PREAMBLE

The Co-ordinators of Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Archdiocese of Melbourne (CCR) seek to express what we understand as the special charisms of CCR, and through this expression, to set out a statement of vision for CCR.

THE CHARISMS OF CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL

We believe that the Holy Spirit has given CCR a special role in the Church, a belief supported by the statement of Pope John Paul II to the International Council of CCR on 14^th March 1992:  “The emergence of the Renewal following the Second Vatican Council was a particular gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church.”

Each member of CCR shares in the task of enriching the Church by helping to incorporate special gifts of the Spirit into the life of the Church.

We are called to help people to grow in faith, by emphasising the immediacy of a loving God in their lives.  In saying this, we recognise that we too need to be helped in the same way to grow in faith and ability to serve.

In particular, we believe that the people of CCR are called to encourage and help people to:

• Surrender, as fully as possible, to the will of the Father. 
• Accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and to enter into a daily, personal love and trust relationship with Him.
• Be open to the gifts of the Spirit, including the more extraordinary gifts. 
• Grow in faith, developing a habit of praising God and giving thanks to Him, believing in the goodness of God in all circumstances. 
• Develop the ability to evangelise and serve others.

Following the Fathers of the Church at the Second Vatican Council, as expressed in Lumen Gentium (No. 42ff), CCR encourages people to grow in holiness and to fullness of life in Christ, remaining always faithful to and in union with the Catholic Church.

OUR VISION

It is our vision that:

• The special Charisms of CCR be more fully accepted in the various aspects of the life of the Church and that they may be more fully incorporated into the liturgy and the ministry of the Church, and

• We can help many more people to experience a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit leading to a deep personal conversion, an experience we call “being Baptised in the Spirit.’

WHO ARE WE TO SERVE?

We believe the CCR is called to serve God’s people in the following ways:

1. The formation and growth of prayer groups throughout the Archdiocese, with the charismatic prayer meeting and the Eucharist at the heart of their gatherings.
2. The conducting of Life in the Spirit seminars and other teaching and growth seminars, to help people to come into fuller life in God’s Spirit.
3. The training of leaders who can exercise a pastoral responsibility within the prayer groups and in the service of the wider Church.
4. The conducting of conferences as outreaches to many who cannot or would not come to regular prayer
5. The fostering of a healing ministry.
6. The conducting of Regional Masses and other events as service to people of the Region.
7. The development of training programs which promote evangelisation.
8. Liaison with other Christian churches 

For the early Christians, the Holy Spirit was experienced as a real power in their lives. The Holy Spirit empowered them to continue the work of Jesus. When a person received the Holy Spirit, they experienced a very real difference in their lives — and others noticed it. That is still true today.

Although all Christians receive the Holy Spirit through Baptism, God’s Spirit works in many ways in the world, in both Christians and non-Christians. Yet the experience of being ‘baptised in the Spirit’ is a time of entering a deeper spiritual dimension. Similarly, St Teresa of Avila describes a person entering her ‘Fourth Mansion’: “Supernatural experiences begin here” (Interior Castle 4.1.1).

Those who experience this deeper infilling, or new outpouring, of God’s Spirit usually begin to discover new spiritual gifts. Some of these are:

• The Gift of Prophecy:
  The ability to sense what God is saying to a group or an individual, and to pass on that message. This usually takes the form of encouragement, comfort, hope or exhortation.
• The Gift of Praying in Tongues:
  This is a way of praying without words — a form of contemplative prayer that is very useful in personal prayer and in prayer ministry. It enables the person praying to focus on God without worrying about finding the right words.
• Gifts of Healing:
  There seem to be a variety of gifts given by the Spirit to enable people to be instruments of God’s healing through prayer.

Paul describes some of the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12, but the Spirit works in many ways. The Spirit also empowers people to move into new roles of service and ministry to others. In all case, the gifts are given to serve others. God works through people, and these gifts help spread his goodness in the world.