Let’s set the Holy Spirit free

BY CATHERINE DE VALENCE

There are times when we face the dangers of compromising our faith: by trying to make ourselves more acceptable, by speaking less about the things that make people uncomfortable. So here I am talking of a Pentecostal approach to our faith, using the charisms of the Spirit, and in particular tongues and prophecy: what is called the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

Young women pray during a Catholic Charismatic Renewal event.

While the fruits of the Spirit are accepted, the gifts of God’s Spirit are rejected, preventing the gifts of the Spirit from being utilised in our churches. We suppress our Pentecostal approach and try and control it, when we should let God take control and do whatever he wants.

We make the mistake of putting a filtering system in place to protect people against things that are not from God, but also risk taking away the impact we feel when God speaks his word spontaneously through an anointed prophet.

It is just as wrong to limit the Holy Spirit’s freedom to speak as it is to accept everything without any testing and discernment. No one has the right to suppress the Spirit of God from working in and through his anointed. It would be like telling God what to do, and directing the steps he should take.

We are called to be charismatic and prophetic, and if the gifts of the Holy Spirit are lost, so will God’s supernatural power to work in and through our Church.

We are all given different gifts to work together as one, for God’s vision and plan for our Church to come to life. Without this acceptance and connection with one another, we can prevent God’s will from being done.

We need to make sure that the charisms of the Holy Spirit are not stopped from being used, because we are unwilling to step out in faith and take risks. It’s our responsibility to preserve the prophetic Spirit of the Charismatic Renewal.

When we are called to be a prophetic people we must remain faithful to that call, and the Church must accept and support that call. The supernatural power evident when our words and actions are prophetic brings people face-to-face with God’s truth and confirms his plans and purpose for our Church. This is why our charism is so much needed in our Church today.

When we do our part, we can safely leave everything else in God’s hands. We are many parts, but part of one body. This is the essence of our Church.