It is now some years since the relics of St Therese of Lisieux were brought to Britain. The blog recording that visit can still be accessed: Saint Therese relics blog. Very large numbers gathered at each of the venues to pray alongside the relics, in a quite exceptional manifestation of faith on the part of largely ordinary people.
A fruit of Baptism in the Spirit is exactly this kind of affection and devotion to the saints of the Church, with its double aspect of celebration of their holiness and source of teaching for the living of the Christian life. The practice of testimonies, typical of the Renewal but not exclusive to it, is a kind of reflection of this.
Often there is also a new closeness to Mary, the Mother of Christ and spouse of the Holy Spirit. Her presence in the upper room awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is a prompt leading to an appreciation of Mary's presence to and intercession for the Church today. It is interesting in this respect that Pope Francis, very familiar with the Charismatic Renewal, has established in the universal calendar the Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, that is celebrated on the Monday immediately after Pentecost Sunday.
It is not a surprise that, alongside this love for the saints and for the Virgin Mary, there is a love for the Church. Baptism in the Spirit encourages, not a sense of separation between the Church as a visible institution and the freedom of those gifted with a charism, but a profound sense that the visible, hierarchically structured institution is at one and the same time the institution that is animated by the Holy Spirit. There is a strong commitment to unity within the Body of Christ.
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