What the church needs most is the ability to heal!

Transcription

1 NOVEMBER 2013 Catholic Charismatic Renewal serving the church What the church needs most is the ability to heal! By LENYCE WILLASON The newsletter of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Melbourne, Australia. When Jorge Mario Bergoglio appeared at the window as our next Pope the first thing he did was to bow his head and ask the people to pray for him. To members of Catholic Charismatic Renewal worldwide the gesture was very familiar. It was a gesture asking the people to pray for a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Pope Francis frequently mentions the Holy Spirit as someone who disturbs us, moves us - the third person of the Holy Trinity who leads us into a living relationship with Jesus Christ. Like most other people, I have tried to read everything I can about Pope Francis. Nothing enlightened me as much as Fr Antonio Spadaro s interview published in various Jesuit journals throughout the world. Of all the problems facing our church at this time, Pope Francis said I see clearly that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal the wounds, heal the wounds... And you have to start from the ground up. Catholic Charismatic Renewal has long recognised this need. Healing has been one of the Holy Spirit s gifts to CCR, and probably the most misunderstood by those who have not experienced prayer for healing. One of the works of CCR is to pray with people for healing - particularly the healing of their relationship with God I am still surprised by the number of people who cannot or do not believe that God can love them. What is needed is to pray with them that the wounds of their lifetime experiences may be healed so that they can regain their faith in God which then leads them to a renewed faith in the Church. When asked who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio? the Pope replied: I do not know what might be the most fitting description... I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner. And he repeats: I am one who is looked upon by the Lord. I always felt my motto, Miserando atque Eligendo (By Having Mercy and by Choosing Him), was very true for me. How refreshing is his honesty! It seems that we have forgotten in this modern society that we are all sinners saved by grace. More than 100 million Catholic Charismatics around the world openly acknowledge that they are sinners who have been looked upon by the Lord. Catholic Charismatic Renewal in its expression of joyful praise and worship and its belief that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for now, and are much needed for us to maintain faith in a secular world, thanks God for His Holiness, Pope Francis. Let us listen to the Pope Francis when he calls the church a hospital. It reminds me of a sign I saw once: The church is a Hospital for Sinners - not a Hotel for Saints. ACROSS MY DESK PAGE 2 GOD AT THE BUS STOP! PAGE 3 LIFE AND CALLING OF A CHARISMATIC LEADER PAGES 4-6 WHO ME, AN EVANGELIST? PAGE 6 A WORD... FROM MIRIAM PAGE 7 MARK YOUR DIARIES PAGE 8

2 ACROSS MY DESK For enquiries about Catholic Charismatic Renewal, its events or prayer groups visit the: CCR CENTRE 101 Holden Street North Fitzroy VIC 3068 (Car park entry in Dean Street) Telephone: (03) Fax: (03) The Centre is open 10.00am pm, Monday - Friday, except Public Holidays. Good News Good News is published quarterly, on each Renewal Day (see back page). Editor: Lenyce Willason goodnews@ccr.org.au Assistant Editor: Andrea Baxter Editorial Assistant: Mary Crawford Distribution: CCR Centre Team Articles, news items and other contributions should be sent to the editor at the above address. Good News is published by Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, Australia, by the Co-ordinators: Lenyce Willason (Executive Director), Miriam Markis (Centre Manager), Daniel Serratore (Youth Co-ordinator), Tony Grieve, Diana Tominac, Ban Wee, Norma Keyt and Christine Grech. Neither the Co-ordinators nor the Editor necessarily endorse opinions expressed in articles in this publication, nor does CCR necessarily endorse events mentioned, other than those events listed on the back page. Good News is distributed free of charge to registered CCR groups in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. For individuals who would like a copy mailed, the annual subscription is $15.00 for four issues. All subscription enquiries should be addressed to The CCR Centre, 101 Holden Street, North Fitzroy, VIC Ph: (03) Good News can be downloaded in Adobe Reader format from the CCR website: Unless otherwise indicated, any article printed in Good News may be reproduced without change and in its entirety (acknowledging the source) for non-commercial and non-political purposes without prior permission from Catholic Charismatic Renewal Melbourne. Copyright 2010 CCR Melbourne. All rights reserved. Have you ever considered what the word retreat means? The dictionary tells us that as a noun it is an act of moving back or withdrawing. A