The Gift of Tongues: It’s Catholic

 

or watch with Closed Captioning here

 

There is a video circulating of popular Catholic exorcist, Fr. Chad Rippberger, that throws into question the catholicity of the “gift of tongues” mentioned frequently by St. Paul and Our Lord Jesus himself. His video, in turn, is being used by a small but increasingly vocal segment of self-described “traditionalists” who, ironically, are actually departing from Sacred Tradition and the clear teaching of Sacred Scripture, as you’ll see. And they’re doing a lot of damage. I know — because I’m on the receiving end of both the attacks and confusion that is dividing Christ’s Church.

I do not take lightly the occasion of speaking critically of a Catholic cleric. But Canon Law itself insists:

Christ’s faithful… have the right, indeed at times the duty, in keeping with their knowledge, competence and position, to manifest to the sacred Pastors their views on matters which concern the good of the Church. They have the right also to make their views known to others of Christ’s faithful, but in doing so they must always respect the integrity of faith and morals, show due reverence to their Pastors, and take into account both the common good and dignity of individuals. —Code of Canon Law, 212

Fr. Chad’s insights as an exorcist into demonology and spiritual warfare have inspired many. I own a copy of his deliverance prayers for laity and have used them. I genuinely appreciate many things he has said to help the faithful when so many shepherds have been silent.

However, our generation tends to assign to all exorcists a certain “infallibility” when it comes to theology. Again, they are experts in their field, not necessarily in every aspect of Church life. That’s why every layman, priest, bishop, and pope must make constant recourse to Sacred Scripture and Magisterial teaching, especially when we are not well-acquainted with certain aspects of Church teaching or praxis.

Having spoken in tongues since I was about seven years old; having seen both the good and bad fruits of the movement known as the “Charismatic Renewal”; having taught about the gifts of the Spirit in over 30 years of ministry; and having studied all of this in the context of Sacred Tradition, I feel a certain duty to respond to the problems in Fr. Chad’s presentation. I will do this by going through this short video of his and responding to the comments he gave during a Question and Answer.

 

Mistakes and Fundamentalism

First… on those “bad fruits” I’ve seen in the renewal. In their seminal work Fanning the Flame, Fr. Kilian McDonnell and Fr. George T. Montague showed how the roots of the charismatic movement are thoroughly established in Sacred Tradition. However, they acknowledged that there have also been problems in how the renewal has been carried out:

We acknowledge that the charismatic renewal, like the rest of the Church, has experienced pastoral problems and difficulties. As in the rest of the Church, we have had to deal with issues of fundamentalism, authoritarianism, faulty discernment, people leaving the Church, and misguided ecumenism. These aberrations spring from human limitation and sinfulness rather than from the genuine action of the Spirit. —Fanning the Flame, The Liturgical Press, 1991, p. 14

Again, I have sadly seen all of that. The same could be said for many movements including the so-called “traditionalist” movement (though every faithful Catholic is by definition a traditionalist). Many families and young people are being drawn to the ancient Latin Mass as they crave a more transcendent liturgy that was substituted and subsequently damaged by modernist revolutionaries who took enormous liberties after Vatican II. What happened was terrible and needs to be repaired.

However, I have also received letters from people who eventually left some of these traditionalist communities due precisely to “fundamentalism, authoritarianism, faulty discernment” and schismatic tendencies. Cardinal Zen referred to this as “toxic traditionalism.” However, that does not mean everyone who prefers the Latin Mass is a so-called “rad trad” or is toxic. On the contrary, I have family, ministry colleagues, and many regular readers who attend the Latin Mass and are balanced and faithful Catholics. So please don’t write me and say I’m attacking traditionalists. In fact, I want to see communion rails and high altars restored, more cassocks, more candles, ad orientem, and everything else that should never have been lost in the first place — including beautiful ancient liturgical prayers that have been omitted. Still, there was wisdom in the Vatican Fathers in seeing the need to mature and prune the ancient Mass; but there was little wisdom, it seems, in how that was actually implemented.

