This past week marked the 50th anniversary of “Duquesne Weekend,” and the birth of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. In February of 1967, a small group of college students from Duquesne University gathered for a retreat about 15 miles outside of Pittsburgh and experienced a profound encounter with the Holy Spirit. Sensing a deep desire to know God more completely in their lives, and guided by the promises of Sacred Scripture, they asked God for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Thus began a movement that spread from The Ark and the Dove Retreat house, across the United States, and eventually transformed the lives of over 120 million Catholics worldwide.
“Duquesne Weekend” is a timely reminder for the Church, particularly those of us in the sleepy Northeast, where the practice of the faith and participation in the sacraments are a far cry from the passion and fervor that Christ expects and demands of His Bride. While those students 50 years ago were reflecting on the words of “the Prophet Joel,” quoted by St. Peter in the Acts of the Apostles, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh” (Acts 2:17), many of our communities in the Church today would do well to remember the words of Christ in the Book of Revelation: “Because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15). Do we truly yearn and desire to know God more deeply in our lives today? “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’” (Revelation 22:17)
