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As by a New Pentecost: The Dramatic Beginning of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal

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"Renew Your wonders in this day, as by a new Pentecost." was the prayer of Pope John XXIII one year prior to the start of Vatican II. Many people believe this prayer, and the Holy Spirit's response, were the beginnings of charismatic renewal in the Catholic Church.

"On Friday, February 17, 1967, approximately twenty- five (Duquesne University) students left for retreat along with the campus chaplain, a Holy Ghost priest, the two faculty moderators, and one of their wives."

Their destination was the Ark and Dove, fifteen miles north of Pittsburgh. Photos show a large but simple three-story frame building and smaller cottage placed in a snowy setting - peaceful and serene in contrast to the life-changing power displayed inside during the weekend.

Two days later, following a remarkable outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Catholic Church was set on a course that few perhaps could have imagined. For example, the author describes the reaction when she spoke to a charismatic prayer group of teenagers in New Orleans in 1991.

"My teenaged friends seemed surprised to learn that prior to 1967, spiritual gifts such as prayer in tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing and prophecy were unheard of in the average Catholic parish. Now, just twenty-five years later, there are few places that have not at least heard of this work of the Holy Spirit."

Furthermore, it is estimated that there are now well over seventy-five million Catholic charismatics.

As By A New Pentecost describes the events leading up to this remarkable retreat and then proceeds to tell, through the personal witness of twelve men and women who were there, a compelling drama of spiritual hunger, surrender, and empowerment.

This book is distinguished by the ability of the contributors to vividly recall the events of that weekend and the remarkable story they have to tell - a story in which God's power and grace are abundantly evident. And yet a story that is all too human, for not everyone who was there was transformed.

Most of the participants tell of an experience similar to that of the author.

"As we knelt [in the chapel], a number of things were happening. Some people were weeping. Later they said that they felt God's love for them so intensely, they couldn't do anything but weep. Others began to giggle and laugh for sheer joy. Some people, like myself, felt a tremendous burning going through their hands or arms like fire. Others felt a clicking in their throats or a tingling in their tongues. We didn't know anything explicitly about charismatic gifts. I suppose we could have spoken in tongues right away if we had understood how to yield to this gift."

For others the weekend served more as an affirmation.

"I was moved deeply by the experience I had when I returned to the chapel that night. But for me it wasn't a totally new experience of the Lord. Rather, it was a re-affirmation of my relationship with Jesus which began in the sixth grade. It was a quiet and deep re-dedication of my life to God, not a first time encounter as it was for some of the other students....What I saw in the others who were praying in the chapel that night was a very deep devotion and reverence for God. When people become aware of the Lord's presence, it shows in their faces. You can see they are experiencing Him. Something important was happening for everybody. I knew it was a significant event."

Yet others were affected in a completely different way.

"Someone asked me recently if I would say that the Duquesne Weekend had no impact on my spiritual life since I did not become active in the Charismatic Renewal afterwards. I would have to say that the Duquesne Weekend was a landmark for me, because up until that time I had always seen myself as being very committed to my beliefs. After the Weekend, I felt as though my faith commitment was limited, because I wasn't willing to take that further step like [the] other[s]...."

As one reads this account of the movement of the Holy Spirit, it is important to remember that the people who participated in the retreat were intelligent college students from traditional Catholic backgrounds who had no idea of what speaking in tongues was all about. And that's what makes their stories so powerful - God did a new thing, a quite unexpected thing.

In the words of another participant.

"When I got to the chapel, about 8:00 p.m., there were already many others praying. I knelt there with them thinking, 'I don't understand all of this, but whatever You have for me, Lord, I want it. I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.' After a while, we were holding hands as we knelt around the altar. Paul Gray was on one side of me. Suddenly it felt like an electric current was flowing from his hand into mine and surging through my whole body. I was crying again in sheer joy as I realized for the first time in my life the overpowering reality of God. Somehow I found myself prostrate before the altar, with only one joyful thought in my mind, 'Praise, God! Praise, God! Praise, God!' I had no sense of time or of other people around me. I was enraptured in the presence of God.

A well-written account of a modern-day Pentecost.