MY TIME WITHIN THE CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL
The Toronto blessing started in 1994, it was something that swept Protestant pentecostalism by storm for several years and it made its way into the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR). The truth be told, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a poor imitation of protestant Pentecostalism, they do it better. I was introduced to the CCR by my parents. It seemed to renew their faith and zeal for God and the Catholic Church. I entered the CCR through an Evangelization Retreat & a Life in the Spirit Seminar. It opened up for me a really hunger to read, study and understand Gods Word. I attended many CCR conferences and prayer meetings, in fact I led a young adult prayer group for about 10 years. I went back to school in my late 30’s to pursue a Master’s Degree in Catholic Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. In short time I was being asked to speak and preach at many CCR events. I saw this hyper emotionally charged spirituality expressed at many CCR conferences, I was convinced it was the pure action of the Holy Spirit upon these people. I spoke at Steubenville Conferences (for nearly 10 years in a row) and also at the Southern California Charismatic conferences in both english and spanish. Yes, I have seen people fainting, barking like dogs on all 4's, howling, rolling on the floor back and forth laughing or screaming hysterically, wide spread speaking in tongues with no interpreter, some would become stiff as a board and fall into a trance with their eyes rolled upward and they were calling this a movement of the Holy Spirit. What I saw at many of these charismatic events frankly concerned me, it did not appear to be Catholic, nor Biblical, it was purely hyped up emotionalism. The power and objective grace of God comes to us through 'Ritual' (ie. the Holy Catholic Mass), not emotion. The Old Testament Israelites also received the grace and blessing of God through 'Ritual' not displays of emotional outburst. That’s not to say that there are not some good things that have come out of the Charismatic renewal, heck, I'm a product of the Charismatic Renewal, I had an authentic interior conversion to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and (by the grace of God), I am very busy as a Catholic Conference speaker especially at Men’s Conference in the USA (Thank you JESUS). However, I saw very early on that feelings-based Christianity can be dangerous, so says St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila (both Doctors of the Church). To quote my former professor Dr Scott Hahn who has been teaching at Franciscan University of Steubenville the last 20 years, he has said many times: "The charismatic renewal is like an 8 lane highway, 7 lanes leading Catholics out of the Church and 1 lane leading them back in" (Franciscan University of Steubenville being that only lane). I lived in the southern CA for 53 years, virtually every storefront Pentecostal church is run by a former Catholic who came out of the Charismatic Renewal, they became bible alone fundamentalist who reject the Papacy, Our Lady and the Sacraments as means of sanctifying grace. Steve Wood a former Evangelical Pastor now Catholic, he says: “Starting in the late 18th century, American Protestantism was radically influenced by a phenomenon known as ‘revivalism.’ Revivalism brought a more affective, ‘feeling based’ approach to Christianity, with an emphasis on the heart, in contrast to the head. The revivalists promoted the idea of intense religious feelings, which further sentimentalized American Christianity. The revivalist preachers and their increasingly emotional revivals were especially attractive to women.”[i] Many people who have left the Catholic Church to follow a ‘feelings based Christianity’ seem to be sincere, but they are sincerely wrong in leaving the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church founded by the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Gods revelation tells us what is true, feelings and emotions lead you down a wrong path. We must not base our Christianity on feelings, since feelings are not the measure of reality. Pentecostals and charismatics have a desperate need for a spiritual experience, they have a desperate need for there to be something tangible, to the point where they need to channel and manifest it themselves, this is dangerous. Emotions cannot sustain a Christian, that is why wherever you see the Catholic Charismatic renewal practiced, everyone is bald or has grey hair. It’s not reproducing itself, young people are not coming, they are not attracted to these effusive displays of emotionalism. A spinoff of the CCR is the ‘Life Teen’ Mass and movement, it has 3 flat tires. The facts are clear, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is on life support. As a result, I have personally moved into a more orthodox, apostolic and traditional practice of Catholicism many years ago.
The Charismatic Renewal seems to lead people in 3 directions:
1) this person keeps seeking euphoric experiences, they seek continual spiritual consolation & emotionalism is their trademark.
2) those persons that join a ‘covenant community’ which becomes their parallel Parish and they are Shepherded by a lay leader who is malformed in the Catholic Religion.
3) those that for them, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal became like a diving board and they dove in the pool where they discovered the fullness of Catholic truth in orthodoxy and tradition.
Mike McDonald (former Covenant Community member) writes: The Charismatic Renewal had very little consistent guidance from the pastors of the Church. Of course, there were some very effective and solid people, lay and ordained, who did much to help many in the Charismatic/Pentecostal movement. But the exciting prayer meetings often led to a quest for: 1] religious experiences 2] Emotional/therapeutic comfort to address inner needs and woundedness. Many found themselves scandalized and far from the holy life they thought they had. The false spiritualities led to deluded selfishness and error.
Many in the movement were introduced to spiritualties that heavily focused on miracles, wonders, visions, and prophecies. Of course, the history of the Faith contains all of this, but individuals could end up focuses principally on the extraordinary religious experience and miss how the Holy Spirit and Grace really worked in their lives. Some of this was truly a dangerous and false spirituality which sent people chasing after "spiritual wild geese." In this process, the spiritual bedrock of Truth, repentance and contrition, humility, grace and self - control was disrupted. The Lordship of Jesus became became a slogan and everything was sifted through a mentality always seeking the "newest work" of God.
Others were introduced to authority structures that promised a powerful discipleship experience which would really bring mature Christianity. Individuals "pastored" or "shepherded" other individuals with very limited understanding of the interior life or true holiness. Again, many were hurt.
The actual work and reality of the Holy Spirit far exceeds what nearly all were aware of in those days. We discover a greater "filling of the Spirit" and a great knowledge of God in the teaching and life of the true Catholic Faith. The Holy Spirit brings peace and life. High adrenaline adventures in the Spirit are few and far between for most. In contrast, the lasting and fruitful spirituality of Catholic Faith is humble, faithful, and joyful.
[i] Wood, Stephen. Legacy: A Father's Handbook for Raising Godly Children. Greenville, SC: Family Life Center, 2006. Print. p.16