The following day, on Pentecost Sunday, after having participated in the Holy Mass with the Holy Father in St. Peter’s Square in the morning, the brothers and sisters of the CCR moved to the Palaghiaccio stadium in Marino, close to Rome, to celebrate the Holy Spirit together in a special way and to spread the “culture of Pentecost”.

The meeting seemed like a new “upper room,” gathering more than 7 000 people. The theme of the celebration was “My soul magnifies the Lord” and the aim was to glorify God for the work that He continues to carry out daily in every one of his believers through the Holy Spirit.

There were two vibrant teachings, alternating with moments of reflection, listening, and testimonies from the Italian communities. The first teaching was given by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., preacher to the Papal household, who spoke about “The grace of the Holy Spirit”. Fr. Cantalamessa distinguished between to lines of action of the Holy Spirit. He spoke about the action of the Holy Spirit that we call “charismatic” which consists in His giving out particular gifts, not for the “spiritual progress” of a believer or as a “reward for the holiness” of those who receive them, but for “edifying a community”. Then there is the “transforming or sanctifying” action of the Holy Spirit, which is intended “for the transformation of the person”, so that he who experiences it emerges revitalized and “renewed”. “This transforming action of the Spirit is an experience, not an idea, of the Grace”, Fr. Cantalamessa explained.

He went on to say that “…these two ways of acting of the Holy Spirit, which we’ve seen in the entire Bible and on the day of Pentecost, have been manifested dramatically in our times in the Charismatic Renewal”. In this way the Charismatic Renewal “has drawn out the Pentecostal charisms of the Church, precisely the ones we had lost sight of” and it could be considered as “God’s answer to the prayer of John XXIII for a new Pentecost” (the prayer of the Pope at the beginning of the Second Vatican Council).

Fr. Tom Forrest CSSR, one of the pioneers of the experience of the CCR, followed with a teaching on “The power of the Holy Spirit in our life”. Fr. Tom proclaimed: “As one who lives in the desert has difficulty to imagine a waterfall, we can hardly comprehend the strength, the continuity and the generosity of the love of God. Like a waterfall, the Spirit of God flows continuously upon us… endlessly… beyond measure… incessantly. God gives us the supernatural strength of the Holy Spirit so that we can go to the world and perform extraordinary works to build the Kingdom of Heaven!”.

The day of celebration concluded with a concert of music and dance presented by international artists: Martin Valverde (Latin American charismatic singer) from Mexico; the Antioka band from Italy; and “The Kkottonghae Group” (art & music group) from Korea.