In this great book, Damian confronts a striking paradox: the spiritual gifts that fueled the mission of the early Church are often overlooked or misunderstood today. Through clear Catholic teaching and compelling testimonies, he invites readers to rediscover how these gifts remain vital for the Church’s mission in our time. In this summary, I distill his 220-page book into five key insights that capture its theological vision, pastoral wisdom, and practical direction.
Key Insight #1: Spiritual Gifts Flow from Christ and Make His Love Present and Active in the Church
Aquinas teaches that “all the gratuitous graces were most excellently in Christ as the first and chief teacher of the faith” (ST III, q.7). Jesus not only exercised these gifts in His own ministry but explicitly promised their continuation in the Church: “Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and greater works than these” (John 14:12). This promise unfolds through the New Testament commissions—to the Twelve (Matt 10:1), the Seventy-Two (Luke 10:1, 9), and ultimately to all believers (Mark 16:17–20)—revealing that the spiritual gifts are entrusted to the whole Church for the sake of continuing Christ’s mission. The Book of Acts confirms that these gifts were normal, widespread, and essential to evangelization, a truth St. Paul learned firsthand when he resolved to rely not on eloquence but on “a demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Cor 2:4–5). From the earliest days, the Church prayed boldly for supernatural power (Acts 4:29–31), an expectation that continues in the Church’s teaching, as affirmed by Pope St. John Paul II’s insistence that the charismatic and institutional dimensions are co-essential. At their heart, charisms are tools of love—concrete ways the living Jesus makes His presence, mercy, truth, and power experientially real—entrusted to believers as co-heirs with Christ and ambassadors of heaven (2 Cor 5:20), so that the Church may become a living embassy of God’s life and love in the world.
Key Insight #2: Prophecy Is Participation in Christ’s Living Word for the Upbuilding and Mission of the Church
Prophecy flows from Jesus Christ Himself, the great and definitive Prophet (cf. Lumen Gentium 35), in whom God has spoken fully and finally (cf. Heb 1:1–2). From His baptism in the Jordan—when the heavens were opened and the Father’s voice was heard again (Matt 3:16–17)—to His ministry of revealing hearts and foretelling future events, Jesus embodies prophecy in its fullness as the living Word who reveals the Father and inaugurates the definitive era of salvation (Matt 5:17). Because Jesus is the Prophet, all Christian prophecy is a participation in Christ’s own prophetic identity and mission. Accordingly, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost is inseparable from the outpouring of prophecy (Acts 9:11–12; 19:6), fulfilling Joel’s promise that God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh (Joel 2:28–29). Throughout St. Paul’s letters, the early Church repeatedly exhorts the faithful to value prophecy and desire it earnestly (1 Thess 5:20; 1 Cor 14:1) as a charism ordered to the building up of the Body (1 Cor 12; Eph 4). True prophecy is a living and effective word that accomplishes what it announces (cf. Heb 4:12): it consoles, convicts, clarifies, instructs, directs mission, and at times foresees future events (1 Cor 14:3, 24, 31; Acts 13:2; 27:10). Ordinarily communicated through human faculties elevated by grace, true prophecy is rooted in humility, love, and prayerful intimacy with God, and it grows through faithful exercise within the life of the Church, so that the Word of God may not remain abstract doctrine but become a living encounter that builds up the Church and advances her mission.
A Model for Prophesy:
- Pray for God’s knowledge, heart, and wisdom for someone.
- Offer the message you have received with humility and charity.
- End with intercessory prayer, praise and thanksgiving.
Key Insight #3: Healing Is Participation in Christ’s Kingly Authority for the Restoration and Mission of the Church
Healing flows from Jesus Christ Himself, whose ministry reveals the in-breaking of the Kingdom and the restoration of the whole human person—body and soul. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus’ healing encounters with the sick are continual, showing that healing did not merely confirm His identity and message but also visibly showed God’s victory over sin, suffering, and death (cf. Matt 9:35; Luke 7:20–23). Since Jesus modeled ministry, the proclamation of the Gospel has always been accompanied by healings (Mark 16:17–20; Acts 4:29–30). This pattern that continued in the early Church and played a decisive role in evangelization. Healing today is a real participation in Christ’s kingly authority as the new Adam, reversing the effects of the Fall and restoring creation toward its intended wholeness. While every healing remains a free gift of grace by God (1 Cor 12:9, 28), some exercise this gift frequently as a ministry. Physical healing is never an end in itself, but is ordered toward deeper conversion, compassion for the suffering, and a living encounter with Christ. Authentic healing ministry, therefore, is marked by humility, faith working through love (Gal 5:6), obedience to the Holy Spirit, and trust in Christ’s promises, so that the Church may reveal not only a message about Jesus but His living, healing presence in the world.
A Model for Healing Prayer:
- Pray attentively, listening both to the person and to the Holy Spirit.
- Invite the Spirit’s presence with openness and trust.
- Discern how the Lord is leading you to pray.
- Speak or command healing in Jesus’ name with humble faith (“Legs, be healed, in Jesus’ name”).
- Invite an appropriate step of faith, when possible (“Stand up and walk”).
- Repeat again if there is partial improvement, allowing 2-3 minutes.
- Conclude with love—offering compassion and encouragement if healing is not evident, or giving thanks and glory to God if healing occurs.
