Charismatic Catholic Fellowship

[Holly3278]

My mum is Charismatic and i sometimes go with her to her parish to experience and embrace it. It is awesome to see the whole congregation praising and loving Jesus as they do, it is nothing like that in my traditional parish.

You can feel Jesus as you walk into this particular Church.

You walk out feeling refreshed, full of love and just wonderful. I love it!

That is truly awesome Tweety. I love the Charismatic movement within the Catholic Church. It is truly amazing. However, I sometimes wonder if I am really speaking in tongues with the true gift or if I am just babbling. I honestly don’t think I have that gift.

 

[Tweety]

That is truly awesome Tweety. I love the Charismatic movement within the Catholic Church. It is truly amazing. However, I sometimes wonder if I am really speaking in tongues with the true gift or if I am just babbling. I honestly don’t think I have that gift.

You are blessed! Trust that you can really speak in tongues! I can’t speak in tongues - but my mum and aunty can and so do many at the Charismatic Masses. It is awesome to hear all the priests and deacons and parishioners speaking in tongues. I am not that blessed. I did/do have the gift of tears each time i received holy communion for many years and it still happens every now and then.

I think it is awesome and i would like to be more involved with mum’s parish and the CCR one day… and have the holy spirit more involved in me! Mum’s parish is the Eucharistic Centre in our city, so it’s doubly awesome!

God Bless.

 

[Holly3278]

You are blessed! Trust that you can really speak in tongues! I can’t speak in tongues - but my mum and aunty can and so do many at the Charismatic Masses. It is awesome to hear all the priests and deacons and parishioners speaking in tongues. I am not that blessed. I did/do have the gift of tears each time i received holy communion for many years and it still happens every now and then.

I think it is awesome and i would like to be more involved with mum’s parish and the CCR one day… and have the holy spirit more involved in me! Mum’s parish is the Eucharistic Centre in our city, so it’s doubly awesome!

God Bless.

Well, you see, I am not even sure that the gift of speaking in tongues is for everybody or even most people today. Take a look at this article from Scripture Catholic and in particular look at the part I quoted:

2 – The gift of tongues will cease. Paul says “as for tongues, they will cease” (1 Cor. 13:8). The Greek word for “cease” (pauomai) means that the gift of tongues will end abruptly, on its own, and will not be replaced by another gift. The gift of tongues is the only gift of the Holy Spirit that is said to “cease” in this way. When Paul says that prophecies and knowledge will “pass away” (1 Cor. 13:8), the phrase “pass away” (in Greek, katargeo) indicates that these gifts will be replaced by a superior power. This appears to take place when we begin our life in eternity (1 Cor. 13:10-12). Not so with tongues.

Paul does not say when the gift of tongues would cease, and whether the gift would return intermittently after its cessation. However, Augustine wrote that the gift of tongues had ceased by the time of his day. Augustine explained that this was because the Catholic Church now spoke the language of the nations, and tongue-speaking was only for purposes of evangelization (Aquinas agreed). The fact that the gift of tongues is not recorded in later books of the New Testament suggest that the gift may have even been ceasing during the biblical period.

Nevertheless, there are a few recorded instances of saints speaking in tongues over the centuries (Sts. Dominic, Anthony of Padua, Francis Xavier, John of the Cross, Ignatius of Loyola). This demonstrates that the gift of tongues is very rare, and given to the holiest of people.

Emphasis in bold is mine.

scripturecatholic.com/tongues.html

 

[Pani_Rose]

I have experienced resting in Spirit myself, and observed ‘holy laughter’ but I am confused… it is nowhere in the Bible, and as far as I know there is no official Church statement/document about it…

But Sarah did laugh, the thougt that what God said was impossible in her mind made her laugh. But, in laughter we find the joy of the Lord. In realizing that nothing is impossible for God, there is joy and laughter.

** Genesis 18:9-15**
** 9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. 10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? 13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh (Genesis 18:9-15).
**

But look at John 14:16-21, 26-27
**
** 19In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. 26****The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name–he will teach you everything and remind you of all that (I) told you.27Peace 12 I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.

Is this not all a reason for laughter. I have seen it many times in prayer meetings, I do know the joy of the Lord and that is reason to laugh with joy.

