The Following Christ course we've been running at UMBC has been going very well. This is our second pilot course that is still in production phase.
The first Following Christ course we did as after the St. Agnes young adult
Discovering Christ course.
At UMBC we've been teaming up with Fr. Richard Gray, MSA and the Newman Club to help a group of 12-15 students grow as followers of Jesus. Each night we combine praise and worship, testimonies and teachings on Christian discipleship, small group discussion and fellowship. Thus far its gone very well. We are all learning so much and growing in our love for Jesus! The topics touched in this course include: an overview of discipleship, personal prayer, Scripture, guidance, the sacramental life of a disciple, the charism, the world the flesh and the devil (2), & evangelization.
Anyway, last night's topic was the charisms (or gifts of the Holy Spirit). Fr. Rich's friend, Kate, gave the talk and it was superb. She talked all about the gifts, the fruits, and the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit. This was the real focus.
Anyway, following her talk we spent time praying for the gifts and worshiping God using these gifts. One gift several people received was the gift of tongues! After I finished worship we asked if anyone had anything to share and one guy, kind of stunned, said, "wow, this is so crazy, but I was speaking in tongues..." A second later another young adult exclaimed the same thing!
It was really really awesome - because all of the openness to the gifts - just opened us even more to God's great love for us and allowed us to express our love to Him. It was a wonderful time that brought us all closer to God and one another.
In my own life the first time I remember speaking to God in "tongues" was during an extended time of worship I was really "caught in the presence" of God and experientially felt His great love for me. I began to respond to him in prayer and I ran out of words and I realized I was speaking in tongues! What a beautiful gift of love to the Lord!
Unfortunately the charisms tend to be undervalued by many Catholics and we choose to say "no" to the Holy Spirit. I sure have done this in the past! Anyway, point being - we often haven't adequately received formation in this area and even more seldom is - seeing these gifts used!
For those not familiar with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, you can read about them in Acts 2, 1 Corinthians 12 or for an excellent introduction - on Page 12 of the
Fall 2006 issue of Pentecost Today (PDF) or
checkout this link which includes lots of articles on the charismatic renewal and the specific charisms.
The last three popes have begun to talk more about the charisms, and now it is more normal to hear about priests and even bishops involved with the
Charismatic Renewal.
Labels: charismatic renewal, charisms, Following Christ, tongues
Well, we've now done 45 podcasts at ChristLife! Its really amazing how many we've done - how many different people we've interviewed. This podcast is a first though. It is the first to have audio of the Pope speaking!
