Converts from pentecostalism: worship?

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Whitacre_Girl

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First off, let me explain that nothing has given me the fullness of faith and love for Christ like coming home to the one true Church of God. I am thrilled to be Catholic, and even though I had to give everything I had to join, I wouldn’t take back that decision for anything and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

I converted from Petecostal christianity, and at times, I really miss the worship. There are times I yearn for gathering together with enthused people of God to raise my hands in worship and sing to energetic and worshipful songs and give myself over to the spirit. I do this at home, but it’s just not the same, you know? I really miss that expression and it matches so well with my personality and how I express my love and devotion to God. Don’t get me wrong, I love the rosary, and I regularly do those things…but I really miss that expressive worship.

Are there any converts out there in the same boat? How do you cope?
 
Whitacre_Girl said:
Yes, that’s what I mean. Sorry for the confusion. :o
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No need to apologize.
I know there are ‘charismatic Catholics’ out there, I’m sure they will have some answers. Having only occasionally been to a few Pentecostal churches in my younger days, I’m far from an expert on that type of worship.
I find Catholic worship disciplines my mind and body, and conforms it to the type of worship God desires, not what I desire.
 
JustaServant said:
No need to apologize.
I know there are ‘charismatic Catholics’ out there, I’m sure they will have some answers. Having only occasionally been to a few Pentecostal churches in my younger days, I’m far from an expert on that type of worship.
I find Catholic worship disciplines my mind and body, and conforms it to the type of worship God desires, not what I desire.
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That’s actually one of the things I love about becoming Catholic. I stripped off all the excess and “flash” and I was able to determine was was honestly love for God, and what was substanceless trash. I pulled WAY back from the “expressive” worship for a couple years, and examined it. Only recently am I feeling a call back to it, because I believe God made me to worship that way. now I can do it solely for his glory and the communion between God and I, and not for the “flash” of what I wanted, rather than true worship. You know?

The problem is, I feel as though I am left without my language, as it were, to express myself to God honestly.
 
JustaServant said:
No need to apologize.
I know there are ‘charismatic Catholics’ out there, I’m sure they will have some answers. Having only occasionally been to a few Pentecostal churches in my younger days, I’m far from an expert on that type of worship.
I find Catholic worship disciplines my mind and body, and conforms it to the type of worship God desires, not what I desire.
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The “Charismatic” movement is full of dangers, proceed with the utmost of caution.

God be with you.
 
Irish_Polock said:
The “Charismatic” movement is full of dangers, proceed with the utmost of caution.

God be with you.
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To be honest - I have looked into Catholic pentecostalism, and I believe it’s not what God is callig me towards. I left pentecostalism behind (healings, tounges, all of that) and I am looking for the expressive and emotional worship within proper context. I know this isn’t done at mass, but is there a healthy catholic expression of that out there?
 
Whitacre_Girl said:
To be honest - I have looked into Catholic pentecostalism, and I believe it’s not what God is callig me towards. I left pentecostalism behind (healings, tounges, all of that) and I am looking for the expressive and emotional worship within proper context. I know this isn’t done at mass, but is there a healthy catholic expression of that out there?
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Have you looked into a certain devotions? Such as:

Devotion to the Holy Name
Devotion to the Child Jesus
Devotion to the Holy Face
Devotion to the Five Wounds
Devotion to the Divine Mercy
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
 
Irish_Polock said:
Have you looked into a certain devotions? Such as:

Devotion to the Holy Name
Devotion to the Child Jesus
Devotion to the Holy Face
Devotion to the Five Wounds
Devotion to the Divine Mercy
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
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I have not. I have been doing the Chaplet of Divine Mercy frequently, but I’ll have to look into these. Do you have a good resource for them?
 
Irish_Polock said:
This would be the traditional approach:

Devotion to the Holy Name
Devotion to the Child Jesus
Devotion to the Holy Face
Devotion to the Five Wounds
Devotion to the Divine Mercy
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

I hope this might help a little for you.
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I appreciate this! I’ll go through them and try to learn them as much as I can so I can use them when need arises. 🙂

Does anyone know of any good Catholic devotional books or anything like that?
 