Christian retreat simply, is a period of time spent away from one's normal life for the purpose of reconnecting with God. We step back from our hectic lifestyles in order to nourish our inner lives and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us. A retreat provides the tranquillity necessary for our feelings to open up, and brings us an understanding of where we are in our relationships, especially the relationship with ourselves and our God. Some have discovered the very real presence of God in their lives. Our January Retreat promises to be all of these things; a time to draw aside for refreshment both spiritually and physically under the guidance of Bishop Colin Campbell from Dunedin, New Zealand. It has been 5 years (Jan 2009) since Bishop Colin has led us in Retreat. Many will remember his excellent teaching style that left us thirsting for more. Bishop Colin will help us to examine whether the nature of Jesus is becoming more evident in our lives by guiding us to look at the fruit we are bearing. Perhaps you have not thought about doing a retreat before? Then let this Retreat be a water shed event in your life. Mark your diaries now and take advantage of the early bird discount so you don t miss these wonderful days of grace. Blessings, Lenyce Retreat with Bishop Colin Campbell Make sure you don t miss this opportunity to draw aside for time with the Lord as Bishop Colin Campbell from Dunedin, New Zealand leads us to examine the Fruit of the spirit. Bishop Colin is a long time friend of CCR Melbourne and we have been very blessed to have had him teach us on several occasions. He has a gentle, easy style mixed with a great sense of humour that makes the message memorable. The deadline for the next issue of Good News is Friday 10 January GOOD NEWS

3 GOD AT THE BUS STOP! Throughout the Acts of the Apostles we see and hear how public spaces, temples, road sides, gateways, all become the ground of faith and conversion. I wonder what it would have been like if there were bus stops at the time of Acts. Imagine the sheer evangelising potential. Why bus stops? I speak of bus stops because they have been the location of spontaneous evangelisation recently. While it might sound strange to think of public transport, especially buses, in relation to faith, the links are there. In Rome, for instance, at the election of Pope Francis buses were dressed in large images of the new Pope and even the bus tickets bore his image. Richard Dawkins and his new atheists raised money for a campaign on the buses in England with slogans such as: There s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life. Clearly buses matter. A bus is an important public space in which the message of faith can be shared. This has been my experience on the journey of faith so far. I d like to share with you some examples of what we could call bus stopping Catholicism. Turning back to September 2010, the morning after Pope Benedict XVI left our shores, I remember the experience of relief and joy. Relief that all went well and sheer joy that the Pope was welcomed so lovingly by people beyond the Catholic community. As David Cameron emphasised, the Pope spoke not only to the millions of Catholics in the U.K. but to the nation at large. That morning I was waiting for the bus and reading a local newspaper. I don t normally buy the local paper, but on this occasion I couldn t resist it because on the front cover was a beautiful image of the Pope s beaming smile and with the simple words: God bless you Birmingham. A middle aged woman sat next to me and I noticed she was stretching to read the front cover. Sharing impressions of the papal visit Not thinking anything of it I showed her the front page. A beautiful conversation and sharing enfolded. I asked her if she had seen any of the events. Surprised by this conversation starter she shared some of her impressions. In these brief moments we talked of the many people lining the streets in Scotland and London and the historic scenes in Westminster Abbey. This woman did not identify herself as a Catholic. Come to think of it, neither did I, but we shared a real sense of joy even after the event. The Pope s visit gave us this opportunity to experience something of the joy of faith, a faith that generates opinion. The bus even arrived on time too! At another bus stop. Having finished work mid-week I was tired, hungry and waiting yet again for the bus home. There was a man who looked down and dejected. I don t think he was actually waiting for the bus. How are you keeping? I asked. After a few pleasantries I explained where I worked (in a religious house) and I noticed he had some knowledge of the Church. A wonderful faith sharing story emerged. He shared with me that while he does not go to Mass he goes to a central Catholic church to light a candle and to sit and lift up my troubles to the Lord. The bus came before we could talk any further. In these moments there wasn t joy so much as a sense of communion. Meeting Morman preachers Another city, another bus