Speaking in tongues

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debbie_h

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Today during our RCIA class, our teacher showed us a picture of Jesus with the “blood & water” pouring from his heart. While she was explaining about the picture, one of our classmates (an older lady from a buddhist background) suddenly clutched her chest & started babling loudly, in a strange language, repeating herself over & over, all jittery, with a very strange look on her face. After about 30 seconds she said ‘amen’,
We were all wondering what it was that just happened & she became all teary saying she had no idea what it was that she was saying but when she looked at that picture of Jesus, something very powerful came over her & made her do that.
To be honest, during that, for a second I wondered if she was possessed, but I soon realised something was telling me not to be scared. Then the teacher asked if she was ok, & i crossed myself, I patted her back smiling & told her it was ok. Our teacher told us a bit about speaking in tongues that it was from God, but clearly she was trying to process in her head what just happened.
What happened & is this really from God, & to what purpose does speaking in tongues serve?
 
It’s often prayer in words the human heart is unable to express. As such God could have wanted to introduce your group to it. In general however it is not necessary nor advantageous to speak out in tongues in the middle of a teaching.
 
I can’t help it, but I think there is a not so divine explanation to that. First, yes I know that it is mentioned in St.Pauls letters, but only his, so without any evidence from another source it would be wrong to dismiss or accept the phenomen. What I do know is that it is very common in Pentecostal Churches, among many other churches with the same thoughts.

It is mentioned only once in The Bible. So, we can safely say it is plausible, but that is as far as I can go. I do believe it happen, once. But there is a more easy to comprehend explantion, mass-hysteria, and a good preacher can take people very far, and I know that we right now have one preacher in Finland who can do it. Sadly, for him and those who follow him, he can do a lot more, and believe me, God has nothing to do with that. He even went and did a effort to bring back a dead person, who had has the post-mortal examination and all the trimmings, and had been dead for a good forthnight. Needless to say his effort with three other persons from his sect did get in trance and presumably did speak in tongues and a lot more did not wake this person back to life. I am sorry I am so sceptical about this “speaking in tongues” but I don’t buy it. I can say I am sure it did happen as said in The Bible, but only that one single time. A human mind can do almost anything when the time is right, and if you have a good preacher who preach brimstone and freezing cold almost anyone will get a bit “keen” to speak in tongues, but that has nothing to do with God. To make a group of people to do something they don’t normally would, a good talker can do so, and in fact, I don’t think it is that hard. But one who don’t believe what the preacher say, will most likely not be affected. (I would not be.)

I think that woman really did speak in tongues, but it came from her deep faith, or from a mental disorder. If it would happen during let us say Sunday Mass, and to many persons at the same time, I would say “yes”. But since it has never happen, I must say that I don’t think it has anything to do with God. (Except for the first time.) St.Peter tell us to be careful in what we believe, and I think he did thinking about this too. We really need to be careful and use our brains sometimes. However, I can be wrong, so all who really believe in this, cherish it as a wonderful miracle. If I don’t believe in it does certainly not make it a lie or a trick.
 
Deus_tecum said:
It’s often prayer in words the human heart is unable to express. As such God could have wanted to introduce your group to it. In general however it is not necessary nor advantageous to speak out in tongues in the middle of a teaching.
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From the description of the circumstances, it appears that the woman did not necessarily have control. Her heart was open and the image of Blood & Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, opened her heart further. The Holy Spirit filled her heart and the Holy Spirit’s presence was expressed in the form of the woman speaking in tongues.
Experiencing and/or witnessing this gift can be a very moving and powerful Spiritual experience; more so when the participants gain an understanding (most times that understanding comes after the fact- even for the person who was speaking in tongues).
 
Lasting_faith said:
I can’t help it, but I think there is a not so divine explanation to that. First, yes I know that it is mentioned in St.Pauls letters, but only his, so without any evidence from another source it would be wrong to dismiss or accept the phenomen. What I do know is that it is very common in Pentecostal Churches, among many other churches with the same thoughts.

It is mentioned only once in The Bible.
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It is not mentioned only once in the Bible. As you said, St. Paul mentions it multiple times in the First Letter to the Corinthians, three instances of it are described in Acts, and Jesus predicts it in Mark 16:17.
 
I heard a Catholic speak in tongues once; when I asked him about it, he said that he had learned a long time ago to sometimes “let the Holy Spirit pray through” him. I was amazed by how gentle, quiet and reasonable it was (although I didn’t recognize the words), not at all like the strange and almost frightening experiences that others sometimes had. Maybe it takes time to learn to “manage” the gift?
 
