I would like to offer that through the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, The Lord is doing some amazing things in the Body of Christ. One of the foremost is helping bridge the gap between Catholics and Protestants. We are able to pray together. I know because so many protestant Christians have come to our prayer group and were in fellowship and prayer with us. Secondly, the renewal is reminding the Church, as a prophetic voice should, to focus our hearts upon the simple truth that Jesus is Lord. If you've ever been to a Life in the Spirit Seminar, you will know what I am referring to. We proclaim so much that Jesus has to be the center of our thoughts and deeds. Jesus is Lord, and He must be Lord of your life! The church needs prophetic voices and, by golly, we are one!
peace in Christ!
Praise the Lord
Grew up experiencing the Charismatic Catholic movement on my side of the street - as my mother was saved growing up with it and seeing it. And in the West Indies, services were always very lively. From clapping to singing and truly seeing God's prescence.
Seeing some of the connections between the Charismatic movement and Catholics is interesting. And with the Catholic side of things, its has always been intriguing to witness how many have noted that Benny Hinn is similar to those who are Catholic Mystics. For Benny Hinn was often noted for saying how much of his
background was related to Catholic circles connected with the Charismatic Movement....as the Charismatic Movement was noted for beginning in liturgical circles like Catholicism. He spoke on his Catholic background in books such as [URL="https://books.google.com/books?id=FjfSAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA133&dq=Benny+Hinn+Catholic+nuns&hl=en&sa=X&ei=vh2cVNWXGMeqNr3PgegH&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Benny%20Hinn%20Catholic%20nuns&f=false"]The Blood: Experience Its Power to Transform You and
He Touched Me. Seeing that Hinn was born in Israel, raised in the Greek Orthodox Church, and attended Roman Catholic schools as a child, its not all that surprising to see how often I'd notice Hinn giving references to things within the Catholic Church[/URL] (even
though he did critique it).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCilBdsiMos
The man even went to visit/pay his respects to the Pope when the man died...as seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgMA0ZDGxn8
Of course, in general, Benny is very ecumenical with Catholics wherever he goes. Often, nuns will be at the meetings he attends.
Within the Catholic Church, it seemed that the Charismatic Movement had an extensive reach throughout that paticular liturgical circle and many were blessed by it.....and alongside that, the same could be on Early Church History within the first 3 centuries of the Church as noted by many of the Church Father. For the sake of Historical Accuracy when it comes to Charismatic Renewal, one resource I know of that has been very beneficial is entitled
Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church: An Exploration into the Gifts of the Spirit During the First Three Centuries of the Christian Church”….……..and it has been a tremendous blessing on the issue , as Dr. Ronald Kydd provides an objective, informative analysis based on the early-church fathers and concludes “that what emerges from a study of the sources is the picture of a Church which is strongly charismatic up until around AD 200.”
For more info, See especially the articles by Richard Riss, “Tongues and Other Miraculous Gifts in the Second Through Nineteenth Centuries,” in
Basileia, 1985...and alongside that, one can go online and investigate the article entitled
The Montanists: Heretics or Primitive Christians?. As another said best on the issue:
The presence of Montanism in the early church also provides us with evidence of the continuing operation of the gifts of the Spirit. Aside from the Montanists themselves, numerous church fathers regard the gifts as still valid. For example:
Justin Martyr (a.d. 100-165) boasted to the Jewish Trypho "that the prophetic gifts remain with us" (Dialogue with Trypho, 82).
Irenaeus (a.d. 120-200) also bears witness to the presence of the gifts of the Spirit. He writes:
·"We have heard of many of the brethren who have foreknowledge of the future, visions, and prophetic utterances; others, by laying-on of hands, heal the sick and restore them to health" (Against Heresies, 2:32,4).
·"We hear of many members of the church who have prophetic gifts, and, by the Spirit speak with all kinds of tongues, and bring men's secret thoughts to light for their own good, and expound the mysteries of God" (Against Heresies, 5:6,1).
·"It is impossible to enumerate the charisms which throughout the world the church has received from God" (Against Heresies, 2:32,4).
Eusebius himself concludes that the charismata were all still in operation down to the time in which Irenaeus lived (Ecclesiastical History, 5:7,6).
Apollinarius is quoted by Eusebius as saying that "the prophetic gifts must continue in the church until the final coming, as the apostle insists" (EH, 5:16,7).
Epiphanius, perhaps the most vocal opponent of the Montanists, did not attack them because they practiced the gifts of the Spirit. Indeed, he declared that "the charism [of prophecy] is not inoperative in the church. Quite the opposite. . . . The holy church of God welcomes the same [charisms] as the Montanists, but ours are real charisms, authenticated for the church by the Holy Spirit" (Panarion, 48).