stop. I was on a parish placement at a large church near Sheffield. The bus stop to town is right outside the church car park and I was often there heading into town. Looking up from the bus shelter you can clearly see a large version of the Crucifixion with Our Lady and St. John either side. On one occasion I noticed two very smartly dressed young men, probably my own age, looking up at these statues. At first I thought they were business men, but then I noticed something about the name badges they were wearing. They were Mormon preachers. Not only were they labelling themselves as religious, they were at the bus stop! I couldn t help myself. We started talking about the statue and the scene as it s described in scripture. Launching straight into a talk about the role of Mary and the importance of scripture was not perhaps the easiest way into a discussion, but they were clearly drawn into this depiction. It had captured their imagination. Do you know what that is? I asked, knowingly. They replied that they did know who the figure on the Cross was but they weren t sure about the others. Two sentences in and we were discussing Saint John s Gospel. After a day on placement I was rather tired and looking forward to some me time. I realised, however, that God wanted something different and with these individuals looking up at that scene I couldn t resist the opportunity. The more we talked, the more similar we realised we were: we were all young men in formation for ministry. We ended up taking the bus into town together and comparing aspects of our Faith. The conversation was challenging and direct; each respecting the knowledge of the other. I do wonder what some of the other passengers must of thought of us. From sharp dialogue to gentle jokes, by the time we arrived in the town centre we simply shook hands, offered to pray for each other, and carried on our way. The Lord has ways of making the mundane fruitful. What could have been a few minutes simply texting away, moaning about the bus times, or keeping sheltered from the wind and rain, was transformed into an encounter with the other: an encounter with the living Christ in sharing the gift of Faith. The above article originally appeared in Goodnews magazine in the UK ( and is reproduced with their permission. Ryan Service is a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Birmingham. We wish you the wonders of the season as you celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus. May you all have a very happy and holy Christmas and a safe New Year. 3 GOOD NEWS

4 Teaching & Formation Life and Calling of a Charismatic Leader By MICHELLE MORAN "Does it make a difference in your life? We say we are temples of the Holy Spirit, but does it make a difference?" MIichelle Moran What we need to do as we track the spirit in our church at this time is to look at what the spirit is doing in our church at this time. We are in a time of transitional leadership. We have never had a time like this before. We have never had a Pope who resigned before. Pope Benedict did one of the most courageous, brave things we will see in this century. Then we had this transition to Pope Francis. As we look at this transitional leadership we ought to ponder what is the Lord saying to the Charismatic Renewal about change. We know Pope Francis as Cardinal Bergoglio he attended many of our meetings. For us as Renewal this is very significant. We did not know Pope John Paul II, but Pope John Paul became a friend of Renewal. With Pope Benedict he didn t know CCR very well. He was supportive of the ecclesial movements, but it is not the same as when somebody knows you. We are living in a new time, a new season in our church and it is a new time for us as a Renewal. There was no press conference on the way out to Rio for World Youth Day because Pope Francis does things differently. On the way back there was an impromptu press conference - which frightens a lot of people. There was nothing scripted. He just turned around on the plane and stood for an hour and half answering these impromptu questions. This says something about the life of a charismatic leader doesn t it? One of the questions that the journalists asked was about the people who are attracted to the Pentecostal church in the Latin American countries. Where the Catholic Church is not alive and not doing what it should be doing this is one result. Is the charismatic renewal movement one possible way for ensuring that the faithful do not go to the Pentecostal churches? The Pope replied: it is true about the falling numbers of the faithful. It is true. The statistics are there. You asked me about the Charismatic Renewal Movement. I ll tell you one thing, back at the beginning of the 70 s and 80 s I had no time for them. I thought, these people confuse liturgical celebrations with samba lessons. I actually said that - now I regret that. It is true that this movement, with good leaders, does much good for the church. At this time in the church I believe that the ecclesial movements are necessary. It