Some particular phenomena

The second and third parts of volume III deal with some more specific phenomena linked to the Charismatic Renewal, such as the struggle against the “Powers of Darkness”, exorcism, the grace of healing, and “resting in the Spirit”. These phenomena are not the sole preserve of any one group and must always be located within the entirety of the life of the Church.


A word of farewell


How better to conclude this short summary of the rich message of Cardinal Suenens on The Holy Spirit, the Life-Breath of the Church than by citing his own words: “Looking to the future, how can we fail to stress the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church of tomorrow: the Spirit remains the “giver of life” in the full sense of the term. I would like to emphasize this by way of a farewell.

The Church of our faith was born holy. Its holiness does not consist in the sum of all the saints it has begotten, but it is her own holiness – the holiness of Christ and of his Spirit in her – that brings forth its fruit in us.

It is not the saints who are admirable, it is God and He alone who is admirable in his saints.

In this sense, the Church is the mediator of the holiness of God. She is a mother who begets the saints who allow themselves to be formed by her. Strictly speaking, we do not need to “become” saints, but to remain holy, and to grow in our initial holiness received at baptism.”

This conclusion clearly anticipates the vibrant call to holiness formulated by John Paul II in his pastoral letter Novo millennio ineunte.

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