Charisms and Priorities

[fide]

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. - 1 Cor 13:1-2

The 1st priority for a Christian ought to be to grow in holy love, divine charity, a supernatural virtue given in Baptism. After Baptism, we can love either with natural love (always having self in it), OR, in a given moment, we can love with supernatural holy charity. The Christian life is a journey toward the perfection, the maturity of holy charity. It is possible to become distracted from a hard journey, and turn off to a rest stop for less-than-holy reasons. Charisms can be sought in vanity! They ought never be used except in selfless, divine charity. Charity must be 1st, prior to charisms!

We are called to holiness and the perfection of charity: therein is the eternal life we were created to live. Charisms are gifts given not toward this end (our own salvation), but to help edify others, to help them toward their salvation. If we use them prematurely, vainly, we can harm our own souls and theirs.

From Christian Perfection and Contemplation (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.):

In company with this great master [St. John of the Cross] who is the faithful echo of tradition, we must hold that the full perfection of charity in this life cannot exist without mystical contemplation, without the full development of the gifts of understanding and of wisdom, which grow with charity. The entire supernatural organism [begun at Baptism] should develop at the same time. This development is not anything extraordinary in itself; it is the full harmony, the perfect order, of the life of grace which has attained here on earth the summit of its normal development.

[Summa: “The higher the good to which a virtue is ordained, the more excellent is the virtue. Now the end is always greater than the means. But sanctifying grace ordains a man immediately to a union with his last end, whereas gratuitous grace [of a charism] ordains a man to what is preparatory to the end; i.e. by prophecy and miracles and so forth, men are induced to unite themselves to their last end. And hence sanctifying grace is nobler than gratuitous grace.”]

This is what makes St. John of the Cross exclaim: “O souls created for such glories, and called to them, of what are you thinking? With what are you occupied? How mediocre are your aspirations, and how wretched your pretended good! How sad is the blindness of your soul! You are blind to the most dazzling light and deaf to the powerful voices which solicit you. By allowing yourselves to be led on by what you consider happiness and glory, you do not see that you remain plunged in your wretchedness and your mediocrity, and you render yourselves ignorant and unworthy of the treasures destined for you.”

Our 1st priority must be the maturation of sanctifying grace given at Baptism! Much later, if we do grow, we will become fit to receive and exercise gifts fitted to help others.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear fide,

Thanks so much for this post. I couldn’t agree with you more: Charity must be our first priority and we need to understand the difference between natural love and supernatural holy charity. As you pointed out:

The Christian life is a journey toward the perfection, the maturity of holy charity. It is possible to become distracted from a hard journey, and turn off to a rest stop for less-than-holy reasons. Charisms can be sought in vanity! They ought never be used except in selfless, divine charity. Charity must be 1st, prior to charisms!

The quote from Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. was especially helpful, in reading the difference between Sanctifying Grace and the nature of “Charisms” which many do not understand. The words of St. John of the Cross included also were words to stir us all. I hope many on the Forum will read this post and ponder all it holds. Hopefully some who may not have read Fr. Garrigou-La Grange’ s books will look into reading them.

Thanks again!

 

[fide]

Thank you for your comment, MariaChristi. It is a fact that sanctifying grace, and the very different and distinct grace of the charisms (graces gratis datae) are not well understood. And their different, distinct importances to the life of the soul and the life of the Church are not well understood. As a result, especially recently I see growing interest in the charisms, the seeking of charisms, a growing focus on charisms. And this, while the foundations and fundamentals of the personal interior life - the life of saving, sanctifying grace in the soul, the seven infused gifts of the Holy Spirit which are needed to perfect holy charity - are not being understood, nourished, pursued and “grown” as they deserve and need to be. It is a focus on the secondary, while taking the primary and essential for granted and in neglect.

Charisms are important - but they call for a solid foundation in the essentials, first. And I see many in the Church bypassing the crucial and necessary, in order to explore and try to develop charismatic gifts which are (if they are authentic) given and intended for others. An analogy is like the man building his house, who began furnishing the inside of the house with proper sofas, chairs and a large dining table, to be all “guest-ready”, when he hasn’t yet put in the doors or windows, closed in the walls, nor finished the roof! First make the house strong, secure and complete, then furnish it to make it good and welcoming to serve the brothers and sisters. First we need to grow in holy charity - because, as St, Paul wrote, the charisms are nothing unless they are in the real, actual service of holy charity:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. - 1 Cor 13:1-2

Strong words, yes, but true.

 

[DebCWil]

God gives His gifts as He wills. Years ago, when I was in Chicago, I went to a Jesus Day Conference. I remember one of the speakers saying “It is possible to become so full of the Spirit as to lose sight of the Spirit.” It is another way of saying that it possible to become so full of zeal and/or excitement that a person fails to actually hear what God is saying.
This can easily happen to a person who is new to the Charismatic Renewal. It is why there is a great emphasis on discernment of the gifts. The gifts do need to be developed, especially the gift of prophecy. If you go to a Charismatic Conference, you will find that any prophecy must be submitted to a discernment committee. These individuals have been members of the Charismatic Renewal for a minimum of ten years, with a known gift of discernment. Before the prophecy or scriptural text is read before the large assembly, it is checked for authencity. Is it in keeping with the magisterium of the Church?

