They call him "Don Gustavo." He is Gustavo Mena, a blind musician with a penchant for Pentecostal moments and a voice like water running over smooth stones.
"We are given our bodies to help us purify our souls," he is telling his flock in rapid-fire Spanish. "Even beauty queens end up in the grave. Even millionaires have their sorrows. The body is a gift from God, and we purify it through praise. Every time you resist evil, God is glorified. Every time you become ill and recover, God is glorified. Christ died and was resurrected, not so we would be glorified, but so God would be glorified. Glory to God!"
Welcome to Charismatic Catholic night at the Central City complex on 300 East in Salt Lake City. In a small rented room, about three dozen Catholics recite Hail Marys and Our Fathers, cross themselves and tell their stories. They also sing rousing hymns, witness to the workings of the spirit and are healed of their ailments.
Some critics say the group is neither fish nor fowl, but an unfortunate hybrid of Catholicism and Bible-beating Pentecostalism.
Pope John Paul II says the group is a blessing. "Thanks to the spirit, the church constantly keeps her youth and vitality," he has said. "And Charismatic Renewal is an eloquent manifestation of this vitality today."
Charismatic: It means extraordinary powers given a Christian by the Holy Spirit — such as the gift of healing — for the betterment of the church.
Renewal: A return or reawakening.
The people in the little room at Central City are returning to the spiritual powers and gifts of the New Testament.
And they are big fans of Pope John Paul II.
"Gustavo and I are originally from New York, where there's a major charismatic movement," says Nery Mena, Don Gustavo's wife. "There are even charismatic bishops now. We want to praise the Lord, to worship and pray for the good of all. It's not a bad thing we are doing."
Thousands of other Catholics agree.
The movement first flowered at Duquesne University in 1967 and later at Notre Dame in 1968. By 1972, Leo Joseph Cardinal Suenens, a rather rigid and intellectual man, embraced the flamboyant new movement. His perceptive writing on Charismatic Renewal gave the movement legitimacy. At his funeral, Cardinal Danneels asked and answered the question that many had asked over the years:
"How could a cardinal with a face that did not show many emotions, with a straight and immobile stature, with a grave and steady voice, find himself at ease in the midst of a crowd that sang, danced, clapped hands and spoke in tongues?"
The answer, said Cardinal Danneels, is Cardinal Suenens saw in "Catholic Charismatic Renewal" a return to the church found in the Book of Acts, a rebirth that gave the heart and body of spiritual life to individual Christians.
Despite Suenens' death in 1996, the movement has continued to flourish.
There are several popular Web sites now — The Charismatic Catholic Center, for example — that offer information or chances to debate. Past issues of the movement's newsletter, "Living Water," are available. And the writings of leaders such as Charles Whitehead circulate widely and fuel the interest.
Locally, several parishes have charismatic members. Some, like St. Therese and Our Lady of Guadalupe have charismatic groups.
"I've worked with charismatics in other parts of the country," says the Rev. James Janda of the diocese. "Here, we have a charismatic mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe three or four times a year. There, we stay within the basic structure of the mass, but the hymns are spontaneous. And charismatics like to celebrate, so there is dancing and singing. There's time for people to ask for special prayers. Some will spontaneously read their favorite scriptures. It's not for everybody, but I think it is a wonderful alternative."
For now, the majority of Charismatic Catholics locally are Hispanic, though other ethnic groups are very much involved. And though the movement hasn't swept in like wildfire, as many early organizers hoped it would, Charismatic Catholicism appears to be here to stay.
At Central City, Don Gustavo has finished preaching and the time is turned over for testimonies. One young boy tells of feeling a burning inside as he thought about God. A man talks of a miraculous healing in his family.
"Who is the person feeling a burning in their feet?" Nery Mena asks.
A woman raises her hand.
The group says the Lord's Prayer together. They cross themselves and say a Hail Mary.
A collection basket is passed.
"I'll see you next Wednesday," says Nery Mena.
And she will.
E-mail: jerjohn@desnews.com