CHARISMATIC GROUPS IN CATHOLIC CHURCH

INTRODUCTION
The word Charismatic comes from the Greek word charism (orcharisma) (Greek, ǬÁ¹Ã¼±),
which means gift. It is derived from the word charis (Greek, ǬÁ¹Â), which means, Grace. It
may also be derived from the word charizomai (Greek, DZÁ¯¾¿¼±¹), which means, to give
gratuitously. Thus it is clear that charisma is grace given or gratuitous gift, in this case from God.
Charisms are not earned.

The word “charism” appears in the New Testament seventeen times: Rom. 1:11; 5:15; 6:23;
11:29; 12:6; 1 Cor. 1:7; 7:7; 12:4, 9, 28, 30, 31; 2 Cor. 1:11; 8:4; 1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6; and 1
Pet. 4:10. All but the last of these are Pauline texts, and even 1 Peter was written under Pauline
influence. In some of these instances (Rom. 1:11; 5:15; 6:23; 11:29; and 2 Cor. 1:11) the concept
of “gift” is used generally, though in the others it refers to something more specific

BACKGROUND
The charismatic movement began with the adoption of certain beliefs typical of those held by
Pentecostal_ Christians specifically what are known as the biblical charisma of Christianity:
Glossolalia speaking in tongues, Prophesying, etc, by those within mainstream Protestant and
Catholic churches. Many charismatic Christians went on to form separate churches and
denominations.

A movement with in the traditional Christian denominations which emphasis the gift of the holy
spirit beginning in major protestant denominations about1960, the movement reached roman
catholic churches in1966 the charismatic movement present the spread of the Pentecostalism in
mainline churches.

The under standing of the charismatic Experience of the roman catholic bishop in u s accord the
movement cautious approval in 1969 and directed that it b allowed develop in the church.
Nothing that those in the renewal experienced a deeper taste of prayer, praise, the gift of the
spirit, and a desire to read scripture, pope Paul VI in 1973 gave his blessing to the movement.
Later in a charismatic mass in St. Peter in Rome, 1973.pope Paul Encouraged the charismatic to
‘share’ the joy of the Holy Spirit with Every one

One reason for the papal blessing was the participation of cardinal Leon Joseph Suenens of
Belgium in the leadership of the movement .as the ranking catholic charismatic prelate in the
world, Suenens did much to add respectability and strength to the movement among both
protestants and Catholics

History Beginnings 1950-1975:

While it is difficult to locate the place and time that charismatic Christianity began to influence
the mainstream churches, Dennis Bennett, an American Episcopalian, is often cited as the
movement's seminal influence. Bennett was the Rector at St Mark's Episcopal Church in the
United States of America Episcopal Church in Van Nuys California when he announced to the
congregation in 1960 that he had received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Soon after this he

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was ministering in Vancouver where he ran many workshops and seminars about the work of the
Holy Spirit. This influenced tens of thousands of Anglicans worldwide and also began a renewal
movement within the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.

In the 1960s and 1970s there was a renewed interest in the supernatural "gifts of the Spirit" in
mainstream churches such as the Episcopal, Lutheran and Catholic churches. The Catholic
Charismatic Renewal was focused in individuals like Kevin Ranaghan and his group of followers
at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Dennis Bennett was Ranaghan's
counterpart in the Episcopal Church.

The charismatic renewal movement in the Eastern Orthodox Church never exerted the influence
that it did in other mainstream churches. Individual priests, such as Fr. Eusebius Stephanou of
the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America, founder of the Brotherhood of St. Symeon
the New Theologian, Fr. Athanasius Emmert of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese
and Fr. Boris Zabrodsky of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in America, founder of the Service
Committee for Orthodox Spiritual Renewal (SCOSR) which published Theosis Newsletter, were
some of the more prominent leaders of the charismatic renewal in Orthodoxy.

On an international level, David du Plessis along with a host of others (including Lutheran and
even Southern Baptist ministers) promoted the movement. The latter did not last long with their
denominations, either volunteering to leave or being asked to do so. But in the Episcopal and
Catholic churches priests were permitted to continue on in their parishes, provided they did not
allow these concerns to create major divisions within their congregations.

Charismatic Denominations
The following groups are all charismatic, although some of them would describe themselves as
 Non-denominational
 Eternal grace
 New Frontiers
 Vineyard movement
 Vineyard movement
 Sovereign grace ministries
 Catholic charismatic church of Canada

Charismatic: The world perspective:

As noted earlier, Pentecostal and charismatic are often used interchangeably. With that in mind,
according to Christianity Today, Pentecostalism is "a vibrant faith among the poor; it reaches
into the daily lives of believers, offering not only hope but a new way of living. In addition,
according to a 1999 U.N. report, "Pentecostal churches have been the most successful at
recruiting its members from the poorest of the poor. Also, according to Christianity Today, in
Brazilian churches, where Pentecostal Christians are often very poor, "Preachers constantly ask
parishioners to give what seem like laughable sums of money; these people tithe 20, 30, and
sometimes as much as 50 percent of their income. Christianity Today also noted that Brazilian
Pentecostals talk of Jesus as someone real and close to them and doing things for them including
providing food and shelter. In addition, according to Christianity Today, "Scholars have long
branded Pentecostalism an eminently 'otherworldly' religion, focused more on things above than

