Charismatic adoration, Toungues, and satanic laughter?

[Anonymous_1]

Ok you might think this is a wierd thread title but here me out. I am comming back from DC today with some people from my youth group. They are talking about a retreat known as Steubenville, it is supposed to be extremley powerful. We got into a discussion about Charismatics and speaking in toungues.

Listen to this
The people who had gone on this retreat were exposed to some charismatic form of Eucharistic Adoration. They were warned that this often provokes uncontrollable laughter and crying and can be very unusual for those not acustomed to it.

They described some things to me that are interesting and disturbing at the same time. I was wondering if anyone had answers.

They told me that people were cryuing uncontrollably and falling asleep. Several people said they did not like the experience they said it freaked them out and that it was scary and disturbing. They said during the adoration, in addition to the uncontrollable crying and overwhelming sense of Gods presense, there were also audible “cracklings”, it was described as shrill laughter. This clearly was what disturbed people the most, in fact one girl was CONVINCED it was satanic laughter. It made her cringe, it makes me cringe thinking about it. Eveyrone heard it, however I was told that it it did not seem that any person was making the noise. It was described by everyone as scary and deeply disturbing.

This was a Catholic service and i am confused, Has anyone heard of this or experienced it, can they lend any inscite or provide me with solid information to read up on? I onyl ask because I am interested in going, and want to know what I am getting myself into.

Thanks guys.

 

[Anonymous_1]

ok

apparently this happens alot
can someone give me an explanation?

ghostplace.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17279

 

[katewithak]

Anonymous_1:

ok

apparently this happens alot
can someone give me an explanation?

ghostplace.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17279

Sounds like hysterical emotionalism to me. As far as Satan is concerned, I do not believe he spends much time in front of the Blessed Sacrament and I understand you were adoring the Sacrament at the time? But then, I have never witnessed such a phenomenon and cannot say definitively as to the hysterics or not.I suggest you post it to the Ask an Apologists.

 

[Anonymous_1]

I was not there. This was not merley an emotional experience. Several people HEARD the laughter…it was described as “cackling” it is apparently common in Catholic Charismatic circles as they were warned about it.

I just want some solid info.

 

[katewithak]

Anonymous_1:

I was not there. This was not merley an emotional experience. Several people HEARD the laughter…it was described as “cackling” it is apparently common in Catholic Charismatic circles as they were warned about it.

I just want some solid info.

Try the apologists. Actually, in the Catholic Charismatic Masses I have attended, I would have to say I have never heard “cackling”.

 

[Elzee]

Can you go to the Steubenville site and see if there is someone there you can email with your question/concern? They must have a contact listed for Faith Formation/Worship…not sure what the position would be called. Or, send Scott Hahn a letter c/o the University. Just be sure you tell us what you hear back! You’ve got me curious now.

 

[threej_lc]

Hmm… if I may offer my 17 cents.

1. (Technical detail) Its the Steubenville Youth Conferences put on the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Calling it just “Stuebenville” is a bit odd sounding.
2. I’ve never been to one, but I’ve had many friends who have gone, and have been involved in other charismatic adoration services.
3. Everything but the cackling aside, this is fairly normal for a charismatic service. The retreat helps a lot of people at the retreat to realize and open up to God truly present in the Eucharist, and the power of the Holy Spirit sealed in them through baptism and confirmation. That’s a powerful realization that the body can’t fully contain on its first encounter, so it tries to express itself in the ways we’ve seen mentioned: Crying, strong emotional response in prayer, and even such things as praying in tongues and “resting in the spirit.”

None of them are, of themselves, bad. God gave us emotions, and we should be joyful that he allows us to use them in prayer with him in this way. They weren’t meant to be sealed away. However, there is still potential for a problem when those who have experienced these reactions begin seeking them over God himself, instead of using them to praise God, or when the person becomes reliant upon these feelings and experiences as the only time “God is near”, rather then percieving them as a gift and encouragement, aside from the true day to day pray life, which is continued by faith and will, often in the absence of emotional commfort.

1. Concerning the cackling… I’d have to be there myself to judge it, but there are really two possibilities:

A. Strong laughter IS one of the affects of the situation described above. I’ve had it happen to myself. Some people, oddly, do have pretty scary laughs…

B. As was stated previously, the devil is present in people. I assume more then we realize. When someone who is afflicted comes to a situation like this… the enemy has to respond. Both to frighten off others, and to deter the person from drawing closer to God. This could also be an affect of this.

Wish I could have been there to offer you some better insight.
Josh

 

[ComradeAndrei]

I am just wondering, but isn’t adoration supposed to be made in blessed silence? I can understand occasional emotional outbursts, but if that is “common” or “standard” I would at the least be suspicious.