s very interesting to reflect upon what he is saying about the Renewal. The Pope didn t have any time for Renewal - why? - because he saw the stupid things that people do. He couldn t see our appreciation of the Liturgy. He is saying that he has changed his perspective. If the Holy Father can say that, then that must be part of the life of the leader. God wants us to see things in new ways; he wants to show us new things. There is nothing wrong with saying "I used to say or think that, but the Lord has brought me to a new perspective, a new way of seeing things. That is the sign of a mature leader. Pope Francis is helping us to understand Discernment of Spirit - how things change. He is sharing with us how things change and how we must change. As leaders we need to take on board his example. John Henry Newman, a wonderful theologian said: To live is to change and to be perfect is to change often. I ask myself in the light of all this - how does the Lord lead me to change? What do I need to let go of? How do I need to embrace the word of God so that the Lord will increase in me? If the Lord wants to do new things in new ways then what furniture do we need to move out to create space? What needs to die in me? What do I need to change? These are the reflections that we as Leaders must consider at this time. At one of the significant gatherings it was called the 12 Days of Blessing in 2003 where leaders gathered from all across the world Charles Whitehead delivered a talk - I believe it was a strategic talk at a strategic time in the Renewal. For some people the talk went down marvellously and for some of the people it was very challenging and some people didn t like it at all. (You always think you misunderstood when you don t like the content of what the speaker is saying.) He laid some good, important foundations, bearing in mind that we have moved on. He quoted Cardinal Suenens 1996: to interpret the Renewal as a movement 4 GOOD NEWS

5 among other movements is to misunderstand its nature. The Renewal is a movement of the Spirit offered to the entire church and destined to rejuvenate every part of the Church s life. We are not meant to build up the Charismatic Renewal. It is about spreading the current of grace called the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is about being attentive to the Lord s call to spread the grace of Baptism in the Holy Spirit. We can t do it - but we have been given the responsibility to be stewards of this current of grace. That s what it means in these days to be a Catholic Charismatic Leader. We must help this grace to reach and rejuvenate the life of the church. The Renewal is not a club where every year we have a Gala and every Christmas a party. We have got a mandate to be serving the church. We need the Prayer Groups to help fill the mandate. I am trying to get us to think about our mentality. I don t want to convert people to the Charismatic Renewal - I want to get people moving in the power of the Holy Spirit. Charismatic leaders were called to help this current of grace integrate more fully into the church and there has never been a better time to do it than with the Pope we have. Pope Francis is giving charismatic answers to Institutional questions. We need to pray for him that he can keep this going. It is an exciting time in the church. We can share in this excitement. It evolves in a particular way. You have to put leaders in place for what you believe will come to pass. What I want to say to you is that when I look at our Charismatic Renewal what I see is that in the church we are seen as one of the key lay ecclesial movements. This is because of what we have seen following Vatican II as the emergence of lay leadership (CCR has been instrumental in this). Usually, the movers and shakers in our parishes are involved, or have been involved, with Charismatic Renewal. One of the things that happens in the Renewal is that we grow and we begin to move in our gifts. By the grace of God many lay leaders have been raised up through movements like the CCR. In some places this got a little out of kilter, like lay people doing what the priest should be doing or arguing with the priest when something was seen as being wrong. When God begins to raise up lay people it gets uncomfortable. We are part of an uncomfortableness in the church but we have got our gifts to use. We received our gifts from our Baptism and the great gift we have in Renewal is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Our Baptism enables us to get in touch with the grace of the sacraments in our lives. Baptism in the Spirit is more than that - it is more than just getting touch with what is already there. It is receiving a new anointing. It is an anointing of Pentecost. Get in touch with your baptismal grace because that is the grace that enables you to be a leader. Remind yourself, reflect a bit more on the grace of Baptism of the Holy Spirit - that is the grace that gives you the anointing to be a leader. The Catechism says that Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes us a new creation (CC 1265) - we have been born again. We sing that don t we? I ve been born again in Jesus name. We are old Renewal people and we forget that we need to talk it up every day because there is an enemy who is having a field day in the church, in Renewal. What are you going to do when that lion begins prowling around? We need to stand up to him! Baptism makes us sons of God - I make no apologies to the women here. The son of God is the one who received the promises. It is not about gender. I need more of the Holy Spirit to fill my life, to fill my lungs. We are partakers of the Divine Nature, Temples of the Holy Spirit. Does it make a difference in your life? We say we are temples of the Holy Spirit, but does it make a difference? Baptism gives us the gifts of sanctifying grace. The sanctifying gifts of the Spirit (Isaiah 11), are what bring holiness. When we think of the charisms we are always in 1 Cor 12 - but we should not overlook the sanctifying gifts of the Spirit. The first call on our lives, as leaders, is to become holy, as I the Lord your God am holy. I am trying to get us to reflect on the gifts of our Baptism - get in touch with the graces that have come into your life through Baptism. It is Baptism that releases the deeper things in our lives. We are going to need the deeper and newer things at this time in our church. Faith comes through hearing the word of God. I need to hear it - not remember it. I need to pray it out loud. We need to proclaim it to yourself. We have become so accustomed to reading God s Word that we just skim it. Get into the living word - allow it to ignite your life. I want us to get in touch with one other thing: reflect upon our call into leadership. If you don t feel called then please don t lead. If you have no sense of calling then you ought not lead. We need to have a sense of the calling of the Lord on our lives if we are to be a leader. I want us to reflect upon something written in Hebrews 13:7 remember your leaders who preached the word of God to you. Imitate their faith. How would you like to be remembered? It is not too late to change. I am not the person today that I was 27 years ago. God changed me. We need to allow for people to experience the grace to be changed by the Holy Spirit. Don t think of them as you did 20 years ago. We tend to label each other. We must give each other the grace to change. Give each other the acknowledgement to change. Remember Pope Francis said: I used to be like this then God changed me. I want to be remembered as somebody who is doing the best I can by the grace of God to follow the call as the Lord is leading me. Paul said it - imitate me as I imitate Christ. That is the mark and the call of the charismatic leader. It is a big calling isn t it? If he has called you and you get in touch with that call, then he will provide you with what you need. He doesn t call anyone who has everything - he calls those who have nothing. This calling comes in different ways, different seasons of our lives. Sometimes the Lord calls us out - there is a difference between being called out and quitting! Some people get super spiritual and say The Lord called me out of that - no he didn t - you sacked yourself! (We sack ourselves too often! We want to give up!). Continued on next page 5 GOOD NEWS

6 WHO ME, AN EVANGELIST? Continued from previous page If the Lord has called you out of something then don t meddle in it - release others to do things. Abraham was called out of where he was living to become a stranger in a foreign land. Other people who do things in a different way sometimes do it better. We need to let go. Sometimes the Lord calls us back - not backwards - sometimes he calls us back to something but as the person we are todaywhich is a very different person if we are really moving in the spirit. In the quietness ask the Lord: Lord what do I need to take away from this? Lord we pray that as we reflect upon our calling as leaders that in this season we would be attentive to your Holy Spirit. We don t want to miss Lord what your Holy Spirit is doing. Just come and rest on us and renew us in our souls and in our spirits. Help us truly to become the new creatures that you call us to be to receive our inheritance as adopted sons, to receive all the gifts that you have given to us. This is an abridged, transcription of a talk Michelle Moran gave to Leaders in Brisbane at the New Wine Fresh Fire Conference for Leaders organised by the National Service Committee. Who me, an evangelist? Rosemary Swords, a full time evangelist and a member of the Elijah Community in Dublin, gives some practical advice on how to give a testimony. Sharing your own story The man stood on the busiest street in the centre of Dublin giving out bibles. Not the most likely candidate to attract a young person into a conversation about God. I was already on a mission to find the perfect pair of heels to finish an outfit for my big night out. But something about him caught my attention, and to my