Catholic charismatics come in a LOT of different shapes and sizes. While certain charismatic groups (especially in the 70’s and 80’s) got really wild and woolly sometimes, there are others today that are quite tame in comparison while still offering prayer meetings and opportunities to be with other catholics that actually SING! Don’t just presume that one or two groups you looked at tell the whole story.

Googe “Father know it all” for a great resource and a priest who also came from what he calls a pentecostal spirituality and later learned how to enjoy that spiritual expression without being reliant on the emotionalism of it to sustain his walk with God.
 
manualman said:
Catholic charismatics come in a LOT of different shapes and sizes. While certain charismatic groups (especially in the 70’s and 80’s) got really wild and woolly sometimes, there are others today that are quite tame in comparison while still offering prayer meetings and opportunities to be with other catholics that actually SING! Don’t just presume that one or two groups you looked at tell the whole story.

Googe “Father know it all” for a great resource and a priest who also came from what he calls a pentecostal spirituality and later learned how to enjoy that spiritual expression without being reliant on the emotionalism of it to sustain his walk with God.
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oooh! Thanks for the tip! Hopefully I can find some tame meeting places around me so I can check them out.
 
You can drop in for worship with Catholic Charismatics during one of their gatherings. It is very Catholic with many Catholic elements being incorporated into the worship. Having come from a Pentecostal background the worship that they have may be quite close to what you had before. But OTOH being a Catholic now perhaps you may see this worship with a different outlook and therefore it can be quite superficial for you in that quite a lot of personal emotion is involved. So one has to be quite attentive of the state of one’s disposition during this type of worship so as not to be carried away.

I would suppose the natural course for ex-Pentecostal converting to Catholic would be to move into the devotion of the Eucharist itself and spending ample time in the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Here one does not have to rouse oneself to worship frenzy so to speak but regardless of one’s disposition, God is there in the Eucharist or the Blessed Sacrament. All it needs for us is to meet God there. This can be a contrast in worship experience as compared to Pentecostal worship and therefore can be much more fulfilling.

In any case, there are so many devotions in the Church that sometimes we can be spoilt for choice.

God bless.
 
Whitacre_Girl said:
I converted from Petecostal christianity, and at times, I really miss the worship. There are times I yearn for gathering together with enthused people of God to raise my hands in worship and sing to energetic and worshipful songs and give myself over to the spirit. I do this at home, but it’s just not the same, you know? I really miss that expression and it matches so well with my personality and how I express my love and devotion to God.
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I don’t know your age, but there are plenty of Catholic youth groups “eat up” (as we like to say here in the south) with the expressive style you describe.
 
Whitacre_Girl said:
First off, let me explain that nothing has given me the fullness of faith and love for Christ like coming home to the one true Church of God. I am thrilled to be Catholic, and even though I had to give everything I had to join, I wouldn’t take back that decision for anything and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

I converted from Petecostal christianity, and at times, I really miss the worship. There are times I yearn for gathering together with enthused people of God to raise my hands in worship and sing to energetic and worshipful songs and give myself over to the spirit. I do this at home, but it’s just not the same, you know? I really miss that expression and it matches so well with my personality and how I express my love and devotion to God. Don’t get me wrong, I love the rosary, and I regularly do those things…but I really miss that expressive worship.

Are there any converts out there in the same boat? How do you cope?
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I am in the same boat, for the same reason. I go to charismatic prayer meetings.
 
Whitacre_Girl said:
To be honest - I have looked into Catholic pentecostalism, and I believe it’s not what God is callig me towards. I left pentecostalism behind (healings, tounges, all of that) and I am looking for the expressive and emotional worship within proper context. I know this isn’t done at mass, but is there a healthy catholic expression of that out there?
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Perhaps you have answered this, and I have not caught up on the thread, but I am curious, what would “expressive and emotional worship in the proper context” look like?

Also, when you “looked into Catholic Pentecostalism” what did you find that did not draw you?
 
guanophore said:
Perhaps you have answered this, and I have not caught up on the thread, but I am curious, what would “expressive and emotional worship in the proper context” look like?