Nonetheless, as the laughter and Fr. Chad’s initial response in this video demonstrate, it seems those genuinely touched by the charismatic renewal within the Church are not being afforded the same charity. The audio quality is poor, but a questioner asks “if baptism in the spirit and speaking in tongues, is that all…?” [we can presume the word that drops out is probably “nonsense”] to which Fr. Chad quickly expresses his apparent disdain for the subject. The problem, he says, is that people don’t know “the first basic aspects of theology”:

 

The Magisterium Has Spoken

What is far more crucial than knowing “the first basic aspects of theology” is knowing what Mother Church teaches, which doesn’t require a degree in theology but the ability to simply read.

What Fr. Chad surprisingly never mentions in this video is that all the popes since Paul VI have unequivocally expressed the necessity and place of the charismatic renewal as being not only a valid movement but as belonging to the entire Church.

How could this ‘spiritual renewal’ not be a chance for the Church and the world? And how, in this case, could one not take all the means to ensure that it remains so…? —POPE PAUL VI, International Conference on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, May 19, 1975, Rome, Italy, www.ewtn.com

I am convinced that this movement is a very important component in the total renewal of the Church, in this spiritual renewal of the Church. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, special audience with Cardinal Suenens and the Council Members of the International Charismatic Renewal Office, December 11th, 1979, http://www.archdpdx.org/ccr/popes.html

Jesus said, you will know a tree by its fruit. The fruits of the renewal to this very day, despite the fundamentalism of certain individuals, has been overwhelmingly beautiful in fostering new life in parishes and the blossoming of ministries in the new evangelization.

But what some traditionalists are concluding is that everything since Vatican II is a modernist invention: the charismatic renewal, certain Marian apparitions, youth revivals, etc.. They throw it all out simply because it happened post-Second Vatican Council.

I would argue that some of these movements are precisely God’s answer to the damage that the rationalists and modernists have attempted to inflict upon the Church. Hence, said St. John Paul II:

The emergence of the Renewal following the Second Vatican Council was a particular gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church…. At the end of this Second Millennium, the Church needs more than ever to turn in confidence and hope to the Holy Spirit… —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Address to the Council of the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Office, May 14th, 1992

It is also arguable that the charismatic renewal is a direct answer from God to Pope Leo XIII’s Novena to the Holy Spirit that was prayed nine days before Pentecost by the entire Church, in communion with the Blessed Mother, in 1897:

May she continue to strengthen our prayers with her suffrages, that, in the midst of all the stress and trouble of the nations, those divine prodigies may be happily revived by the Holy Ghost, which were foretold in the words of David: “Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created, and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth” (Ps. ciii., 30). —POPE LEO XIII, Divinum Illud Munus, n. 14

Thus, in a speech that leaves no ambiguity over whether or not the charismatic renewal is meant to have a role among the entire Church, John Paul II concluded:

The institutional and charismatic aspects are co-essential as it were to the Church’s constitution. They contribute, although differently, to the life, renewal and sanctification of God’s People. —Speech to the World Congress of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities, www.vatican.va

While still a Cardinal, Pope Benedict said:

I am really a friend of movements — Communione e Liberazione, Focolare, and the Charismatic Renewal. I think this is a sign of the Springtime and of the presence of the Holy Spirit. —Cardinal Ratzinger (POPE BENEDICT XVI), Interview with Raymond Arroyo, EWTN, The World Over, September 5th, 2003

Pope Francis, in a very wise exhortation, recently called the renewal to further “ecclesial maturity”^[1]“Today a new stage is unfolding before you: that of ecclesial maturity. This does not mean that all problems have been solved. Rather, it is a challenge. A road to take. The Church expects from you the “mature” fruits of communion and commitment.” —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Speech for the World Congress of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities, vatican.va when he fully endorsed what’s known as the “Life in the Spirit Seminar.” That programme was developed early on in the movement to evangelize Catholics and prepare their hearts to receive a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit — what the questioner in the video calls “baptism in the Holy Spirit.”