surprise I found myself returning again and again through the afternoon to chat for just a minute. Before I knew it we had talked for a couple of hours, and in between my forays to the surrounding shoe boutiques, he shared his story with me. I certainly wouldn t have admitted it, but I was already disillusioned with the false promises of my pleasureseeking atheistic lifestyle. I went away without making any commitment, or even giving him much sign that his story had had any effect on me, but in fact he had supplied the missing piece of the jigsaw for me. For months I had been thinking about Christianity, a nice idea, but it seemed to me that no one I knew really lived it out, no matter how much lip service they paid to it. (You ll notice I ve a tendency to be judgemental!) He shared a simple story of letting Jesus into his life, returning to the sacraments, finding joy in prayer, and seeing God at work in all sorts of ways. It wasn t his eloquence which spoke to me, but his sincerity. I can argue with the best of them, but what was there to argue with in this? This was his story; I could take it or leave it. Within a few months I had returned to faith, and I never forgot the debt I owed to the guy with the bibles. Sharing our story is one of the most effective ways we have to evangelise. It might be the story of when we first got to know God, or it could be just some little thing God did for us last week. If we are walking with Jesus we will always have something to talk about. Sometimes people think if they haven t got a big dramatic testimony axe murderer becomes Trappist monk - then there is no point sharing their story. Don t forget that extraordinary things happen very rarely, it is the joy of living with Jesus simply, day by day in an ordinary way that is the reality for most of us. So we should not be afraid to talk about our friendship with God in the simple things of life. It does help to be able to tell your story straight. Most people are put off by long rambling sermons, which don t seem to be heading for any conclusion. Let people ask you for more, rather than be waiting for the moment when they can politely but firmly get away You ve probably learnt this in school: every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. Start at the beginning: Well, at that time I was a major drug dealer or I was sitting in Mass feeling bored and unable to pray Tell what sparked a change: So this bloke asked if I thought I would go to heaven when I died or I decided to tell God that I was bored with praying and that this was the only thing I could think of to say to Him End up with what God did to resolve the situation: And I reckoned there might be a problem with what I was doing and going to heaven, so I went to find a priest or After I told God I didn t know what to say, I felt in my heart he was asking me not to say anything but to listen to him for a while. And that got really interesting So keep it simple, no wandering off, and stick to just one thread of your story at a time. Action plan Practice with your Christian friends: it can make a great addition to a night at the prayer meeting. You can have a testimony night. Ask people to prepare something and share it but give them a time limit and enforce it. Three minutes maximum! Look out for those opportunities in conversations to share something that has happened to you. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what is needed and appropriate. Scripture to ponder: Revelation 12:10.11 Consider the importance of testimony in the lives of the Saints. Further reading suggestions: Build yourself up in the Faith by regularly reading other people s stories. You will find many different types in Christian bookstores and online. Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church # Rosemary s website - The above article originally appeared in Goodnews magazine in the UK ( ) and is reproduced with their permission. 6 GOOD NEWS

7 A WORD... FROM MIRIAM By MIRIAM MARKIS Superstition is a funny thing but as people of faith, we are called on not to be superstitious. We are called to believe in hope that Jesus, our Saviour, will deliver us from all our old and destructive ways and habits that can still keep us bound in one form or another. Often without our realising it we can be bound by old ways of thinking and even though we have met the Lord we don t pick up on things in us that need to be changed or transformed. We can develop a hardness of heart or a rigid mindset that is hard to break. St Paul says Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind (Rom. 12:2). Silly things like don t walk under an upright ladder or that the number thirteen is a particularly unlucky number are just two of the superstitions that have been around for years. Apparently number thirteen is even more unlucky if it falls on a Friday. Then we have things like April Fools Day that s still part of the cultural mindset. Some superstitions even cross cultural barriers and some would be specific to a particular culture. I imagine that the