BRIDGEPORT—Anna Weitzler recalls that when Father Ricardo Arganaraz prayed over her at a recent seminar at Our Lady of Good Counsel Chapel, she felt her body shake and the power of the Holy Spirit move within her.
Father Arganaraz, founder of the charismatic community Koinonia John the Baptist, visited the Bridgeport group recently and held a four-day Pentecost Seminar, during which there were lectures and healing services.
“The welcoming I received brought back such beautiful memories of the past when I belonged to the charismatic movement,” Weitzler said. “I believe the Holy Spirit is working hard at this time, and we have to open our hearts and welcome him because this world has become so crazy. I keep praying for people to come back to church and to know Jesus.”
Koinonia is a Greek word that means “fellowship, sharing in common and communion,” and its mission is to promote the New Evangelization through activities, training programs and the formation of community.
Now 88, Father Arganaraz recently visited Bridgeport to spend time with one of the newest communities at Our Lady of Good Counsel Chapel at 163 Ortega Ave., which began two years ago with the approval of Bishop Frank J. Caggiano and has been called “an oasis of Bridgeport.”
Koinonia, which was founded 50 years ago, spread through Northern Italy to Europe, Asia and North America. Today, the community of 15,000 people worldwide, includes families, consecrated brothers and sisters, and priests.
Sister Maire Close said the recent seminar included prayer, preaching, healing prayer, and praise and worship.
“We listen to the Spirit and receive his guidance to bring his power to the Church and the people,” said Sister Letizia Girella. “The beauty of the Holy Spirit is that he gives us revelation of what is inside us and he answers us. The Spirit reveals what we need and intervenes with his power in our lives, and this can include physical healing or interior healing.”
Some 45 people attended the Pentecost Seminar each night and heard Fr. Ricardo talk about the effects of sanctifying grace, the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost and the effusion of the Spirit.
One of the primary missions of Koinonia is to further the New Evangelization and bring people to a personal encounter with Christ, Sister Maire said. This includes proclaiming Jesus as Lord and Savior and the recognition that God loves us personally and unconditionally, that we are sinners and that Jesus is our Savior who died for us and gives us the Holy Spirit for new life.
The Bridgeport Koinonia community includes Father Adriano Biccheri, the Priest Moderator; consecrated brothers Michele Bertaja and Pablo Nejib Espinal Varela; and consecrated sisters Máire Close, Letizia Girelli, Katka Barkóciová, Aide Escamilla Roman and Maria Tauchmanova.
People came from different parts of the Diocese of Bridgeport and the Archdiocese of Hartford to attend the seminar, listen, learn and be prayed over.
Sister Maire said that sometimes people do not realize what they need in their spiritual lives. Very often, for example, a person may have to forgive someone or themselves in order to receive the gifts of the Spirit.
“With forgiveness, we cannot do it on our own,” she said. “Many times it is done in the name of Jesus, and this allows us to break the chain of bondage in the person so the Spirit can come in. People must be set free to come into a relationship with the Lord.”
Sister Letizia said the seminar was very well received.
“The people were very happy because at this kind of seminar, we try to give basic information that is easy to understand,” she said. “They also hear and experience the presence of the Holy Spirit, and they share with us what they received. This is a nice way for them to bond with one another and create a community.”
Armida Oradei of Stratford said: “Koinonia puts a lot of emphasis on the community. It is important for people to belong to a community where you support one another. What always strikes me is the joy of praying and to see people who have serenity in their lives. Even with the challenges you encounter, you know that God is with you and you are not alone.”
She was particularly moved when Father Arganaraz, after praying over the people who attended the session, knelt and asked them to pray for him.
“The Holy Spirit touched many people that evening,” she said.
Carmen Burns had originally planned to go shopping that day … but the Holy Spirit had other plans, and she found herself in prayer with the Koinonia community instead.
Burns, who was born in Panama and raised by her parents in Puerto Rico, said, “Walking into the church, I felt like I was home.”
After Father Arganaraz prayed over her, she said, “I felt a sense of calmness. And I have been like that ever since, where I’m not stressed, and I just go about my day praying a lot more, when I go to work and whenever I have a free moment. I feel like I’m headed in a new direction spiritually.”
Looking back on the evening, she says, “Well, I didn’t go shopping—I went someplace much better.”
By Joe Pisani