Also, when you “looked into Catholic Pentecostalism” what did you find that did not draw you?
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You have rightly placed inverted commas on Catholic Pentecostalism because that term was not adopted by Catholic Charismatic Renewal for obvious reason – it is not the same as Protestant Pentecostalism and that term can give incorrect connotation. I can understand why the OP used the term though.

I thought it natural for her not to go into Charismatic spirituality seeing that she converted from Pentecostalism though it depends on the reason why she converted in the first place. Perhaps Catholic Charismatic is too familiar. But if one should examine it deeper it’s nothing like Pentecostalism really. I have known Protestants converts who find themselves actually at home with Catholic Charismatic. So maybe, like the saying goes, put everything to the test and see for ourselves whether there is maybe something in it to be discovered.
 
Reuben_J said:
You have rightly placed inverted commas on Catholic Pentecostalism because that term was not adopted by Catholic Charismatic Renewal for obvious reason – it is not the same as Protestant Pentecostalism and that term can give incorrect connotation. I can understand why the OP used the term though.

I thought it natural for her not to go into Charismatic spirituality seeing that she converted from Pentecostalism though it depends on the reason why she converted in the first place. Perhaps Catholic Charismatic is too familiar. But if one should examine it deeper it’s nothing like Pentecostalism really. I have known Protestants converts who find themselves actually at home with Catholic Charismatic. So maybe, like the saying goes, put everything to the test and see for ourselves whether there is maybe something in it to be discovered.
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She made a very good point about her personality being suited to a certain form of prayer, and this is true for all of us. God has created an endless variety of personalities, and there is a style of devotion that works for everyone. It is a matter of finding one’s niche. I have been frequenting the Catholic Charismatic circles now for 30 + years, and I note that some who liked a more expressive form of worship in the past have now passed over into silent adoration. It seems that they have settled down with maturity?

Yet, there are some that are just as wound up and on fire as they ever were, and can’t sit still for an hour of adoration without bursting out in song and prayer.

I have shifted more toward the LOTH and the monastic observation of it used by the Benedictine community near here.

Some people like to join the choir, some like to hang with the youth because they like an exuberant form. Catholicism especially appeals to those who yearn for liturgical and formal prayer. I think that one reason we lose so many Catholics to protestant ecclesial communities is that the church does not offer opportunities to those who need to incorporate their emotions into their worship. This is a necessary and valid form of prayer, but it does not appear to have been practiced by the church since the early centuries.
 
Guanophore, you kind of hit the nail on the head. I am not really a “silent type” when it comes to prayer and worship. I recognize that there is a time and place for that (mass, due to the highly reverent and holy thing taking place at that celebration) but I need a time for the more expressive worship. My expressive I mean loud music that lets you sing as loud as you want without disturbing those around you, and allows to you MOVE and pray out loud. You can cry and no one will notice, and experience the emotion of God’s love in its entirety. I am a very emotionally driven person, and it’s hard when I am at mass to constantly try to hold back the tears and silence my prayers when I feel the Spirit of God on me, especially just after receiving. I am sure people think I’m an after-communion-leaver because after receiving, about half the time, I need to excuse myself to the bathroom to cry for the goodness of God! I always come back as soon as I can though!!

I want to find an outlet for that expression without the yelling/screaming/falling on the floor convulsing thing.

I should also add that one of the reasons I left pentecostalism (aside from the lack of deep spiritual direction - t’was all emotion based, you see) was I couldn’t handle the extremity of some people (screaming in “tongues,” falling on the floor screaming, etc) and the fact that it was all flash and no substance. Too many people were focused on the emotions themselves rather than God, and worshipping that emotion. I grew weary of “That was really good worship” as if it were for THEM. You know? I know not all pentecostals are this way, but a fair few were.

The pentecostal groups I heard of for catholics in my area seem to be the falling-on-the-floor type. They work THEMSELVES up, rather than enjoying the presence of God. It’ sjust such a delicate balance and my trust is a little shaken.

I want to worship God in spirit and in truth. And for me, that usually entails an emotional response.

I do have a lead on a place in a larger city near where I live. I am going to look into it, and see if I can make it work. I’m just nervous. 🙂
 
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