A pavilion full of Charismatics received Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the Papal Household, on Friday to hear his teaching entitled, “In the Year of Faith We Cry Out: I Believe in the Holy Spirit Who Is Lord and Gives Life.”
The National Meeting, which began on Thursday in Rimini, ended last weekend. As Salvatore Martinez, president of Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Italy, recalled, the presence of the Papal Household preacher has been constant since the first Meeting held in 1978.
Reflecting profoundly on this fragment of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, Father Cantalamessa explained the need” to go from the ‘reality’ to the ‘formula,’ that is, to give content to what we profess as Christians in the Creed, to give a form to our experience of the Holy Spirit so that Charismatic faith is a strong, vibrant and joyful expression of the dogmatic faith of the Catholic Church.” With his characteristic smile, he added “if you follow me carefully, you will be able to leave here with a ‘diploma in theology.’”
Father Cantalamessa first reviewed the history of the birth of the article of faith on the Holy Spirit and then highlighted the three fundamental affirmations. He also reflected on the mystery of the Trinity, explaining that “if God is love, then He must necessarily be Trinity, because love can only exist between two persons, the one who loves and the one who is loved, and the love that unites them. In the Trinity, it is the Holy Spirit who creates the unity between the Father and the Son, and Pentecost is an example of the gifts and graces that flow from this Trinitarian union.»
He also referred to Pope Francis, pointing out his humility, and thanked Benedict XVI for the precious work he did in the course of his pontificate.
At the end of Father Cantalamessa’s teaching, Salvatore Martinez added that “experience isn’t enough, it’s also necessary to know the Spirit.”
