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The Trumpet Newsletter of Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services
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| Year | Issue Date | Article Title | Author |
| 2006 | Apr./May/Jun. | Hurt People Hurt People | Ron Bergman-Diocesan Liaison |
| 2006 | Apr./May/Jun. | Ordinary Time | Linda Daniel-Editor |
| 2006 | Apr./May/Jun. | God Is Love | Kate Elliott, DRE |
| 2006 | Apr./May/Jun. | Questions To ICCRS | Reprinted with permission ICCRS |
| 2006 | Apr./May/Jun. | Holy Hunger | Aggie Neck-Reprinted with permission NSC |
From The Liaison
Hurt People Hurt People [back to top of page]
I have been hearing a lot lately about forgiveness and love. It seems to be coming from all sides, from the newspaper, from articles preparing us for Lent, from the pope’s latest encyclical—seemingly at every turn.
My initial reaction to these reminders is that I need to watch for situations and people who need to be reminded to forgive, even in the toughest of their circumstances. But the Holy Spirit won’t let me get away from the fact that the message I hear is, first of all, for ME.
It’s easy for us to recognize in others the need to forgive; it’s hard to see it in ourselves. Part of its being so easy to see in others is that we are often so critical of people. And yet, Jesus was never critical of anyone, even though he took some good shots at the Pharisees. He was always critical of what they did—critical of the sin—but he carefully distinguished the sin from the sinner. He truly understands us. He absolutely understands not only what we do, but why we do it—he understands there is a ROOT CAUSE of our inappropriate actions. And he knows that we are wounded, hurt people who wound and hurt others.
Pain often causes us to lash out at others, all of us at various times and in various circumstances. If any of us believes that we are free of that sin, maybe we do not understand ourselves or have forgotten those times in our life. It seems that, so much of the time, the pain still remains from an injury that was inflicted upon us by circumstances from our past, circumstances that were not within our control. We were rejected, we grew up feeling inferior, we were abused, we were not loved like we needed to be, maybe we inflicted a serious wound on someone and feel guilty about it. I don’t know what it may have been in your life, but I am willing to bet that you, too, are a wounded child of God. That pain is often deeply rooted in our suppressed memory. Did we realize we were sinning when we lashed out at someone else? I don’t know, but Jesus does. Did we injure someone else by what we did? Most likely. Did we mean to hurt them? Maybe yes, probably not. Do we need to ask forgiveness for hurting them? Absolutely! Did someone lash out at us? Did they hurt us? Most likely. Did they mean to hurt us? Maybe yes, probably not. Do we need to forgive them? Absolutely! That, in itself, is enough of a task to work on through this Lent … and maybe more.
It is imperative that we understand that we are all victims of injury and in deep and critical need of healing. As I have heard so many times, “Hurt people hurt people.” So often we do not even realize that the injury we experienced is the cause of so many of our actions today. We are all in need of deep inner healing, healing of those wounds that have been inflicted upon us, healing of the pain of the wound, healing of the cause of so many of our inappropriate actions. We, the hurt people, hurt others. And others, who are hurt people themselves, hurt us. Yes, we need to forgive them. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Remember that Stephen said that, too, as he was being stoned. He was not God and neither are we, but we can do it, with the Holy Spirit’s help.
Yes, I know we create a lot of our own problems, but no matter what the circumstance, we cannot deflect the blame for our own actions on anyone or anything else. We always have to take ownership of our actions — a responsibility that today’s world seems to try to ignore. Understanding that the root cause of our action may be the pain of an injury that was inflicted upon us, being a victim, may explain the reason, but does not give us license to hurt someone else. We still have to accept ownership and make amends, but understanding that things are done out of pain rather than malice can help us understand, and free us to love. Therefore we need to forgive and be forgiven.
Through deep inner healing prayer, the Holy Spirit can help us recall the traumatic event, and as we continue to pray through it, we can find that Jesus will walk through it with us, being there at this present time to fill that past event with his love. And his love heals. One of the wonderful results of this healing event is that the pain of the wound is gone—even though the memory of it sometimes remains—and with the pain gone we no longer have to react out of pain but can react with love. Understanding that others are also wounded, just as we are, can help us be more ready to forgive them, just as we hope to be forgiven for those times we have injured.
