'Blessed are the eyes that see what you see': Reflections on 59 Years of Catholic Charismatic Renewal

Picture of Duquesne Weekend  

© Patti Gallagher Mansfield Original photo taken by John Rossmilller

By Patti Gallagher Mansfield, participant in the 1967 Duquesne Weekend

“Blessed are the eyes which see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it” (Lk. 10:23-24). How often these words of Jesus have echoed within me over the past 59 years since I was baptised in the Spirit on the Duquesne Weekend. Through no merit of my own, I have been a witness to this extraordinary outpouring of God’s grace that has spread from a handful of us students in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to over 180 million Catholics worldwide. Yes, blessed, indeed, are my eyes!

What has the Baptism in the Spirit been for me over almost six decades? Baptism in the Spirit was and still is an immersion in the love of God. One of my favourite Scripture passages is Romans 5:5: “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.” I have come to an intimate knowledge of the Living God and of His love. And this is sheer grace, totally undeserved. With the psalmist I can say from personal experience: “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:9).

'The experience of Baptism in the Spirit has plunged me into the mystery of the Trinity'

On the Duquesne Weekend, we sang many times the ancient hymn to the Holy Spirit, the Veni Creator Spiritus. In that hymn we pray: “Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow the Father and the Son to know, and Thee through endless times confessed, of both the eternal Spirit blest.” The experience of the Baptism in the Spirit has plunged me into the mystery of the Trinity. It has helped me to know the tenderness and providence of God my Father, the mercy and friendship of Jesus my Saviour and Lord, the consolation and power of the Holy Spirit, my soul’s “most welcomed guest.”

Once I was asked by a priest: “What keeps you going all these years in your service of the Lord in the Charismatic Renewal?” Without hesitation I could reply, “Gratitude!” I feel such gratitude for the supreme gift of “knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8) in the power of the Spirit. With each passing day, I see more of my own pride and sin and more of His own humility and mercy. What an exchange: my sins for His holiness! Often I repeat with wonder and thanksgiving these words of St. Paul: “He loved me and gave Himself for me!” (Gal. 2:20). For me!

Falling in love with Jesus and proclaiming Him to the world

Fifty-nine years after the Duquesne Weekend, I feel absolutely poor and absolutely rich at the same time. And if I have been so blessed to come to know Him, then I have the duty, but more so, the joy of helping others to know Him. It seems to me that the task of evangelisation is really nothing more than the overflow of life. It’s simply saying with the Bride of the Song of Songs: “Such is my lover and such is my friend!” Baptism in the Spirit has helped me experience the grace of my baptismal consecration. This is what it really means to be a Christian: to fall in love with Jesus Christ and to proclaim Him to the world.

For us in the Charismatic Renewal, this wonderful anniversary is a time not only to look back and give thanks for the blessings of 59 years. It is a moment to renew our desires and our longing for God. It is a time to expand our desires so that they may begin to match His desires.

'Out of my heart let it flow, rivers of living water'

I believe that our Heavenly Father is looking for men and women who will put themselves radically at His disposal like Mary did, men and women who want to be possessed by the love of Christ, men and women who are willing to welcome at any cost an outpouring of the Holy Spirit powerful enough to renew the face of the earth.

In the last century, the great Pentecostal pioneer, Smith Wigglesworth, visited Niagara Falls. Gazing upon this spectacular outpouring of water, Smith prayed this anointed prayer: “Just like that, Lord, just like that! Pour out Your Spirit, just like that! Out of my heart let it flow, rivers of living water, just like that!”

I want to echo Smith’s prayer as we celebrate 59 years of Catholic Charismatic Renewal. May a Niagara Falls of graces pour into and over us that we may be useful to the Lord as He prepares the world for His coming in glory. Amen!