and thought I would comment. My response ended up being too large to post into the comment board, and so I present it here. Am keen to discuss the issues raised as I continue to try and make sense of things.
My response is here in full:
Interesting post Stephen. Thank you for pointing out those paragraphs in the CCC. They are very useful.
I spent my entire life in a covenant charismatic community up until a few years ago. This community no longer exists due to some serious scandal (which was not specifically linked to its charismatic nature). A few years on from the demise of the community I've been able to reflect on some things within my experience of charismaticism that I’m now aware of as being perhaps outside of the Tradition of our Catholic faith.
For one, I now know that there were very many protestant elements that had inadvertently crept in to the community that I was a part of. This occurred through what was being read (one example was Rick Warren’s “A Purpose Driven Life”) and also the songs being sung. There was an abundance of Hillsong tunes and other contemporary Christian ‘rock’ as well as tunes penned in the mid-late 70s that had a very protestant notion of individual salvation. Classic example would have to be the anthemic Hillsong “Shout to the Lord” with its ‘My Jesus, My Saviour’. When it comes to assembly singing, this is most certainly out of place (and even more so when inserted into the Sacred Liturgy).
As a child, growing up within a charismatic movement I knew very little about different, legitimate spiritualities within the Catholic Tradition. Charismaticism was seen and taught as being the only real way of connecting with God – this meant that many basic things about Catholicism were glossed over or never taught at all. I knew next to nothing about the lives of the Saints, and nothing at all about Our Lady and devotion to her. My understanding of the Sacraments was very poor and I was left confused about the nature of Confirmation – particularly when the laying on of hands and the prayers for a ‘baptism of the spirit’ was so central to the lived experience of the faith for the charismatic person.
I think also, in particular of the sacrament of Penance. My understanding of sin (mortal and venial) was minimal at best. And I honestly had no idea of their affects; hence my perceived need for the sacrament was significantly diminished. This leads me to yet another point regarding the charismatic movement. I lived for a significant time in a state of mortal sin - not knowing its effects. During this time I remember that I had been called upon to pray ‘over’ people for the outpouring of the spirit. This seems to me to be a dangerous and precarious position. I can’t help but think of the state of other peoples souls as they prayed over people for the same ‘graces’. (If I had such an impoverished understanding of the notion of sin and its affect on my soul, then it obviously came from somewhere.)
My time in and around charismatic movements and prayer groups has also always included the inevitable ‘praying/singing in tongues’. This was something I struggled with as a young man. I did 6 or 7 ‘Life in the Spirit’ seminars back to back hoping a praying for the ‘gift’ of tongues. I, like many people, saw it as somewhat of a rite of passage. It feels like you need this 'gift' if you are wanting to call yourself a charismatic. Somehow I began to ‘speak/pray in tongues’. I was told that it involved me being less self conscious and opening my mouth and allowing the Holy Spirit to provide the words. ‘Start making noise’ I was told, ‘only then can the Spirit give you the words’. I have a few issues with this supposed ‘gift’, and I will try to outline them here. For people that practice this, I hope I do not come across as condemning, but I’m hoping people would think a bit more about it. I would encourage any reader who may be able to provide me with answers to these questions to leave these answers in the comment box.
1) I think the most common manifestation of this ‘gift’ in contemporary charismatic circles is not in fact, what is reported in Acts 2 and elsewhere in the bible. It seems that the apostles had full understanding of the words that they were inspired to speak and those that heard what was spoken were able to understand it in whatever language they understood.
2) The most common use of the ‘gift’ in contemporary charismatic groups is in common, collectively as a group of worshipers - Everyone 'speaking' at the same time, perhaps after a song or an improvised prayer. This, it seems to me is quite contrary to the instruction of St Paul in 1Cor 14:27 "If there are to be any people speaking in a tongue, then let there be only two, or at the most three, and those one at a time, and let one of these interpret." Even when there is a supposed interpreter (in my experience), such a person is not translating from another language, but is perhaps trying to discern what the Holy Spirit might be saying through the speaker in their own ‘tongue’ - this seems somewhat incongruous.
3) The ‘language’ spoken by the one praying in tongues doesn’t sound like a language at all (this relates to point 2, above). Now, I don’t speak anything other than English and I’m obviously not a linguist, but I can recognise another language when it is spoken, by the flow of sounds, grammar, emphasis on certain words etc etc. It seems that when charismatic persons are using their ‘gift’ of speaking/praying/singing in tongues that a few verbal sounds are continually repeated and jumbled around. There seems to be no meaning being communicated, even in another language – which is very different from what happened on Pentecost morning, when it seemed that other foreign nationals heard Peter’s sermon in their own language.
4) The speaker is unaware of what is being said. This is, for me a significant problem and a potential danger. That the person speaking in tongues is unaware of what is being spoken has been explained to me by people with a charismatic spirituality with the following reasoning: it is a way for your soul to connect directly with God, an outlet for feelings and praises that one is unable to express with the limited human vocabulary.
I can see how this makes sense on one level: God is beyond our comprehension and so, it seems right in a sense that the language with which we speak to Him is also beyond our comprehension. However, I find this concept incongruent with the fact that God has in fact given us an intellect and He expects us to use it. Prayer is for man,m educative.
Added to this the is fact that God, who is infinite and beyond all comprehension actually took on human flesh and became MAN. This condescension is why we are able to enjoy a personal relationship with our Creator. God knows what we are to say, but, like we do often with little children, He encourages us to try to name our needs and realise that we rely on him for everything.
Leaving the intellect out of our prayer life is dangerous and opens us up to demonic influence. Many people are aware of stories of scholars or priests who speak ancient languages who have become heard tongues speakers chanting demonic incantations, unbeknownst to them, even thinking that they are praising God.
In all, I think it is too dangerous to speak without being conscious of the content of your words or the sounds that come forth from your mouth.
5) The biblical story of the tower of Babel seems, in some sense, to point to the fact that the confusion of tongues (languages) is a logical result of (or perhaps punishment for) sinful pride. Understanding each other is a gift from God. Understanding was what was given to the hearers of the Apostles at Pentecost – it is not, to my knowledge, given to those at charismatic prayer groups
I have other reservations when it comes to charismaticism in the Catholic Church, and this centres on how Mass is celebrated in Charismatic circles and the liturgical abuses that often ensue. This however is probably something to take up in another post.
Ave Maria!
I recently stumbled across this and was tickled by the idea... Then, upon reading the prayer I realised how beautiful and accurate it was. Chesterton is indeed worth praying to, and the cause for his beatification is legit (read this)