Psalms
Chapter 135 ** 1Hallelujah! 1 Praise the name of the LORD! Praise, you servants of the LORD, 2Who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God! 3Praise the LORD; the LORD is good! Sing to God’s name; it is gracious! 4For the LORD has chosen Jacob, Israel as a treasured possession. 5I know that the LORD is great, our Lord is greater than all gods. 6****Whatever the LORD wishes he does in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the deeps.**

 

[Pani_Rose]

Zephaniah
Chapter 3
14 **** Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! 15 The LORD has removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies; The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear. 16 On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!** 17 **** The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, He will sing joyfully because of you,**

 

[Flame_of_Christ]

Hi all and greetings in the Lord,

I wanted to share some of my experience in the Charismatic renewal and in particular, the experience of praying of tongues for the first time. I hope this is a blessing for someone who reads it!

I first heard of the gift of tongues and other charismatic stuff online and was at first neutral, keeping my distance. A while after, after becoming a little more interested, I want to my first charismatic prayer group and got there really late. Well basically I was asked if I wanted to receive the gift of tongues and I said yes. About 20 mature members of the renewal prayed over me and I said a prayer of renewal asking Jesus to come into my heart and be my Lord. I also asked the Lord in front of everyone to grant me the gift of tongues and to fill me with His holy Spirit.

Mind you, I was already catholic at this point, going to daily mass and confession weekly at times. I had already come to believe strongly in the Church.

Well, I didn’t think much about if the gift of tongues was really given to me at that point, but I did feel like a new person. Right then and there, I felt so open to everyone, like I had never before. I can’t explain it in words, but basically, I felt like I loved all these people whom I barely knew. It was wonderful! My heart felt so open to everyone. Very hard experience to describe.

Well, here is where the tongues come in. Sorry this is taking a little long to say. About 5 days later, I was at a completely different prayer group with some friends. They are not charismatics in the typical sense of the word. Nonetheless, they are devoted and faithful Catholics. Nuns I might add.

Well this young nun was preaching about giving Jesus our whole lives. Giving everything to Him and following Him with all that we have. She was asking us to be His discple in a deeper way. And on the inside, I was praying “Yes Lord, let me give all of myself to you. Yes Lord” and then…

All of a sudden I could sense this fire burning in my chest. It was like a burning fire in my heart! A big fire! burning, burning, Burning!And I know this is very difficult to understand, but I could see these words coming out of that fire, going through my throat and I began praying in tongues, right there in their chapel! but since she was giving a talk, I just closed my lips and resisted making an audible sound. But I kept praying these words inside and was filled with incredible Joy.

So!

LOL, I knew that it came from Jesus. I say this because I was in the presence of the blessed sacrament, while a nun was preaching, and more importantly, I was praying with my heart saying that I wanted more of Jesus.

I think that it had to be from Him, since the church does indeed say that tongues are a real gift of the holy Spirit and that the charismatic renewal is accepted.

Maybe it all happened in this way so that I could see how much love God wants to show me by being so close and personal in my life that I can expereince the Gifts of His presence.

May this story help someone who is contemplating the Gifts and love of God.

 

[Pani_Rose]

        St Thomas Aquinas
       [RIGHT]the Charismatic Gifts and the New              Evangelization[/RIGHT]

Pat Collins C.M. who is currently on sabbatical in the United States studying the New Evangelisation, shares some of the insights of one of the greatest theologians of the Catholic Church about the charismatic gifts.

                                         http://www.ccr.org.uk/images/pat_c.jpgIt may surprise you to know that St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), the greatest theologian the Catholic Church has ever produced, wrote a great deal about the charisms in 1 Cor 12:8-10. He did so in three main places, the relevant sections of his verse by verse commentary on first Corinthians; in the Summa Contra Gentiles; and in a 32,000 word treatise on the gifts in his Summa Theologica. Although Thomas produced a detailed theology of the gifts, it is surprising how seldom Catholic Charismatics refer to it either in word or in print. In this article, I want to provide a brief summary of his main points. 
       Sanctifying grace and charismatic gifts

St Thomas made a distinction between different kinds of grace. Firstly, there are sanctifying graces i.e. graces which make people pleasing in the sight of God. Then there are charismatic graces. Rather than making a person pleasing in the sight of God, they are graces freely given in order to help others to grow in sanctifying grace. Indeed, St Thomas went so far as to say that it was conceivable that people in the state of mortal sin could be given gifts, such as healing and miracle working, for the evangelization of others (Cf. Mt 7:21-23).
Thomas’s classification of the gifts
Scripture scholars have asked whether St Paul’s list of nine gifts in 1 Cor 12:8-10 can be classified in any way. Although the apostle probably hadn’t any conscious classification in mind, St Thomas thought, for theological reasons, that they can be divided into three groups: “some of them pertain to knowledge (revelation), some to speech (proclamation), and some to operation (demonstration).”

