Serving the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Orlando

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1 Serving the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Orlando THE CHARISMATIC NEWS FALL 2017 Vol. 2 Issue 3, October 2017 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3 a miracle can happen if you believe Julia Bruzzese of Brooklyn, New York Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Peace be with you. We have just completed our conference for the year 2017 and it was a great one. With nearly 600 people in attendance despite a major hurricane affecting the United States it was a good turnout. In speaking with many different people, it was indicated that it was a very spiritual conference and there were reported healings during the healing service on Saturday night. Of course, the speakers were dynamic, including Father Bill Halbing, Deacon Harold Burke Sivers, Caroline Gambale Dirkes, and Valli Leone. Let's not forget the awesome music ministry, the young people from the group Eleva. As you all know this year we were at a different hotel the Caribe Royale. In speaking with many people, the comments were very positive. You will be happy to know that we will be back there next year. Just a gentle reminder, the conference next year will be the weekend of October 3 - October 5, The speakers will include Jim Murphy, Carol Razza, and Mark Nimo. So, let's put that date on our calendars for next year. Please refer to our website, orlandocharismatic.net for further details. Another date you need to put on your calendars is February 3, It is our next Day of Spiritual Healing and Reflection to be held at Holy Family Catholic Church in Orlando. Continued in page 2, col. 1 Editor s Note: When I have an article on Pope Francis it is usually an article about the Holy Spirit. I thought this issue I would include an article on how God continues to heal using His people. This is not an exhaustive list. The Healing Pope: List of miracles performed by Pope Francis By Hazel Torres Published Tue, November 24th Pope Francis may yet earn the accolade "The Healing Pope" for the miracles he has been performing when touching people with serious health problems. When the Pope flew to New York last week as part of his sixday apostolic visit to the United States, he once again showed his healing power when he blessed a 12-year-old girl who was one of those who greeted him at JFK Airport, The Gospel Herald said. Julia Bruzzese of Brooklyn, New York was in a wheelchair when the smiling Pope stopped by, touched her face and blessed her. She had been using the wheelchair ever since she suffered a sudden paralysis whose cause puzzled her doctors no end. Her doctors said she seemed to exhibit symptoms of Lyme disease. Continued on page 2, Column 2 David and Goliath - Deacon Harold Burke Sivers article by P. Turgati He spoke at our 2017 Catholic Charismatic Conference, Deacon Harold Burke Sivers spoke about David and Goliath. He told us we had to be like King David in our lives of Faith. The Deacon asked us to think about the 'Goliaths' in our own life. Our 'Goliath' might be alcohol abuse, or other substance abuse. We might have problems with sexual sin such as pornography. Maybe our 'Goliath' is pride, greed or fear. We need to be like David conquering our Goliaths with the weapons of God.. God has Samuel anoint David and empowers him with the Holy Spirit. 1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David. 1 Samuel 17:16 says, For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. (The Israelites feared him. Because he was over 9' tall and wore 78 lbs of armor vs No Israelite dared to challenge Goliath, except the young shepherd boy David. David is a teenager.) 33 But Saul answered David, You cannot go up against this Philistine and fight with him, for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth. (David proceeded to tell Saul that when he tended the sheep if a lion or bear came and took a sheep he would kill the lion or bear.) 38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. Continued on page 2, column 1

