The Catechism provides a beautiful and profound statement of the Holy Spirit’s mission in uniting God’s children to Christ “and making us alive in him,” said Alicia Hartle, director of Virginia-based Pentecost Today USA. The Spirit is the giver of life and in a very personal way, she said.
“So, for us, in our everyday lives, we think, well, how does that play out?” she said.
Alicia Hartle
Scriptural descriptions present the Holy Spirit as “our helper,” consoler, advocate, teacher and healer, Hartle said. “But ultimately, on the day of Pentecost, we see that moment of the disciples, the followers of Jesus who know him,” she said. They’ve walked with him, but are in fear and hiding, she said.
At Pentecost, they’re moved from fear and hiding to going forth as missionaries, Hartle said. That shows the faithful in a very personal way how the Holy Spirit equips us with “the power and the presence made manifest in our own lives,” she said.
Hartle recently joined “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley to discuss growing in one’s relationship with God by focusing on and deepening a relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost Today USA was formerly known as the National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the U.S. She said her organization is the national resource that supports renewal centers, prayer groups, covenant communities, ministries and authors “who all were born out of this grace of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.”
Its mission is to bring the Holy Spirit to the whole Church, to build unity in the body of Christ and to serve the poor, both spiritually and physically, she said.
“So, essentially, that is bringing the grace of the personal experience of Pentecost and relationship with the Holy Spirit to the whole Church,” Hartle said.
During the interview, Hartle also described a one-day conference at Guardian Angels in Oakdale April 23 focused on praising Jesus. Attendees will learn how the grace of praise opens hearts and minds to receive the Holy Spirit, she said.
Hartle said conference attendees will walk through what it means to be in a relationship with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and “What does it mean to pray in unity, to pray in the Spirit and then look at praise as being really ‘spiritual dynamite.’”
The conference is open to anyone interested in learning more about the gifts of praise and worship, Hartle said. To learn more about the April 23 conference, visit ccro-msp.org or pentecosttodayusa.org and view “events.” To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. April 8 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. April 9 and 2 p.m. April 10.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Meisha Johnson, coordinator of mission at St. Joseph of the Lakes in Lino Lakes, who discusses how this Easter Triduum will be a special one for those coming into the Church; and Father Tom Margevicius, director of worship at the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who describes how to fully engage in Holy Week.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at:
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