For the remainder of this Lent, let us search for situations in our own lives that call for forgiveness; times to forgive and times to be forgiven. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to reveal those deep-seated memories and injuries that cause us to hurt others and ask Jesus to heal the pain, the root cause, that leads us to sin. And let us try to accept responsibility for our actions, all of them, knowing that Jesus understands us better than we do and is ready to fill us with his mercy and forgiveness and healing, just for the asking.
I pray that this Lent has been a fulfilling time of growth and that the joy of the resurrected Jesus will fill our hearts with love, healing and wholeness. We pray this in the name of Jesus.V
Blessings,
Ron
Know Your Faith
God Is Love [back to top of page]
In the Baltimore Catechism, 1941 edition written by Rev. Michael McGuire, one of the questions asked is, “What do we mean when we say that God is all good?” The answer states that “When we say that God is all good, we mean that He is infinitely lovable in Himself, and that from His fatherly love every good comes to us.” This timeless question and answer about the goodness and love of God is addressed again in Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical entitled Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love).
The encyclical is divided into two parts. In the first part the Pope writes that he wants to “clarify essential facts concerning God’s love which God mysteriously and gratuitously offers to man.” He states that “Love is now no longer a mere command; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to us.” (Deus Caritas Est)
Part two of the encyclical deals with love of neighbor and the Church’s role in the social justice issues. The pope writes about the misuse of the word love. He goes on to define the two types of love – eros and agape. He explains that both eros and agape love can be used for man’s edification and that “when both dimensions are truly united does man attain his full stature.” (DCE)
The Pope goes on to say the “Love of neighbor is the starting point for understanding the great parables of Jesus,” and that “closing our eyes to our neighbor also blinds us to God.” He cites examples of saints who answered God’s call of selfless love. He also tells us to follow the example of the Blessed Mother whose own life was an act of sacrificial love.
Pope Benedict calls the lay faithful to take part in “public life in a personal capacity,” and that ... “the Church cannot replace the state but she must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice.” (DCE) The pope calls us to follow the example of the Good Samaritan and to practice the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy; to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit those in prison, etc.
At the end of his first encyclical, Pope Benedict encourages us and gives us a work to do. He tells us that “Love is possible and we are to practice it because we are made in the image of God. To experience love and in this way to cause the light of God to enter into the world – this is the invitation I would like to extend with the present encyclical.” (DCE)
This first encyclical of our new pope is full of beautiful statements that can incite in us a renewed energy to go deeper in our quest to love God and in turn to love others. I would urge everyone to read this encyclical in its entirety. It is available online at www.osv.com or purchase a copy at your local Catholic bookstore.V
Kate Elliott, DRE
Holy Spirit Church, Roscoe
Ordinary Time [back to top of page]
By Linda Daniel
Recently in my daily scripture study, the commentary said that we were in the ordinary time of the Church year. Ordinary, however, does not mean humdrum or commonplace. Rather it means ordered. Mark 1:21-28 proclaims “that ‘ordinary’ life in the Lord is new, exciting, and fulfilling.” (One Bread, One Body. Presentation Ministries, Inc. Cincinnati, Ohio. January 10, 2006) The people were amazed that Jesus taught “with authority” (Mark 1:22).
Springtime is a time of renewal of the earth. This “ordinary” time is a time for us to have a renewal also. “God is the Creator, and He is always creating anew. The Spirit renews, that is, makes new, the earth (Ps 104:30).” (One Bread. January 10, 2006) The Lord tells us, “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; See, I am doing something new!” (Isaiah 43:18-19) I believe He is calling us to be open to new thoughts, new ideas, new ways of looking at things. This was confirmed to me in one of my pastor’s homilies.
Our pastor had been teaching the articles of faith from the creed. He explained that one of the mysteries of the faith is the incarnation and the purpose of that is our salvation. Our response should be to imitate Jesus. But how do we do that? What did Jesus do that we can imitate? Jesus loved people and was compassionate toward them, and he sacrificed Himself for us. To imitate Jesus we must sacrifice ourselves for others. The words are easy to say, but how do we do this?