Unlike our non-Catholic brothers and sisters, each of us has been given specific gifts by virtue of the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Some of us have yet to open those gifts. Each of us is on a journey. It is the Lord who leads us along that path. The charisms, the outward signs, are less important than the inward changes and growth that is taking place within the individual.
St. Paul also writes about the different parts of the Body. Each part of the body has a different function. There are some people whom God has given extraordinary gifts. The most notable example is that of healing. Another person may have a gift of servanthood, which is less noticable, yet just as important. The person who prepares the meals, who cleans, who sets out the chairs has also been gifted even as the person who speaks gets the applause. Regardless of the person’s gift, it is for the service of the community, or for prayer.
As St. Paul says, without love, I am nothing but a noisy gong.

 

[fide]

Yes, and thank you for your comment. John of the Cross explicitly warns of the possibilities of “rejoicing” in the charisms in ways that bring harm to the soul and to others:

Ascent of Mt. Carmel, Book 3;
Ch. XXX: … Describes the nature of these supernatural good things, and how they are distinguished from the spiritual, and how joy in them is to be directed to God.
#1. IT now behoves us to treat of the fifth kind of good thing wherein the soul may rejoice, which is the supernatural. …We here understand all the gifts and graces given by God which transcend natural virtue and capacity and are called gratis datae. Such … are the gifts of wisdom and knowledge which God gave to Solomon, and the graces whereof Saint Paul speaks – namely, faith, gifts of healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, knowledge and discernment of spirits, interpretation of words and likewise the gift of tongues.
#5. A man, then, should rejoice, not when he has such graces and makes use of them, but [in] serving God in them with true charity, for herein is the fruit of eternal life.
Ch. XXXI: Of the evils which come to the soul when it sets the rejoicing of the will upon this kind of good.
#1. THREE principal evils … may come to the soul when it sets its rejoicing upon supernatural good. These are: that it may deceive and be deceived; that it may fall away from the faith; and that it may indulge in vainglory or some other such vanity.

It is worth repeating:
THREE principal evils … may come to the soul when it sets its rejoicing upon supernatural good. These are:

1. that it may deceive and be deceived;
2. that it may fall away from the faith; and
3. that it may indulge in vainglory or some other such vanity.

St. John explains these possibilities well, in the Ascent, which can be read on-line starting HERE.0
(continued in next post…)

 

[fide]

Ch. XXXI: Of the evils which come to the soul when it sets the rejoicing of the will upon this kind of good.
#1. Three principal evils … may come to the soul when it sets its rejoicing upon supernatural good. These are: that it may deceive and be deceived; that it may fall away from the faith; and that it may indulge in vainglory or some other such vanity.

#2. As to the first … it is a very easy thing to deceive others, and to deceive oneself, by rejoicing in this kind of operation. [How? Because rejoicing in the gifts impedes our hearing from God] “which of these operations are false and which are true, and how and at what time they should be practiced” ….
#8. [Next,]… a falling away from the faith can come to pass after two manners. First [concerning others]: when a man sets out, unseasonably and needlessly, to perform a marvel or a mighty work, … this is tempting God, which is a great sin, [and] it may be that he will not succeed, and will engender in the hearts of men discredit and contempt for the faith. For, although ….[sometimes] persons may succeed because for other reasons and purposes God so wills it, … they will not always so succeed; and, when they do so, they go astray none the less and are blameworthy for having used these graces when it was not fitting.

The second manner in which we may fall away is in ourselves and has respect to the merit of faith; for, if a man make much account of these miracles, he ceases to lean upon the substantial practice of faith, ….
#9. …. Those, then, who love to rejoice in these supernatural works lose much in the matter of faith.

#10. The third evil is that, because of their joy in these works, men commonly fall into vainglory or some other vanity. For even their joy in these wonders, when it is not, as we have said, purely in God and for God, is vanity; which is evident in the reproof given by Our Lord to the disciples because they had rejoiced that devils were subject to them; for which joy, if it had not been vain, He would not have reproved them.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear fide,

Thanks again for continuing this thread! Yes, I agree with DebCWil in so far as there may be some in Charismatic Prayer groups who experience the Holy Spirit truly at work in their souls – but I think all of us ought to be very conscious of the real dangers we face as we seek to grow in the perfection of Holy Charity.

St. John of the Cross as a Spiritual Director saw how people can be deceived and wrote to help others so that we not be deceived. The evil one was (and still is) a liar from the beginning; he is “the father of lies”. The three principal evils you posted which St. John of the Cross explains are so important for us to take note of and pray for grace to recognize when we are tempted by the evil one or by our own selfish desires.