2 We are making some changes in how we communicate with the people of the renewal. Stay tuned. We would ask you to please keep the renewal and its leaders in your prayers. Hope to see you all next year. Your brother in Christ, Vincent Maldonado Administrator of Operations Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Orlando DAVID & GOLIATH Continued from page 1 column 3 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. (King Saul dressed David for battle but David chose to fight the Philistine Goliath with his own weapons.) I cannot go in these, he said to Saul, because I am not used to them. So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. (We need to use the weapons of God. We need God's Grace. What is your Goliath? What has you scared? "5 smooth stones" can be seen as a type, that the 5 smooth stone represent the 5 decades of the Rosary and the 5 Wounds of Christ.) 41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, [...] kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, [...], and he despised him. 43 He said to David, Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks? (David faced Goliath with a stick and some stones. Goliath mocked the army of God. Goliath laughed and derided him when he saw David coming. Likewise, the evil one would say to us, you expect to win over me in battle with your prayers? We need to go against the evil in our lives with our weapons, the Holy Mass, Rosary, Adoration and prayers.) Continued in column 2 45 David said to the Philistine, You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, [...] All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord s, and He will give all of you into our hands. (With the weapons of God we can beat the Goliaths in our lives and those of our society.) Philip Turgati Editor The Healing Pope, continued. But the problem was that her blood tests showed she was negative for that disease. Early symptoms of the inflammatory Lyme disease include a rash, headache, fever, and chills, according to WebMD. The sufferer then develops arthritis and neurological and cardiac disorders. The disease is caused by bacteria transmitted by ticks, according to the medical website. While her doctors were still trying to figure out what exactly caused her paralysis, Julia, together with her mother Josephine, decided to meet Pope Francis, hoping and praying for a miracle to enable her to walk again. "[Meeting the pope was] the most precious moment of my life," the young girl said. Josephine recalled the moment when the Pope saw and approached them. "He looked me right in the eyes; I kissed his hand and thanked him, and I walked away [saying] 'she's gonna be okay,'" Josephine said. Five days later, the doctors decided to subject Julia to another blood test. To their utter surprise, they finally found the cause of her ailment. Their initial suspicion turned out to be right she had Lyme disease, an ailment that can easily be treated with medication. "The miracle has begun," Julia said. "Yesterday, I went to the doctor and for the first time they saw Lyme disease activity in my blood, and that just shows a miracle can happen if you believe, just like I did. Continued in column 3 2 If you believe and pray everything can happen." In another interview with NBC New York, Julia said she is now brimming with optimism that she will be able to walk again soon. "I know I will walk again because of him [Pope Francis]," she said. Julia is already starting to plan her activities once she gets to walk again. She said she wants to play softball and soccer again and sing in the choir as well. "It's unfortunate that this has happened. This experience has made me wiser, made me look at life in a different perspective. Life is precious," she said. Performing miracles is nothing new to Pope Francis. Last March, authorities attested that he turned the dried blood of St. Gennaro into liquid in Naples, Italy. Just last month before he began his visits to Cuba and the US, Pope Francis abruptly stopped his motorcade in the rain and asked his aide to bring to him the baby he saw being lifted at the barricade by her parents at St. Peter's Square. The Pope briefly placed his palm on the chest of the three-month-old girl who was suffering from Down's syndrome and had two holes in her heart. Later when the doctors checked on the baby, they found one of the two holes had completely closed while the other one was reduced to half its former size. Lynn Cassidy, the mother of the baby, told the Washington Post, that what happened to her child made her believe that "God can act through the pope's blessings in miraculous ways." anothr.pope.francis.miracle.paralyze d.girl.set.to.junk.wheelchair.and.wal k.again/66795.htm Acts 5 tells us that, when Peter came to a town, they brought the sick out to the road and laid them on cots and mats so that Peter s shadow would touch them and many were healed in such a fashion. (vv )

3 Getting Over the Holy Card Hurdle BY GREG TRAINOR, Catholic Lay Missionary Before preaching a week of parish mission, I speak at all of the Masses on the weekend. I sometimes ask the congregation two questions, giving them permission to answer out loud. The first is simple: Do you believe that God can do absolutely anything? It is almost startling to hear so many people spontaneously calling out Yes! and Amen! in a Catholic church. The second question is: Do you believe that God can do absolutely anything through you? This is followed by near silence, except for the Masses with children attending in which the chorus of yes and amen comes from the crowd that is 8 years old or less. Their squeaky voices are a convicting reminder of why Jesus said: I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3) Now, I realize that the wording of the second question is a bit awkward. But these questions bring to light both a great strength and a weakness of Catholics. Our strength is that we know that God can do absolutely anything. We have long kept alive a faith in God as a healing and miracle working God. The lives of the saints throughout the centuries are indicative of this. As Catholics, we know that God heals today. We would not be shocked to learn that someone on death s doorstep with a rapidly progressing disease was totally healed. If someone made a pilgrimage to some holy shrine and God healed them, we would simply say, God did it again! This is why parishes put the names of the sickest in the parish in the bulletin. It is so we can storm heaven on their behalf. Continued in Column 2 We know that God can show up in the most difficult of circumstances and bring an absolute miracle. We easily put our faith in special places and special people. We have no trouble believing that God would use humans in the process, especially well-known Christians with a healing ministry. I think our weakness as Catholics is that we quite often aren t sure where we stand with God individually. Of course we know that God can do absolutely anything; we just aren t that sure what he will do for me, today. We know that God is a God of miracles and that he even involves humans in this process. We just aren t really sure that he will use me. This is why it is so essential to read the Word of God because that is where God tells us just how close at hand he is and how ready he is both to help us and to use us as his instrument. The holy card hurdle. I often tell people when I am preaching that, if our lives are going to be used to do something significant to build the Kingdom of God, we have to get over the holy card hurdle. We tend to think of the men and women of the New Testament, the saints of old, and the well known Christians of today like a picture on a holy card. Nearly all holy cards have a pleasant picture of the saint. They are having a good hair day and have that halo thing going on. It s usually a pastoral or garden setting. They don t look like they just walked a mile up hill, they look more like they are just floating along without any cares or problems. We tend to think that they got a different deal from God and, because of that, were able to live their lives and accomplish significant, even miraculous things. Continued in Column 3 We have difficulty picturing one of these saints as getting out of bed in the morning, sitting in a chair and saying: God, I just don t feel like praying today. We don t think of them as leaving the house and thinking on their way to work: Not one more day! I ve done this job for too many years. I can t do it anymore. You see, what made these men and women exceptional wasn t that they were given a special grace to float through life without problems and struggles. What made their lives exceptional is the degree to which they opened their hearts to God. These were people with a wholehearted love for Jesus. It isn t that they were without flaws and sin; they were quick to repent and open to God s grace. Encouragement from the Word. When I read in the Bible, I always take careful note when the person s difficulties and shortcomings come forth. It isn t that I m a negative person and like to see the bad in everything. Noting such details helps me to get over the holy card hurdle and remember that these were men and women of God that had many of the same trials, flaws and faults that I see in my own life. Realizing this, the account of their lives in the Word of God becomes all the more encouraging. It makes me all the more certain that God can do something powerful in and through my life if I will give him permission to use me. St. Philip the Deacon. In my last two articles, I wrote about St. Philip the Deacon (Preach Jesus and Power Evangelism). I want to revisit Philip s call (Acts 6) and ministry in the city of Samaria (Acts 8) and see some of these details that help us to get over the holy card hurdle in terms of what lessons we can learn from his life and ministry. The first five chapters of the Book of Acts are one of the most exhilarating passages of the Word. Continued on Page 5. 3

