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To: Aliska
Aliska, I am at a loss for words at your misunderstanding of the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church. Any priest who tells you to stay away from it is teaching against the seat of Peter and the bishops who said this: "From a 1969 statement issued by the United States bishops, we read: “Theologically the movement has legitimate reasons for existence. It has a strong biblical basis. It would be difficult to inhibit the working of the Spirit, which manifested itself so abundantly in the early Church. Thus the charismatic gifts of today cannot simply be denied as impossible or rejected as contrary to Catholic teaching. Even misuse of these gifts does not justify condemnation of the gifts themselves.”

Though I do not know how to post a link, you can read a letter from John Paul II to leaders of the Charismatic "Catholic Fraternity" here: http://www.catholicfraternity.net/images/letteraA.htm

Lastly I include this article from Catholics for Truth: http://www.catholic-jhb.org.za/tracts/renewal.htm

CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL: ORTHODOX OR HERESY?

Introduction

The Church was born on Pentecost Sunday (Acts 2:1-14). In obedience to Jesus’ request after his resurrection, the apostles remained in Jerusalem to await the gift and promise of the Father; the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). The Holy Spirit would then empower them to be witnesses for Jesus (Acts 1:8). Together with Mary, the mother of Jesus, they prayerfully awaited this gift (Acts 1:14).

When the day of Pentecost came, a violent wind filled the house where they were sitting, tongues of fire came to rest on each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2:2-4).

Historical Perspective

For the first few centuries of the Church’s history, these gifts (or “charisms”) of the Spirit were very common in the lives of believers. They are listed by St Paul in 1 Cor 12:1-ll : wisdom, the word of knowledge, the gift of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, the ability to discern different spirits and the mysterious gift of tongues and its interpretation.

These gifts are the manifestation of the Holy Spirit and are given by God for the common good, as he determines: they are not “earned’ or “merited’. We might well ask: why are these gifts not so apparent in the Catholic church of today? In fact, these gifts so impressed the magician, Simon Magus (Acts 9:19), that he offered the apostles money that he might also “lay hands” on people in order to receive these gifts and power. This is known as the sin of “simony”.

Institutionalisation

As the church became more institutionalised, the gifts of the Spirit became less common and were seen only in the lives of the great “Saints’. Some, such as St Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) initially thought that they were meant only for the early Church, to “kick-start” her, so to speak. However, he later withdrew this opinion in his Retractions, when he himself witnessed the gifts in abundance in his own Diocese. It was apparent to him then that the gifts occurred where people had expectant faith. Later one sees the gifts in evidence in the lives of St Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), St Dominic (1170-1221), St Catherine of Sienna (1330-1380), St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), St John Bosco (1815-1888), The Cure of Ars (St John Vianney – 1786-1859) and many others down the centuries. The Cure of Ars is known to have had the gift of tongues.

Interestingly, leading Catholic scholar Father George Montague S.M., former head of the Catholic Biblical Association, and leading Catholic ecumenical theologian, Father Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B., have published a major study whose findings are significant. It is entitled “Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit”, and is published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota (1991). They conclude that Baptism in the Spirit is in essence what Scripture and the Fathers of the Church for the first eight centuries of the Church’s life describe as integral to the experience of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation. From Carthage, Poitiers, Jerusalem, Caesarea, Constantinople to Antioch and Cyrrhus (in Syria) there are witnesses to the reception of the charisms within the rite of initiation …… accepting that Baptism in the Spirit is not joining a movement, but embracing the fullness of Christian initiation, which belongs to the Church.

Since publication of the study, many parishes have provided for confirmation candidates to experience a “Life in the Spirit Seminar” as part of the course culminating in reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Pope Leo XIII and the Spirit

Between 1895 and 1903, Sister (now Blessed) Elena Guerra, foundress of the Oblate Sisters of The Holy Spirit in Italy, wrote 12 confidential letters to Pope Leo XIII, asking that he foster devotion in the church to the Holy Spirit.

As a result, the Pope published his encyclical on the holy Spirit Divinum Illud Munus in l897. He also sent a private letter to all bishops, prescribing that the Novena for Pentecost be prayed at the dawn of the new (20th) century.

