One Church, Two Faiths: The Charismatic Catholic Movement




Imagine it.The church is packed with people. Dozens of hands are thrown up in worship and voices are lifted joyfully in song.There is no restraint of the open display of adoration from the congregation and people seem to be filled with an incredible passion and powerful emotion. If you were asked to take a guess, which denomination would you say this church is a member of? Naturally, many people would be under the impression that this type of worship soley belongs to certain Protestant churches. However, they would be wrong. The church that has been previously described is in fact, a Roman Catholic Church, that is a part of the Charismatic Catholic Renewal.
So, what is the renewal exactly?The Charismatic Catholic Renewal is a movement that is sweeping the Catholic church around the entire world. Instead of a traditional solem and structured Catholic mass, masses are vibrant. Displays of worship such as raising hands and informal prayer during mass, such as thanking Jesus repeatedly, are not shunned. Charismatic prayer also features prophecy and occassionally glossolalia, which is speaking in tounges.The movement itself is founded on the understanding that there are gifts or charisms that were given to each of us by the Holy Spirit that should still be practiced today. Some of these gifts include healing, wisdom, and the aforementioned gifts of prophecy and speaking in tounges. The Catholic renewal's birth is credited to a group of Catholic college students who were on retreat in Pittsburgh in 1967. It is said that the students prayed to God that they would be able to posses a renewed sense of Pentecost in their lives. Pentecost is a festival that marks the birth of the Christian church by the Holy Spirit. Penetcost means fifteith day, and that is why it is celebrated fifty days after Easter.After praying for a renewal in their faith, they gathered together in a chaple and prayed the Veni Creator Spiritus. This hymn is widley used by the church to invoke the Holy Spirit during events like, Confirmation, Holy Orders, Dedication of the church, and Pentecost. While the students were praying, others many other people joined in the worship, including other students and even teachers, All of them hoping to recieve a renewal in their faith.
Since that day in 1967, over 120 million Catholic people, in over 220 countries around the world have experienced a " refreshment of the Holy Spirit."
This quickly spreading movement not only has the support of parishoners but also of some of the top members in the hiearchy of the church. When the renewal caught the eye of Cardinal Leon Joesph Suenes of the Diocese of Malines in Brussels, he, along with 10,000 people who had experienced the movement met with Pope John the Sixth in Rome. " We are pleased to see signs of this renewal. This is a day of joy but also a day of resolve and determination to offer our sins to the Holy Spirit and to proclaim the Christian authenticity that Jesus is Lord." ( excerpt from speech that day) Also, one of the most known and most revered Popes of all time, Pope John Paul the second always remained very vocal in his support of the renewal. " Long live the charismatics!", he said in the Vatican gardens in 1981 at the International Leaders Conference.
And again in 1984 at another International Leaders Conference, " I ask the members of the Charismatic Renewal to continue to cry aloud to the world with me, ' Open the doors to the Redeemer!."
However, just because Charismatic Catholics and traditional Catholics are both members of a single denomination, that does not mean that everyone is entirley pleased with the Charismatic movement. Where there are supporters for the movement there are also nayers. The Catholics who are opposed to the Charismatic renewal firmly doubt the authenticity of those who claim to have experienced supernatural gifts. Anyone can say that they have experienced gifts from above because there is no real way of knowing.They fear that charismatics are a deviation from the solem and traditional masses that are more common within the church. Anti-renewalists suppose that the gifts being received are not all from the Holy Spirit and could be from a false spirit and also doubt the sincereity of those involved in the movement. Charisms can also be seen as a big distraction to some Catholics. It is not easy to concentrate on the prayers or the intention of the prayers being said when the person standing next to you is crying and having convulsions in the name of the Lord.
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Regardless of the side of the fence that a person sits on, the fact remains that the Charismatic Catholic movement is spreading internationally. With word of mouth and useful tools of spreading information, such as the internet, the movement continues to affect the lives of all those who encounter it.


Works Cited

A New Pentecost: The Charismatic Catholic Renewal
www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-QDOcDGDWA

www.iccrs.org

Charismatic Renewal: An authentic expression of Catholic Faith FR Raniero Cantalamessa
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-5KirrXRQ&feature=related

Charismatic Catholic, CRD. Francis George 2008
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPlqJVu7BCc&feature=related