About CCR (5)
Would you prayerfully
consider donating to continuing the work of CCR?
Your extraordinary generosity in giving a gift to CCR will sustain and expand our work in promoting the fire of Renewal with National and Regional Events, Tools and Resources, News and Publications and Renewal Ministry support.
No donation is too small or too large.
Glory to God in the highest for how the Holy Spirit has and will enkindle in us the FIRE of God’s LOVE as we work together to serve the Lord in our mission to BRING baptism in the Holy Spirit to the whole Church, BUILD unity in the Body of Christ, and SERVE the poor.
Ways to Donate
Direct debit to:
Westpac Bank
BSB: 033-174
ACCOUNT NO: 404807
REF: 'SURNAME & DONATION'
By Cheque to: CCR Melbourne, PO Box 340, Fawkner 3060
May the Holy Spirit continue to empower you as you live and share Life in the Spirit!
Consider a gift to CCR in your Will.
Catholic charismatic Renewal relies entirely on gifts from individuals to continue its mission.
Would you consider a gift to CCR when making your will, or updating it. Making a gift to CCR can be as simple as adding a codicil to your existing Will. You may use this or a similar statement.
“I/We bequeath… % of my/our estate to Catholic Charismatic Renewal, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..”
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 14th 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.
- To make Christian healing prayer a way of life in families, churches, and medical professions.
Faithful to the Church
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 Mission Statement
- Bring Baptism in the Holy Spirit to the whole Church
- Build Unity in the Body of Christ
- Serve the Poor
- To be a visible presence of Jesus’ desire to heal in the world today by:
- Providing healing prayer for the sick
- Training for those who want to learn to pray
through
- formation and growth of charismatic prayer groups with the Eucharist at the heart of their gatherings.
- 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.
- training of leaders who can exercise a pastoral responsibility within the prayer groups and in the service of the wider Church.
- conducting of conferences as outreaches
- fostering of a healing ministry.
- conducting Regional Masses and other events
- development of training programs promoting evangelisation.
- 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.
Although each person's experience of God is unique, the experience within CCR is that there is usually a moment of deeper conversion in each person's life which brings them into this deeper spiritual dimension. This is called “the Baptism in the Spirit,” or ”a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit” (as the person has usually already received the Spirit in many ways in their life). The word “baptism” is not to be confused with sacramental Baptism, but simply means immersion — immersion into God in a fuller way, and being immersed in the Holy Spirit. It is a grace of God that often brings with it new spiritual gifts, and sometimes a calling and enabling to move into new roles in serving others.
The receiving of this grace is pure gift, and the recipient does nothing to earn it, but must allow God to act, as he always respects our free will. It empowers the individual to serve others, and to move into a deeper spiritual awareness and longing to know God. It empowers the person to using the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are always for the benefit of others.
People who have experienced this grace speak of a new love of God, a desire to pray and to attend Mass, to join with other Christians in sharing their faith life, to serve others, to read Scripture and other spiritual reading, and to learn more about the ways of God. They have a new desire to praise God, and experience a deep peace and joy as they find a new awareness of the presence of God in their lives.
Typically, those coming into CCR attend a Life in the Spirit Seminar within a prayer group. The seminar lasts a number of weeks, and facilitates a process of openness to new graces that God might give that person. In one of those sessions, there is specific prayer for the Baptism in the Spirit.
CCR originated in 1967 when some Catholics experienced the presence and power of God working in a new and deeper way in their lives. This experience of God, which they described as being “baptised in the Spirit,” drew them into a far deeper spiritual life than before. They wanted to give their lives more fully to God. They experienced his love more deeply, and appreciated even more deeply the spiritual riches to be found in the Catholic Church.
They discovered, in particular, that God was wanting to be far more active in their lives than they had previously understood. They experienced gifts of the Holy Spirit that enabled them to help and serve others, such as praying for healing, and teaching and preaching in more powerful ways. They found God to be vitally interested and involved in every aspect of their lives, no matter how seemingly minor. God worked in their lives in a powerful way and, through them, healed and transformed others.