Francis, echoing his predecessors, emphasized two crucial elements of this movement:

First: the importance of “promoting the exercise of charisms not only in Catholic Charismatic Renewal but also in the whole Church” (Art. 3 §b).

Amen. Let’s get this out of Church basements and into every facet of Christian life. That would include the gift of tongues.

Second: “encouraging the spiritual deepening and holiness of people who live the experience of baptism in the Holy Spirit” (Art. 3 §c).

This second point is crucial. As my recent writing, The Necessity of the Interior Life stresses, there is a need — whether it is charismatic expression or the most ornate liturgical expressions, like wearing veils, singing chant, etc. — for this to flow from an authentic life of interior prayer. Otherwise, as St. Paul admonishes, we are “nothing”:

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-2)

But I want to add that there has been a deepening of the charismatic renewal in many who experienced its graces. I live amongst and work with many of these people. One of the movement’s first leaders, Dr. Ralph Martin, teaches the spirituality of the saints in the vein of John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila; Patti-Mansfield teaches about the necessity of the Marian dimension of the believer’s life; theologian Dr. Mary Healy goes deeper into biblical truths and practice. And there are literally thousands of global ministries, formal communities, and vocations that were birthed from the renewal, even though they may not advertise as such, who are not stuck in the “milk” of the charismatic experience but are drawing people into the solid food of Catholicism’s vast treasures.

In this context, Francis’s following admonition to all of us is prophetic:

Never forget that your task is not to judge who is or is not an “authentic charismatic,” this is not your task. This is a temptation in the Church, from the beginning: “I belong to Paul” — “I belong to Apollos” — “I belong to Peter” (and maybe today we say, “I am charismatic, I am traditionalist, and so forth….” cf. 1Corinthians 1:12). No, this is not right. —Zenit, November 5, 2023

In summary, then, the “charismatic renewal” is simply a renewed sense of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit as manifested through new spiritual graces, including at times spiritual gifts or charisms.

 

Tongues — It’s a Gift

Fr. Chad rightly states in the video that God bestows upon the faithful graces for our sanctification and growth in holiness. These include “gratuitous graces”, such as the charismatic gifts, which are not merited but freely given to believers as God sees fit. In fact, when speaking of this, the Catechism of the Catholic specifically mentions tongues as a gift that God is giving the faithful:

Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us. But grace also includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church. There are sacramental graces, gifts proper to the different sacraments. There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning “favor,” “gratuitous gift,” “benefit.” Whatever their character—sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues — charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church. —Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2003

But then Fr. Chad makes the claim that you “cannot pray for them… or do anything to get them.” However, Scripture tells a different story. For instance, St. James instructs his readers to pray for wisdom, one of the “seven gifts” of the Holy Spirit, and if they do, they will assuredly receive it:

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. (James 1:5)

When it comes to the charisms, St. Paul frequently instructs his readers to actually “strive eagerly” for them:

Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. (1 Corinthians 12:30-31; cf. 14:1, 14:12, 14:39)

In fact, Paul says, “I should like all of you to speak in tongues.”^[2]1 Cor 14:5 Hence, Jesus said of spiritual gifts:

…everyone who asks, receives… Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. (Matthew 7:8-11)

However, since the charisms of the Holy Spirit are given for the “building up of the body,”^[3]Eph 4:12 they are only distributed according to the needs of the Body of Christ. Not everyone, says Paul, receives the same gifts:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit… to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:4, 12:10)

So yes, one can ask and “strive eagerly” in prayer for God’s gifts, but Vatican II taught that we should not seek them “rashly.”^[4]Lumen Gentium, n. 12 For instance, asking out of curiosity or for our own self-centered or egotistical ends, etc. The Heavenly Father will only give those gifts which are “good things” for us, that are beneficial for the Body of Christ or even ourselves, but will withhold those things that aren’t good for us — even holy things, like the charisms.

 

Demonic Gift?

Fr. Chad then claims that the idea one can ask for the charisms came through the Pentecostal movement. But he goes further citing a case of the “worst possession” he’s ever seen. It was a woman who had asked for the gift of tongues. But Fr. Chad’s example is problematic for several reasons.

