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Why
do we call it a "Praise" meeting and not a prayer
meeting ?
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Catholic
Charismatic Renewal gatherings are often referred to as
Prayer Meetings or Prayer
Groups.
Whilst both these expressions relate to a slightly different
dynamic, the common connection is the word "Prayer." This
word however, does not fully express the purpose for these
church meetings and it causes considerable confusion in the
minds of people who only understand or use formal prayer and
devotions. This is especially so for those who have not
experienced the Baptism of the Holy Spirit: They cannot
relate to a Prayer Meeting that lasts for two or three hours
saying the rosary, formal, or petitionary prayers. It was to
ovoid this confusion that we began to use the word "Praise"
since it more clearly expressed the spirituality and type of
prayer experienced at our weekly
meetings.
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Why
Pentecostal and not Charismatic ?
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When
this current outpouring of the Holy Spirit began in the
Catholic Church in the early 1960's shortly after Vatican
II, it was called the Catholic Pentecostal Renewal. Due to
confusion in the minds of Catholics with Protestant
Pentecostalism, the term Pentecostal was dropped in favor of
the word Charismatic and became known as the Catholic
Charismatic Renewal. Since its small beginnings in the USA,
it has spread rapidly to become one of the fastest growing
movements in the Catholic Church with a global membership
exceeding 100 million today.
Unfortunately,
due to the word Charismatic, many Catholic clergy have
viewed this renewal as immature and
infant.
St. Augustine of Hippo had stated in his time that the
Church only needed the Charismatic Gifts in the beginning to
get the infant Church growing, but now that it had reached
its maturity, it no longer needed these Gifts. This is the
view held and taught by many seminaries and priests today.
St. Augustine however, after witnessing 73 miraculous
healings in his own Cathedral in Hippo later wrote that he
was wrong and that the Church did need these Gifts. in
addition, the word Charismatic has been abused so much that
people now associate it with pop stars, film stars and
fanatical despots like Hitler and Jim Jones. Consequently it
has lost its true meaning and it has hence diminished its
relevance in the minds of many
Catholics.
(As the church became more institutionalized, the gifts of
the Spirit became less common and were seen only in the
lives of the great “Saints’. Some, such as St.
Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) initially thought
that they were meant only for the early Church, to
“kick-start” her, so to speak. However, he later
withdrew this opinion in his Retractions, when he himself
witnessed the gifts in abundance in his own Diocese. It was
apparent to him then that the gifts occurred where people
had expectant faith. Later one sees the gifts in evidence in
the lives of St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), St.
Dominic (1170-1221), St. Catherine of Sienna
(1330-1380), St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582),
St. John Bosco (1815-1888), The Cure of Ars (St.
John Vianney – 1786-1859) and many others down
the centuries. The Cure of Ars is known to have had the gift
of tongues.) -
http://www.catholic-jhb.org.za/tracts/renewal.htm
The
word Charismatic comes from the Greek word 'Charis' which
means 'Gift'.
It is due to this understanding that the Charismatic Renewal
is often viewed as a "Gift Centered Renewal" with an
overemphasis on Tongues. Properly understood of course,
neither of these are correct because the CCR in its wider
expression covers not only the Gifts, but also various
ministries as well as personal and community lifestyles
which are lived out in all areas of Church life and social
activity.
However, in spite of this, many prayer groups in the CCR
have become gift-centered, and do very little other than a
few songs, petitionary prayers and run Life in the Spirit
Seminars occasionally. These seminars only take participants
through the basics, introducing them to the Baptism of the
Holy Spirit. More often than not, there is little or no
follow up other than encouraging regular attendance at the
local parish meeting. Unfortunately, other than the
die-hards, many people eventually leave and go to Protestant
Pentecostal Churches or leave the CCR or the Catholic Church
altogether.
The
St. Mary's Cathedral Praise Meeting is a "Neo-Pentecostal"
and fully Catholic church.
In
addition to being a member of the Catholic Charismatic
Renewal in Western Australia, Flame Ministries International
through which this meeting was founded in 1990, is a
Canonical Lay Organization Constituted as, "An association
of Christ's Faithful, (Canon 301), entitled to use
the name "Catholic" (Canon 300).
We are also Neo-Pentecostal. "Neo" meaning, "New" and
"Pentecost"- al, relating to Pentecost of course. We use
this term because it more accurately expresses the purpose
and spirituality of our meetings and is aligned with the
original terminology avoiding a "Gift-Centered" mentality.
Our meetings therefore express a greater variety of the
Charismatic "lifestyle" encompassing all aspects of
Christian living and, unlike many prayer groups, our
meetings are filled with vibrant praise and are also
focussed on the Preaching of the Word of
God.
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What
is the purpose of a Catholic Pentecostal church
meeting ?
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The
purpose of a Catholic Pentecostal Praise Meeting is first
and foremost, to offer Thanksgiving, Praise and Worship to
God.
Thanksgiving
is related to what God has done and is always related to
Salvation. Praise is related to what God is doing as it
causes Him to dwell in our midst. Praise is also the
language of faith and it is where the Outpouring of the Holy
Spirit is made manifest as it did on the first Pentecost.
