Catholic Charismatic Renewal deepens understanding of the Holy Spirit

Are you ready for some renewal?

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) of the Diocese of Albany, which sponsors monthly Healing Liturgies at Christ Our Light Church in Loudonville, will celebrate a Nov. 10 Liturgy, which begins at 7 p.m. with Prayer and Praise followed by the start of the Liturgy at 7:30 p.m.

The Mass is all part of Catho­lic Charismatic Renewal “reacquainting” itself with the Diocese of Albany, said co-liaison Jack Ellsbury, who is working with each of the vicariates “to re-announce who we are” and ”what the Renewal is about.” On Oct. 30, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal will present an introductory talk starting at 11 a.m., on how to personally experience Jesus and the Holy Spirit in your life at St. Mary’s Our Lady of the Lake Church in Cooperstown.

“We all are on board with evangelization, as I said to the Bishop before, we have been doing it for the last 50 years, we just didn’t call it evangelization,” said Ellsbury, who is co-liaison along with Diane Seaver. “We have been very active.” 

Let’s take a deeper look at what the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is. According to the mission statement on its website (albanyccr.org), the “Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany (RCDA) has as its primary mission to proclaim the Gospel message and evangelize. The CCR encourages and conducts Life and Growth in the Spirit Seminars. We offer support to prayer groups and help to develop new groups. Moreover, we sponsor teaching days with a variety of topics, such as training on the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit and healing days of reflection.”

“The renewal is alive. It’s aged, but that’s OK, along with aging comes wisdom,” Ellsbury added. “This is something that has been endorsed by the last three pontiffs, definitely endorsed by our bishop. It is just another expression of our faith.

“The biggest part about us, about the CCR … is realizing the graces that are earned from the Holy Spirit and it is those graces that move us forward to really be able (to be active) in the Fruits of the Spirit: love, patience, understanding of people and be able to spread the good news of what the Holy Spirit is about. It is through these graces that everything happens.”

In 2018, the Vatican announced that the two international bodies that had been supporting and coordinating the international activities of charismatic Catholics would become one new organization under the name of Charis (Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service) which took over the roles of the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service and the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant Communities and Fellowships. Charis is under the auspices of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life. The main purpose of Charis is “to help deepen and promote the grace of baptism in the Holy Spirit throughout the Church and to promote the exercise of charisms not only in Catholic Charismatic Renewal but also in the whole Church,” according to the organization.

During an ecumenical charismatic Pentecost prayer vigil — that was organized by Charis — in Jerusalem this past May, Pope Francis said by video message that Christians of every denomination pray that God will send out the Holy Spirit again and renew the face of the earth. “Let us be changed by the Holy Spirit so that we can change the world,” Pope Francis said.

And that is something that Ellsbury and the CCR are trying to do in the Capital Region. 

“We are just a small piece in the Albany Diocese that is trying to promote that evangelization; the gifts do come from the Holy Spirit, the gifts are there,” he said. “I refer to it sometimes as the maturing of my faith was through understanding the Holy Spirit.

“The renewal got a bad rap sometimes — they are way out there; they are hand shaking, flag wavers — and it is not that. It is the enthusiasm that comes from the true understanding of the Spirit within what is happening. The priest cannot do anything without the Spirit being invoked and coming down on that altar. When you realize and see that — wow! — it’s a whole different understanding.”       —With CNS