Monasticism and the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement

Abstract

Christian monasticism is a gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church. Many centuries ago the Holy Spirit guided women and men to devote their lives to follow Jesus Christ closely and serve all the people. Since then, monasticism has greatly contributed in keeping the flame of the Holy Spirit alive and bringing renewal in the Church. The Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, which is a comparatively young movement within the Church, is also a Spirit-centered movement. Charismatics seek the renewal of their spiritual lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. In this paper, we shall examine the main features of both monasticism and the Charismatic Renewal Movement to explore the spiritual richness in these traditions. Further, this paper will also examine if these movements could help the contemporary people to discover the beauty of their faith and find meaning in it. The sources for our study will be the Church documents, literature on monasticism, Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement and opinions of some experts in these fields.