The first being, as already stated, that he contradicts St. Paul who instructs the churches to “strive eagerly” for tongues among other gifts. In my 50 years of exposure to the charismatic movement, I can say that I have never seen a single case of possession in any who have asked the Lord to receive this gift. But I have witnessed deliverance from demons at charismatic events. And I have witnessed many who received the biblical form of tongues, sometimes in the most dramatic fashion.

One such story was St. John Paul II who wanted to receive this gift. As former papal household preacher Fr. Raneiro Cantalamessa tells it, John Paul II emerged from his chapel one day exclaiming, “I received the gift! I received the gift of tongues!”

The second problem is that Fr. Chad does not disclose what other problems may have been with this possessed woman. Was she involved in witchcraft or the occult? Was she engaged in mortal sin? Was she dabbling in séances, Ouija boards, or fortune-telling? These would be wide-open doors to then receive false “gifts” that mimic the charisms. We don’t know anything about her, but Fr. Chad leaves a gasping audience to believe that asking for the gift of tongues is tantamount to inviting demonic possession.

The truth is that these gifts of the Spirit can be mimicked by the demonic. I recently heard the testimony of a man deeply involved in the occult who could give “words of knowledge” and “prophecy.” He accessed these counterfeit “gifts”, not through the Holy Spirit, but through evil spirits precisely because he opened himself up to it through the occult. He later renounced these psychic abilities which were nothing other than demons imitating the divine.

But the Christian who seeks to build up the Body of Christ by asking the Father to grant whatever gifts He wills, is doing exactly what Scripture commands him to. Again, Jesus said, “how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”^[5]Luke 11:13 

Besides, it’s no surprise that demons speak in tongues since they are fallen angels. Several scholars point out that the gift of tongues, particularly singing in tongues (that Paul mentions in 1 Cor 14:15), was often referred to as “angelic tongues.” Indeed, St. Paul used this very phrase (cf. 1 Cor 13:1). A friend of mine found an old Gregorian Chant hymnal several years ago, and the inside cover read, ‘These chants were inspired by angelic languages.’

Ironically, given that Fr. Chad promotes the Latin Mass, which is great, is that Gregorian Chant appears to have been inspired by what is called glossolalia — charismatic tongues. Indeed, if you’ve ever heard singing in tongues, it’s easy to see how chant simply became tongues-codified. German scholar, Werner Meyer, writes:

The glossolalia of the early Eastern Church, as the original musical event, represents the germ cell or the original form of sung liturgical prayer… In the sublime levitation and inter-weaving of the old church tones, and even in Gregorian chant to some extent, we are greeted by an element that has its profound roots in glossolalia. —Der erste Korintherbrief: Prophezei [1945], vol. 2, pp. 122ff)

Before we move on… regarding Fr. Chad’s allegation that Pentecostalism is the source of an errant understanding of charismatic gifts by some people, may or may not be true. But the fact is that the actual charismatic movement was birthed in 1967 at The Ark and Dover Retreat House. A group of Catholic students from Duquesne University were meditating on Acts Chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost, when an awesome encounter began to unfold as students entered the upstairs chapel before the Blessed Sacrament:

…when I entered and knelt in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, I literally trembled with a sense of awe before His majesty. I knew in an overwhelming way that He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. I thought, “You had better get out of here quick before something happens to you.” But overriding my fear was a much greater desire to surrender myself unconditionally to God. I prayed, “Father, I give my life to you. Whatever you ask of me, I accept. And if it means suffering, I accept that too. Just teach me to follow Jesus and to love as He loves.” In the next moment, I found myself prostrate, flat on my face, and flooded with an experience of the merciful love of God… a love that is totally undeserved, yet lavishly given. Yes, it’s true what St. Paul writes, “The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” My shoes came off in the process. I was indeed on holy ground. I felt as if I wanted to die and be with God… Within the next hour, God sovereignly drew many of the students into the chapel. Some were laughing, others crying. Some prayed in tongues, others (like me) felt a burning sensation coursing through their hands… It was the birth of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal! —Patti Gallagher-Mansfield, student eyewitness and participant, http://www.ccr.org.uk/duquesne.htm

