"Let The Fire Fall Again!" is the theme of both the Leaders' Meeting and the Leaders' General Conference, sponsored and organized by the ICCRS Council, to be held from October 25 to November 1, 1998 at the Palaterme of Fiuggi Italy.
150 youth leaders and 450 members of National Service Committees, together with another 1900 key leaders of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal worldwide, will be invited to pray for a new Pentecostal outpouring on the Church in the Third Millennium. This gathering will not just be a fellowship experience among leaders, but is hoped to be a clear witness of the dynamic activity of the Holy Spirit in our days. Our leaders likewise will be discerning about the radical role that the Holy Spirit wills for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal to take in the Church's mission of integral evangelization in the 21st century.
John Paul II, in Tertio Millennio Adveniente has invited us to reflect deeply on the Holy Spirit's presence, power and activity in today's Church and world, in order to better prepare ourselves for the immense tasks and numerous challenges of the coming millennium. Moreover, as the -Catholic Charismatic Renewal enters the fourth decade since its humble beginnings, we must ask ourselves these hard questions: How can we in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal fruitfully contribute to the continued upbuilding of the Church, particularly in the active promotion of the laity, in the meaningful exercise of the charisms in diverse ministries, and in the effective carrying out of evangelization m our hi-tech age?
Today's world presents vast challenges and pressing demands. A new Pentecost is indeed needed for us in the Renewal to be empowered, equipped, and enabled once again to do the immense work of God in this age with "many wonders and signs" too. During this assembly we shall all pray for a renewed baptism in the Holy Spirit, so that we could boldly confront the multiple challenges and meaningfully address the difficult demands of the Holy Spirit.
In this assembly, the invited 2500 youth and adult leaders of the Renewal shall worship together, as well as shall spend quiet moments in actively listening to the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit regarding His movement and direction for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Also, listening to noted speakers, who will be sharing learned reflections on various pneumatological topics, they shall be expected to better understand the workings of the Holy Spirit in our times. Ample time shall also be allotted in the program for practical ministry and the dynamic exercise of the charisms among the participants. Personal testimonies and sharing of experiences among the participants will enliven fellowship time.
We are, therefore, appealing to you to please keep this upcoming important event in your personal and communal prayers. Just as the first disciples prayed for the coming of the Holy Spirit on that first Pentecost, so, too, must we earnestly pray for a fresh outpouring of the Power from on high, in order to experience that same Power in a new way in our own lives as well as in the whole Church.
We need the Holy Spirit to fire us up once again with His energizing love. We need a fresh anointing by the Power from on high, so that we could perform His "wonders and signs" in a modern still unconverted world. We need the Principal Agent of Evangelization to show us how to proclaim the Good News to the peoples of today with a new fervor and enthusiasm, with new approaches and methods, and with new dynamic expressions of our faith. We need the Indwelling Spirit to bring us all into one holy family of God. Finally, we need the Paraclete to steadily move us toward the gradual realization of our hope for the "new heavens and the new earth."
"For this reason, I remind you to stir in to flame the gift of God that you have received through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control." (2 Tim. 1:6-7).
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