 

[asquared]

ComradeAndrei:

I am just wondering, but isn’t adoration supposed to be made in blessed silence? I can understand occasional emotional outbursts, but if that is “common” or “standard” I would at the least be suspicious.

no, such reactions are not common or standard in Eucharistic holy hours I have attended at the Franciscan University of STeubenville during summer conferences 7 years running. By the way, any holy hour for a group in a parish or other setting may include appropriate music, prayers in common such as the LOTH, scripture readings, and homily or reflection, interspersed with periods of silence.

A feature of these holy hours at the Youth Conferences sponsored by the university on campus and around the country (and also by Youth 2000 retreats) is a Eucharistic procession which closes the period of prayer and adoration, in which the monstrance stops briefly before each kneeling participant. This is an intensely moving experience, and some people, do react emotionally with tears, laughter, sometimes tongues (briefly), sometimes falling (resting in the Spirit). There are always adults on hand to quietly assist anyone who needs it, which generally merely means staying with the individual until he is calm again.

Bear in mind that for many participants this is their first experience of Adoration, which is closing a retreat or conference in which they have participated in Mass in a deeper more meaningful way than ever before, and have gone to confession with gifted confessors, often for the first time since their first communion. Young people often react emostionally and it is to be expected that they would do so in “close encounters” with the Eucharist.

the Charismatic renewal is a feature of campus life here, although it does not dominate it, and this is an orthodox aspect of Catholic spirituality. If anyone wants to debate the CCR, there are dozens of threads on this topic already.

 

[Psalm45_9]

Anonymous_1:

Ok you might think this is a wierd thread title but here me out. I am comming back from DC today with some people from my youth group. They are talking about a retreat known as Steubenville, it is supposed to be extremley powerful. We got into a discussion about Charismatics and speaking in toungues.

Listen to this
The people who had gone on this retreat were exposed to some charismatic form of Eucharistic Adoration. They were warned that this often provokes uncontrollable laughter and crying and can be very unusual for those not acustomed to it.

They described some things to me that are interesting and disturbing at the same time. I was wondering if anyone had answers.

They told me that people were cryuing uncontrollably and falling asleep. Several people said they did not like the experience they said it freaked them out and that it was scary and disturbing. They said during the adoration, in addition to the uncontrollable crying and overwhelming sense of Gods presense, there were also audible “cracklings”, it was described as shrill laughter. This clearly was what disturbed people the most, in fact one girl was CONVINCED it was satanic laughter. It made her cringe, it makes me cringe thinking about it. Eveyrone heard it, however I was told that it it did not seem that any person was making the noise. It was described by everyone as scary and deeply disturbing.

This was a Catholic service and i am confused, Has anyone heard of this or experienced it, can they lend any inscite or provide me with solid information to read up on? I onyl ask because I am interested in going, and want to know what I am getting myself into.

Thanks guys.

I went to one of their youth conferences as a chaperon two years ago. The guest speakers were very good, the worship part I did not enjoy. The Charismatic Renewal is not my cup-of-tea. I wouldn’t have minded so much if the adults in my group weren’t so insistent about me getting into the Charismatic movement. When benediction came around Saturday night and what you described happened, I’m sorry, but I could not get into it. The adults were acting too much like I have never been benediction before. (That year for lent every Friday evening I served benediction; we used the organ, sang tantum ergo in Latin, while the priest incensed the monstrance. To me that is benediction, that’s what I’m used to, that’s my cup-of-tea.) One of the other chaperon whom I thought would have known better (he was 27 at the time) was the most inistent one that weekend. It was as if he thought that I had never experienced Jesus before. I’m thinking to myself “Ummm… NO!” I was 22 at the time and I had just made my confirmation after I had my “conversion” experience and re-verted. When he found that out on the last day he had the look of, “Oh…” on his face.

 

[DaveBj]

I was brought up in pentecostalism, starting 16 years before the Charismatic Movement was a gleam in anyone’s eye. There is a time and a place for that kind of worship, but please, not at Eucharistic Adoration.

DaveBj

 

[Anonymous_1]

thanks everyone for your responses…im just confused why God would bring about something that would so deeply disturb some people…

those who have been to a Steubenville retreat, do you think it is a worthwhile experience?

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

Anonymous_1:

Ok you might think this is a wierd thread title but here me out. I am comming back from DC today with some people from my youth group. They are talking about a retreat known as Steubenville, it is supposed to be extremley powerful. We got into a discussion about Charismatics and speaking in toungues.

Listen to this
The people who had gone on this retreat were exposed to some charismatic form of Eucharistic Adoration. They were warned that this often provokes uncontrollable laughter and crying and can be very unusual for those not acustomed to it.

They described some things to me that are interesting and disturbing at the same time. I was wondering if anyone had answers.