God of Surprises

On the night of December 31st, 1900, a group of Methodists, led by Agnes Osman and Rev Charles Parham of Topeka, Kansas, experienced an unexpected outpouring of the Holy Spirit after studying the Acts of the Apostles. The request of Pope Leo XIII had received only a half-hearted response from the Catholic bishops, so God turned to his “little ones”, the “anawim”. Thus the modern-day Pentecostal movement began among Protestants.

A Council and the New Pentecost

The call of Pope Leo XIII was picked up by Pope (now Blessed) John XXIII in April 1959 on beatifying Sister Elena Guerra. When convoking the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council later that year Pope John prayed specifically for “the Divine Spirit to renew his wonders in our time, as at a ‘New Pentecost’”. The Council, in essence, was to lay the foundation for this New Pentecost by providing “new wineskins” for the Church (see Mt 9:16-17).

Catholic Renewal starts

In February, 1967, during a retreat and birthday party (appropriately), at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, one of the students, Patti Gallagher-Mansfield felt drawn to pray before the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel. She, and a number of other students who had joined her were later found prostrate before the Tabernacle. There, before Jesus’ Eucharistic presence, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal was born. They had all been overwhelmed by the majesty, power and presence of God.

The movement spread rapidly throughout the United States and the world. It is estimated that today in excess of 75 million Catholics worldwide have had contact with this renewal and have experienced their own personal Pentecost.

The 1975 Rome Conference

During the holy year of 1975, before ten thousand participants of the international Charismatic Conference assembled in St Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Pope Paul VI described this spiritual renewal as a ”chance”, or “opportunity” for the Church.

At the end of his address, the Pope put aside his prepared speech and added (spontaneously): “This message is for those present here who do not belong to your movement: they should unite themselves with you…..and we would say only this: today one lives one’s faith with devotion, depth, energy and joy, or that faith will die out” (“New Covenant” magazine, July 1975, pg 25 et al).

Enthusiasm and Emotion

Some feel (wrongly) that prayer meetings and the emotion sometimes experienced there are at the “heart” of this renewal, and therefore, not for them. We are not God’s “frozen people” and it is the joy of coming to know Jesus Christ as Lord (being evangelised) that is at the heart of the renewal. As a result of the graces of baptism and confirmation being released in one, often after “laying hands” on one another (in an unsacramental way), this often occurs. This new experience of God is not a new sacrament. Often our faith needs to be moved from the “head” to the “heart” in order to be less intellectual. We need to “know” God, rather than “know about him”, only. One need not be a theologian in order to achieve salvation. Authentic Catholic Christianity is knowing Jesus Christ in a vital personal relationship empowered by the Holy Spirit. It is much more than mere “devotion” to the Holy Spirit.

Prayer Meetings

Prayer meetings have arisen as a result of believers wanting to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with one another. Here one experiences firsthand what is recorded in Ephesians 5:18- 20: an emphasis on prayer of praise and thanksgiving, rather than endless petitions, or “bargaining with God” that many of us are prone to.

Catholic prayer meetings are noticeably more subdued than those of our Pentecostal brethren. They are not much different, in fact, from a good, old-fashioned Catholic parish mission.

Pastoral Guidelines

As in all new movements, there are some shadows in the overall picture, however the cure is not the denial of existence of abuses, but their proper use. Some moths will always be attracted to the flame. There are those who have been swept away by what is new and exciting for them and have lost sight of their Catholic identity, riches and heritage in genuine, but naïve endeavours at ecumenism – also by an overemphasis on the healing ministry. Here Catholic bishops have been alert in providing guidelines, especially to our young people who yearn for warmer fellowship, more alive liturgies with enthusiastic participation, parish Bible study groups and opportunities for spontaneous prayer. This is needed to stem the flow of our young people to Pentecostal and fundamentalist churches.

Charismatic or Pentecostal?

The word “Pentecostal” has for some, “cultural shocks”. Some have visions of “holy-rollers”, and people feel threatened. All the baptized are in fact “charismatic”, as baptism leaves all open to receiving the gifts of the Spirit. There should be no distinction between “charismatic” and “non-charismatic” Christians.

In paragraph 2 of Lumen Gentium, Vatican II’s document on the Church, there is an important passage on the “charisms”: ‘It is not only through the sacraments and Church ministries that the Holy Spirit sanctifies and leads the People of God and enriches them with virtues….he distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank ….These charismatic gifts, whether they are the most outstanding or the more simple and widely diffused are to be received with thanksgiving and consolation, for they are exceedingly useful and suitable for the needs of the Church.”

