The diocesan Holy Spirit Conference featuring national speakers and a focus on healing through the Holy Spirit drew nearly 500 people from across the state and region, and even Canada.

In his welcoming remarks at the April 30-May 2 conference in Helena, Diocese of Helena Msgr. Kevin O’Neill, V.G., spoke about the importance of the sacrament of reconciliation, about people’s natural resistance to change, even when change is necessary for healing, and about the joy in God’s healing love.

“May the Spirit’s flame come to rest in our hearts, and disperse the divisions of word and tongue,” Msgr. O’Neill prayed. “With one voice, and with one song, may we praise your name in joy and in thanksgiving.”

Charismatic Renewal's History, Gifts to the Church

Walter Matthews, the executive director for the National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the United States, delivered the keynote the evening of Friday, April 30. Matthews talked about the history of the charismatic movement and how it has been received by the Church hierarchy over the years. He said that in 1975, the Second International Leaders Conference convened in Rome and over 10,000 people gathered in the catacombs beneath St. Peter’s Basilica.

“It was the first time that so many people involved in an enthusiastic movement in the life of the Church were welcomed so clearly in the corridors of the center of our Church,” Matthews said.

During that conference, Pope Paul VI addressed the pilgrims. After meeting with those gathered, he said, “How then could this spiritual renewal be anything other than a blessing for the Church and for the world?”

Matthews also recounted Pope John Paul II’s comments on the charismatic movement from early in his papacy.

“John Paul II, early on in his pontificate also saw in us a great move in God’s Holy Spirit,” Matthews said. “In 2002 he said, ‘Yes, the renewal in the spirit can be considered a special gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church in our time.’”

“It’s important to understand that, from the Church’s perspective, we are part of the response of the Holy Spirit to the times we live in,” Matthews said.

The Spirit's Power

Saturday began with Mass and homilist Father Michael Drury, pastor of parishes in Shelby, Cut Bank and Valier. His homily emphasized the Church as God’s work, and the way the Holy Spirit works within the Church.

“There’s much to say about St. Joseph,” Father Drury said. “He was a working man, and a very unselfish man, who believed in divine providence. We need to be like St. Joseph and remember the Church is God’s work, not the work of any human being.”

“When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, that began a new walk and a new power in my life,” Father Drury said, recounting his ordination in Monterey, Calif., in 1984. He noted charismatic groups active in the Diocese of Helena, among them groups in Stevensville, Anaconda, Cut Bank and Shelby.

“These good people are how I see the Holy Spirit working,” he said, speaking of the ministries served and the needs met, such as church maintenance and hospitality, by charismatic prayer-group members.

Letting Jesus Into the Midst of Our Pain

Linda Schubert of Miracles of the Heart Ministries in Santa Clara, Calif., began Saturday’s conference by describing clearly her two-part talks.

“I have to say that both of my sessions this morning, they really come under the category of a love story with our Lord Jesus Christ,” Schubert said.

Schubert, who has co-authored nine books with Josephite Father Robert De Grandis and wrote many other books, has conducted workshops worldwide. Her work focuses mainly on prayer, healing, reconciliation, leadership training and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The two sessions focused on how God’s power is present in the life of each person, and how it can lead to healing. “When we can let Jesus into the deepest pain in our lives, and that is a key part of this, when we can let him in,” Schubert said, “and we say, ‘Have your way Lord, I trust in you in the midst of this mess I’m in. I trust in you.’ Just watch and see what he can do.”

Healing of Memories

Most of the Saturday sessions centered around Claretian Missionaries Father John Hampsch and his “The Healing of Memories” program.

Father Hampsch travels the world to teach about the healing power of the Holy Spirit. He has written 17 books, many on the healing of memories and his “Healing Your Family Tree” program.

He opened his session with the scope of healing that can occur with the right direction. “We can go back, pretty far back, to the very moment of conception and find out whether or not there’s been damage,” Father Hampsch said.

Speaking about the differences between modern holistic medicine and the approach in the “Healing of Memories” program, Father Hampsch said, “The whole person, in the mind of most modern psycho-physiologists, is simply the mind and the body, in other words a dualism, these two factors interfacing and working together so that when you come to a healing process, you heal the body and the mind as one unit.”

“That’s okay as far as it goes; the trouble is it isn’t quite complete from our Catholic and Christian perspective.”

Father Hampsch went on to talk about insufficiency in treating physical and emotional problems. He said spiritual healing must take place, as well, for a person to be truly healed.

“The speakers and the presentations on and explanations of healing made the conference a success,” said Donna Kralicek Johnston, administrative assistant for diocesan Pastoral and Renewal Services, which coordinated the conference with help by steering committee. “There are many people in need of inner healing, and this is what the conference was about. People expressed gratitude and a feeling of having been blessed by the experience.”

Throughout the weekend, nationally known praise and worship leader Bill Richart led music ministry. Pastoral and Renewal Services Director Mark Frei praised Richart’s skill in guiding musicians who came from various parts of the diocese and rehearsed immediately before the conference.

Sisters of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary, based in Florida, were present throughout the weekend, both for the conference’s youth track and healing services.

“The sisters are so cool to hang out with,” said Jane Diepstraten, a youth track participant.

“They have such a great sense of humor, too,” added Emily Rapkoch, also in the youth track.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 26, No. 5, May 21, 2010.