YOU’VE made it! The end of our retreat — but not the end of God’s gifts, and never the end of His love. In fact, today is very special because the Lord has a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit to bestow upon you. Our Lady has been praying for you and anticipating this moment as well, as she joins you in the upper room of your heart to pray for a “new Pentecost” in your soul.
So let us begin our final day: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for this retreat and all the graces You have generously bestowed upon me, those felt and those unseen. I thank you for Your infinite love, expressed to me in the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, my Savior, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I thank you for your mercy and forgiveness, your faithfulness and love.
I now implore, Abba Father, a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Fill my heart with a new love, a new thirst, and a new hunger for your Word. Set me on fire so that it is no longer I but Christ living in me. Equip me this day to be a witness to those around me of Your merciful love. I ask this Heavenly Father, in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, amen.
St. Paul wrote, “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands…” (1 Tim 2:8). Since we are body, soul, and spirit, Christianity has long taught us to use our bodies in prayer to help open ourselves to the presence of God. So wherever you are, as you pray this song, lift up your hands to the Hands that heal…
Lift Our Hands
Lift our hands to the hands that heal
Lift our hands to the hands that save
Lift our hands to the hands that love
Lift our hands to the Hands that were nailed
And sing…
Praise, we lift up our hands
Praise, You’re the Lord of this land
Praise, O, we lift our hands to You Lord
To You Lord
(Repeat above x 2)
To You Lord,
To You Lord,
Lift our hands to the hands that heal
Lift our hands to the hands that save
Lift our hands to the hands that love
Lift our hands to the Hands that were nailed
And sing…
Praise, we lift up our hands
Praise, You’re the Lord of this land
Praise, O, we lift our hands to You Lord
To You Lord
To You Lord,
To You Lord,
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ
—Mark Mallett (with Natalia MacMaster), from Let the Lord Know, 2005©
Ask, and You Shall Receive
Everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? (Luke 11:10-13)
At conferences, I love to ask the audience what the following Scripture refers to:
As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31)
Inevitably, many hands go up and the answer is always the same: “Pentecost.” But it’s not. Pentecost was two chapters earlier. Here, the Apostles are gathered together and filled with the Holy Spirit again.
The Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation initiate us into the Christian faith, into the Body of Christ. But they are just a first “installment” of graces that the Father has to give you.
In Him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory. (Eph 1:13-14)
While still a Cardinal and Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Benedict XVI had corrected the idea that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the charisms are things of a bygone era:
What the New Testament tells us about the charisms — which were seen as visible signs of the coming of the Spirit — is not just ancient history, over and done with, for it is once again becoming extremely topical. —Renewal and the Powers of Darkness, by Leo Cardinal Suenens (Ann Arbor: Servant Books, 1983)
Through the experience of the “Charismatic Renewal”, welcomed by four popes, we have learned that God can and does pour out His Spirit anew in what has been called an “infilling”, “outpouring” or “baptism in the Holy Spirit.” As one priest said, “I don’t know how it works, all I know is that we need it!”
What does the Baptism of the Spirit consist of and how does it work? In the Baptism of the Spirit there is a secret, mysterious move of God that is His way of becoming present, in a way that is different for each one because only He knows us in our inner part and how to act upon our unique personality… theologians look for an explanation and responsible people for moderation, but simple souls touch with their hands the power of Christ in the Baptism of the Spirit (1 Cor 12:1-24). —Fr. Raneiro Cantalamessa, OFMCap, (papal household preacher since 1980); Baptism in the Spirit,www.catholicharismatic.us
This, of course, is nothing new and is part of the Tradition and history of the Church.
…this grace of Pentecost, known as Baptism in the Holy Spirit, does not belong to any particular movement but to the whole Church. In fact, it is really nothing new but has been part of God’s design for His people from that first Pentecost in Jerusalem and through the history of the Church. Indeed, this grace of Pentecost has been seen in the life and practice of the Church, according to the writings of the Fathers of the Church, as normative for Christian living and as integral to the fullness of Christian Initiation. —Most Reverend Sam G. Jacobs, Bishop of Alexandria; Fanning the Flame, p. 7, by McDonnell and Montague
My Personal Experience
I remember the summer of my 5th grade. My parents gave my brothers and my sister and me a “Life in the Spirit Seminar.” It was a beautiful program of preparing to receive a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the formation, my parents laid hands upon our heads and prayed for the Holy Spirit to come. There were no fireworks, nothing out of the ordinary to speak of. We finished our prayer and went outside to play.
