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Friday, February 1, 2008

Charisms Revisited


In 1969 I first heard of “Catholic Pentecostals”. Wanting to dismiss them, I said that we don’t have to recognize the Holy Spirit since he will get on with his job anyway. In the group was a professor of dogmatic theology who told us that a person would only be fully present if we recognized that the person is there. Similarly the Holy Spirit will not be fully active, if we do not welcome his presence. On the strength of that thought, I had a look at and then joined the Charismatic Renewal (as it became known).

In recent years, I walked away from the Catholic Charismatic Renewal because I had seen so much emotional self-indulgence and emotional manipulation. More especially, New Age practice had so permeated the meetings that the reality of sin and the power of the cross were actively avoided. There was none of the prophecies, miracles, deliverances and profound conversions that I had previously known.

Yet, the Church in western civilization needs the Spirit’s powerful presence even more, now that the social engineering of the NWO has a stronger grip that it had 40 years ago. So I have revisited St Paul’s teaching on the charisms that is found in 1 Corinthians 12-14. The teaching is wonderfully simple. The power that Jesus had in his ministry is shared among the members of his Body when we come together in prayer, bringing a “psalm, teaching or prophecy” (14:26) to build up the community (12:26) and to let the Spirit move us with “many different gifts” (12:4).

St Paul encourages us to “be ambitious for the higher gifts” (12:31). Instead of presenting us with programmes, techniques or seminars, Paul puts before us the way of unconditional love “which is always patient…is not boastful…and endures whatever comes.” (13:4-7)

We are to “be eager, too, for the higher gifts, especially for prophesying” (14:1) which not only teaches and encourages us but which tests the hearts of non-believers bringing them to “worship God, declaring that ‘God is indeed among you.’” (14:25)

Yes, I could buy into a charismatic renewal that is like that!

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