The Promise is to You

At the End of the Double Jubilee Year

Wait. What? It’s a “Double Jubilee Year”? Um…what jubilees?

2017 has been the 50th anniversary of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and the 100th anniversary of Our Lady’s apparitions at Fatima. (Yep…now you remember.)

It’s true that it hasn’t been talked about much besides the February “50 Years of Amazing Grace” conference, the Annunciation event in March, the “Mercy & Mary” retreat that we hosted in August, and the October 13th anniversary of Mary’s last apparition at Fatima. We have focused much more as a parish on Alpha.

Actually, though, Alpha has been an answer to the graces of these jubilees. Charismatic life is all about living in the power of the Holy Spirit and using the charisms (gifts) that He gives us to bring others to Jesus. Our Lady’s role is to bring us Jesus as well. And as has been noted in past jubilee articles, when you bring the Holy Spirit and Mary together, as at the Annunciation, you get Jesus.

Bringing people to Jesus is what Alpha is all about. It requires us to use our charisms and gives us a practical and easy way to bring others to Jesus. I suspect Mary is smiling down from Heaven.

As is always true with our infinite God, though, there is always more! We can’t sit on our laurels and say we’ve checked this off our to-do list. Life in the Spirit is about just that: living each day in the love and power of the Holy Spirit.

So what do we do now that this double jubilee year is at an end?

1. Ask the Holy Spirit what He has for you next. Listen for His answers each day. For some tips on how to do this, listen to Jeane Larson’s recent Upper Room talk.
2. Continue inviting people to Alpha. The next sessions start the week of Jan. 7. Details and registration are here.
3. Use the charisms you’ve been given to serve at Alpha. We only grow in our gifts to the extent we use them, and there are many people in desperate need of what we’ve been given. Sign up here.
4. Come to Upper Room on Fridays. Receive the Bread of Life at Mass, enjoy fellowship over dinner, and be empowered at Praise & Worship. Details on our home page.
5. Learn more about living in the Spirit through the multitude of resources here at CTKUpperRoom.com. In particular, click on the “Jubilee 2017” tab above for a treasure-trove of prophetic words, reflections, teachings and more to help you live in the jubilee graces.
6. Participate in Oremus, the Women’s Retreat, Every Day in Love, and/or the Keeping Your Kids Catholic Seminar. Plan to attend the Parish Mission with Fr. Jacques Philippe on March 11-14. These aren’t just random “good things to do”; they’re there to empower you. Details at ctkcc.net.
7. Remember it all comes down to this: responding as Mary did to the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, pray for us.

By Christy Whiting, Upper Room Director

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