The National Service Committee and the other national leadership groups of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal have designated the Friday preceding Ash Wednesday as a Day of Prayer and Fasting. The date this year will be Friday, February 9. Renewal Participants are encouraged to pray for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States and that the Church in our country might be renewed in the grace of Pentecost. This will be the fifteenth year designated for such a day to strengthen the unity of the Renewal and communion in the Church.

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“Lord, unlock the power!”

“Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. When the devil had finished every temptation…Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit…” (Luke 4:1-2, 13,14).

Many years ago, a group of leaders in Catholic Charismatic Renewal from around the nation decided to designate an annual Day of Prayer and Fasting, for God to “unlock the power” of the Spirit upon the Church and the world. They chose the Friday before Ash Wednesday, because Lent is the time when we reflect on the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert before starting his public ministry. Our prayer on the Friday before Ash Wednesday is a special time of intercession for the coming Lenten season to bear fruit in our lives just as it did in Jesus’ life. We want to be led by the Spirit into Lent, and we pray that we go forth from Lent in the power of the Spirit.

We recognize that in order for this to happen, in imitation of Jesus, we need to first be filled with the Holy Spirit! Of course, this reminds us of Pentecost, when the disciples were gathered with our Blessed Mother in the upper room, devoting themselves to prayer, awaiting the promise of the Father that Jesus had told them about. (see Acts 1:4; 2:14)

And so, we urgently implore you to mark this date, Friday, February 5, on your calendar and make it a special day of prayer and fasting. You will be joining with people all over the nation for the purification and transformation of our world. “Father, unlock the power of your Holy Spirit, that your Kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!”

If you are able to plan a time of corporate intercession, perhaps a Mass of Intercession or a Holy Hour, in your parish or diocese, we recommend that you do so.

For ideas on how to celebrate this time of intercession:

Download the NSC Intercession Times Brochure 2016-2018

To download a flyer about this event:

Unlock the Power 2016

Sponsored by:

  • Alliance of Filipino Catholic Charismatic Prayer Communities
  • Association of Diocesan Liaisons to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal
  • Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant Communities and Fellowships
  • Comité Nacional de Servicio Hispano
  • Korean Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the USA
  • Le Conseil du Renouveau Charismatique des Haitiens D’Outre-Mer
  • National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States

“The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.” James 5:16