernadette Hall at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Daytona Beach. All ministers in healing have been trained in the MacNutt s Christian Healing Ministry School of Healing Prayer. For more information contact: Gary Bowden: ======================================================================================================================================================= ======================================================================================================================================================= Details on Event information are published on the DOCCRC WEBSITE: The newsletter for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Orlando is published quarterly. ======================================================================================================================================================= We have a new Facebook page! Please visit us on Facebook at You will be able to see upcoming events, conference photos, interact with others in our Catholic Charismatic Community, and enjoy content that is posted from other Charismatic websites and Facebook pages. Hit Like and Follow. Please let us know if you have any ideas or suggestions for the Facebook page or content you would like to see. We look forward to hearing from you! May your Easter be uplifting. Charismatic Resources Available online The Charismatic media resources are now available online. Using the Diocese of Orlando Media Center host, you can reserve and checkout media from the diocese website (link below) and receive it at your parish office. Previously, media were available only at the DOCCRC quarterly meetings, so this will make them widely available to anyone in your prayer group, or even in your parish who wishes to borrow them. Information on the procedure is also found on the Media Center web page. On the diocese website under Ministries/ Offices, click on Media Center to navigate to that page. Use search to find the item you want, then click on the specific item. For example, search for Charismatic to get a listing, then click on a specific item to get the details. Use the Media Request Form to actually request it be sent to your parish. Link:

6 Father Bill Halbing is passionate about Biblical/scriptural exegesis. He is well known for his rare teachings of indepth, line-by-line Bible studies, taking you into the deepest riches of the Sacred Scriptures. His animated and inspiring teachings keep you personally attentive to what God is saying as he reveals hidden mysteries and treasures that lay beneath His Precious Words. Jim Murphy - Renewal Ministries - Proclaiming Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit through Catholic renewal and evangelization. Jim Murphy is the founder and president of Vera Cruz Communications. He has been involved in youth ministry on parish, diocesan, national, and international levels; has served as a member of several parish pastoral teams; and has worked in religious education programs, including adult formation programs. Jim also is the former chairman of the National Service Committee for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and current president of International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service, whose offices are located at the Vatican in Rome. Dr Carol Razza Holy Spirit filled speaker at conferences and co-author of Sonblock. SONBLOCK...How Christians Unknowlingly Shield Themselves From Grace. In an effort to protect ourselves from hurt, we all unknowingly block ourselves off from God... and from each other. SONBLOCK helps Christians to identify what might be blocking them from the fullness of grace and encourages the spiritual abundance that comes with living joyously in SonLight. See her on Youtube: Dr. Mark Nimo was born 1964 and comes from Ghana in West Africa. He had a profound conversion experience at the age of twenty when he fathered a child out of wedlock. He became actively involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement. Mark Nimo represented all English and Portuguese speaking countries in Africa on the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (ICCRS) in the Vatican from This position gave him the opportunity to minister in 37 countries on all the continents of the world. Valli presently serves on the Board for Charismatic Renewal in the Archdiocese of Miami, on the Service Team of the Jesus is Lord Chapter of Miami Magnificat, is involved in WOW (Warriors of Worship) and in ministry in her Key Largo parish of St. Justin the Martyr, and the ecumenical Gateway Prayer team for the Florida Upper Keys. She cherishes her faith, embraces the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and strives daily to claim and share the joy of the Lord. Her favorite words of encouragement are: Jesus never fails! FOR MORE ON OUR SPEAKERS PLEASE VISIT

7 Do you have a Small, Medium, or Large? Would you like to reach almost 3000 new clients in Central Florida and the surrounding areas? We are considering including advertising in our quarterly newsletters and were wondering if any of you would be interested in advertising your business with us. Our rates, when finalized, will be VERY reasonable. If interested, please our Editor at : newsletter@orlandocharismatic.net

8 CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL OF ORLANDO P.O. BOX 215 WINDERMERE, FL Non Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Orlando, Florida Permit No. 235 Return Service Requested TO CONTACT US ADMINISTRATOR OF OPERATIONS Vince Maldonado Phone NEWSLETTER, DATABASE, WEBMASTER & MEMBER AT LARGE Philip Turgati COMMISSION CHAIR Paul Avizinis VICE CHAIRPERSON Deacon Bob Turbitt FACEBOOK Charlie Hargraves SECRETARY: Mary Agnew Address Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Orlando P.O. Box 215 Windermere, FL WEBSITE