Speaking in Tongues

[Aussieman88]

Dear Fellow Catholics,

The new testament tells us that there were by far more people speaking in tongues than there were performing miracles.
Acts 1;15 about 120 people. The household of Cornelius Acts 10, and those “certain disciples” in ephesus Acts 19… to name just a few.

That’s already a lot of people. So obviously it’s ok and dare I say it, even, Normal.

God loves us so much. Don’t try to understand it just accept it.

Jesus is Lord
Justin…

 

[vardaquinn]

Sadly, an issue that there’s too much confusion on. It’s not very complicated though. Speaking in tongues, at least in the instance recorded by the original poster, is a genuine gift of the Holy Spirit that used to be very common in the early church and is very common today. It simply is the gift to praise God in unknown languages. It occurs several times in the Acts of the Apostles, and St. Paul writes a bit about it in 1 Cor 12-14. It is a very powerful gift that is offered to everyone and which many choose to take advantage of. I myself have this gift, as well as many people I know.

Many have kind of a knee-jerk reaction to it, given that for many people it is so far removed from their experience and no one ever taught them about it.

It is not demonic. Any demonic sort of ‘babbling’ is clearly a mockery of the valid use of this gift. As Chesterton would say, this no more disproves the reality than a counterfeit note disproves the Bank of England. It is also not some sort of “Protestant” invention. It is true that many Protestants (among Pentecostal groups specifically) have this gift; that doesn’t affect the validity of the gift in any fashion. The Spirit blows where He wills.

At the end of the day: this is a powerful, profound, richly symbolic, and very fruitful gift. It’s a common gift, perhaps universally offered.