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the mundane below. To many that seems like a foregone conclusion, given the movement's
emphasis on charismatic experiences, intense religiosity, and ascetic tendencies. Even highly
respected Pentecostal

Catholic Charismatic Movement

Scope And Resources
One can look at the CCM, as with anything, from different perspectives. In this case, I am
looking at a movement within a movement, the larger being Catholicism. This greatly expands
the number of possible perspectives that one could take to include several sometimes-
overlapping approaches: non-charismatic, charismatic, Catholic, Protestant, secular, theological,
sociological, historical, etc.

According to the religious (more apt and precise) usage of the term, those groups are called sects,
which have broken away from the general or national Churches. Often sects hold on to particular
values, religious ideas or ways of life of the original ecclesiastical community. But these
particular basic principles are understood in an absolute way and are lived out in. a community
life that is strictly isolated from the former body and that aims at self-preservation and self-
defense. The following characteristics arise from these basic conditions: some one-sided
religious ideas (e.g. holding that the end of the world is near), refusing to exchange ideas with
people of different opinions; an over-enthusiastic promotion and pursuit of their own ideas;
fierce proselytizing, overconfidence in their sense of mission towards an often despised world; a
conception of salvation that is exclusive to a certain number of people belonging to the specific
group

The Importance of Baptism in the Spirit:

The Catholic Church teaches that sacramental baptism is ordinarily necessary for salvation (cf.
Mark 16:16), but charismatic do not hold the same to be true of Spiritual baptism. It is not
necessary for salvation, “even though God wishes all to have it. One could easily imagine
Catholics saying similar things about, for example, the sacrament of confirmation or the rosary.
They bring such spiritual blessings that they should be earnestly desired, though one can get by
without them.

Catholicism:
Catholicism, in all its teachings, practices, and laws, is based on God’s revelation completed in
Christ, which can be found in two modes: sacred scripture (the Bible) and sacred tradition. These
two modes together constitute the depositum fidei (deposit of faith), which Christ has entrusted
to his Church to be guarded jealously as a “pearl of great price” (cf. Mt. 13:46). For any doctrine
or practice to be considered Catholic, it must be founded in God’s word, that is, in scripture and
tradition.

Catholic charismatic renewal:

Charismatic Christians are not exclusive to any single denomination, and indeed, charismatic
theology is not even uniquely Protestant. There is a burgeoning charismatic movement within the
Catholic Church, and Pope John Paul II was reputed to have had a charismatic priest as his
personal pastor.

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In the Roman Catholic Church, the movement became particularly popular in the Filipino and
Hispanic communities of the United States, and in the Philippines itself. Traveling priests and lay
people associated with the movement often visit parishes and sing what are known as charismatic
masses. It is thought to be the second largest distinct sub-movement within Roman Catholicism,
along with Traditional Catholicism. It presents a difficult situation for many Church authorities,
which, as always, must be careful to admit innovation only where it is clear the innovation is
consistent with the Bible and the teachings of the Church.

Charismatic Catholicism, also known as Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the
Church Catholic Church, which is very similar with the Pentecostal movement within
Protestantism. Worship services are characterized by a high energy Mass, as well as prayer
meetings featuring prophecy and sometimes glossolalia, or "speaking in tongues." Some
supporters within this movement see it as based on the belief that certain charisma (a Greek word
for gifts), bestowed by the Holy Spirit, such as the abilities to speak in tongues and to heal
(which all Christians believe existed somehow in the early Church as described in the Bible)
should still be practiced today.

Catholic Church describes Charismatic Prayer, "A charismatic style of prayer is common at
Christ the King. People are free to raise their hands in prayer and during songs, many pray their
own prayers audibly, some pray in tongues, etc.... They pray with expressive or charismatic
prayer at monthly parish prayer meetings, at the beginning of parish meetings, and most
especially during certain moments in the Holy Mass. These are some of the external markers of a
charismatic parish. Internal markers include a radical surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in
all parts of life, a strong adherence to the Gospel and the teachings of the Catholic Church, and
the pursuit of strong friendships centered on Christ."

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal as it exists today is the outgrowth from a retreat held in
February 1967 of several faculty members and students from Duquesne University. Many of the
students - though not all - experienced a movement of God’s Spirit called being “baptized in the
Holy Spirit.” The professors had previously been “baptized in the Spirit” a week or two before.
God’s action was also prepared for in a very human way by the students’ prayerful preparation in
reading the Acts of the Apostles and a book entitled The Cross and the Switchblade.