Speaking in tongues is mentioned more than once in Holy Scripture, as in Acts as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit by which the apostles spoke in an existing language of the day, so that others could hear, understand, and come to believe. I know two women who pray in tongues. Each has her own way of doing so, and both are pretty cautious about it, not breaking into vocal prayer during Mass, but not infrequently in small group prayer. One of the women held a bible study program titled Baptism in the Holy Spirit in her home where six women participated for eight weeks as I recall. At the end all were to pray specifically for the gift of tongues, or to at least ask the Holy Spirit to grant whatever gift He chose. To my knowledge none of women there received the gift of tongues, or the gift of praying in tongues, then or since. However, I certainly gained knowledge of the Bible, in English, through participating, which I consider to have been a wonderful gift. The Catholic church, as far as I am aware, does not prohibit the belief.
 
I believe all those who claim to speak in tongues are faking it.
If you know anyone who claims to be able to speak in tongues ask them if they have submitted themselves to the Church to discern if they really have such a gift. I would bet none of them do that because they are faking it and would be found out.
 
thistle said:
I believe all those who claim to speak in tongues are faking it.
If you know anyone who claims to be able to speak in tongues ask them if they have submitted themselves to the Church to discern if they really have such a gift. I would bet none of them do that because they are faking it and would be found out.
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So how do you explain the fact that the church is OK with it? Surely, the church can’t just be tricked by a bunch of weirdos who babble.
 
Contra_Mundum said:
So how do you explain the fact that the church is OK with it? Surely, the church can’t just be tricked by a bunch of weirdos who babble.
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You did not understand my post. I did not say that speaking in tongues was not possible. I said that in my opinion everyone who claims to speak in tongues are fakes and again in my view none of them have asked the Church to discern if they have such a gift. Why not? Are they so arrogant or are they simply afraid they will be found out.
Let them submit to the Church.
 
Hi everyone,

Just curious; does everyone commenting and giving advice on this topic actually pray in tongues themselves?

I do. And it’s not a mental illness.

If you think it’s from the devil, you had better meditate on Matthew 12:24-37 before you declare that to be the case.

As others have pointed out, it’s in the Bible a lot more than one time. It’s even hinted at in some places where it is not explicit (living water, the Spirit intercedes for the saints…).

It’s nothing to be afraid of. The Spirit is gentle- he doesn’t even force us to repent! He certainly doesn’t force us to pray unless we cooperate.

*“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[a] a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” * (Luke 11:11-13)

Ask God to show you, if you aren’t sure about it! “What’s the deal with this stuff, Lord?” He will help you. The Holy Spirit is our comforter, our teacher and our guide. We need not wonder about his gifts like he is on vacation. We believe he is with us if we are Christians, right? Ask him.

Be blessed.
 
Dodge_pursuit said:
Hi everyone,

Just curious; does everyone commenting and giving advice on this topic actually pray in tongues themselves?

I do. And it’s not a mental illness.

If you think it’s from the devil, you had better meditate on Matthew 12:24-37 before you declare that to be the case.

As others have pointed out, it’s in the Bible a lot more than one time. It’s even hinted at in some places where it is not explicit (living water, the Spirit intercedes for the saints…).

It’s nothing to be afraid of. The Spirit is gentle- he doesn’t even force us to repent! He certainly doesn’t force us to pray unless we cooperate.

*“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[a] a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” * (Luke 11:11-13)

Ask God to show you, if you aren’t sure about it! “What’s the deal with this stuff, Lord?” He will help you. The Holy Spirit is our comforter, our teacher and our guide. We need not wonder about his gifts like he is on vacation. We believe he is with us if we are Christians, right? Ask him.

Be blessed.
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You claim to speak in tongues. Have you submitted yourself to the Church for them to discern if it is genuine or not. If not, why not? Only the Church can discern gifts and not individuals making the claims.
 
of course logical people are not valid in thinking that speaking in tongues to a point in time where the word tongues probably meant to speak another language , someone who natively speaks French suddenly speaks Arabic, or the scripture passage after the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, and they went out and spoke to the multitudes and everyone heard them speaking in their own native language, or tongue . For some reason that logical gets completely thrown out the window because JPII declared other wise and since humanity is not allowed to question any Pope on this matter or any matter, the case is closed; let alone trying to infer scripture passage to mean something else. People can quote scripture passage till they are blue in the face on the matter and still not want to face a logical possibility that perhaps the Holy Spirit is giving people the ability to speak in another human language that is not their own instead of babbling. YET when scripture speaks of Jonah being swallowed by a whale and then spit back out to live on with his life, that is merely a metaphor because that would be just silly to think as being actually possible. go figure.

