The Catholic Charismatic Renewal celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2007. This might be a good time to “examine our Catholic Charismatic conscience”. Scripture tells us “test yourselves” (2 Cor. 13:5). We need to examine ourselves to see how well we are living out the grace of being baptized in the Spirit. I have prepared ten questions as a checklist so that we can see how we are doing.

I. HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED A NEW LIFE IN THE SPIRIT?
Has being baptized in the Spirit made a decisive difference in your life? Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap., the preacher to the papal household, says that he has had two lives, one before being baptized in the Spirit and one after. When you read or hear good testimonies, there is always a “before” and an “after”. Has there been a “before” and an “after” in your life? If not, you might have to ask the question, “Have I really been baptized in the Holy Spirit?”

II. HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED THE HOLY SPIRIT BRINGING YOU INTO A LIVING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER AND THE SON?
Have you been brought into the experience of the love of the Father and the Son? My wife, Patti, likes to use Romans 5:5 as a definition of what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit: “The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Do you have a sense of being a beloved child of the Father, crying out, “Abba, Father” (cf. Rom. 8:15)? “Jesus Christ is Lord” is our creed, the central fact of our Christian faith. Scripture tells us, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” Is that a living reality in your heart? Is Jesus Christ your Lord? Do you know God the Father and Jesus the Son in a more intimate way? If not, then you have to ask the question, “Have I really been baptized in the Holy Spirit?”

III. HAS YOUR PRAYER LIFE BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED?
Actually a more basic question would be, “Do you have a real prayer life?” Do you give time to prayer every day? Is this part of your daily schedule, like eating and sleeping? In your prayer, have you experienced a greater intimacy, a greater sense of adoration, praise and thanksgiving to the Lord? Have you entered into a charismatic dimension in your prayer, that is, the experience of tongues, prophecy, revelation, guidance, inspirations, etc.? (We are certainly not talking about experiencing all of these all the time, but rather some of them some of the time...at least the gift of praying in tongues.) If your prayer life has not been significantly changed, you have to question if baptism in the Spirit is a living reality in your life.

IV. ARE YOU ADDICTED TO THE WORD OF GOD?
Are you irresistibly drawn to the Word of God, Holy Scripture? Do you love to devour the Word of God? Do you “eat and drink” the Word of God, like Ezekiel in the Old Testament and John in Revelations? In the early days of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, it was not unheard of for people to stay up all night reading Scripture. The Holy Spirit produces that hunger and desire for God’s Word. Has there been that kind of attraction for Holy Scripture in your life? If not, you have to ask if baptism in the Spirit is a living reality for you.

V. ARE YOU INVOLVED IN ANY WAY IN WITNESS AND EVANGELISM?
One of the primary purposes of the outpouring of the Spirit was to give us the power to witness to Jesus. Acts 1:8 says, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses...”. We read in John 15:26-27 that the Holy Spirit will bear witness to Jesus and “you also are my witnesses”. Do you have that impulse to share the good news, according to your life circumstances, wherever you are? Do you look for opportunities to bear witness in word and deed? If not, are you really living your baptism in the Spirit?

VI. DO YOU MEET TOGETHER WITH OTHER CATHOLIC CHARISMATICS FOR FELLOWSHIP AND SUPPORT?
Scripture tells us, “Do not neglect to meet together as is the habit of some...”(Heb. 10:25). We know that a way of getting a fire to burn out is to pull the logs apart. In a similar way, if we are pulled apart from each other, our fire will go out, both individually and collectively. Is some kind of regular Catholic Charismatic Renewal gathering an element in your life? If not, is your Holy Spirit fire still burning?

VII. ARE YOU WILLING TO RECEIVE AND EXERCISE SPIRITUAL GIFTS?
We see especially in the Acts of the Apostles that there is a mysterious link between the coming of the Holy Spirit and charismatic gifts. When the Holy Spirit is poured out, there is an outbreak of charismatic activity. The spiritual gifts are given for the common good (cf. 1 Cor. 12:7): to spread the gospel, to build up the Church, to manifest the kingdom of God. Scripture states that there are different kinds of gifts, for example: preaching, teaching, faith, miracles, healing, prophecy, revelation, discernment of spirits, giving money, exercising leadership, hospitality, works of mercy, administration, etc., to name a few. Someone has counted 27 such charismata listed in the New Testament. Are you open to receiving and using the spiritual gifts? Are you contributing any gift to the Body of Christ? If not, are you fully open to all the Holy Spirit wants to do in you and through you?

VIII. HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED A CHANGE IN YOUR MORAL LIFE, YOUR ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR?
Has there been a real break with serious sin or is serious sin still a regular occurrence in your life? This is a basic point but we need to start there before moving on. Are you still attached to some deep character flaws, for example, in the use of the tongue? Do you still have what the spiritual writers call an “affection for sin”, a pet sin that you are very familiar with and can’t bear to get rid of, for example, a spirit of criticism? Try to imagine having a pet poisonous snake that you like to wrap around your neck. You don’t even realize when the snake is biting you and injecting poison into you. Are you able to better love God, whom you cannot see and also love your neighbor, whom you can see (and is apt to be irritating!)? Has there been an improvement in your moral life, some change for the better? If not, has baptism in the Spirit had its full effect in your life?

IX. HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED A CHANGE IN YOUR APPROACH TO THE SACRAMENTS?
Do you receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation regularly, with repentance and faith, as a means of spiritual growth? Has your experience of the Mass changed so that you enter into the liturgy, join with the priest, and make it your own offering, your own prayer? Have you experienced a change in your reception of the Eucharist so that it is a blessed time of communion with the Lord and not just a routine formality? If not, are you really living your baptism in the Spirit?

X. HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED A CONVERSION OF YOUR MIND?
Do you have a desire to learn what the Catholic Church teaches? Are you familiar with the Documents of Vatican II and the Catholic Catechism? Do you know basic Catholic teaching?
Do you try to read and understand what the Holy Father says? Are you a well-informed Catholic Charismatic Christian? Do your beliefs influence your actions, your conversations, your vote?
Have you not only put on the Spirit of Christ but also put on the mind of Christ? If not, there is more that the Holy Spirit needs to do in your life.

This can be a rather daunting examination. It certainly is for me! Let us trust in God’s grace and remember that the Holy Spirit is a gift, which we cannot deserve or earn. Let us close by simply asking the Lord Jesus, the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, to baptize us anew and afresh in the Holy Spirit, with all the gifts and fruit that the Spirit brings. Amen.