What happened quickly spread to graduate students and professors at the University of Notre
Dame and others serving in campus ministry in Lansing, Michigan. It continued to spread so
that, as of 2003, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal exists in over 230 countries in the world,
having touched over 119 million members according to David Barret, head of Global
Evangelization Movement in Richmond, VA.

In our time, a new desire is arising in different countries of the world, in spite of all human
frailty, to live up to the message of Christ and to serve the Church in unity with the Holy Father
and the Bishops. Many see new charisms as a sign of hope. Others experience these new
awakenings as something strange; for others they are a challenge, by others again they may be
experienced as an accusation, against which they vindicate themselves sometimes reacting with
reproach in turn. Some promote a kind of humanism that has less and less to do with its Christian
roots. But we should not forget: "If the Second Vatican Council speaks of the 'ecclesia semper

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reformanda', it speaks not only of the necessity to think anew about the structures of the Church,
but moreover about the constant renewing of the life of the Church and about the querying of
some long-established and treasured ideas which may be too much in keeping with the spirit of
the age"

Criticism of the movement:

With the rise in popularity and influence of the charismatic movement, a number of criticisms
have arisen from Christians who are outside the movement. Cessationists (popular amongst
fundamentalist and southern Baptists) believe that the spiritual gifts that Charismatic experience
are no longer available to the church, and argue that these experiences are demonic and/or
psychological in nature.

Critics sometimes use the word in a derisive manner and generally believe and teach that
charismatic are everything from shallow to dangerous — even demon possessed, although this
latter charge is increasingly rare as charismatic and Pentecostal groups become more established
in the religious landscape. Also argued is that the Charismatic movement is heavily seated with
an interest in finance, selling books, DVD's and CDs of ministries with a strong stance on tithing.
The more common occurrence of TV evangelism and various ministries further strengthen this in
argument where commerce and money are mentioned in every service. Though, this cannot be
connected to all who claim to be charismatic, since they are not necessarily one denomination.
This trend is generally found in the very large charismatic bodies.

Diversity and unity of charisms: Need to recognize and discern them

However, we must also turn our attention to another aspect of St. Paul's teaching and that of the
Church, an aspect that applies to every type of ministry and to charisms: their diversity and
variety cannot harm unity. "There are different gifts but the same Spirit; there are different
ministries but the same Lord." (1 Cor. 12:4-5)

Paul asked that these differences be respected because not everyone can expect to carry out the
same role contrary to God's plan and the Spirit's gift and contrary to the most elementary laws of
any social structure. However, the Apostle equally stressed the need for unity, which itself
answers a sociological demand, but which in the Christian community should even more be a
reflection of the divine unity. One Spirit, One Lord. Thus, one Church!

At the beginning of the Christian era extraordinary things were accomplished under the influence
of charisms, both extraordinary ones and those, which could be called little, humble, everyday
charisms. This has always been the case in the Church and is so in our era as well, generally in a
hidden way, but sometimes in a striking way, when God desires it for the good of his Church.

In our day, as in the past, a great number of lay people have contributed to the Church's spiritual
and pastoral growth. We can say that today too there are many lay people who, because of their
charisms, work as good, genuine witnesses of faith and love... out of fidelity to a holy vocation,
who are involved in serving the common good, in establishing justice, in improving the living
conditions of the poor and needy, in taking care of the disabled, in welcoming refugees and in
achieving peace throughout the world.

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In the community life and pastoral practice of the Church, charisms must be recognized but also
discerned, as the Synod Fathers recalled in 1987.

Pope John Paul May 30 1998:

We have experienced the grace of a new Pentecost. There are many signs of hope which have
flourished for the mission of the Church” among which are “the discovery and the appraisal of
charisma … the renewed zeal for evangelization and the advancement of lay people.” Pope John
Paul II, 1 March 1999, address to Pontifical Council for the Laity

Messages from the Vatican, Pope John Paul II and other sources
"Come, Holy Spirit, come and renew the face of the earth! Come with your seven gifts! Come,
Spirit of Life, Spirit of Communion and Love! The Church and the world need you. Come, Holy
Spirit, and make ever more fruitful the charisma you have bestowed on us. Give new strength
and missionary zeal to these sons and daughters of yours who have gathered here. Open their
hearts; renew their Christian commitment to the world. Make them courageous messengers of the
Gospel, witnesses to the risen Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Saviour of man. Strengthen their
love and their fidelity to the Church."

The charismatic renewal has revived the interest of some Catholics, but raised the suspicions of
others By Fredrick Nzwili Sep. 28, 2001With tens of thousands of Catholics falling away from
the Church and becoming active with other Christian groups, the Catholic hierarchy of Kenya
had responded by shedding some old traits and embracing new trends. The results of the latest
campaign in Kenya could have a major impact on the entire face of Christianity in that African
country, where Catholics now account for 60 percent of the Christian population.

Conclusion:
As the charismatic movement shifted and weighs the message of the catholic apostolic church,
learning and putting into practice with in the church that which is of enduring worth, a seed
which of set purpose fell into the ground and died, may yet bear a rich harvest for the kingdom of
God.

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