Nearly 4000 people gathered to celebrate the Year of the Holy Spirit at Notre Dame University, from June 12-14. The basic message from the Lord seemed to be, “Pay attention! I am doing something new right now! Don’t let it pass you by! Prepare yourselves to do My work.”

The speakers agreed that, led by Pope John Paul II, we are living in a time of great opportunity. A “new springtime of Christianity,” coming after a long winter, is upon us, if only we are docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Ralph Martin pointed out many examples of how the Holy Spirit is being poured out now all over the world. One of the signs the pope sees which signals the new springtime are all the new renewal movements in the Church, including Charismatic Renewal. John Paul II has called these new movements to work together in unity.

Father Tom Forrest exhorted us to seize this “God-given Chiros moment” and move with it. We must recognize the opportunity of this decisive moment in time and “move dynamically.”

Held at the University of Our Lady, we were reminded by Father Ed O’Connor that the Holy Spirit works through Mary in a special way. She is certainly calling her children back to Jesus, asking us to pray and convert our lives.

The centrality of the priesthood, and Jesus in the Eucharist and the other sacraments, was brought home by Father Benedict Groeschel, who told the moving story of a seminarian who was ordained a priest forever only hours before his death from cancer.

One of the more memorable images was John Boucher tearing lengths of toilet paper from a full roll as he named some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, saying, “There’s more! There’s always more Holy Spirit!”

A couple of more sober messages were heard as well. There is evidence that many charismatic Catholics have drifted away from personal prayer. There is no way to move forward with the Holy Spirit if we do not listen to Him in prayer.

Elizabeth Elliot reminded that suffering is a gift of the Holy Spirit. We, like Jesus, must take up our cross each day and follow Him. We cannot share His glory without sharing in His suffering. Her husband, Jim Elliot, who gave his life while serving as a missionary, put it well: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”