Key Insight #4: Liberation from Evil Spirits Is Participation in Christ’s Authority and the In-Breaking of the Kingdom
Confrontation with the powers of evil stands at the heart of Jesus’ mission. From the beginning of the Gospel, Jesus confronts the kingdom of darkness directly and with absolute authority, revealing that liberation from evil spirits is a decisive sign of the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God: “If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20). This authority was not reserved to Christ alone but was explicitly entrusted to His disciples. Every time Jesus sent them out to preach and heal, He also gave them authority over unclean spirits (Luke 9:1–2; Matt 10:5–8; Mark 6:7–13; Luke 10:17; Mark 16:17), a pattern that continued in the early Church and became one of the most powerful signs convincing pagans of the truth of the Gospel. The Church has consistently distinguished between simple deliverance or prayer for liberation, which may be exercised by any faithful Christian, and solemn exorcism, which belongs to the Church’s official ministry and may be carried out only by priests appointed by the bishop using the Church’s rite. As Fr. Gabriele Amorth, longtime chief exorcist of Rome, emphasized, the efficacy of deliverance does not ultimately depend on ritual complexity but on faith in Christ’s authority. In this sense, all Christians are called to pray for deliverance, as the Lord Himself teaches—“Deliver us from evil”—while exercising discernment, humility, and obedience to the Church. Authentic liberation ministry is rooted not in technique but in a life of prayer, sacramental grace, and moral integrity, and it ordinarily relies on the simple word of command spoken in Jesus’ name, a weapon frequently effective in the Gospels and Acts. When exercised responsibly and within the Church’s wisdom, the gift of deliverance serves not spectacle, but mercy—freeing people from bondage and manifesting the victory of Christ over the powers of darkness.
A Model for Deliverance Prayer:
- Neil Lozano’s Unbound Model: (1) Repentance: “Lord, I surrender to you… Forgive me for…”; (2) Forgiveness: “In the name of Jesus, I forgive… for…”; (3) Renunciation: “In the name of Jesus, I renounce… fear… anger… the lie that I don’t belong…”; (4) Authority: “In the name of Jesus, I command any (or every) spirit that I have renounced to leave me now.”; (5) The Father’s Blessing: Receive Abba’s words to Jesus as your own.
- Francis MacNutt’s Deliverance Prayer: “In the name of Jesus, I command you spirit of _______ to depart without doing harm to _______ (name the person by first or entire name) or anyone else in this house or in his/her family, and without making any noise or disturbance and I command you to go straight to Jesus Christ, to dispose you as He will. Furthermore, I command you never again to return.”
Key Insight #5: The Theological Virtues to Grow in the Spiritual Gifts
Damian outlines 10 Keys, which I have summarized into the 3 theological virtues 🙂
Faith is the decisive key to greater power in the operation of all the spiritual gifts. The faith St. Paul speaks of among the charisms (cf. 1 Cor 12) is not merely saving, intellectual, or creedal faith, but a Spirit-given faith that makes things happen—a participation in God’s own operative power. Scripture strikingly parallels God’s omnipotence and the believer’s faith: “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37), and “All things are possible for the one who believes” (Mark 9:23). Damian therefore urges us to pray often and specifically for greater faith, even for the gift of faith itself, since faith for miracles is ultimately God’s work in us with which we actively cooperate (cf. Heb 12:2). As he observes from experience, “Five minutes of faith can achieve what years of interceding with only a vague hope failed to accomplish. Faith is the key that opens the door to the world of miracles. Most people pray with hope. However, the promises of Jesus do not relate to hope but to faith.” Faith grows through repentance—honestly acknowledging the poverty of our faith as revealed by our lack of supernatural fruit—through feeding faith by immersing ourselves in Scripture, testimonies, and living examples of God’s power, through praying concretely for an increase of faith (cf. Mark 9:24; Luke 17:5), and through stepping out in faith, risking loving obedience while keeping the focus on Jesus rather than on outcomes. As Damian memorably puts it, “Exercising faith is like wearing a pair of bifocal glasses… God wants us to open our eyes through the charism of faith so that we see everything with His perspective.” Faith, then, is not passive belief but active trust that dares to take Jesus at His word.
Hope sustains desire and perseverance. It is the confident expectation that God wants to give His gifts and increase them in us for the good of others. Hope awakens the heart to “earnestly desire the spiritual gifts” (1 Cor 14:1) and is strengthened by Scripture, testimony, and exposure to what God is doing in others. As Damian notes, “Bigger hope and vision beget bigger desires, bigger desires beget bigger prayers, and bigger prayers beget bigger answers.” Hope keeps us asking, praying, fasting, and pressing forward even when growth is slow, uneven, or imperfect, trusting that God is faithful to His word.
Love is both the aim and the safeguard of all spiritual gifts. As St. Paul insists, without love even the most extraordinary charisms are empty and ultimately harmful (cf. 1 Cor 13:1–3). Damian emphasizes that when love is lost, ministry becomes distorted: “If love is not your driving force, people become statistics. We either feel proud if the numbers are up or upset if they are down. Where is the joy in that?” Love orders our lives rightly—placing God first, family second, and ministry flowing from both—protects humility, fosters purity and detachment, and keeps charisms rooted in joy rather than performance. Only love brings lasting joy, because only love keeps the focus on what Jesus is doing rather than on what we are doing.
In summary: faith believes God can act, hope expects Him to act, and love ensures that when He does, His glory and the good of others remain at the center.
Review
Damian’s writing combines theological depth, pastoral wisdom, and lived experience in a way that is both thoroughly Catholic and powerfully accessible. His work is a gift to the Church today, helping ordinary believers rediscover how the Holy Spirit continues to act with power, love, and clarity in the life of the Church. I highly recommend exploring Damian’s broader teaching and ministry through Cor et Lumen Christi and their YouTube channel, where his formation, resources, and witness continue to equip the faithful for mission in our time.
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