number of examples would be endless. I want to focus on the number thirteen. Personally, I was never much into superstition. I guess I owe that to my own mother s strong faith and the fact that I can t remember her speaking of superstitions and if she did it was just to comment that it was foolish because she herself had such a positive outlook on life. It therefore came as a surprise to me when I momentarily pondered on the fact that my own grandson was being baptised on the thirteenth of the month. I then immediately recognised the temptation and cast aside all doubts. In the week leading up to my grandson s Baptism the Vatican announced that Pope Francis would dedicate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Sunday the 13th October. I smiled to myself and thought that this was a sign from the Lord. It would be a good day! And in the words of a popular charismatic song This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is a day of dedication and rejoicing. The Lord wants us to cast our fears upon Him says St Paul. We die to ourselves and our old way of thinking so that we might rise again with the new thinking that is the mind of Christ. That is the renewing of our mind as St Paul says because otherwise we can become despondent and give in to despair and believe the lies that superstitions come from and we know that we are no longer people of the lie but people of the Truth. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." So we must remember that superstitions are like The fashion of this world (that) passes away (I Cor. 7:31). Can t make it to a Healing Prayer Centre during the week? Then you are welcome to come to the Open House Healing Ministry Days: Saturdays 1 March, 7 June, 6 September and 1 November am pm at the CCR Centre. We welcome on board our new co-ordinator Christine Grech Christine was born in Malta and came to Australia when she was 3. She has been married to Joseph Grech for the past 38 years and they have two children and two grandchildren. Christine was the Leader of the Hadfield Prayer Group for 15 years and has been the leader of the Healing Prayer Team at Pascoe Vale for the last 10 years. Her commitment to Catholic Charismatic Renewal and her many gifts will be valuable assets to her new role. Christine joins Lenyce Willason, Miriam Markis, Ban Wee, Diana Tominac, Tony Grieve, Norma Keyt and Daniel Serratore as the leadership team of CCR Melbourne. Scripture Diaries for 2014 are now available from the Centre for $10.00 each. 7 GOOD NEWS

8 MARK YOUR DIARIES... Renewal Days An opportunity for fellowship with others and growth through teachings. 15 February: The Melbourne co-ordinators will lead the day. Dates for 2014: 18 May, 17 August and 16 November. Our Lady Help of Christians Hall, 49 Nicholson Street, East Brunswick. NO PARKING IN SCHOOL GROUNDS. Public Transport: Train to Parliament Station,Tram no.96 along Nicholson Street to stop no.22. January Retreat with Bishop Colin Campbell January 2014 Combined Diocese Teaching Day 29 March 2014 National Day of Prayer and Repentance 5 April 2014 Draw aside for a wonderful Retreat with a marvellous teacher. Bishop Colin will teach on the Fruit of the Spirit during the week at Our Lady Help of Christians Hall, 40 Nicholson St, East Brunswick.For more details see ad on page 7 or go to the website to download a registration form. CCR Melbourne and CCR Sale are uniting for a Regional Teaching Day with Brian Welch. Doveton Parish Hall from 9.30am pm. This is a wonderful opportunity to join with our brothers and sisters from the Sale Diocese. The facilities at Doveton Parish are excellent and accommodate disabled very well. Brian is a very dynamic speaker and a catholic lay evangelist from Canberra. Come along to the CCR Centre, 101 Holden St, North Fitzroy to pray for our church, our nation and our families. From 10.00am 6.00pm. CHARISMATIC/ HEALING MASSES TIME VENUE Each Sunday 5.30pm St Clements, Bulleen 7.00pm Holy Family, Doveton (Ministry after) First Saturday 2.30pm 5pm Adoration followed by Healing Mass St Peter s, 38 Guinane Ave, Hoppers Crossing First Sunday 2.30pm St Peter Chanel, Deer Park 5.00pm St Benedicts, Burwood. Prayer Ministry after Mass, Praise Rally at 7.00pm 5.30pm Praise, Worship, Adoration 6pm Mass, followed by Prayer Ministry St Marks, Fawkner No Mass in January First Monday 7.00pm Praise, 7.30pm Mass St Joseph s, Springvale Phone First Wednesday 8.00pm St Clement s, Bulleen First Friday 8.00pm St Kevin s, Ormond Third Thursday 8.00pm Churinga, Greensborough Third Saturday 9am Anointing & Healing Mass St Dominic s, Broadmeadows Third Sunday 12 Noon St Benedict s, Burwood Third Sunday 5.30pm St Francis Xavier, Frankston 5.30pm Praise, 6.00pm Mass Good Samaritan Chapel, 1-29 Southern Cross Drive, Roxburgh Park Fourth Tuesday 10.00am St Joseph s, Chelsea First Friday 8.15pm Healing Mass St Peter s Clayton 10.00am Holy Hour For Priests St Anthony s, Noble Park St Peter s, East Bentleigh 8.00pm - Monday 25 November pm - Monday 3 February, 9 June, 24 November GOOD NEWS