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To my revered brother

Mons. MARIANO DE NICOLÒ

Bishop of Rimini 

1.   I am pleased to once again address my cordial greetings to you this year and, through you, to those who are to take part in the National Meeting of the Groups and Communities of the Renewal in the Holy Spirit, which is about to be held in your city of Rimini from April 29^th to May 2^nd 2004. The theme - "For look, I am going to create new heavens and a new earth; be glad for ever at what I am creating" – helps us contemplate the great mystery of Christian joy. I invite everyone to join in with the final prayer of the Apostolic Exhortation "Christifideles laici", in which I asked the "Virgin of th Magnificat" to "teach us to treat the realities of the world with a living sense of Christian responsibility and in the joyous hope for the coming of the kingdom of God, of new heavens and a new earth" 1. If the meetings of the groups and the communities of the Renewal in the Spirit are truly inspired by the presence of the Spirit of the Lord, especially when they culminate in the celebration of the Eucharist, they are events in which "earth is opened up to a glimpse of Heaven and from the community of believers comes a perennial hymn of praise, in harmony with the song of the celestial Jerusalem" ² which "joins together heaven and earth". ³

2.   The Holy Spirit is bound to enrich the testimony of each and every one of you with the "spiritual gifts with which He endows the Church".⁴ Among these gifts there are a few that are of particular importance, "the ones which serve the fullness of spiritual life", instilling a "taste for prayer", which does not exclude "the experience of silence".⁵ "The vast range of gifts whereby the Holy Spirit passes on charity and sanctity to the Church" ⁶ will be to you, my dearest Brothers and Sisters who are taking part in this meeting, a stimulus to spreading the love for Christ and for His Church, "the only Mother on earth" ⁷ and to bring the praise you raise up to God, under the leadership of your Pastors, within the compass of "spaces of creativity and adaptation which bring it close to the expressive demands of the many regions, situations and cultures" ⁸

3.   With all my heart I wish for the Renewal in the Holy Spirit to ever more bring forth in the Church that interior conversion without which it would be difficult for human  beings to resist the temptations of the flesh and the desires of the world. Our times sorely need men and women who, like rays of light, will know how to convey the charm of the Gospel and the beauty of the new life in the Spirit.  With the sweeping force of prayer of praise and the gushing grace of sacramental life, the Spirit incessantly gives of his gifts to the Ecclesial Community, in order to constantly edify it and increase its beauty.
    It is necessary, however, to correspond to the Gospel of Christ with the daring of   faith, which is the mother of all miracles made by love, with the firm confidence which allows us to pray to God for everything we need to save our  souls.
All, therefore, as true  disciples  of  Jesus,  must  apply  themselves  ceaselessly  to  following his teachings, turning their journey of spiritual renewal into a permanent school of conversion and holiness.

4.   This is your mission, dear members of the Renewal in the Holy Spirit: to be witnesses of the "reasons of the Spirit", in a society where human reason often seems to lack the wisdom that comes from above. While each of you dedicate yourselves to your daily tasks, always remember to place a seed of fruitful hope in the souls of the believers who participate in the activities of your groups and your communities As I wrote in the Encyclical on the Eucharist "if" the Christian vision leads us to look to new heavens and the new earth ⁹ this does not weaken, but  on the contrary stimulates our sense of responsibility towards the present earth";  it must make us feel "more than ever committed to avoid neglecting the duties of  our earthly citizenship". In this way you can contribute to "edifying a world which s both on a scale with man and corresponds fully to the plan of God" ¹⁰

May the Virgin Mary, in the Upper Room with the Apostles in the Upper Room, waiting for the Pentecost, accompany the work at your Meeting. On my part,  while I send you my Blessing, I assure you of a  special remembrance in my prayers.

From the Vatican, April 29^th 2004, Feastday of Saint Catherine of Siena, Patron Saint of Italy and of Europe.

                                                                                                      Johannes Paulus II