Hispanic Ministry office begins training program
for Charismatic Renewal leaders
(En Espanol)
Felix Navarrete, archdiocesan coordinator of Hispanic Ministry, leads the first session of a training program for leaders of Catholic Charismatic Renewal on March 23 at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center in Indianapolis. (Submitted photo)
Criterion staff report
Guaranteeing training for lay leaders of ecclesial movements is one of the objectives proposed by the archdiocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry. Part of those efforts were reflected on March 23 at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center in Indianapolis with the beginning of a training program for leaders of Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR).
Nearly 110 participants from all parts of the archdiocese were present to begin the classes, which will last until November.
The program, which consists of 21 hours of study and is divided into five sessions, focuses on the areas of preaching and prayer, intercession and healing, and practical tips for prayer assemblies—all of which are related to the charism that surrounds the movement.
The goal is to provide each leader with the theological foundation that supports the charism, promotes the study of Scripture and uses the teaching documents of the Church as sources of prayer and preaching, noted Felix Navarrete, archdiocesan coordinator of Hispanic Ministry. It will also equip the leaders with practical advice to develop meetings and parish assemblies, according to archdiocesan guidelines and the teaching of the Church, he added.
“The Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement has its origins in an ecumenical experience. However, through time, it has acquired a doctrinal character that is more in line with the experience of true Catholicism,” Navarrete said, “and it has been a very effective instrument of evangelization in communities of faith, especially in Spanish-speaking ones.
“The archdiocese is no exception, since the CCR—as it is known worldwide—is one of our most active ecclesial movements with the greatest presence in our parishes,” Navarrette continued, “in addition to being the most numerous in members. This is the main reason why we have decided to begin the training processes with ‘the charismatics,’ as they are called in the popular language of the modern Church.”
The diverse expressions of faith, accompanied by popular devotion, are part of the new outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the Church, and many lay people identify with this way of living their faith.
(Related: Bilingual Catholic Charismatic Renewal event will take place at the cathedral and Catholic Center in Indianapolis on May 18)
“But even when the movement of the Holy Spirit generates these new expressions, we want to ensure that we have adequate discernment, which invites us to live an authentic and healthy Catholic spiritual experience,” Navarrete said. “This area needs to be reinforced through training that contributes to the action of the Holy Spirit, in such a way that the Charismatic Renewal in our archdiocese serves as ‘the current of grace’ [a renewing breath of the Spirit] that important figures have spoken of—such as Pope Francis, Cardinal Leo Suenens [who took part in the Second Vatican Council and endorsed CCR], and Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household at the Vatican.”
A “current of grace,” Navarrete noted, flows from the Spirit of God to the Church of Christ in a naturally kerygmatic movement, which leads CCR members to be heralds of the Gospel and to communicate it with charisma—the joy of being Catholic.
As noted in Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation, “Evangelii Gaudium”: “The joy of the Gospel fills the heart and entire life of those who encounter Jesus. Those who allow themselves to be saved by him are freed from sin, from sadness, from inner emptiness, from isolation. With Jesus Christ, joy is always born and reborn” (#1).
“This is the mission of the true charismatic: letting the Gospel fill the heart, freeing and healing those who receive it,” Navarrete noted.
CCR meetings will be held at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center in Indianapolis and have the support of priests in the archdiocese who serve the Hispanic community, “and with whom we agree that there is an urgent need to equip our leaders with the necessary evangelization tools to continue our mission,” Navarrete said. †
