Copyright 1994 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.  
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
August 19, 1994, FRIDAY, FIVE STAR Edition
SECTION: ST. CHARLES; Pg. 4

LENGTH: 804 words

HEADLINE: CHARISMATIC RENEWAL: MOVEMENT IN WORSHIP

BYLINE: Esther Talbot Fenning St. Charles Post Special Correspondent

BODY:
For some Catholics in St. Charles County, the way to spiritual health is an outward and emotional expression of worship. At weekly prayer meetings in homes and churches, members of Charismatic Renewal clap their hands, sing, shout and speak in tongues.

In charismatic Masses, participants are invited to commit their lives to Christ by walking to the altar after the homily. There they experience a laying-on of hands by priests and lay members and they pray to become born again in the Holy Spirit.

Catholic Charismatic Renewal, a 25-year-old movement, has been sanctioned by several popes and many Catholic bishops. There are 70 charismatic prayer groups in the St. Louis area, all supported by Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the Archdiocese of St. Louis at the Kenrick Pastoral Center, Kenrick Road, Shrewsbury. The organization helps form new prayer groups and conferences, puts out a monthly newsletter called The Spirit and the Bride and conducts born-in-the-spirit missions in parishes.

Participants in Charismatic Renewal acknowledge that the open enthusiasm of their prayer groups or Masses often has an unnerving effect on some Catholic clergy and lay members.

Charismatics believe that speaking in tongues, healing and prophecy are gifts of the early church and are still available to people who are open to them, says Bonnie Dillard of the People of Praise, a prayer group at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in St. Charles.

"Most Catholic pastors are frightened of the Charismatic Renewal," Dillard said. "Part of the reason is that they've seen people get into it and go on to leave the church."

Dillard said that speaking in tongues and prophetic utterances also are disconcerting to some Catholics.

"Tongues is simply a private prayer language consisting usually of a few nonsense syllables," she said. "It has no basic function at large gatherings."

She also said that prophecy was another misunderstood gift that had nothing to do with future events.

"It is simply an individual message from the Lord," she said.

Dillard has been a member of People of Praise for 10 years. The group meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Dillard, a reference librarian at Kathryn Linnemann branch library in St. Charles, joined the charismatic movement 25 years ago. She describes herself as a hyperactive personality for whom the charismatic prayer groups have had a calming effect.

"I let the Lord run things a little more," she said. "I've learned to let things go when they don't happen the way I want them to. It's been an enlightening experience all the way around."

Dillard says the number of Catholics involved in Charismatic Renewal in St. Louis and across the country has dwindled since the movement started.

"Many members have left prayer groups in order to pursue various ministries in the church," she said. "The Church itself has become more open and charismatic since the Second Vatican Council. My priest at St. Peter in St. Charles, for example, although not a member of the charismatic movement has a charismatic personality, and it comes through in his homilies."

The Most Rev. Paul Zipfel, auxiliary bishop of St. Louis, has been involved with Charismatic Renewal since he was a pastor. Zipfel has been directed by the Most Rev. Justin Rigali, archbishop of St. Louis, to act as an overseer for Charismatic Renewal in the archdiocese.

"The archbishop recognizes that it is an approved way to pray and worship even though he understands that it is not for everyone," Zipfel said.

Zipfel likes to think that charismatic prayer is part of the Catholic mainstream.

"Many people who are in Charismatic Renewal groups have become spirit-filled and prayer-filled people," Zipfel said. "Often they deal with others in a more spiritual way, and it leads them to real social concerns."

Debbie Gillespie of Wentzville is starting a charismatic prayer group for teen-agers at St. Patrick Church in Wentzville. Gillespie says the idea started when a group of teens from St. Patrick went to Denver last summer to see Pope John Paul II.

Gillespie is working to incorporate charismatic prayer into the life of the parish.

"So many people have the false impression that change takes away tradition," she said. "It has only enhanced my Catholic background and made a joyful experience out of the Mass that I once participated in out of habit and obligation."

The public is invited to attend a charismatic Eucharist celebrated by Zipfel at 7:30 p.m. today at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in St. Charles. The focus of the Mass will be on healing and renewal. Prayer teams will be available for individual needs.

For information about People of Praise and the Mass, call 949-9987, 441-7417 or the Charismatic Renewal office at 961-4320 extension 418.

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