They told me that people were cryuing uncontrollably and falling asleep. Several people said they did not like the experience they said it freaked them out and that it was scary and disturbing.

Something can be “scary and disturbing”, without being evil - God is both, very much so. This is because God is God, not man, not a creature. God is both, because He is “horribly good”, utterly unspeakable - indescribably different from us. And yet - He makes us His ​

Human beings are made in such a way, that we have a limited range of reactions to a very wide variety of stimuli. For instance, people laugh because they are amused - and also because they are scornful; and also, because they are glad. These responses are similar in how they show in our behaviour - but are distinct, though related in their psychology.

Sometimes people laugh for joy - sometimes they are in floods of tears: not because they are in any way sad, but because they are so full of joy, that they cannot respond to it adequately.

And this can happen sometimes in people’s encounter with Christ: He is Infinite Blessedness, Love, Joy, and Holiness; He is nothing but Good - so, when people come close to Him, it sometimes happens that He fills them so full of Himself, that they are overcome, and their bodies don’t have the means to respond, except by getting all emotional in floods of tears - or sleeping. He is Infinite - but we are finite, we cannot receive what He gives us, adequately: our range of responses is limited by our created, human, sinful, state. Ecstasy is one way our limited and weak humanity deals with this encounter; prophecy, tongues, levitation, the stigmata, bilocation, are others.

If the encounter is not to destroy people, there must be some way to siphon off the pressure of this encounter: sleep is one solution. ##

They said during the adoration, in addition to the uncontrollable crying and overwhelming sense of Gods presense, there were also audible “cracklings”, it was described as shrill laughter. This clearly was what disturbed people the most, in fact one girl was CONVINCED it was satanic laughter. It made her cringe, it makes me cringe thinking about it. Eveyrone heard it, however I was told that it it did not seem that any person was making the noise. It was described by everyone as scary and deeply disturbing.

The devil’s presence should never be seen in things merely because those things are unfamiliar​

This was a Catholic service and i am confused, Has anyone heard of this or experienced it, can they lend any inscite or provide me with solid information to read up on? I onyl ask because I am interested in going, and want to know what I am getting myself into.

Thanks guys.

 

[Psalm45_9]

Anonymous_1:

thanks everyone for your responses…im just confused why God would bring about something that would so deeply disturb some people…

those who have been to a Steubenville retreat, do you think it is a worthwhile experience?

It deepends solely on who you go with. I would have had a better time if I went with a different group of adults (the teens I did not have a problem with.) Our parochial vicar who was into youth ministry took the teens to it for the first time the year before. He is very easy-going, likes to get personal with the teens, but at the same time is orthodox and actually follows the rubrics at Mass. He left to become a pastor at the church where he was first assigned, so the following year the teens went on the trip with only the youth minister and a couple of adult chaperons who went the year before. They asked me if I wanted to come, I agreed. The guest speakers were very good in their witnessing to Christ. Confession was available most of the day and the atmosphere for the most part was postive. However, if you are not into Charismatic worship, then this is where it really depends on who you go with, and how good of a time you will have. I’m telling you, it just felt as if they was me as a big teenager who never experienced Christ before and I need to clap my hands, speak uncomprehensible words, and look up to the sky in order to experience Christ. I was thinking to myself if any of them ever saw me at benediction durring Lent then they would have saw me trembeling in his glory.

I know that if I went the year before with our old parochial vicar then I would have had a much better time. One thing I will say, it was not the Stubenville Youth Conference that I had the issue with. But when you try to tell someone who likes Opera and has season tickets to the Met. that now they’re going to listen to rap and like it, I say, “Umm… NO!”

My advice to you is find out who you’re going with, if you’re not comfortable with Charimatic worship, then you need to make sure you’re not going to be with a group that’s going to preasure you.

 

[system]

I just returned from the Steubenville conference in Atlanta, GA and the Eucharistic Adoration was by far the most powerful part of the weekend. There were over 2800 people there and during the adoration people laughed uncontrollably (some fainted from lack of air), others sobbed uncontrollably, and several people fainted the moment it was brought on to the alter. Personally I was over come with an overwhelming feeling of God. I physically felt something inside me and my skin tingled for quite a while. I experienced uncontrollable sobbing along with a deep prayer that lead to vivid visions. In these visions I walked with Jesus and it was more real than anything I could ever explain. He walked me through his birth, I walked on water, I helped him carry his cross, I (along with others) carried Him to His the tomb, then had an in-depth conversation in the room where the last supper was held. I put my fingers through the holes in His hands and it felt so real. He told me that if I lived the life he had in store for me I’m going to be a missionary and teach math to children around the world. Recently I’ve been considering being a missionary, so this was amazing to me. I hope this helps you and if you have any questions feel free to ask!