Crucial Points About Catholic Renewal

The radical shift that is referred to as Catholic Renewal occurred around the middle of 20th century and gave the Roman Catholic Church a different face. The change was felt in three areas. The first was how the church dealt with and treated the bible. The other area that was affected is the liturgy and how it was conducted and finally the understanding of faith and its role in Christian life was redefined. These changes meant a dramatic shift in perception both within and without.

Changes that were experienced in regard to handling and perception of the bible included translation into missionary languages. Vatican was used to conducting all liturgical celebrations around the world in Latin. The shift meant that locals could access the scripture in their native language and even share during community meetings. Missionaries were compelled by the stand to learn local languages instead of using Latin or teaching people Latin.

With the changes in practice of the liturgy, the local community and faithful in general were given a more prominent role. This was in addition to celebrating mass in native language. They could serve during mass at the altar and do other things that were a preserve of priests. They included sharing sermons during community gathering. Local songs, dances and rhythms were allowed during mass.

There was a grand shift in the way the Roman Catholic Church perceived faith. Traditionally, the practice had been formal and legalistic. There was little or no flexibility and any changes had to come from the hierarchies of Vatican. The shift allowed individuals to have a personal experience and the local church was to emphasize on catechism.

Another twist that accelerated the revolution was the biblical renewal ignited by the encyclical by Pius XII in 1943. It was entitled Divino Afflante Spiritu and addressed the missionaries on the language of the bible. It formed the foundation for the Second Vatican Council to push for bible translation into more languages. All translations were to be based on manuscripts from the original bible.

Increased access to the scripture by the locals led to expansion of interpretation freedom. People could share the scripture as lay missionaries without the aid or necessity to have a priest around. The priests were to encourage faithful to fully participate in liturgy and exercise full awareness of ever step. Lay missionaries were given greater roles in interpretation of scripture.

With numerous changes happening in the church operations and hierarchy and the recommendations of Vatican II, Charismatic Renewal was born. It sort to restore the spiritual intensity that was with the early church. They would pray with hands raised, audibly and even speak in tongues. This movement has not been received uniformly across all dioceses and parishes. It is a testament of the skepticism that surrounds the movement.

The full extent of Catholic Renewal took decades to be felt and was as a result of numerous contributors. Outsiders and Catholics view the church differently as a result. Lay faithful enjoy a greater role within the liturgy. It also is responsible for the slight differences that are visible from one diocese to the other. The missionary church was the most affected.