Charismatic Renewal

[Basilisa Marie]

It's true that putting too much emphasis on emotional experiences of God can be very dangerous, especially when those emotional experiences stop happening. But being slain in the spirit is a real thing, and it's not supposed to be likened to any of the seven sacraments. And emotional experiences [i]can [/i]serve to jump-start one's spiritual life. Franciscan University has praise and worship nights, and people often have charismatic experiences there. I'm sure no one on this forum would write Franciscan off as a crazy protestant school. I think the way they do it is a good example of how charismatic experiences can fit into a Catholic spirituality, when properly contextualized with a great love of the Church and orthodoxy.

And while many people in the "movement" might subscribe to protestant-like theology, I think it's important that we don't characterize the whole movement like that. While we can't say that it's entirely wonderful, we also can't say it's entirely bad. Otherwise we'll just completely devolve into a raging argument, just like every other stinkin' thread on this topic.

[Papist]

I have yet to have a good experience at a charismatic gathering. I felt like a Catholic at a Protestant gathering. I kept wondering when they going to bring out the snakes.

[cmaD2006]

[quote name='Papist' timestamp='1349205597' post='2489301']
I have yet to have a good experience at a charismatic gathering. I felt like a Catholic at a Protestant gathering. I kept wondering when they going to bring out the snakes.
[/quote]

Not all gatherings are the same ... I've been to a number of very good ones that aren't "out there." I've been to some that I've said "nope, never again." There are bad groups, there are good groups. Just saying.

And before this starts deteriorating ... can this be moved to debate table??

[Papist]

[quote name='cmariadiaz' timestamp='1349206061' post='2489303']
Not all gatherings are the same ... I've been to a number of very good ones that aren't "out there." I've been to some that I've said "nope, never again." There are bad groups, there are good groups. Just saying.

And before this starts deteriorating ... can this be moved to debate table??
[/quote]
People tell me that too. But I can only go on my experiences.

[i<3franciscans]

[quote name='the171' timestamp='1349112681' post='2488821']
My conversion can be attributed to the Renewal. I owe a lot to that spirituality.
[/quote]
Same here.

My family is pretty against the whole Charismatic Movement because they all think it is just crazy. I on the other hand don't really know what to believe. I don't know enough about the whole movement to really defend it, but I think it is definitely something to be open to.

[BigJon16]

I know that as a younger teenager, I was not attracted to anything "Catholic" at all. It was boring, and I didn't get anything out of it. I loved going to the local Protestant churches, they were pretty jammin' to me back then.

But when I got involved with my youth group, and attended my first Steubenville Youth Conference, that all changed. At those conferences I got a slight bit of the taste of the true beauty of Catholicism. I learned to pray, to love God, and to know that He loved me.

As this thirst grew, I became more and more attracted to the idea of grasping at a deeper Catholicism. The Latin, the tradition, the monotone chant of the Eucharistic Prayer 1, the vestments, the icons, the Rosary, the smell of incense--all of these things that I had once thought were absolutely boring, now were brought to life for me. All of this through attending a fairly "charismatic" youth conference. Charismatic--sure--genuinely Catholic and Orthodox--absolutely.


As I continue to grow spiritually, I am beginning to embrace more and more the Catholic things that I had once thought were boring. I can't sleep without a Rosary, and I hope to finally attend a Tridentine Mass within the next month. I listen to Chant when I study, and pray the Hours in silence. I love the smell of incense, the feel of the liturgy, and the style of the Pope's cassock. But, bands like Hillsong United, Jesus Culture, MercyMe, and Matt Maher are the most played things on my iPod right now. And I don't just listen to their music, I pray with it.

All of these things, they give me hope, courage, love, and patience. They give me the strength to fight off temptation and live a life for Christ. God uses all of them to remind me that "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, because He is with me."

[ardillacid]

[quote name='Hasan' timestamp='1349143409' post='2489079']
I have been slain in the spirits many times.
[/quote]
Write your own jokes

[ThePenciledOne]

[quote name='USAirwaysIHS' timestamp='1349153483' post='2489139']
The interesting thing to me is how often I find people who self identify as "charismatic" to be so vehemently closed off to the tried-and-true ways of the Church.
[/quote]

Sounds like an assumption/generalization. Every time I meet vehemently 'trad.' peeps, they seem like narrow-minded, legalistic prudes, but I've try not to put such individuals in boxes anymore.

[quote name='USAirwaysIHS' timestamp='1349202422' post='2489282']
While this doesn't contradict anything I said, I am curious about one thing, and have never been able to get a good, colloquial answer from anyone: what is a "charismatic spirituality", and why does it tend to be associated with very evangelical protestant, P&W sort of worship?
[/quote]

And why is that bad? God has not only blessed the Catholic Church (though in a special way) He has blessed other people/groups as well.

[Byzantine]

Just preempting anything:
[img]https://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/12/10/2/6qwmZiQFWU-9nlV1aTv3qA2.jpg[/img]

[TheresaThoma]

So here is my summation of the main points thus far
1. The Charismatic renewal is neither good nor bad. How it is carried out will determine if it is good or bad. Can it go astray? Of course but every spiritual practice runs that risk
2. Yes is it is accepted by the Church and legitimate
3. No it is not for everyone.

So basically even though some of us have had bad or indifferent experiences individually that doesn't mean that the whole thing is bad. Like I said before I know many people who are part of the Charismatic movement and I can see that is really how they express their faith but for me it just isn't my cup of tea. I appreciate the beauty but just don't feel called to express myself in that way.