CON"T

 

[Pani_Rose]

A) Gifts of revelation - St Thomas said that revelation was “an inner light of the mind.” All the revelatory gifts are rooted in the charism of prophecy which is “a kind of knowledge impressed under the form of teaching on the prophet’s intellect, by Divine revelation.” Having stated that this knowledge goes beyond the natural powers of the mind, he went on to describe the various ways in which it can be imparted by God, such as images, dreams, visions, and intellectual illumination. While these are prompted by the Spirit they are mediated by the angels. He said that, often prophecy has to do with future events. One of the ways in which it is exercised is through, what Charismatics refer to as, the word of knowledge. Thomas says that rather than being an aspect of the “utterance of knowledge” mentioned in 1 Cor 12:8, the word of knowledge is a form of the prophetic gift mentioned in 1 Cor 12:10.
http://www.ccr.org.uk/archive/gn0711/stthomas.jpg
Rapture is the second revelatory gift (Cf. 2 Cor 12:2-4). Strictly, speaking it is not one mentioned by Paul in 1 Cor 12:8-10. Nevertheless, Thomas says that rapture is a grace whereby “a person is lifted up by the Spirit of God to supernatural things, and withdraws from his senses, as Ezechiel 8:3 says, “the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem.” What Thomas says about rapture is reminiscent of what we know about higher states of contemplation. It raises the question, is the contemporary experience, which is variously referred to as “slaying in the Spirit,” or “resting in the Spirit,” sometimes a rapture state during which a revelation is received?
Discernment of spirits is the third revelatory gift. Writing about it Thomas said: “To another is given the ability to distinguish between spirits, namely, in order that a man be able to discern by what spirit someone is moved to speak or work; for example, whether by the spirit of charity or by the spirit of envy.” It would seem from this quotation, that St Thomas did not restrict the charism of distinguishing of spirits to prophecy, but widened it to include the testing of any kind of inspiration or prompting.

CON’T

 

[Pani_Rose]

B) Gifts of Proclamation - Clearly, Thomas believed that the Lord gives people revealed knowledge not only to enlighten them personally, but in order that they might enlighten others by means of verbal evangelization. He wrote: “Now because those who receive a revelation from God ought in the order of divine enactment to instruct others, there needed to be further communicated the grace of speech.”
Consistent with his didactic understanding of the gifts, Thomas clearly interpreted the charism of tongues as xenoglossi i.e. an ability that the Apostles received from God of speaking the foreign languages used by their listeners. Thomas knew that for four days St Domnic, the founder of his Dominican Order, had been enabled to speak German to people he had met on a pilgrimage. Thomas said very little about “tongues” as glossolalia, which according to Paul in 1 Cor 14:14, was a gift of private prayer. He gave a curious explanation of the charism of the interpretation of tongues. He said that it is a Spirit given ability to explain difficult scripture verses. He quoted two texts in Dan 5:16 and Gen 40:8 to support his view.
Writing about the gifts of wisdom and knowledge (Cf. Is 11:2), with which he was richly endowed himself, St Thomas said succinctly, “Knowledge of divine things is called wisdom, and all knowledge of human beings shares the more general term of knowledge.” Then he added: “It is significant that the Apostle places in the charismatic graces not wisdom and knowledge, but the utterance of wisdom and knowledge, which are to do with the ability of persuading others by speech about matters pertaining to wisdom and knowledge.” Thomas said that the two gifts of utterance become effective by instructing the intellect, moving the listener emotionally, and swaying him or her to love that which has been spoken about in words. Speaking of women he said, in a way that would be questioned nowadays, that they can exercise the gifts of the utterance of wisdom and knowledge in private, domestic situations, but not in public.

