Nearly 150 people gathered at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul Dec. 2 after the 5:15 p.m. vigil Mass. Some held babies, some held canes. Many raised their hands in worship as contemporary Christian music echoed through the cavernous Cathedral. Some clapped spontaneously. Others repeated the name of God out loud.
When a monstrance was placed on the altar, the crowd fell into a reverent silence of the Eucharist it held. As praise and worship music resumed over the next hour, prayer teams scattered throughout the Cathedral to pray with anyone who asked. Some participants used a microphone at the front of the Cathedral to share something they felt the Holy Spirit had asked them to share.
Since September, this scene has repeated itself every month in the Cathedral at the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis prayer and praise event, called Fire on the Hill. Usually held on the second Saturday of the month, it was moved to the first Saturday in December to accommodate a concert in the Cathedral the following week.
The event is part of an effort in the archdiocese to bring about a renewal of the Church that Archbishop Bernard Hebda urged in his November 2022 post-synodal pastoral letter, “You Will Be My Witnesses: Gathered and Sent from the Upper Room.”
“Sisters and brothers, the health of this local church depends upon your willingness to share in humility the gifts with which you have been so greatly blessed,” the archbishop wrote. “Please join me in asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to each one of us how we are uniquely equipped to serve the renewal of our Archdiocese in a time such as this. If you are being asked to embrace new ministries or new challenges, do not be afraid. The Lord is never outdone in his generosity.”
As part of the Archdiocesan Synod implementation, Archbishop Hebda appointed Father Micheal Becker, the pastor of Sts. Joachim and Anne in Shakopee, as the vicar of charisms for the archdiocese. This is a new role for the archdiocese — and as far as Father Becker knows, a new office for any diocese, ever. Father Becker said he sees his role as encouraging a “new Pentecost” in the Church.
“(I want) people to become aware of the Holy Spirit, filled anew with the Holy Spirit in a profound way, and then to receive and share their charisms for the building up of the body of Christ,” said Father Becker, who leads Fire on the Hill.
Charismatic prayer, which many call the act of praying under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is not a new phenomenon in the Church, Father Becker said.
“The raising of hands in the holy place is encouraged all the way back to the Jewish tradition and the psalms,” Father Becker said, “Praising God is part and parcel of the Christian life.”
Some people are not comfortable with the outward expression of charismatic prayer and that is OK, Father Becker said. Charismatic prayer is just another way of worshipping, he said.
Father Becker said he has witnessed prophecies at Fire on the Hill, as well as healing from demonic oppression and outpourings of peace.
SCHOOL OF CHARISM DISCOVERY
10 Tuesday evenings, Feb. 6 – April 16, 2024
St. Peter, Mendota
Joe Roueche — a Catholic speaker, faith formation presenter, consultant and trainer based in Minneapolis — led worship on Dec. 2. Roueche said he witnessed healing during the night of prayer.
“Many (people) found freedom and healing, which occurred through the ministry of prayer teams,” Roueche said.
Brittany Majeski, 28, who attends St. John Neumann in Eagan, served on one of the prayer teams.
“It has been so beautiful, tonight and other nights, really seeing him (God) work through prayer,” Majeski said, adding that confidentiality bars her from sharing specific stories of healing.
Megan Myer, 28, attended Fire on the Hill for the first time Dec. 2. She was drawn to the event because she loves praise and worship music.
“I’ve always liked music, so to be able to express what is going on in my heart and my soul with music, sometimes you can’t express that with words,” said Myer, a member of St. Mark in St. Paul.
Norma Cahill, 74, and Jim Cahill, 84, a married couple who lifted their hands and voices praising God, said they have encouraged others to experience the power of the Holy Spirit since the early 1970s, when they had conversion experiences through charismatic prayer.
“This is what we have been waiting for, an opportunity for everybody to come together,” Norma Cahill said.
While the Cahills prayed from a pew at the front of the Cathedral, Damien Leverett paced the side of the Cathedral as he held his 3-year-old daughter, Bailey. He pointed to each picture of Christ and told her “Jesus.”
They are Baptist, but Leverett and his wife, Anna, said they attend Fire on the Hill because they “feel the Holy Spirit” at the gatherings. Leverett said he has invited many non-Catholics to the event.
“We just stumbled upon it, and it felt like a great gift from the Holy Spirit for our family,” Leverett said. “I hope that people come in who are not Catholic, who would not even call themselves Christians, and feel the Holy Spirit.”
Mary Kohlhaas, who works in pastoral ministry at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton, said she “would just encourage everyone to come.”
“I see Fire on the Hill as another way of opening those doors to people in the pews who maybe don’t know what is available to them in the Holy Spirit,” said Kohlhaas, who previously worked in youth ministry for 35 years.
Upcoming “Fire on the Hill” events after the 5:15 p.m. vigil Mass at the Cathedral will be held on Jan. 13, Feb. 10, March 9, April 13 and May 11.
Father Becker said he will lead several other offerings in the archdiocese to promote and help people encounter the work of the Holy Spirit, including Life in the Spirit retreats Jan. 12-13 and Jan. 19-20.
A 10-week course will be offered in February and April titled the “School of Charism Discovery.” Each session will introduce one charism and include time for participants to pray. Father Becker said he recommends that people attend a Life in the Spirit seminar before taking the course, and he hopes each participant will discover the charisms of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
“God’s gifts are surprising,” Father Becker said. “We think we’ve got it all mapped out and then all of a sudden God does something we didn’t foresee. So, it’s a very exciting opportunity.”
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ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD
EVANGELIZATION PRAYER
Holy Spirit, renew your wonders in our time, as though in a new Pentecost, and grant that this Archdiocese, united in prayer around Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and guided by St. Peter, may spread the Kingdom of the divine Savior, a Kingdom of truth, of justice, of love, and of peace. Amen.
LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
Seminars will be:
Jan. 12, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m.
Jan. 13, 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
St. Rose of Lima, Roseville
Jan. 19 6:30 p.m.- 9 p.m.
January 20 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM
Our Lady of the Lake, Mound
