About us
The mission of Catholic Renewal Services of Ottawa (CRSO) is to unite the various ministries from across the diocese of Ottawa / Cornwall who have the Charismatic Renewal as a foundational element of their ministry. It is our discernment that Christ greatly desires to bring about unity between our various ministries at this time. The goal of CRSO is to be a focal point to foster this unity by facilitating connections between ministries and providing vehicles that build unity.
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In addition to being a vehicle for unity, CRSO is committed to spreading the Fire of the Holy Spirit across our region. We see ourselves as 'Fire Starters' who ignite the fire of the Holy Spirit in souls by enabling them to encounter the Holy Spirit in a deeper way through the ‘Baptism in the Holy Spirit’ experience. This is accomplished by offering Holy Spirit Empowerment workshops to parishes across our region. It is also accomplished through the promotion of regional CRSO events, such as conferences and periodic mornings of renewal.
Jesus came to cast a fire on the earth and would that it were already burning across our region!
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The Catholic Charismatic Renewal
So, what is the Charismatic movement? Is it approved by the Catholic Church, or is it just some crossover protestant evangelical thing? The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is indeed approved of by the Catholic Church. In fact, Pope John Paul II met many times with people from this holy movement and endorsed it on many occasions. The same is true of his successors. Pope Francis in his address to the 53,000 attendees of the 2014 Charismatic Renewal Conference in Rome stated, “You, Charismatic Renewal, have received a great gift from the Lord. You were born of the will of the Spirit as a current of grace in the Church and for the Church."
From its spontaneous emergence in Canada in 1968, from coast to coast and in places far removed from one another, the Charismatic Renewal quickly resulted in a great upsurge of spiritual vitality and renewal. Prayer groups sprang up in virtually every diocese across the nation. What is particularly remarkable about the history and rapid growth of the Charismatic Renewal is the way it sprang up quite spontaneously and organically from the grassroots level.
The Charismatic Renewal is made up of a highly diverse collection of individuals, clergy, prayer groups, and communities. Yet all share the same goals, namely, to foster a personal and continuous conversion to Jesus Christ, an openness to the presence, power and gifts of the Holy Spirit, a deep love for the Church and its work of evangelization, a strong fellowship, and a joyful zeal for the Gospel. The renewal today exists in over 230 countries worldwide with over 160 million practicing members. One can say that the Charismatic Renewal has been and continues to be the sovereign work of God, realized through the Holy Spirit.
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As Catholics we have all received the Holy Spirit when we were baptized. Yet, even after this divine life within us was reinforced by our confirmation, it may have remained relatively dormant and unknown to us. To help people enter fully into the potential richness of the Spirit's life within us, especially the richness of a more intimate union with Jesus, Charismatic prayer groups offer a series of "Life in the Spirit" seminars or "New Life" retreats. People who attend and receive the "Baptism in the Holy Spirit" at the end of it come away with their faith renewed and with a joyful love and zeal to serve God and his People. This baptism in the Spirit is best explained as the experience that the Apostles received on Pentecost while in the upper room.
A striking feature of the Charismatic Renewal is the Holy Spirit's reawakening of the Pentecost experience and His "Charismatic Gifts" within the church, as outlined in 1 Cor 12:7
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
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