One of the most celebrated passages in St. Paul’s epistles regards the regulation of the various charisms and manifestations of the Spirit that characterise the church of Corinth (1Cor 12). He insists that they exist to build up Christ’s body, the Church, and should be exercised to this end alone. The charisms he lists include faith, the utterance of wisdom, the utterance of knowledge, the gift of healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, the discernment of spirits, speaking in tongues, the interpretation of tongues. In the subsequent centuries, many of these manifestations of the Spirit have become less common, if not rare. However, during the twentieth century they have become a central feature of some Christian communities, first in Protestant Pentecostalism, and since the 1960s, in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement.

Thanks to the Charismatic Renewal, many Catholics have converted and grown in their practice of the faith. Pope Paul VI and his successors have recognised its authenticity, while also taking measures and issuing guidelines to safeguard the Catholic identity of charismatic communities.

In this episode, Dr. Alan Schreck explains the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

Dr. Alan Schreck has been a professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville since 1978. He specializes in Church history and renewal, St. Francis of Assisi, Catholic doctrine and apologetics, pneumatology, ecclesiology, the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and of Pope St. John Paul II. He has authored numerous books, including several on the Holy Spirit and the Catholic charismatic renewal movement: Your Life in the Holy Spirit (Word Among Us Press); The Gift: Discovering the Holy Spirit in Catholic Tradition (Paraclete Press); A Mighty Current of Grace: The Story of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. 

His recommended books are:

1. A Mighty Current of Grace: The Story of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal by Alan Schrek
2. As by a New Pentecost: The Dramatic Beginning of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal by Patti Gallagher Mansfield
3. Let the Fire Fall by Michael Scanlon T.O.R. and James Manney
4. Baptism in the Holy Spirit by International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services: Doctrinal Commission
5. Come, Creator Spirit: Meditations on the Veni Creator by Raniero Cantalamessa OFM Cap

Five Books for Catholics may receive a commission from qualifyng purchases made using the affliate links to the books listed in this post.

Read the interview at ⁠www.fivebooksforcatholics.com/catholic-charismatic-renewal/⁠

For more interviews like this, visit ⁠www.fivebooksforcatholics.com⁠

⁠Sign up ⁠to receive updates on the latest interview.

⁠Become a premium subscriber⁠ to listen to the full interview and

have access to the complete archive on the website.

You can also support this podcast by making a one-off tip or donations. Just click here.