St. Teresa of Avila in her beautiful and last book , “The Interior Castle” wrote that the room in the castle we can never really leave is that of self-knowledge. Most spiritual writers warn us that the most formidable enemy we face in the spiritual battle is “self-love”. I wonder how many persons can be deceived into thinking the charism is his own gift and not God’s – i.e. it all depends on the self and not God. That person can fall away from faith, by beginning to believe in self more than God, and begin talking to himself rather than to God. That person can continue to engage in vain glory seeking the praise of others. It can become a slippery slope!

The wisdom of our Saints can help us and certainly when it comes to the Spiritual Life, both St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila have helped many in their own time and through hundreds of years. Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange’s books are also helpful because he refers to several saints, not only St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila but also St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Catherine of Siena. Hopefully persons reading your thread will continue to pursue what you have presented. I for one am very grateful!

 

[DebCWil]

When I was called into the Charismatic Renewal, I had no idea what the Renewal was about. The gifts, as mentioned in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, are indeed gifts of the Holy Spirit. Despite the pontifical blessings, there continues to be misunderstandings even after these many years about the purpose of the gifts, as well as the Charismatic Renewal.
I want to start by stating that the Jesus Day Conference I attended in Chicago was not a Charismatic Conference. It occurred before the personal crisis that led me on an Easter retreat, and release of the charisms just before Pentecost–actually on Ascension Thursday.

I have continuously stated that my entry into the Renewal, although dramatic, was a single step along the journey that God has marked for my life. For some people, like any conversion process, it may be a single step or a complete turn around from non-belief. I do not know of any person who has received the gifts of the Holy Spirit who thinks they are anything less than gifts of the Holy Spirit. That includes what St. Paul calls the least of the gifts, the gift of tongues.

What I have seen is the idea of only those with the charisms as being seen as “saved.” This is indeed not a Catholic idea, nor is it taught within the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. It more likely to be found among our non-Catholic brothers and sisters, among those who attend the Assembly of God and other denominations that place an emphasis on the charisms. Unlike the Catholic Church which has always had members who displayed these specials graces, the churches from which these members originated did not. When they began to display the gifts of the Holy Spirit, they were ousted. They lack the rich history of miracles that abounds within the Catholic Church.

Yes, you may find a few Charismatics who think that because you are not Charismatic, you are not as good as they are. In general, they are humbled by the experience. You may be completely unaware of the Charismatic sitting in the pew next to you. What you notice is the person’s involvement in parish activities. Perhaps, you notice his or her piety during prayer. This is as it should be. Interior formation is not visible. Few Charismatics that I know speak about their gifts, although they may be displayed during a prayer meeting or conference.
What we speak about is how the Holy Spirit convicts of sin. What we talk about is God’s grace.

 

[fide]

Thank you again, DebCWil.

When I was called into the Charismatic Renewal, I had no idea what the Renewal was about. The gifts, as mentioned in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, are indeed gifts of the Holy Spirit. Despite the pontifical blessings, there continues to be misunderstandings even after these many years about the purpose of the gifts, as well as the Charismatic Renewal.

Yes the Church calls us to recognize and receive with praise and thanks the true “gifts of the Holy Spirit” - these are divine blessings for the Church. And I strongly agree there is misunderstanding about the gifts, their purposes, and renewal itself - both outside of and within the Charismatic Movement (loosely defined).

Catechism 800 – Charisms are to be accepted with gratitude by the person who receives them and by all members of the Church as well. They are a wonderfully rich grace for the apostolic vitality and for the holiness of the entire Body of Christ, provided they really are genuine gifts of the Holy Spirit and are used in full conformity with authentic promptings of this same Spirit, that is, in keeping with charity, the true measure of all charisms.<Cf. 1 Cor 13>

I put in bold the Catechism’s concerns that I have on this matter, at this critical time in the Church. I posted in previous posts on this thread, a highly abbreviated portion of St. John’s cautions regarding these provisos, which the Catechism reflects in its endorsement of charisms in the Church.
Charisms are endorsed

• IF they are authentic - of God - because many of them are easily counterfeited (by an evil or the human spirit, intentionally or innocently!).
• and IF they are exercised when and where and how the Holy Spirit (and not a human spirit) directs,
• and IF they are motivated with supernatural, infused, divine charity and not with human prudence or natural human acquired love.

A serious weakness exists in the Church among laity and clergy through poor understanding of spiritual theology. We possess true knowledge and wisdom in our Tradition through the gifts of St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa, and St. Thomas Aquinas and other saints and holy teachers - but many laity and clergy prefer contemporary teachers and speakers and leaders on the matter who stand in poor comparison to our saints in knowledge, understanding and in experience. Thus, I’m sad to say, magisterial prudence and assurance of authenticity is mixed, to say the least, in the “Movement” (loosely defined).

I agree with you about the positives you report to have experienced! I have seen some of the good too, but I have seen and do see much more that leaves me very troubled.

The Church needs to focus on development of our personal interior life of holy grace, begun at Baptism! Maturation in that interior life would do much toward guiding a mature obedience to the Spirit with the charisms He gives, when and where and how and if the Spirit is moving the soul to act.