I have always thought ministry work is something we do separate from our home life. Also, with any kind of service or ministry work for the Lord, I have a tendency to think immediately of the big and dramatic things, like going out and talking to strangers on the beach to evangelize, or becoming a martyr for the faith. Because of my quiet personality and reluctance to “step out of the box,” I then think that this type of sacrifice is beyond me. Then I feel guilty because I am not serving the Lord as I believe He would have me do. However, our pastor explained that our self-sacrifice occurs in our ordinary life whenever we give of ourselves and serve others. For example, when we cook a meal or do laundry for someone else, or give up something we want in order to give to someone else, this is a sacrifice. We are imitating Jesus. This was a new idea for me. I had always taken for granted this type of service and never thought it was anything special. It was just something one does. When our pastor explained this, I realized that even though I wasn’t doing the big, dramatic things, in my better moments I was imitating Jesus.
When I went to the Diocese of Rockford CCRS retreat with Msgr. Brady this January 28-29, I was awed to hear Msgr. Brady saying so much that blended with this article – much of which was already written. He said that the greatest gift we can give anyone else is ourselves – the idea of self-sacrifice again. We give ourselves by being present to others and entering in to their lives with an understanding, loving presence. This self-giving involves attentive listening to lovingly understand what they are saying. If we become preoccupied with providing answers or solving their problems, we are not entering in to their lives. We must learn to die to ourselves for a few moments to be unconditionally and totally present to the other person. When we learn to do this, we redeem that person’s self-worth and free them from alienation. Msgr. Brady explains all of this in depth in his book, The Understanding Heart, available at Vineyard Bookstore in Rockford.
Our Lord is so kind and loving. He renewed me and refreshed me with these new insights at a time of strain and difficulty when I had to set aside many things in order to be with my mother through a hospital stay, surgery and rehab. Some of the things I was setting aside or giving up were connected to ministries. It turns out that He had just called me to concentrate on a different ministry for a time. He had also prepared for my struggles by sending a prophetic word, before my mother’s difficulties began, to refresh and reassure me. “Before they call, I will answer.” (Isaiah 65:24) Here are the words I received through Nita Neu.
A true and faithful follower is she, and mine she is for eternity.
I whisper words of softness to her that she might delight in me.
An alabaster jar of perfume she pours upon my feet as she prays to me.
I hear her and listen to her in all her wonderment and wonderings, in her struggles and victories.
Peace is my gift to her, and my deep, abiding love, for to me she belongs.
Fidgeting and confusion are not part of me. Clarity and strength are my gifts.
I am ample for you. I love you greatly, my daughter.
The light of my love shines upon her, and I delight in her beauty.V
Questions To ICCRS [back to top of page]
Reprinted With Permission, ICCRS Newsletter
What Is the difference between a prophecy, a word of knowledge, and a word of wisdom?
Before we look at the differences, let us first note what they have in common. All three of these gifts are revelatory gifts, that is they come from a revelation of God’s Spirit to His people. In all three cases, the Holy Spirit gives an inspiration to an individual who then proclaims that word. St Paul reminds us of the origin of charismatic gifts when he tells us in 1 Corinthians 12 that “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another mighty deeds; to another prophesy; to another discernment of spirits, to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.”
It is important to keep this “many gifts, one Spirit” concept before us. Doing so reminds us that the priority is not the gift, but the giver behind the gift. Secondly, realizing that all charisms come from God will help us resist the temptation of pride or discouragement as we might want to compare “our” giftedness with others.
Remember, charisms are gifts given by God to His people for the common good. It is not about the person receiving the charism; it is about honoring God and serving
the body of Christ. With that background in mind, let us now examine the original question.
Precise definitions may vary slightly in different regions around the world, but here are some broad guidelines:
A word of knowledge is an inspiration from the Spirit where an individual receives information or “knowledge” about a person or situation. You may hear a person say something like, “There is someone in the room today who has been running away from God ever since childhood. The Lord loves you and wants you to stop running!” It can be as specific as “There is a man here wearing a blue shirt. The Lord is doing some kind of healing in his back.” Sometimes the word of knowledge is used in a prayer ministry setting where The Lord gives insight to those praying with or ministering to an individual. While the word of knowledge can be very precise and often profound, pastoral wisdom should be exercised so as not to embarrass an individual or cause scandal within a group.