Positive Aspects At the heart of this renewal, there is a much-needed call to conversion, a conscious adherence to Jesus Christ as Lord, Saviour and Redeemer, a new docility to the promptings of the Spirit and actual awareness of the realities received at initiation.

One of the outstanding fruits has been a new thirst among so many to know the Bible better. The words of St Jerome ring down the centuries: “Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ”.

From a 1969 statement issued by the United States bishops, we read: “Theologically the movement has legitimate reasons for existence. It has a strong biblical basis. It would be difficult to inhibit the working of the Spirit, which manifested itself so abundantly in the early Church. Thus the charismatic gifts of today cannot simply be denied as impossible or rejected as contrary to Catholic teaching. Even misuse of these gifts does not justify condemnation of the gifts themselves.”

A positive aspect is the laudable initiative of bringing together Christians of different denominations in prayer. The shepherds of the Church have a duty to see that this does not deviate into a “false” ecumenism where differences are smoothed away. Love for the Bible, fervent participation in the celebration of the Eucharist, a renewed devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and a renewed sense of mission all bode well for the future. It is recommended that priests who are wary of this movement associate themselves with participants and get to know the movement “from within”, especially to guide our young people, many of whom are leaving the Church for what they perceive as warmer fellowship where the gospel is preached with power.

Since becoming Pope, John Paul II has met several times with international charismatic leaders. Perhaps the most poignant of these meetings occurred a few days before the attempt on the Pope’s life on 13th May, 1981. In providing guidelines for this renewal at the request of its leaders, Pope John Paul has referred to the renewal as “ a very important aspect of Catholic spirituality”.

In his homily on Pentecost Sunday, May 14th, 1989, the Pope said: “I earnestly exhort you to generously open your mind and heart to receive a large outpouring of the Holy Spirit. May a new Pentecost descend upon you so that each of you might become spiritually renewed and continue on a new road of evangelical witness”

We should remember that without the Holy Spirit the Church is nothing but a dead institution.

Written and compiled by John Lee and Frank Bompas and checked for theological correctness by Father Michael Austen SJ

For further tracts, write to Catholics for Truth, c/o Frank Bompass or John Lee, PO Box 82328, Southdale 2135 or telephone (011) 643-4313 Email: fbompas@iabsamail.co.za

PRINTED AND DISTRIBUTED WITH THE ECCLESIASTICAL APPROVAL OF THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF JOHANNESBURG

Obviously, I am a Catholic charismatic, and have been since 1984. In 1994 was in Rome with 200 other Catholic charismatics in a private audience with JPII. We extended out hands in prayer and prayed in tongues over our Holy Father and he genuinely welcomed it and appreciated it. As we gather together, why shouldn't we praise God in the gift of tongues he has given us at the elevation of the Body and Blood of Jesus our Savior.

I rejoice in the gift of faith God has given to you, but I assure you, God has even more for you. Continue to pray and seek from God all that he wants for you. God cannot be outdone.

53 posted on 07/11/2007 3:23:15 AM PDT by daffyduct
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To: daffyduct
More veiled threats again. My sponsor into the church threatened me, too, when I refused to speak in tongues, said I had committed the unpardonable sin.

I have that book. I don't believe most of it are the true gifts of the Holy Spirit. I know what I saw.

It is an end run around the sacraments. Why be anointed in a possibly illicit mass (because most of those masses were not conducted according to the rubrics)? The worst one I attended, the priest did not invoke the Trinity in the beginning. I began to wonder why, since Vatican II, and the sacrament of anointing which used to be called Extreme Unction, is now more widely available, more people did not avail themselves of that instead. That requires one-on-one with a priest. The anointing at these masses and meetings is not the sacramental one; the words and form are entirely different. The oil used is not the same as that blessed at the annual whatever they call it.

But I know all too well the futility of even trying to discuss it with one who doesn't want to look at the other side of it, all the way to the top. Many women are doing the anointing at various gatherings. That is not scriptural at all. It causes issues with me as a woman, but I would never presume to usurp the powers and role of an ordained, male priest.

Nothing the US bishops have to say carries much weight with me, all but a few, and I think they have been duped at the highest levels, why I cannot fathom. Maybe I am the one who has been duped, but I cannot and will not risk exposing myself or my family to any more of it, if I have any say in the matter.

54 posted on 07/11/2007 9:16:44 AM PDT by Aliska
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