Question:
Thank you Brother for all your previous answers to my questions. You and this site have been a blessing for my family.
My children are now teenagers and have converted to the faith 4 years ago. My oldest has joined the youth group at our church. There have been a lot of things taught that are not 100% correct by teachers that may not fully understand the faith themselves, but I have a very strong relationship with my children and they usually ask me whenever they hear something that doesn't sound right and then I can clarify or I ask you or look up the answers in the catechism.
My daughter has been invited to a charasmatic retreat in our church. I have in the past touched upon the charasmatic movement to my children, but since I have no interest in it I didn't think I would need to worry about this. I have not studied the issue very much. All I know is the little I've heard from others did not bode well with me.
Well, she has been asked over and over by very eager friends to come to this event. Our priest is supporting the retreat and will even be assisting. My daughter showed me some pictures from facebook that her friend posted on the retreat from last year. Our church has the tabernacle in the sanctuary (the only church in our area that has placed the tabernacle in a place of prominence). The pictures show these events taking place in the sancutary, tissues being waved in the air, people huddled in circles praying together, hugging, crying, one picture showed what looked liked they were marching around the sanctuary, people putting their hands over others like they were praying over them.
Anyway, my daughter told me that she doesn't want to go. She may visit one day, but she said she would be afraid to go. She only believes a priest has the gift to pray over someone and she hasn't seen our priest do it so she's not interested in a stranger doing it. I just want to make sure that I am being prudent in warning her against the charasmatic movement. I'm confused, because our own priest does not like it when people hold hands during the "Lord's Prayer" which I fully support my priest, yet he would allow these behaviours in the sanctuary.
Her friends explained that the Holy Spirit works "more" in this type of movement. I told her that the only place that the Holy Spirit can work any more is when we are at Mass witnessing the miracle of the Holy Eucharist.
Please let me know if I am guiding her correctly. She is not pushing the issue and she has stated that she is not interested in attending, but I want to make sure that I am correct in guiding her away from this. I guess I'm starting the second guess myself. As always, thank you for your ministry and your sacrafice.
Dear Cecilia:
Thank you for your kind words and support.
The Charismatic Renewal can be a great gift to the Church, and a benefit to the people within it, if and only if:
- the Renewal remains close to the Church,
- follows all Church teachings and regulations,
- follows a Catholic worldview and not a Pentecostal worldview,
- purges from the itself all Pentecostalisms, and
- mortifies its pride and arrogance.
It is not uncommon to hear Charismatics refer to the Renewal as "better", "the way to get closer to God", or where the "Holy Spirit works more". These are egotistical, arrogant, and self-righteous remarks. The Holy Spirit is impeded in the face of such arrogance. One can be just as close to God, just as filled with the Holy Spirit, and pray in the spirit (which does not mean tongues) without every going into the Charismatic Renewal or even attending one of their meetings or seminiars.
You know, if the Renewal is so necessary, why do we not read about the Saints involved in this way of thinking, praying, and acting? I am not aware at the moment of any Saint outside of the First Century praying in tongues (the least of the gifts and the one most easily counterfeited by the devil, and officially, from the Rite of Exorcism, can be a sign of possession in some instances).
I think that the Holy Spirit may be speaking to your daughter. You and your daughter should listen.
By the way, prancing around the Sanctuary is totally improper. No one except a bishop, priest, deacon, installed acolyte, or other person deputed to be there should ever be in the Sanctuary area.
As for laying on of hands, laity can do that but only if they do it in such a way, and for such a purpose, that does not resemble the actions of a priest. I personally wrote a letter to the Vatican on a similar matter:
While this is specifically talking about a blessing with oil, it illustrates the Vatican's concern for any gesture done by laity that too closely resembles gestures that properly belong to priests. The Charismatic Renewal blurs these lines routinely.
As for the Charismatic Renewal overall, I have written an extensive thesis on this subject that details the pros and cons, opinions from bishops and Popes, a list of legitimate gifts and their definitions, and a long list of Pentecostalism that should be avoided by the Renewal.
Charism Gifts Building Up the Church
There are no Protestant Charismatic groups that I have ever seen who practice the Charismatic expression properly. There a few Catholic groups and people who have their heads on straight, but only a few. I agree with a bishop I quoted in the above article that the problems are not with the Renewal itself, but with the individual leaders of the Renewal. I would agree with that. One can have completely different experiences from one group to another. But, "buyer beware" is my advice.
I would support your daughter's desire to not go to this retreat.
God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary
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