A word of wisdom is an inspiration from the Spirit that imparts some profound insight or understanding that deeply moves the hearts of those who hear it. Recall how the crowds reacted to Jesus, “Where does he get all of this?” after he had spoken to them. Unlike the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom is not so much information as it is an understanding of some of the mysteries of God.
Prophecy, also a gift of inspiration, is the Lord putting His word into the heart and thoughts of an individual who then speaks it out. In fact, the word prophet basically means one who speaks on behalf of another. Prophecies are often given in the first person. That is, the person speaking will speak in a way as if God Himself were saying the words. When a person stands up and says, “My power covers the earth’“ surely they are not referring to themselves. On some occasions, prophecies will have some insight about the future, but the majority of prophecies are related to the here and now. Prophecies are given to encourage us, to comfort us, to challenge us, and to help direct us.
There is one more element that these spiritual gifts have in common. They all require careful discernment. Not every thought, every feeling in a person is an authentic manifestation of the Spirit. Gifts should be exercised with prudence, humility, and prayer.V
Reprinted with permission from ICCRS Newsletter, ICCRS Leadership Formation Supplement, May-June 2005, P. 4.
Holy Hunger [back to top of page]
By Aggie Neck, Reprinted with permission
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is given for the renewing of the church and the world. It begins with the renewal of individual believers. It brings the grace and power to live the gospel message with conviction, courage, and boldness. It stirs in us a desire, a hunger for holiness because we want to be pleasing to God.
John Paul II, in his 2004 Pentecost Eve message, spoke of a mission for us: “New evangelization, which needs mature Christian personalities and strong Christian communities.” The spirituality of Pentecost calls us to maturity, and to commitment. It is a way of life. And this way of life must lead to holiness. “It is God’s will that you grow in holiness.” “God has not called us to immorality but to holiness; hence, whoever rejects these instructions rejects not man, but God, who sends his Holy Spirit upon you” (1 Thes. 4:3, 7-8).
“An encounter with the Lord brings about a profound transformation in all who do not close themselves off from him. The first impulse coming from this transformation is to communicate to others the richness discovered in the experience of the encounter” (The Church in America). Do you remember how we could not wait to share our experience with others when we first encountered the Lord and received the Holy Spirit? We are called to become God’s witnesses, just as the first disciples were on the day of Pentecost. The message of hope should be ever ready on our lips because it is ever present in our hearts and minds.
Witnesses must also be an example of what their witness is about. Therefore God’s witnesses must be holy, set apart and different from the culture they are seeking to transform.
The parable of the silver pieces shows us very clearly what God does expect. He does not want us to bury what we have been given, but to multiply it (Matt. 25:14-30). Even if it only produces one more, God expects a return on the gift he has given. “The gift you have received, give as a gift” (Matt. 10:8). The apostles, who stumbled through the three years they walked with Jesus, saw and experienced miraculous, marvelous signs and wonders. Yet, they were unable to stand with him during the final hours of his life on earth. It took the experience of Pentecost to bring an “eye opening” awareness and a “world changing” faith. They were the first to begin living the spirituality of Pentecost. Their faith became bold and expectant. They were willing to suffer for the truth they proclaimed and now believed without a doubt.
“What is it that the bible wants to impress upon us with the revelation of the Spirit as strength and power? This, I think above all else: The Holy Spirit is the one and only true strength and real power that keeps the church alive! Just as the individual believer, the church itself cannot live by its own strength. It is therefore from the Holy Spirit that the church and every preacher of the gospel has the power to convince and to lead to conversion, to get through to the very heart of a culture” (Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, “Come Creator Spirit”).
John Paul II called us to be these witnesses and “sowers of hope.” The Renewal has awakened us to this hope. We can witness to hope because we have experienced it and we walk in it. Therefore it must be, should be, can be us. In faith we must proclaim: IT WILL BE US!V
© 2006, National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the United States, Inc. Reprinted from Pentecost Today, January/February/March 2006, page 2. Aggie Neck is Chairman of the National Service Committee.