An article by Fr. Joe Landi, Editor Emeritus of the San Francisco Charismatics

Read about Fr. Landi Out of the World and Into the Kingdom--His journey to priesthood by Rissa Singson.

The Charismatics September Edition  2005

Dear Diary...  Yes, the end is near but not the end of the world, just the end of this publication.  According to the sacramental grapevine, on July 7, 2005, at the Advisory Board Meeting of the Charismatic Renewal, the then Archbishop of San Francisco, and now Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, the Most Rev. William J. Levada, Archbishop Emeritus of San Francisco, said that he was relieving me as Liaison to the Charismatic Renewal, and ending the publication of the Charismatics.

       We were notified by letter dated August 12, 2005 of the change in leadership by the Archbishop. "We" being the eight who received copies as indicated at the end of the letter and the one "blind" copy whose name was meant not to be seen by those receiving copies or or most assuredly not by me who was supposed to receive the original. 

The New Liaisons--  The newly appointed Liaison to the English-speaking Charismatic Renewal is Fr James Tarantino, Pastor of St. Hilary Church, Tiburon. He  advised me that this publication is to cease publication as directed by the Archbishop. 
        Also appointed on August 12th: Fr. Dan Nascimento as Associate Liaison for the English–speaking Renewal, and Fr. Jose Corral,  elevated from Chaplain to Liaison to the Spanish-speaking Renewal.

 In the Beginning--  My record as Liaison speaks for itself and actions speak louder than words.  Since my appointment as Liaison to the Charismatic Renewal by Archbishop Levada in September 1997, the Holy Spirit assembled and put into action a remarkable group of people who have collaborated with me and   made the actions of the Renewal in San Francisco a model for other dioceses to emulate.
       We are the first Diocesan Renewal with a website and the only ever to broadcast a Charismatic Mass live on the internet.  Since 1997 nearly 600,000 people have visited www.sfSpirit.com for the teachings available and to ask our prayer groups to pray for their needs.
       I moaned when at the annual meeting of prayer groups it was suggested that this newsletter include "teachings" and we went from 4-pages to 16-pages.  Who would do the work?  The Lord provided and volunteers suddenly appeared.  The increased content made our mailing list of donors grow from 90 to 2,700, fueling us with the finances to expand this publication. 
       You may recall that at one point before the Diocesan newspaper, Catholic San Francisco was born, we were also a source of Catholic news, publishing 20,000 copies monthly and delivering them to every church in the Archdiocese for free distribution. 

 A Source of Teaching--  We have constantly provided a source of the Church's teachings, publishing articles and reflections by some prestigious Catholic writers like Fr. Raymond Brown, Archbishop John R. Quinn, Fr. John Rausch, Br. John Samaha, Fr. Robert DeGrandis, Fr. John Hampsch, Fr. Mike Scanlon, Bishop Joseph C. McKinney, Rev. Alfred McBride, Fr. Frank Pavone, Bishop Stanislaw Ryko, Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, Fr. Gerald Coleman, Fr. Joseph Champlin, Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, and John Paul II to mention a few.
       With monthly seminars for prayer group leaders, First Friday Masses, healing services, Bible Study, and our involvement in Ecumenical Prayer Meetings, the first Spanish Congreso and Holy Spirit Conferences at St. Mary's Cathedral Conference Center, the Renewal in San Francisco is alive with the purpose driven, powerful actions of the Holy Spirit.

 The Renewal  Is Self-Supporting-- The $35,000 annually  it took to publish and distribute this newsletter monthly came partially from ads but mostly from donations at First Friday Masses and from those who read it.  We received no funding from the Archdiocese and have no paid staff, just volunteers who believed that the articles of spiritual enlightenment we assembled each month and our "Lighter Side" were a valuable source of the Church's teachings.  For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005, the renewal generated $56,023 income and has has a cash reserve of $20,000 built-up over my eight year tenure..

 I'm Relieved--  I am relieved to be relieved.  The Renewal mushroomed in the past eight years and was taking too much of my time away from my assignment at St. Cecilia's Parish.  While I've tried to do what is right, I also realize doing what is right just because it is right doesn't mean that everyone agrees or likes it.        After nearly 20-years involvement in various factions of the renewal, and eight years of those being  Liaison, which consumed most of my "leisure" time from fulltime ministry as a Parochial Vicar at St. Cecilia Church, it would have been nice to have heard the change from its source rather than the sacramental grapevine as I am left feeling akin to a jilted spouse—being the last to know.

 The Letter, Finally--  I was not surprised by the Archbishop's relieving letter: "As I relieve you of your duties as Archdiocesan Liaison for the Charismatic Renewal, effective immediately, I want to offer you my personal gratitude, and the gratitude of the entire Archdiocese, for your service over these past years." Need I add that during "these past years" we have had some conflicting ideas on what constitutes a lay organization, a priests association with one and the function of a liaison to the Renewal?
       What surprised me is that it takes three people to "relieve" me and they won't have to publish the 16-page newsletter, maintain the website, or answer the Charismatic hot-line, 564-PRAY that rings at my desk.   That speaks volumes about what the Holy Spirit did in the past eight years.  (My Monsignorship is probably lost in the mail along with the original letter, which was sent to the wrong address.  As of September 26 the original has not reached me.)

 The Lord Provides--  To all who have helped make this publication possible—the Executive Board, advertisers, donors, readers, writers, proof-readers, all  volunteers—especially the ladies of the League of the Sacred Heart at St. Cecilia's Parish, who for the past eight years have manually put the address labels on 3,000 newsletter monthly for mailing, thank you all for your time, talents and treasure.  I am grateful to have had the privilege of seeing the Holy Spirit working through you.   
       The San Francisco Charismatics has been a labor of love by several people.  Instead of sixteen pages we end with four pages as we began. I moan only because this is the end. 
       See you in church.  ##           

You can contact Fr. Landi by e-mail at frjoe@sfspirit.org,