EARLY DAYS

"Ranaghan recounted that in the early days, in order to "grow in the spirit", he and his friend sought spiritual advice from a Protestant prayer-group: "In the beginning the contact with Pentecostals of our area helped us to grow in an understanding and experience of the charisms.



We met in the home of the representative of the Full-Gospel Businessmen. And when he heard that a group of Catholics was coming, he rallied the troops, and brought in several Pentecostal ministers and a room full of prayer warriors to engage in what they were sure would be a hard-fought battle. What they found was the most shockingly easy prayer-time they had ever known. We claimed that we had already been baptized in the Holy Spirit, which they found hard to believe because, after all, we were Catholics." (The audience broke into great laughter, in joyful mockery of the "exclusive salvation" doctrines of the Catholic Church). He continued, "We said that we just wanted their help and advice on yielding to and using the gifts. They laid hands on us, and one by one the whole roomful of us started to pray and sing in tongues. No battle, just a victory celebration."(thunderous applause) "Praise God for the old-time Pentecostals and for the independent charismatics God sent our way in those days ... Yes, from the beginning, it was an ecumenical celebration." John Vennari, “A "Catholic" Charismatic Extravaganza”