The Mustard Seed Community (MSC) is a group of clergy, religious and lay individuals seeking to live in growing awareness and fullness of the gifts, grace and power of the Holy Spirit, and seeking opportunities to use their God-given gifts in the service of others. The MSC comes under the headship of the Diocese of Covington through a liaison appointed by the Bishop (currently Deacon Jerry Franzen.)
Under the umbrella of the MSC are several smaller prayer groups which meet at local parishes. On the national and international levels, the MSC is affiliated with the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services organization (ICCRS). ICCRS maintains an office in the Vatican and has a national office and regional representatives within the United States via Chariscenter USA, with the National Service Center (NSC).
MSC events are characterized by charismatic praise & worship, and by the growth in and exercise of the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are freely given by the Father and the Son, through the Holy Spirit, to praise and worship God, who often blesses such worship with miracles such as conversion of hearts, inner healing, physical healing, and words of prophecy, among other gifts that the Holy Spirit imparts according to His own grace and desire.
The seven marks (gifts) of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, knowledge, fortitude, understanding, piety, counsel and fear of the Lord) are actively sought and developed through prayer, community and instruction. Likewise, other supernatural gifts (charisms) of the Holy Spirit such as prophecy, tongues, healing, and interpretation of tongues are sought and experienced as the Holy Spirit wills.
The MSC provides teaching, witness, and formation for individuals who seek a fully surrendered life in Christ and a close personal relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit. The first experience for an individual with the MSC is most often their participation in a Life in the Spirit Seminar (LISS). The LISS is a seminar with teaching, witnessing and sharing on several topics: God’s Love, Salvation, The New Life, Receiving God’s Gifts, The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Growth, and Transformation. The seminar includes individual prayer for the release of the Holy Spirit, in power, in the individual’s life.
In 1963, Pope John XXIII opened the 2nd Vatican Council with a prayer to the Holy Spirit to come in power upon the Church “as in a new Pentecost.” The MSC was founded as an offshoot of a “new Pentecost” that happened in 1967. That year, several students and faculty at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh PA went on a weekend retreat to seek a closer relationship with Jesus and it was there that the power of the Holy Spirit fell powerfully upon them, forever changing their lives. They experienced a new relationship, in power, with God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. The group began to meet regularly to pray and explore their new life in the Spirit. Over the last 40 years, more than 100 million Catholics worldwide have experienced the LISS and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
How about you? Are you ready for a closer relationship with Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit? We invite you to come “taste and see the goodness of the Lord!”