In my June 3rd letter, I wondered, "We live in a time where the Holy Spirit is inspiring men, women, and children to live the Christian life in new and varied ways." To my delight, just 11 days later, the CDF released a letter,
Iuvenescit Ecclesia (The Church Rejuvenates). It addresses the relationship between the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, both charismatic and heirarchical.
Our own Bishop David O'Connell gave us a wonderful summary,
"The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Addresses Ecclesial Movements and their Relationship to the Institutional Church." As such, I don't offer my own summary. Rather, I'd like to begin to apply the letter to
our own parish.
Heirarchical gifts are exercised by our bishop and the priests and deacons who serve our parish. Our pastor, Fr. Ed, has the chief responsibility of discerning the working of the Holy Spirit in our parish. It is the Holy Spirit who works to rejuvenate our parish through the variety of our members and in a variety of ways. The priests and deacons don't have to be aware of even a fraction of what the Holy Spirit is doing. But we are here to assist and guide parishioners and groups exercising charismatic gifts for the benefit of all.
Heirarchical gifts are most evident in the celebration of the sacraments. The seven sacraments that Jesus instituted are primarily celebrated by the heirarchy (bishops, priests, deacons) for the life and salvation of the faithful.
Charismatic gifts are so varied, and they differ from age to age. In our own parish we see charismatic gifts exercised in our
prayer groups, in the
Rosary Altar Society, the
Holy Name Society,
CCD, and
Visitation Relief Center. We see them also in our
Bereavement Team,
Adult Faith Formation,
Visitation Caregivers,
Community Lunch,
St. Vincent de Paul Society, and even Bingo. We see them not just in these parish groups but also every other parish group. And we see charismatic gifts exercised in families, at work, and around town.
The Holy Spirit desires to enliven each and every one of us and to work through us for the benefit of others. A maturing relationship between our priests and deacons and all the faithful will allow us to be more open to the working of the Holy Spirit so that we may be more fruitful in following Jesus Christ. More and more parishioners are remarking to me signs of rejuvenation in our parish. I invite all of us to be renewed by the sacraments so that we might be more ready to say yes to the Holy Spirit working through us for others.