Yes, the Charismatic Renewal was born from the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, and nothing less. After all, said John the Baptist, this would be the ministry of Our Lord:

I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Luke 3:16)

These signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages… (Mark 16:17)

 

The Various tongues

After scaring his audience away from tongues (and trust me, I’ve received letters now from people outright dismissing tongues as “demonic”), Fr. Chad at least attempts to identify valid forms of this charism. As St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:10, there are not just one but a “variety of tongues.”

The first, says Fr. Chad, is when a person speaks their own language, but the other person hears it in their own language. A dramatic example of this variety of tongues comes from Fr. Chris Alar of the Marian Fathers. I sat across the table from him last year as he shared this true story. I found it in a short video someone posted here:

There was a similar grace at Pentecost when the Apostles emerged from the upper room. They were speaking in tongues, but those listening heard it in their own language.

Fr. Chad then refers to another form of tongues where a person is suddenly infused with a foreign language and begins to speak and understand it so that those around them can also understand. Though rare, I have heard some missionaries testify of suddenly being able to speak a foreign language.

However, that’s where Fr. Chad ends his exegesis, claiming that there is no such tongue where one does not understand what he’s speaking. He says, “God doesn’t use us unless we know what we’re doing. He infuses the knowledge, and from there we can actually know what we’re doing…” Thus, he concludes: “Knowledge of knowing what you’re doing is how you distinguish it from the diabolic form…. the diabolic form is that there is speech, language coming out of a person’s mouth and they don’t know what they’re saying.”

Respectfully, it now becomes clear that Fr. Chad, at least in this video, has not done a basic study of tongues found in the Word of God or Tradition. St. Paul was clear that there is a form of tongues in which neither the speaker nor the person hearing has any idea what the language is:

For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 14:2)

Leaving no doubt that this is a tongue that the person speaking does not himself understand, Paul instructs:

Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray to be able to interpret. (1 Corinthians 14:13)

That’s because Paul wanted the churches to strive eagerly for the gifts that would build up the Body. Hence, in order to maintain order in the liturgical assemblies, Paul urged that the one with the gift of tongues not use it publicly unless there is someone there to interpret:

If anyone speaks in a tongue, let it be two or at most three, and each in turn, and one should interpret. But if there is no interpreter, the person should keep silent in the church and speak to himself and to God. (1 Corinthians 14:27-28)

There is no need for the gift of interpretation in another individual if the one speaking always understands what he is saying. Hence, contrary to Fr. Chad’s claim, this is indeed a variety of tongues, and it is the most common, in which absolutely no one but God knows what is being said… and this is affirmed in the Church’s Tradition.

 

Tongues in Tradition

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul refers to this unknown utterance as also taking the form of an intercessory prayer of the Holy Spirit:

Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)

Theologian, Dr. Mary Healy, notes that “The tongues reported at Pentecost appear to be a unique phenomenon in the New Testament, although this phenomenon has been attested on occasion throughout Church history and in our own time.”

The Church Fathers generally reserved the term ‘tongues’ to refer to this miraculous form of the gift, while using the term ‘jubilation‘ to refer to non-verbal but vocalized praise of God. The similarities between what the tradition calls jubilation and prayer in tongues as it is experienced today are unmistakable. —“Answers Concerning the Charism of Healing”, Dr. Mary Healy, December 20, 2018

Church Father Irenaeus recorded:

…we do also hear many brethren in the Church who possess prophetic gifts and who through the Spirit speak all kinds of languages and who bring to light for the general benefit the hidden things of men and declare the mysteries of God. —St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5:6:1 (A.D. 189)

Contradicting Fr. Chad’s philosophical claim that God would never use a human to speak words he does not understand, St. Thomas Aquinas, a doctor of the Church, actually acknowledged a form of tongues that no one, including the one speaking, understands:

When our mind is kindled by devotion as we pray, we break out spontaneously into weeping and sighing and cries of jubilation and other such noises. —Simon Tugwell, ed., Albert and Thomas: Selected Writings, Classics of Western Spirituality (New York: Paulist Press, 1988), 380

Since the beginnings of the charismatic movement, this expression of prayer became known as “singing in tongues”:

The jubilus is an inexpressible joy which is not able to be expressed in words but even so the voice declares this vast expanse of joy… —St. Thomas Aquinas, In Psalterium, Ps 32.3.