Worship is related to who God is to you. It is deep and
intimate worship in the Holy of Holies. This is where the
Glory of God is present in the Shekinah which means,
"Habitation of God."
All other forms of prayer and ministry are important, but
secondary to this.
The
bible tells us that "God dwells in the praise of his people"
and "God's dwelling place is with man." Unless this is
apparent, little else seems to happen. When our focus is
turned more directly to prolonged praise, we begin to
experience God's presence in greater power because the
people understand the reason they are there. Often our
meetings will be a continuous praise and worship from
beginning to end as the Holy Spirit inspires us. During
these times the Charismatic Gifts are manifest in greater
power and frequency and we begin to experience a fresh and
tangible anointing. One Revival Anointing in particular is
called "The
Baptism of Fire".
From this anointing, experienced at the Cathedral Praise
Meeting in May of 1993, a Prophetic Vision and Prophetic
Word were also revealed relating to a Global Revival
beginning from that moment onwards.
Since then, Revival has come to pass the world as the
Prophecy said it would. This current Revival was first
revealed to us in a vision, and prophesied in early 1990 by
Eddie Russell FMI at a Flame Ministries International
meeting in Perth. Since that time the Cathedral Praise
Meeting has enjoyed God's presence in a fresh and tangible
way. The Gifts of Healing and Miracles have increased as
well as the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.
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The Cathedral
Praise Meeting is very strong on Preaching the Word
of God.
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"Unless
we are formed in, and conformed to, the Word of God, even
our thanksgiving, praise and worship is weak and
ineffectual."
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CPM Leader Eddie Russell FMI
preaching in Pittsburgh
PA.
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Each
week, often as the Spirit leads, there is an
inspired teaching and the full use of the
charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit are
encouraged.
Without
the Word of God there is no solid ground upon which
to place our gratitude. If our time of
thanksgiving, praise and worship is not filled with
heartfelt gratitude, then it means nothing and
avails nothing. A few years ago the Lord spoke in a
prophetic word, "When the Praise is low, the Gifts
won't flow". Our praise therefore is vibrant.
In addition, regular organized Teaching Seminars
are also held both for the instruction of the
regular members and for the evangelisation of
others. Such seminars as Set My People On Fire, The
Holy Spirit & His Manifold Anointing, The
Lord's Prayer, Covenant Armour of God and many
others help in building the faith of our members
and gives them food for praise and worship.
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The
Meeting Leader, Mr. Eddie Russell FMI is the Senior Founding
Director of Flame
Ministries
International.
He is also an officially recognized Catholic Evangelist
commissioned by the Archbishop of Perth WA, and author who
has preached Conferences, Parish Missions, Seminars,
Retreats and Revival Rallies in Australia, Portugal,
Indonesia, Uganda, Singapore, Malaysia, England,
USA
and Mexico.
(See
the Seminars)
Saint
Paul instructs Timothy in his Second Letter, "For this
reason, I remind you to stir into a flame the gift of God
that you have through the imposition of my hands.
(2
Timothy 1: 6).
The
Word of God expressed in this exhortation, reveals a very
interesting situation: Saint Paul is actually telling
Timothy to stir up the Holy Spirit!
Many people will wait for the Holy Spirit to stir them. They
can wait a long time. I have found that this is one major
reason why so many do not even pray in Tongues: They wait to
be 'stirred' instead of 'moved', 'filled' or 'inspired' and
then, acting. Wisdom dictates that we must "act" on the Word
of God if we are to see the Fruit of that Word in our lives.
(John
15:1-17. - Luke 6:46-47. - James 1:22)
At
the Cathedral Praise Meeting we acknowledge these principles
and we see the results.
In
addition to the Public Meeting we have various
outreaches. One in particular is our Prayer
Chain.
Beginning in 1990 using telephone and fax, this has now
reached thousands through the Internet. This Prayer Ministry
is Strictly Confidential and requests are only passed on to
the Group Members who are trained and nurtured in the
"Prayer of Agreement". Over these years we have seen amazing
and even miraculous results for people we have never met.
Our Online
Prayer Chain
receives numerous requests each
day.
Music
is the substance of the praise and worship time that begins
our meetings, and so great emphasis is placed on the role
the worship leader and the music ministry. At the CPM, this
is led by the Flame Music Ministry. Music director, Patrick
Carre FMI, has written and produced worship CDs along with
original scores from his members. A lot of the material used
at the CPM are original songs from their My Word the
Message, and The Freedom Album CDs.
Popular with youth and parishes around Perth, Flame Music
Ministry were invited to perform at the 2008 World Youth Day
in Sydney. Their song RISE, from the Freedom Album was the
official song for the Perth Days in the Diocese that
preceded WYD.
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If
you are a visitor to, or live in Perth, take time
to visit us. You are assured of a warm
welcome.
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The
Leader:
Eddie Russell FMI
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The
Cathedral Praise
Meeting.
450 Hay Street, Perth City, Western Australia.
The
Times are:
7.45pm -10.00pm each Thursday Evening.
The Leader is: Eddie Russell FMI
Phone: + 61 8 9382 3668
Fax: + 61 8 9382 4080
Email
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The new St. Mary's Cathedral in Perth WA.
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