And how is one supposed to get such a gift verified by a local priest or bishop when chances are said clergy is not even remotely knowledgeable on the matter, exactly what is the method to verify that babbling is an actual gift and not made up by the individual.
 
thistle said:
You claim to speak in tongues. Have you submitted yourself to the Church for them to discern if it is genuine or not. If not, why not? Only the Church can discern gifts and not individuals making the claims.
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Hi Thistle:
  1. I have discussed it with priests (several) whom I know well. What is “submitting myself?” Need I be put in a test lab for the weekend or something? Please fill me in to what procedures are required so I may submit properly.
The Catholic Church hosts and administers events such as Life in the Spirit seminars and Charismatic Masses, during which many people exercise spiritual gifts in churches and church buildings. I know many Catholics who pray this way, in public or in private, and am not aware of any of them having been examined or submitting to the authorities. It implies something we are doing is against church teaching or not in submission to the Church, no?

Ever hear of Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio? You know, the place where folks such as Dr. Scott Hahn teach? Lots of on-fire Catholics praying in Tongues out there! And many of them are priests and brothers, praise God.

franciscanconferences.com/conference-group/catholic-charismatic-conference-2/
  1. I “claim” nothing. Why are you hostile towards me, a stranger but presumably a brother in Christ? Have I offended you in some way. No greeting. No pleasantries. Just a blunt, crude questioning. Cheer up my friend- God loves you! 🙂
  2. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a discussion of the Gift of Tongues on this forum that has not ended up in a negative, fearful debate. Why is this? Is anyone forcing you to participate in supernatural gifts? Is anyone claiming the Spirit is telling them things contrary to scripture or the catechism?
*Pray, hope and don’t worry! *

Have a blessed weekend all.
 
debbie_h said:
Today during our RCIA class, our teacher showed us a picture of Jesus with the “blood & water” pouring from his heart. While she was explaining about the picture, one of our classmates (an older lady from a buddhist background) suddenly clutched her chest & started babling loudly, in a strange language, repeating herself over & over, all jittery, with a very strange look on her face. After about 30 seconds she said ‘amen’,
We were all wondering what it was that just happened & she became all teary saying she had no idea what it was that she was saying but when she looked at that picture of Jesus, something very powerful came over her & made her do that.
To be honest, during that, for a second I wondered if she was possessed, but I soon realised something was telling me not to be scared. Then the teacher asked if she was ok, & i crossed myself, I patted her back smiling & told her it was ok. Our teacher told us a bit about speaking in tongues that it was from God, but clearly she was trying to process in her head what just happened.
What happened & is this really from God, & to what purpose does speaking in tongues serve?
Click to expand...
My hope and prayer is that participants on this thread will remain charitable so that discussion can continue.🙂

It is obvious to me that the incident is not the normal protocol of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal . In fairness to the Holy Spirit, the Gifts (plural intended) of Praying and Speaking in Tongues are under the control of the individual (who yields to the Holy Spirit)l in that the individual can start or stop at will.

Personally, I pray in Tongues (that is better than road rage) and I would like to respond to some of the obvious difficulties associated with this type of prayer. I do not “speak” in Tongues as is mentioned in St. Paul’s classical list. However, I can differentiate between the two, separate Holy Spirit gifts which employ Tongues.

Because I am traveling, I will not be able to adequately respond at the moment. These links are good sources of information.

brendancase.com/uploads/Key_to_the_Charismatic_Renewal.pdf

nsc-chariscenter.org/index.asp
 
I can be skeptical about speaking in tongues and healings, and in spite of that:
  1. I prayed over a woman, partly in tongues, and she was healed of blindness.
  2. I let a man pray over me, and I immediately quit using my cane, stood up straight, and knelt on my knees for the first time in years.
So…it amazes me how God can work in spite of our skepticism. O me of little faith! 😃
 
Heaven help us if someone levitates during prayer, or develops the stigmata! Padre Pio was called a fraud!

The only problem when the woman spoke in the strange tongue is that there was no one there to translate. And, I see that not as her fault, but perhaps the fault of those around her (us) for failing to ask the Holy Spirit for an outpouring of His charisms. As I see it, and given those precise circumstances, such a supernatural response to being reminded of Christ’s mercy can only have its source in the Holy Spirit.
 
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