St. Augustine, also a doctor of the Church, declares that…

If words will not serve, and yet you must not remain silent, what else can you do but cry out for joy? Your heart must rejoice beyond words, soaring into an immensity of gladness, unrestrained by syllabic bonds. Sing to him with jubilation. —St. Augustine, commentary on Psalm 32

Again, this is tongues. Another Church doctor, St. Teresa of Avila, attests in her spiritual classic on interior prayer:

Our Lord sometimes gives the soul feelings of jubilation and a strange prayer it doesn’t understand. I am writing about this favor here so that if He grants it to you, you may give Him such praise and know what is taking place…  It seems like gibberish… —Saint Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, VI.6.10–11.

It seems like gibberish — exactly how we have heard this renewal of the gift of tongues in our times.

 

Human vs Divine Gibberish

This is not to say that Fr. Chad isn’t making a valid point on one level: some people do manufacture sounds and then call it the “gift of tongues.” However, he then attempts to cite a study proving that tongues is mere nonsense, and that God himself sees it this way. As demonstrated above in both Scripture and Tradition, God doesn’t see it this way. In fact, Scripture attests to how the babbling of babes is actually powerful and pleasing to God because of its purity:

Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise, because of thy enemies, that thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger. (Psalms 8:3)

In fact, science has proven that something remarkable takes place in the brain when one genuinely prays in tongues. A part of the brain is activated that shouldn’t be:

I’m not saying that the one who manufactures tongues out of ego or an attempt to appear spiritual is pleasing to God. As Jesus said,

The hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth… (John 4:23)

At the same time, I believe that even were one to pray from the heart like the saints above in “sighing”, “noises”, and “gibberish” out of love for God, that He would accept that joyful sound — precisely because His Word tells us to:

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth… (Psalms 98:4)

Sadly, what the doctors of the Church describe as “jubilation,” Fr. Chad actually calls “dangerous” and “channelling,” failing to distinguish between the variety of tongues that Paul describes, and those who operate in the occult.

At the same time, do we really believe that our eloquent, refined prayers, whether spoken in English or Latin, aren’t also the babbling of little children? All our words are inadequate and limited expressions to describe theological realities or give proper praise to God. However, the closest we get to actually expressing words that are fitting worship is in the gift of tongues, for it is the Spirit who prays in us, says St. Paul. Also, praying with the Word of God, like the Psalms but especially the words of Jesus, is more than fitting.

I remember hearing the story of Canadian priest, Fr. Denis Phaneuf. He was praying in tongues over a woman. He didn’t know what he was saying, but afterwards, the woman turned to him and said, “My Fr. Denis, you speak beautiful old Ukrainian!” Fr. Denis looked at her and said, “I’m French. I don’t speak Ukrainian!” She said, “Oh, you did. You said, ‘We are all like cracked clay pots… we become filled with the Spirit but then we “leak,” and then the Lord wants to fill us up again and again.'”

 

Baptism in the Spirit

It’s this filling up “again and again” that is called “baptism in the spirit.” It is often after this experience that many people have received the gift of tongues. However, Fr. Chad’s talk concludes on an unfortunate note when he claims, “Being slain [baptized] in the Spirit — there is no such charismatic gift. It’s not real, in fact, I think a lot of it’s just psychological, frankly.”

That’s a contradiction of magisterial teaching.

This “infilling”, “resting” or “baptism in the Spirit” occurs when God fills the soul with the Holy Spirit. In Acts Chapter 4, we read:

As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31)

If you read that, thinking it was Pentecost, you’re wrong — that happened two chapters earlier. So clearly, we can be filled with the Holy Spirit over and over again.