CON"T

 

[Pani_Rose]

C) Gifts of Demonstration - Through the prophetic gifts of revelation, a person gets to know the truths of faith. Through the gifts of proclamation, such as the ability of speaking foreign languages, and to communicate wisdom and knowledge, revelation is imparted to others. But, St Thomas, says that the trans-rational truth of what is proclaimed needs to be confirmed by the working of deeds of power. “Any proclamation,” he said, “requires confirmation before it can be received…The means, therefore, to show that the proclamation of these preachers comes from God was the evidence of works done by them such as none other than God could do, healing the sick, and other miracles.”
Thomas appreciated that the charism of faith was the key, not only to effective proclamation, but to healing and miracle working. Writing about the link between charismatic faith and proclamation he observed: “It is not as a virtue justifying man himself, but it implies a super-eminent certitude of faith, whereby a person is fitted for instructing others concerning such things as belong to the faith.” Speaking about faith and demonstration by means of deeds of power he added: “The working of miracles is ascribed to faith for two reasons. First, because it is directed to the confirmation of faith; secondly, because it proceeds from God’s almighty power on which faith relies. Nevertheless, just as besides the grace of faith, the grace of the word is necessary that people may be instructed in the faith, so too is the grace of miracles necessary that people may be confirmed in their faith.”
Conclusion
Given the fact that St Thomas lived in an age when the charisms were not widely exercised, his description of the gifts of the Spirit is not only surprising in its detail, it is a tour de force as far as its theological depth and coherence are concerned. I may say in passing that in the 18th century, Pope Benedict XIV wrote a long, but much neglected, treatise on the charisms which was deeply influenced by St Thomas’s writings. It seems to me that Thomas’s evangelistic interpretation of the gifts in 1 Cor 12:8-10 is tailor- made for a charismatic understanding of the New Evangelization called for by the Church. Yes, his views need some modification in the light of contemporary scripture scholarship and charismatic experience, but overall his interpretation provides us with a well thought out theology that shows that the proclamation and demonstration of the Good News needs to be rooted in revelation, especially the gift of prophecy.
ccr.org.uk/archive/gn0711/g09.htm

       [

](http://www.ccr.org.uk/archive/gn0711/g09.htm#top)

 

[Tweety]

Hi all and greetings in the Lord,

I wanted to share some of my experience in the Charismatic renewal and in particular, the experience of praying of tongues for the first time. I hope this is a blessing for someone who reads it!

Well, I didn’t think much about if the gift of tongues was really given to me at that point, but I did feel like a new person. Right then and there, I felt so open to everyone, like I had never before. I can’t explain it in words, but basically, I felt like I loved all these people whom I barely knew. It was wonderful! My heart felt so open to everyone. Very hard experience to describe.

Well, here is where the tongues come in. Sorry this is taking a little long to say. About 5 days later, I was at a completely different prayer group with some friends. They are not charismatics in the typical sense of the word. Nonetheless, they are devoted and faithful Catholics. Nuns I might add.

Well this young nun was preaching about giving Jesus our whole lives. Giving everything to Him and following Him with all that we have. She was asking us to be His discple in a deeper way. And on the inside, I was praying “Yes Lord, let me give all of myself to you. Yes Lord” and then…

All of a sudden I could sense this fire burning in my chest. It was like a burning fire in my heart! A big fire! burning, burning, Burning!And I know this is very difficult to understand, but I could see these words coming out of that fire, going through my throat and I began praying in tongues, right there in their chapel! but since she was giving a talk, I just closed my lips and resisted making an audible sound. But I kept praying these words inside and was filled with incredible Joy.

So!

LOL, I knew that it came from Jesus. I say this because I was in the presence of the blessed sacrament, while a nun was preaching, and more importantly, I was praying with my heart saying that I wanted more of Jesus.

I think that it had to be from Him, since the church does indeed say that tongues are a real gift of the holy Spirit and that the charismatic renewal is accepted.

Maybe it all happened in this way so that I could see how much love God wants to show me by being so close and personal in my life that I can expereince the Gifts of His presence.

May this story help someone who is contemplating the Gifts and love of God.

What a wonderful thing to share…

You have put a smile on my face, your enthusiasm is wonderful…

Thank you and God bless!

 

[byers]

Greetings. I have a question if anyone can enlighten me. Are there any charismatics, like those in the latin rite, to be found in the eastern rites of the church like the byzantine and marionites?
Thanks.

 

[Pani_Rose]

Greetings. I have a question if anyone can enlighten me. Are there any charismatics, like those in the latin rite, to be found in the eastern rites of the church like the byzantine and marionites?
Thanks.

