God's Ongoing Gifts to the Church: Issues Confronting Ecclesial Movements and New Communities

All of the baptized, equal in dignity, are called to participate in the mission of the Church and answer the universal call to holiness. The ecclesial movements and new communities that emerge are providential gifts of the Spirit of God and signs of His fruitfulness, affirmed by the recent documents of the popes.

In these encouraging pages, you will see the harmony between vocations and the numerous blessings that flow from these movements in the Church, including the strengthening of marriages and the faith formation of young people. You will also discover how to discern and navigate the challenges that sometimes arise in living out the charisms of these communities in union with the local and universal Church.

Drawing from his extensive experience with ecclesial communities in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe, Fr. Nilson Leal de S? reveals:

• The true meaning of charism
• Four aspects of every believer's common mission
• Eight ways to discern the authenticity of a charism
• Ten pitfalls (or "diseases") to be avoided in fostering a healthy charism
• Seven criteria for a mature community
• The four pillars of formation in ecclesial communities

You will also learn how to avoid "forgetting your first love" in living out your charism. Most significantly, you will (re)discover the authentic message of the Second Vatican Council regarding reverent worship and liturgical prayer, from music at Mass to the recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours.

Regardless of your state in life, this book will benefit and assist you in fostering charisms and communion in the Church. It will unpack for you what the Church teaches in canon law regarding clerical, consecrated, and lay vocations and new ecclesial movements and their modes of operation. And it will inspire you to share the gifts of the Holy Spirit with renewed enthusiasm.