Thank you for the poignant, funny and helpful answers. I feel in the past I may have been too harsh in my thinking of charismatics because of things i’ve seen, heard and read…and yet I realize that are IN the church rather than having left it as so many others did… But I am still trying to figure out what it all means.
I just always thought we all had ‘gifts’ and that means charismatic. If I belong to the Holy Name Society I don’t say I’m a ‘Holy Name Society Catholic’. At least I’ve never heard anyone talk like that. Somehow I missed the boat on the whole ‘movement’. Plenty of Catholics are very enthusiastic but are not necessarily charismatic. And I guess I’ll never be one at this rate because I can’t be what I don’t understand and I’m not sure it’s that important.
By the way I went to the site of the Wilmington diocese, which has a new bishop, but I find no directions on the orans or any other posture during the Our Father. Is there anyone from DE that can enlighten me or direct me as to where the bishop has given this direction? Thanks again.
The diocese of Wilmington has been blessed with good bishops. Several years ago we were told by our pastor at mass that Bishop Salterelli had requested that we use that position. Perhaps the Bishop wanted to put an end to the practice of some people of holding hands at the Our Father and have more unity of posture. We have deacons in our diocese and they use this position too but it is distinct from the way the priest lifts his hands. Also, they fold their hands at the end of the prayer while the priest continues on with his hands raised.
I think it was around the same time that he requested (not an order) that we stand for communion (unless we were receiving at an altar rail) and that we show our reverence by a bow.
We have no liturgy police. Nothing happens to those who genuflect before receiving communion. If someone reaches for me at the Our Father I don’t slap his hand. I don’t even know if there is anything in writing except probably a letter sent to pastors. I wouldn’t expect to see this posted on our website.
I’m not sure the term ‘charismatic Catholic’ is a good one. At a parish near me there are two prayer groups that meet on Wednesday nights. One is a charismatic group and the other is the Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Both are completely Catholic. In fact, some of those from the charismatic group attend the First Friday/First Saturday Vigil of the Two Hearts. Neither form of prayer is intrinsically better. That parish also has a group of people who have made a Cursillo I think.
Most people who attend a charismatic prayer group have been through a 6 or 8 week Life in the Spirit Seminar. I’m sure some of the seminar leaders are excellent and some are just so so. Usually a different member of the group presents each week. However the format is to lead the participants to have a deepening conversion experience, to consciously make Christ the center of their lives, to invite the Holy Spirit to stir up His gifts in them, and to make them aware of and willing to use the gifts they have been given.
His gifts include wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. These are given to all of us to some extent because they flow from the very presence in us of the Holy Spirit who we receive in Baptism and Confirmation. The bible names other gifts such as discernment, preaching, healing, intercession, teaching, speaking in tongues(very rare today), interpreting tongues, prophecy (which is speaking God’s truth to others, not predicting the future). The gift of praying in tongues is fairly common if the person asks for it. The other gifts are for the building up of the parish or community and to serve others.
A Catholic charismatic prayer meeting begins with songs of praise and worship usually interspersed with spontaneous prayers of praise and thanksgiving in English and in tongues. There is often a short teaching. There’s one or more periods of silence. Members may share a bible passage or an insight or some words that God has given them. The meeting usually ends with prayers of intercession for needs and people in the parish and community. Sometimes a person asks for prayers for healing or some other need and members of the group may lay their hands on the person and pray for a while. I have known people who were physically healed by God in response to this type of prayer.
Although the prayer meeting has structure it should be flexible and open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. I’ve been to a few where the readings the members felt that God had asked them to bring to the meeting or the insights they had received were all about the same thing although none of them had planned it that way.
At the charismatic conferences I’ve attended the masses have been reverently celebrated according to the rubrics. No more holding hands at the Our Father which was sometimes done in the past. Except for a brief burst of prayer in tongues at the elevation of the Host and Chalice, it’s your regular mass. Except everybody sings like they really enjoy being there.