Very few.

Though we have been a part of it for 30 years, our church in Ohio at the time, just outside Steubenville, was one of the very few with total church involvement.

We are still involved but through our Eastern Rite parish, but through the Latin Rite.

 

[pyropam]

I am so glad to see this thread. Being raised in a pentacostal church, I was raised with the “speaking in of tongues”. I firmly believe in this gift of the spirit.

I think that my conversion to the Catholic church may not have been an easy one had it not have been for one of the Fathers on the “Ask an Apologist” answering questions regarding this gift.

I would like to find a Charismtic group here locally.

God Bless You all,
Pam

 

[maggie_ann]

I am so glad to have found this thread and hear everyone’s wonderful story! I have been Charismatic for a little over 1 year and it has indeed changed my life! I have made some wonderful friends who are a true blessing from God. We are fortunate enough to have a Charismatic priest leading our parish but sadly most of our parishoners are very close minded about this. We have only a very small core group at our prayer meetings, but are planning a Life in the Spirit seminar for next year and hope to increase our numbers! I can understand how they feel as I was very apprehensive myself for a while. I guess you are afraid of what you do not understand, but I knew I wanted more and by the grace of God I have certainly found it! There is no way to express in words the wonder and awe of how deep your love for Jesus, God the Father, the Spirit, the Catholic Church can become! I have been reading “As By A New Pentecost” by Patti Gallagher Mansfield about the Duquesne weekend in 1967 and what has been hailed as the start of the Charismatic movement in the Catholic Church. It is a wonderful and awe-inspiring story! So, hello to all and God Bless!

 

[Holly3278]

Thank you all for posting on my thread. I do appreciate it. As a Charismatic Catholic, I really enjoy fellowshipping with other Charismatic Catholics and this thread helps me to do that. Thanks!

 

[Pani_Rose]

I am so glad to see this thread. Being raised in a pentacostal church, I was raised with the “speaking in of tongues”. I firmly believe in this gift of the spirit.

I think that my conversion to the Catholic church may not have been an easy one had it not have been for one of the Fathers on the “Ask an Apologist” answering questions regarding this gift.

I would like to find a Charismtic group here locally.

God Bless You all,
Pam

Pam,

What par of Alabama are you in?

We have prayer meeting every Thursday night at OLS in the family life center if you are in Birmingham area.
catholiccharismaticrenewal.org/

Sorry, I am typing witthiout my glasses on. Hope I am not doing too bad,

 

[Holly3278]

I think that it is very important that as Charismatic Catholics, do not accidentally fall into the heresy of Montanism. Most, if not all, Pentecostals are neo-Montanists. That said, I don’t think it would be easy for a Catholic to fall into the heresy of Montanism because it is quite different from orthodox Christianity.

 

[pyropam]

Pam,

What par of Alabama are you in?

We have prayer meeting every Thursday night at OLS in the family life center if you are in Birmingham area.
catholiccharismaticrenewal.org/

Sorry, I am typing witthiout my glasses on. Hope I am not doing too bad,

WOW! Thanks Pani Rose! I’m in the Adamsville Area just outside of Birmingham. I think I’ll try to sign up and make the next meeting.

God Bless,
Pam

 

[Pani_Rose]

WOW! Thanks Pani Rose! I’m in the Adamsville Area just outside of Birmingham. I think I’ll try to sign up and make the next meeting.

God Bless,
Pam

Pam next Thursday - the third Thursday of every month - Fr. Booth says Mass for us. If you are facing OLS - it is in the chapel in the rectory which is attached to the Church - look to your left, towards the back of the church, and you will see the door which is usually open and a light on for us.

If you know where the adoration chapel is at OLS, then in the parking lot beside it, there are steps that go down to the rectory.

The following Thursday is Thanksgiving so we won’t meet. But, after that we are in the Family Life Center behind and to the right of the Church. There is a parking deck in front of the building.

My husband is Deacon Stan, let us know if we can help you in anyway. Actually I just realized our phone number is wrong on there the site - need to get it changed - so just pm me if you want. Don’t feel like you have to sign up, just come on! I am excited and looking forward to meeting you!

Through the years we have got to meet a number of people from different forums, and it has always been such a blessing to see how God uses a telephone line to bring people together we would never meet otherwise.