4 The apostles and disciples are gathered in the upper room in obedience to the instruction of Jesus: And (behold) I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. (Luke 24:49) The power of the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they rush into the street. Peter preaches the kerygma and 3,000 are baptized. Peter heals the crippled beggar at the Beautiful Gate of the temple and again preaches the kerygma in the temple precincts. (Cf., Acts 3) Another 2,000 come forward for Baptism. Acts 5 tells us that, when Peter came to a town, they brought the sick out to the road and laid them on cots and mats so that Peter s shadow would touch them and many were healed in such a fashion. (vv ) Pope Benedict XV summarized these early days of the Church: and after infusing into their minds by the power of the Holy Ghost, the gifts in harmony with their high calling, Go ye into the world, He told them, and preach the Gospel. (Mark 16:15) Their preaching renewed the face of the earth. (On Preaching the Word of God, 1) Yet, in the beginning of the sixth chapter of Acts, we find the Church having a food fight. The argument over the Greek speaking widows being given less food than the Hebrew speaking widows is what caused the Apostles to call forth seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom (v. 3). This young Church that was beginning to renew the face of the earth with the preaching of the Gospel followed by signs and wonders was made of everyday people with faults and frailties. The progress of the Church is momentarily halted by the food fight. And it was in response to this that Philip and the others were called forward and ordained as deacons. Philip in the city of Samaria. Philip s ministry of proclaiming Jesus in the streets of the city of Samaria is a model for preachers throughout the ages. Many were converted and came for Baptism. Yet, Philip s ministry in Samaria had its deficiency. The apostles heard that Samaria had accepted the Word of God and sent Peter and John to Samaria Continued in column 2 who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. (vv ) Philip was faithful to bring the Samaritans what he knew. God was faithful to bring the Samaritans what they still needed. God will use us in the same way. Simon the Magician. The most colorful character in the city of Samaria is Simon the Magician. The city had been under the spell of his magic for a long time (v.11). Simon was moved by the ministry of Philip: Even Simon himself believed and, after being baptized, became devoted to Philip; and when he saw the signs and mighty deeds that were occurring, he was astounded. (v. 13) Simon did not cease to be problematic after his baptism. When Simon offered to pay money to have the power to lay hands on people for them to receive the Holy Spirit, Continued in column 3 4 Peter rebuked him: May your money perish with you, because you thought that you could buy the gift of God with money. (v. 20) Though Simon responded to Peter with words of repentance, the writers of the early Church document that he remained quite problematic. Simon called himself the great power of God and is considered by many as the first heretic and called by some the Father of heresies. Perhaps Simon should serve as a reminder that not everything goes according to plan. God does a wonderful work even when some aspects remain problematic. Conclusion. We simply must get over the holy card hurdle to get on with God. Seeing the frailty of the human condition in the accounts of Scripture is to remind us that the Christian is a work in progress. As the grace and power of God continue to perfect us, God will use us to build the Kingdom along the way: But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 4:7). Greg Trainor is married. Greg & 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. Preach Jesus.Org, Inc.; PO Box 31074; Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33420; gregandlydia@preachjesus.org Reflections from the Saints Spiritual joy arises from purity of the heart and perseverance in prayer. St. Francis of Assisi pray for us.

5 Prayer To Overcome Bitterness and Resentment Catholic Online Prayers Father, I acknowledge that I've held resentment and bitterness against (name). I confess this as sin and ask You to forgive me. I forgive (name). Remind me, Lord, to not hold any more resentments, but rather to love this person. Father, I ask You to also forgive (name). Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus' Holy Name, Amen. CALENDAR Charismatic Mass Breath of God Prayer Group, St Mark the Evangelist, Summerfield, Fl will be celebrating a Charismatic Mass at 6:30 p.m. in the church. We will continue to have this Mass on the fourth Monday evening every month. Everyone welcomed. Please come and join us for Liturgy, song and Praise. ======================================================================================================================================================= 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. 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: 5

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