But something did happen. When I returned to school that Fall, there was a new hunger in me for the Eucharist and the Word of God. I started going to the daily Mass at noon. I was known as a jokester in my previous grade, but something in me changed; I was quieter, more sensitive to right and wrong. I wanted to be a faithful Christian and began thinking about the priesthood.
Later, in my early twenties, my music ministry team put on a Life in the Spirit seminar for a group of 80 teens. The night we prayed over them, the Spirit moved powerfully. Until this day, there were teens there who are still in ministry.
One of the prayer leaders came over to me toward the end of the evening and asked if I wanted them to pray over me as well. I said, “Why not!” The moment they began praying, I suddenly found myself lying on my back “resting in the Spirit”, my body in a cruciform position. The power of the Holy Spirit was like electricity coursing through my veins. After several minutes, I stood up and my fingers and lips were tingling.
Prior to that day, I had never written a praise and worship song in my life, but after that, music poured out of me — including all the songs you have been praying with on this retreat.
Welcoming the Spirit
This time has been a wonderful preparation for you to receive a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
…His mercy has gone before us. It has gone before us so that we may be healed, and follows us so that once healed, we may be given life… —Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), n. 2001
…the life of the Spirit.
If we were gathered together, I and other leaders would lay hands upon you and pray for this fresh “anointing” or blessing.[1]Note: Scripture affirms the laity “laying on hands” for healing or blessing (cf. Mark 16:18, Acts 9:10-17, Acts 13:1-3) as opposed to the sacramental sign whereby this gesture confers an ecclesiastical function (ie. Confirmation, Ordination, the Sacrament of the Sick, etc.). The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes this distinction: “Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of certain ministries of the Church, certain states of life, a great variety of circumstances in Christian life, and the use of many things helpful to man… They always include a prayer, often accompanied by a specific sign, such as the laying on of hands, the sign of the cross, or the sprinkling of holy water (which recalls Baptism)… Sacramentals derive from the baptismal priesthood: every baptized person is called to be a “blessing,” and to bless. Hence lay people may preside at certain blessings; the more a blessing concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more is its administration reserved to the ordained ministry (bishops, priests, or deacons)… Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it” (CCC, 1668-1670). The Doctrinal Commission (2015) for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, which is endorsed by the Vatican, affirms the laying on of hands in its document and the proper distinctions.
Hence, the ‘blessing’ of the laity, insofar as it is not to be confused with the blessing of the ordained ministry, which is done in persona Christi, is permissible. In this context, it is a human gesture of filial love as well as using the human hands to pray for, and be a conduit of blessing, not confer a sacrament. As St. Paul said to Timothy:
I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. (2 Tim 1:6; see footnote 1.)
But God is not limited by our distance or this format. You are His son or His daughter, and He hears your prayers wherever you are. So far, God has been healing many souls through this retreat. Why would He stop pouring His love out now?
In fact, this invocation for a “new Pentecost” in your heart is very much at the heart of the Church’s prayer for the coming of the Kingdom of the Divine Will.
Divine Spirit, renew your wonders in this our age as in a new Pentecost, and grant that your Church, praying perseveringly and insistently with one heart and mind together with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and guided by blessed Peter, may increase the reign of the Divine Savior, the reign of truth and justice, the reign of love and peace. Amen. —POPE JOHN XXIII, at convocation of Second Vatican Council, Humanae Salutis, December 25th, 1961
Be open to Christ, welcome the Spirit, so that a new Pentecost may take place in every community! A new humanity, a joyful one, will arise from your midst; you will experience again the saving power of the Lord. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, in Latin America, 1992
So now we are going to pray for the Holy Spirit to descend upon you as in a new Pentecost. I say “we” because I am joining you “in the Divine Will” in the upper room of your heart, along with the Blessed Mother. She was there with the first Apostles at Pentecost, and she is here with you now. Indeed…
Mary is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit… There is no outpouring of the Holy Spirit except in communion with the intercessory prayer of Mary, Mother of the Church. —Fr. Robert. J. Fox, editor of Immaculate Heart Messenger, Fatima and the New Pentecost
Make sure you are in a quiet place and will be undisturbed as we pray for this new grace in your life… In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
Dear Blessed Mother, I ask your intercession now, as you once did in the Upper Room, to pray for the Holy Spirit to come anew in my life. Lay your gentle hands upon me and invoke your Divine Spouse.
