Newsletter Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Sweden, March 2024

by Bengt Malmgren.

Newsletter Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Sweden, March 2024

 Stockholm: Ecumenical Life in the Spirit seminars______________________________

Are you longing for renewal and more power in your spiritual life? – come to Life in the Spirit seminars in Stockholm 3 April – 15 May

St. Clara Church and Catholic Cathedral

The seminars extend over seven weeks. Individually dayly meditations on scripture. Meetings once a week for teaching, group discussions and prayer. The seminars are structured in such a way that they can give you something whether you are new and inexperienced on the path of faith or have been a Christian for a long time. The important thing is that you have decided to belong to Jesus Christ and have a desire to know Him even better. Regardless of denominational affiliation, we are called to grow in the life of the Spirit, which is why we offer these seminaries under ecumenical auspices.

We meet the following Wednesdays at 18.00 - 20.00:

3/4, 10/4, 17/4,  24/4,  1/5,  8/5,  15/5

Place: Start April 3 in St. Clara's Church. Then alternately the Catholic Cathedral and every other time St. Clara.

Charismatic retreat with prayer for healing in Visby

The priest F Dominic Valanamanal from the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, whom we have written about earlier,  continues to give retreats and prayers for liberation and healing in Sweden with the approval of the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm. This time he will visit the catholic parish in Visby on 19–21 April.  

The parish writes on Facebook that when a video about healing prayer went viral on social media in the late 2010s, Fr. Dominic was accused of talking about disabled people in an offensive way. Since this had been noted on social media in Sweden as well, it prompted the diocese to investigate the situation, contacting Dominic's home diocese Kanjirappally in Kerala. Upon examination in court, it turned out that the allegations were unfounded, and the video was found to be manipulated to harm Dominic and the Catholic Church. F Dominic completely rejects what he allegedly meant. No doubts remain, and the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm has, according to common Catholic custom, received a declaration of suitability from the Bishop of Kanjirappally.

It is, of course, important that rumours of impropriety are investigated, as much that is not appropriate is done today in the name of the Church, we all know that. At the same time, disinformation and manipulated narratives with the aim of harming are also common. This should not discourage us. We pray for the Spirit's guidance, God's protection and an abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit over the parish in Visby and all who participate in the conference.

CHARIS Nordic Service of Communion is taking shape.
Since CHARIS, on the initiative of Pope Francis, was founded by the Holy See as a body with juridic personality through the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, many countries have got National Services of Communion (CHARIS National Service of Communion, CNSC)

CHARIS is led by a moderator, assisted by the International Service of Communion. In order to carry out its administrative functions, CHARIS has an International Office located in the Vatican and is supported by voluntary external collaborators in different parts of the world.

The International Service of Communion helps the Moderator to uphold, expand and promote the objectives of CHARIS; to be in touch with and to study the situation of Catholic Charismatic Renewal in its many expressions at National, Regional and Continental levels; to assure that the diversity of Catholic Charismatic Renewal is respected in the programmes, projects, relationships with other Churches and Christian communities and activities of CHARIS; to discern and give attention to the needs of formation within Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

CHARIS Norden is the CHARIS National Service Community (CNSC) for the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden), merged into a unit corresponding to the Nordic Bishops' Conference. It is not yet formally formed but is provisionally made up of a group of representatives of prayer groups and communities who identify themselves as part of the Charismatic Renewal. Interim coordinator is Ludwig Gelot from the Holy Trinity Parish in Järfälla.

The goal of CHARIS Norden is to support and strengthen the entire diversity of the Catholic charismatic family in the Nordic countries by reaching out to all groups and building community. The plan is to have a constituent meeting with the groups that want to participate in August where a coordinator will be chosen. After that, we are officially involved and can send representatives to the European Service Committee and participate in the selection of representatives continental and international as stipulated in the statutes of CHARIS. Read more on the updated website: https://www.charisnordic.com/  

Ecumenical Year with common celebration of Pentecost 2025

In 2025, there will be something very special with an ecumenical year initiated by the Christian Council of Sweden.  There are several reasons for this: 100 years since the ecumenical meeting in Uppsala, 1700 years since the Nicene Creed came into being. There are also plans for ecumenical celebrations of Pentecost all over Sweden.

/Bengt Malmgren

+46 70-7212742

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F Cantalamessa, prayer for the CCR:

Spirit Paraclete,
thou who hast raised up in the Church
the Charismatic Renewal,
descend again with power
On all the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the world.
Grant that the whole “current of grace”
be animated with new momentum.

 With your holy anointing,
enable all of us to proclaim the good news to the poor
and to heal afflicted hearts.

 Purify what is unclean in the Charismatic Renewal,
Heal what is wounded in it,
Warm what is chilled,
Straighten what is astray.
Bring together the scattered children of God
and Christians divided among them.

 Renew our courage,
fill our loneliness in the world,
create in us intimacy with God!

 Come, Holy Spirit, from the pierced side of Christ on the cross!
Come from the mouth of the Risen One!
Come and renew the face of the Church.

Amen

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CCR Sweden
CHARIS Nordic
CHARIS Europe
CHARIS international