my friend Amy was baptized in a Catholic church as a baby, but she said things changed after the submersion one, in a tub, in her little born again warehouse church.

We went through 8 weeks of classes, and the last day the leaders prayed over us to receive the Spirit. I felt warm, new, different. Some people did get the gift of tongues, for me, it took awhile. I didn't have it for about 6 months afterward.

The Charismatic renewal is, in my words, an outward expression of the Glory of God. We pray in tongues, we are on fire for our faith; the mass and everything else has more meaning. We are hungry for Scripture, for the word of God (as you know, scripture and tradition and approved writings of the church are encompassed in the desire for scripture, for it all is scripture, even if it's not in the bible)

I felt loved, for the first time in my life I felt like I was accepted, that I was needed by someone, namely God, who wants to use us all to spread the gospel of peace. I love to pray with people, to see the peace of God fill them and sometimes, people are healed by the lay people praying with them. Though, if people understood the real gifts we have in the church, there would be more healing, for God heals through the sacraments, especially confession and holy communion.

I think the greatest thing about the renewal is meeting more like-minded people and building community. The Spirit helps us let go of our hangups, judgements, etc so we can have more room for God in our heart and mind, and He can manifest Himself through us the cleaner we are. It builds our self-esteem as we see ourselves as God sees us, not in an inflated way, but a true way that is humble and holy.