Mighty Wind Ministry: A Current of Grace in the Church

The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity. Arguably, He is the least studied and understood of the Three. This can sometimes be attributed to the fact that He is often referred to as a spirit or a force moving within us. That makes a relationship with Him feel a lot less personal than the relationship we have with the person of God the Father or God the Son. But Catholic doctrine is clear that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. We picture Him as a dove as we see Him portrayed at the Baptism of Jesus in the Bible, or as flames descending upon the apostles at Pentecost. But other than knowing that He brings the seven gifts at Confirmation, how can we relate to this person who Jesus calls the “Paraclete” or “helper”?

The Mighty Wind Ministry seeks to bring more people to know Christ personally and more intimately. They understand that the Holy Spirit is the love between the Father and the Son. And by growing in understanding and relationship with the Holy Spirit, they learn the depth of the love of the Father and the Son.

“We seek to bring people not just the knowledge, but the experience of the Holy Spirit, like the apostles at Pentecost,” says Mary Carmen Lopez Mota. “He is Love and He transforms hearts and lives. We receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation. We allow the Holy Spirit to ignite those gifts and in turn, He ignites our faith.”

Mary Carmen has been a part of the Charismatic Renewal for about 15 years. The parish she attended after moving from Mexico to Denver had a Charismatic group. After responding to an invite from the deacon, she attended one of their prayer groups.

“It was my first exposure to this type of prayer,” Mary Carmen says. “And honestly, at the time, it was a little intimidating. However, I saw how they prayed and deeply expressed their love for Jesus. Something happened in my heart and I longed for the faith they had, so I kept going and learning more. It was an opening in my heart and now I can see how the Holy Spirit really works in us. I saw and could recognize that was what I really wanted — God’s love.”

At each prayer group, they spend time in praise of God and who He is. There is prayer and teaching about the person of the Holy Spirit. Group members learn and experience the Charisms of the Holy Spirit.

“We begin with prayer and sing a few praise songs,” Mary Carmen says. “We have time for testimonies of how the Lord has moved in our lives in the last week. These testimonies encourage others to examine their lives and see how God is working in their everyday life. It encourages others to grow in faith. Testimonies are followed by a teaching that is about 20-25 minutes in length. We have more time for prayer and worship after that.”

The Mighty Wind Ministry is a result of the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of those in our parish. There used to be a priest who would come to the parish once a month to hold prayer meetings. People would come from all over the deanery to attend these meetings. After he moved away, many people would call to find out if the group was continuing.

“I was praying in adoration when the Holy Spirit put it on my heart to start a prayer group here,” Mary Carmen. “At first, I dismissed it because I wasn’t sure if it was truly from the Lord or if it was just my heart desiring it. But the call happened several times. So I met with Deacon Chuck Matzker, who is Bishop Golka’s liaison to the Charismatic Renewal and Director of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services, an official ministry of our diocese. It is fully supported by our pastor, Fr. Mark Zacker as well as Bishop Golka. I presented it to the Parish Council and with all of that support, we began holding meetings in October.”

Already, the group is seeing fruitful testimony from those who attend.

Charismatic prayer is a different type of prayer than most Catholics are used to. As a church, we are very good at memorized prayer and personal prayer. It can be intimidating to take part in prayer that is much more involved. But Mary Carmen encourages parishioners to come and see what Charismatic prayer is about.

“I really encourage others to come and just see,” she says. “It is really the love of Christ and that cannot be taught or given. This is how the apostles prayed. We see many Scriptures talking about praying and evangelizing this way. This truly brought people to know Jesus personally and His love for them. Come and be open to the Lord touching your heart. It is a place where you can freely express your love for God right from the heart. That is probably what makes it so special. We all know our learned prayers, but this is experiencing prayer from the heart. It is a prayer that ignites our hearts and it is contagious.”

A Life in the Spirit Seminar will be held during the first quarter of 2023 at St. Francis. This is an opportunity for anyone in the area to learn more about the Charismatic Renewal. Parishioners are encouraged to come and invite anyone outside of the parish to learn and experience this type of prayer as well.

Prayer meetings take place every Monday in Assisi Hall from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Please watch the bulletin for more details on our next Life in the Spirit Seminar.