Sometimes people fall backwards, often without realizing it, and “rest” in the Lord. This phenomenon has happened millions of times around the world to bishops, priests and laity alike. Of course, some people may “fake it,” but Pope Benedict XVI, while a cardinal and Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, did not dismiss this charismatic phenomenon as being “just psychological.”

At the heart of a world imbued with a rationalistic skepticism, a new experience of the Holy Spirit suddenly burst forth. And, since then, that experience has assumed a breadth of a worldwide Renewal movement. What the New Testament tells us about the charisms — which were seen as visible signs of the coming of the Spirit — is not just ancient history, over and done with, for it is once again becoming extremely topical. —Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Renewal and the Powers of Darkness, by Leo Cardinal Suenens (Ann Arbor: Servant Books, 1983)

Many have been utterly transformed from this new infilling of the Spirit, like a personal Pentecost. Sometimes, right on the spot, they are filled with indescribable peace and joy, which is why you sometimes see people lifting their hands in praise. But this is frowned upon and even scorned by some Catholics, yet, it is entirely biblical.

It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument. (1 Timothy 2:8)

“Every place” included the liturgical assembly. 

Many years ago, my team came up to me and asked if wanted to be prayed over for the “baptism in the Holy Spirit.” Even though my parents had done this years before, I said why not. Even before the leader could touch my head, I found myself on my back and what felt like electricity coursing through my hands, lips, and body. From that day on, worship and liturgical music began to pour out of me like a flood. I couldn’t stop writing songs. That eventually flowed into this present ministry of over 1800 writings and webcasts.

As one priest said of baptism in the Spirit, “I don’t know what it is. All I know is we need it.”

In the Baptism of the Spirit there is a secret, mysterious move of God that is His way of becoming present, in a way that is different for each one because only He knows us in our inner part and how to act upon our unique personality… theologians look for an explanation and responsible people for moderation, but simple souls touch with their hands the power of Christ in the Baptism of the Spirit (1 Cor 12:1-24). —Fr. Raneiro Cantalamessa, OFMCap, (former papal household preacher since 1980); Baptism in the Spirit,www.catholicharismatic.us

In their study of this phenomenon throughout Church history, Fr.’s McDonnell and Montague concluded that this is simply ‘normative’ Christianity. In the words of American Bishop Sam Jacobs:

…this grace of Pentecost, known as Baptism in the Holy Spirit, does not belong to any particular movement but to the whole Church… this grace of Pentecost has been seen in the life and practice of the Church, according to the writings of the Fathers of the Church, as normative for Christian living and as integral to the fullness of Christian Initiation. —Most Reverend Sam G. Jacobs, Bishop of Alexandria; Fanning the Flame, p. 7, by McDonnell and Montague

Given that Fr. Chad is an American priest, it would be good for him to hear the statement of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

As experienced in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, baptism in the Holy Spirit makes Jesus Christ known and loved as Lord and Savior, establishes or reestablishes an immediacy of relationship with all those persons of the Trinity, and through inner transformation affects the whole of the Christian’s life. There is new life and a new conscious awareness of God’s power and presence. It is a grace experience which touches every dimension of the Church’s life: worship, preaching, teaching, ministry, evangelism, prayer and spirituality, service and community. Because of this, it is our conviction that baptism in the Holy Spirit, understood as the reawakening in Christian experience of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit given in Christian initiation, and manifested in a broad range of charisms, including those closely associated with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, is part of the normal Christian life. —USCCB, Grace for the New Springtime, 1997, catholiccharismatic.us

Thus,

…accepting the baptism in the Spirit is not joining a movement, any movement. Rather, it is embracing the fullness of Christian initiation, which belongs to the Church. —Fr. Kilian McDonnell and Fr. George T. Montague, Fanning the Flame, The Liturgical Press, 1991, p. 21=

In truth, the ‘normative’ manifestation of the Holy Spirit was often immediately after Baptism. Fr. Cantalamessa explains:

