Come, Holy Spirit

By Joe Ruff The Catholic Spirit

More than 1,500 people from across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis gathered in Minneapolis May 20 for Mass, speakers, music, prayer, adoration of the Eucharist and personal testimonies as Archdiocesan Synod implementation took a big step forward.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda, Bishop Joseph Williams, priests and deacons, religious sisters and brothers, and lay women and men heard Mary Healy, a professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, share her talks on “The Holy Spirit in the Life of a Disciple” and “Clothed with Power from on High.”

The archbishop introduced Father Michael Becker, pastor of Sts. Joachim and Anne in Shakopee, as the recently appointed vicar for charisms, charged with providing opportunities for the faithful to experience a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit and put into practice the gifts of the Holy Spirit to build up the body of Christ.

The event, labeled the Activated Disciple Seminar, was the capstone of seven weeks of formation in the School of Discipleship and a 40-Day Challenge to act on the promptings of the Holy Spirit and daily share Christ’s love.

Nearly 2,000 people in the archdiocese — many of whom attended the seminar — participated in the School of Discipleship, either in person at Our Lady of Grace in Edina or via livestream. They were chosen by pastors in each parish and formed into groups of about 12 called Synod Evangelization Teams. Now, those teams will help each pastor pick leaders to form parish-based small groups built around evangelization, service and understanding the Mass and Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. Small group

PLEASE TURN TO SEMINAR OVERVIEW ON PAGE 5