During a week in Rome, the CHARIS General Assembly elected the new International Service of Communion for Catholic Charismatic Renewal, followed by a training entitled “Called, Transformed, Sent”. During his intervention on November 4, 2023, François Prouteau, member of the CHARIS International Service and Coordinator of the Human Promotion and Service of the Poor Commission, underlined the urgent call of Pope Francis for a poor Church dedicated to the service of the poor.
“Ah, how I would like a poor Church for the poor!”
Pope Francis (March 16, 2013)
This prayer and appeal from Pope Francis touches our hearts and encourages our commitment to serving the poor.
Human Promotion and Service to the Poor
In this appeal, the words resound: "Ah, how I would like a poor charismatic renewal and for the poor." This is one of the main objectives of CHARIS: to promote service to the poor and human promotion, human dignity through the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
As charismatic women and men, we may feel closer and more comfortable staying among ourselves in our prayer groups or communities. Pope Francis encourages an outgoing Church, a charismatic renewal that goes out with the poor and for a world wounded by wars, disasters and human violence towards other humans and the whole of creation. The disinherited, the “left behind” are increasingly numerous, from refugees to migrants, from starving children to victims of conflict. Today, let us pray and be in communion with all those who are homeless, without work, without land, without any space of peace around them, without any sign of love towards them.
Living God's Love Through Baptism, Unity and Service to the Poor
It is the Love of God that seizes us in such situations, that does not leave us alone and pushes us to let go of our comfort and our securities. We all have something to give, all
of the Love to give, the love we receive from God. Baptism in the Spirit, unity of the body of Christ and service to the poor are the expression of the same reality: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the gift of God's Love that floods our lives, our persons, our relationships, our actions.
Baptism in the Spirit, unity of the body of Christ and service to the poor are One in the gift of God's Love. It is constitutive of our charismatic reality, engraved in our CHARIS statutes, increasingly alive within the current of grace that brings us together. This was the experience shared on November 2, 2023 in the workshop Human promotion and transformation of the world with the Gospel, at the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome.
The Mechelen Document: Essential Guide to Charismatic Renewal and the Vision of CHARIS
Very early in the Charismatic Renewal, its clear expression appears in the reading of the Malines Document No. 3 of 1978, devoted to the Renewal in the Spirit and its human implications in the heart of the world. Cardinal Suenens writes:
"May we together contribute to making people understand that prayer and evangelical, social and political action are only one element in the life of a Christian who would like to be faithful to all the pages of the Gospel, verse by verse."
At the launch of CHARIS four years ago, Pope Francis reminded us of the importance of these Mechelen documents. They are a compass, he told us, to become what we have to become in the world.
Called, transformed, sent
The theme of our meeting emphasizes that we are called, transformed, and also sent. But sent where?
Sent to meet Jesus in the faces of the poor.
"Jesus Christ [...] became poor for your sake" (cf. 2 Cor 8:9). It is with them, the poor, that He awaits us, that He awaits the Charismatic Renewal, that He awaits each one of us. For Jesus tells us: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers, you did for me" (Mt 25:40). Jesus does not just tell us who the little ones are, he does not just tell us to go to the poor. He gives us an appointment with the poor, because He is poor with the poor, He is the poor who asks us to come and meet him, to know him in this appointment with them, the poor.
The "Human Promotion and Service of the Poor" Commission set up two years ago by the International Service of Communion of CHARIS is there to encourage these meetings, inspire them, and multiply them on the ground with the support of the national and international services of CHARIS.
For the launch of the CHARIS General Assembly a week ago, Pope Francis sent a message that spurs us on in this momentum. He writes:
“Many communities bear witness to the fraternity and joy of the Gospel by seeking new ways to share the grace of Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and work for human promotion in the existential peripheries.
I encourage you to continue to move forward together on the path you have begun, offering the richness of your charisma, with passion and creativity, in all areas of society."
Let us be inspired, moved, acted with the poor, let us go and meet them.
Follow the link below to experience the audience of Pope Francis to the participants in the Meeting promoted by CHARIS, "Called, Transformed and Sent", preceded by the meditation of Cardinal Cantalamessa: https://youtu.be/rO7CZaf2lPk
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