O, Come Holy Spirit and fill me now. Fill all the empty places where wounds were left that they may become a source of healing and wisdom. Stir into flame the gift of grace I have received in my Baptism and Confirmation. Set my heart on fire with the Flame of Love. I welcome all the gifts, charisms, and graces that the Father desires to give. I wish to receive all those graces that others have refused. I open my heart to receive You as in a “new Pentecost.” O, Come Divine Spirit, and renew my heart… and renew the face of the earth.
With hands outstretched, continue to receive all the Father has to give you as you sing…
After this time of prayer, when you are ready, read the closing thoughts below…
Going Forth…
We began this retreat with the analogy of the paralytic being lowered through a thatch roof to the feet of Jesus. And now the Lord says to you, “Rise, pick up your mat, and go home” (Mark 2:11). That is, go home and let others see and hear what the Lord has done for you.
The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health, has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, His work of healing and salvation, even among her own members. —CCC, n. 1421
How the world needs witnesses of the power, love, and mercy of God! Filled with the Holy Spirit, you are the “light of the world”.[2]Matt 5:14 While it may be difficult and perhaps even not necessary to explain the teachings in this retreat, what you can do is let others “taste and see” the fruit. Let them experience the changes in you. If they ask what is different, you can point them towards this retreat, and who knows, maybe they will take it too.
In the days ahead, silently soak in and absorb everything that the Lord has given you. Continue your dialogue with God as you journal in your prayer times. Yes, make a commitment today to daily prayer. Remember to begin your days in thanksgiving, not grumbling. If you find yourself falling back into old patterns, be merciful to yourself and begin again. Be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Never let the devil lie to you again about God’s love for you. You are my brother, you are my sister, and I won’t put up with any self-bashing either!
In closing, I wrote this song for you so that you would know that God has never left you, that He has always been there, even in your darkest moments, and He will never leave you.
You are loved.
See, See
Can a mother forget her baby, or the child within her womb?
Even should she forget, I will never you.
Upon the palms of My hands, I have written your name
I’ve counted your hairs, and I’ve counted your cares
I’ve collected your tears all the same
See, see, you’ve never been far from Me
I carry You in my heart
I promise we’ll not be apart
When you pass through raging waters,
I will be with you
When you walk through the fire, even though you may tire
I promise I’ll always be true
See, see, you’ve never been far from Me
I carry You in my heart
I promise we’ll not be apart
I’ve called you by name
You are mine
I’ll tell you again and again, and time after time…
See, see, you’ve never been far from Me
I carry You in my heart
I promise we’ll not be apart
See, see, you’ve never been far from Me
I carry You in my heart
I promise we’ll not be apart
I see, You’ve never been far me
I carry You in my heart
I promise we’ll not be apart
—Mark Mallett with Kathleen (Dunn) Leblanc, from Vulnerable, 2013©
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Footnotes
| ↑1 | Note: Scripture affirms the laity “laying on hands” for healing or blessing (cf. Mark 16:18, Acts 9:10-17, Acts 13:1-3) as opposed to the sacramental sign whereby this gesture confers an ecclesiastical function (ie. Confirmation, Ordination, the Sacrament of the Sick, etc.). The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes this distinction: “Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of certain ministries of the Church, certain states of life, a great variety of circumstances in Christian life, and the use of many things helpful to man… They always include a prayer, often accompanied by a specific sign, such as the laying on of hands, the sign of the cross, or the sprinkling of holy water (which recalls Baptism)… Sacramentals derive from the baptismal priesthood: every baptized person is called to be a “blessing,” and to bless. Hence lay people may preside at certain blessings; the more a blessing concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more is its administration reserved to the ordained ministry (bishops, priests, or deacons)… Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it” (CCC, 1668-1670). The Doctrinal Commission (2015) for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, which is endorsed by the Vatican, affirms the laying on of hands in its document and the proper distinctions.
Hence, the ‘blessing’ of the laity, insofar as it is not to be confused with the blessing of the ordained ministry, which is done in persona Christi, is permissible. In this context, it is a human gesture of filial love as well as using the human hands to pray for, and be a conduit of blessing, not confer a sacrament. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Matt 5:14 |