At the beginning of the Church, Baptism was such a powerful event and so rich in grace that there was no need normally of a new effusion of the Spirit like we have today. Baptism was ministered to adults who converted from paganism and who, properly instructed, were in the position to make, on the occasion of baptism, an act of faith and a free and mature choice… they arrived at baptism through a true and real conversion, and thus for them baptism was a real washing, a personal renewal, and a rebirth in the Holy Spirit. —Fr. Raneiro Cantalamessa, OFMCap, (papal household preacher since 1980); Baptism in the Spirit,www.catholicharismatic.us

Many are the accounts of the early converts bursting into tongues or prophesying after Baptism and Confirmation. In fact, my own sister was catechized by my parents on the charisms of the Holy Spirit prior to her Confirmation. When the bishop laid hands on her, she began to speak in tongues. The point being that there has been a poor job in recent decades of catechizing the faithful on the gifts and life in the Holy Spirit. Sadly, this video we’re analyzing is case in point.

If the baptism in the Holy Spirit is integral to Christian initiation, to the constitutive sacraments, then it belongs not to private piety but to public liturgy, to the official worship of the church. Therefore the baptism in the Spirit is not special grace for some but common grace for all. —Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Spirit—Evidence from the First Eight Centuries, Fr. Kilian McDonnell & Fr. George Montague, Second Edition, p. 370

 

Breathing With Both Lungs

In closing, there is another irony in all this. We know that revolutionaries entered our Catholic churches after Vatican II and stripped many of them of the sacred. They tore out the high altars, removed Communion rails, busted statues, took down crucifixes, and white-washed sacred art. In a word, they tried with much success in places to neuter the outer manifestation of the Church’s mystery.

But in the same way, there is a small but vocal sect of “traditionalists” who are trying to neuter and silence the inner manifestation of the Church’s mystery, expressed through the workings and charisms of the Holy Spirit. They despise prophecy, ridicule gifts like tongues, mock any outward expressions of love for God through praise, song, or bodily expression, and ultimately quench the Holy Spirit. It is exactly the same spirit of rebellion behind the progressives as it is behind this fundamentalist group of “traditionalists.” Just like the Pharisees and Sadducees — even though they were on different sides of the theological spectrum — they both ended up crucifying Christ.

The answer to these extremes is to return to Sacred Tradition. Learn what the Word of God actually says. Understand what the Church has taught through the centuries. Be willing to be challenged and to grow. God is a mystery, and as soon as you think you have Him figured out, you’re likely straying from the narrow road onto one of these wide and easy paths.

The Church in the next age, in the Era of Peace, is going to be fully Catholic. It will be Eucharistic, charismatic and hierarchical; Marian, Petrine, biblical, traditional, contemplative and active, living fully out of the Divine Will which will reign “on earth as it is in Heaven.” We may well sing in Gregorian Chant as much as we will in tongues. It is time that we stop the divisions and begin to breathe again with both lungs. As Fr. Raneiro put it:

…the Church… is both hierarchical and charismatic, institutional and mystery: the Church that lives not by sacrament alone but also by charism. The two lungs of the Church… — Come, Creator Spirit: meditations on the Veni Creator, by Raniero Cantalamessa, p. 184

May we soon begin to breathe the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Maranatha, Come quickly, Lord Jesus, and fully restore your Bride.

 

I would like to cry out… to all Christians:
Open yourselves docilely to the gifts of the Spirit!
Accept gratefully and obediently
the charisms which the Spirit never ceases
to bestow on us!
Do not forget that every charism
is given for the common good, that is,
for the benefit of the whole Church.
—POPE ST. JOHN PAUL II
Meeting with Ecclesial Movements
and New Communities
May 30th, 1998; vatican.va

 

Related Reading

Charismatic?

 

Your support is needed as we begin 2025.
Thank you!

 

To journey with Mark in The Now Word,
click on the banner below to subscribe.
Your email will not be shared with anyone.

Now on Telegram. Click:

Follow Mark and the daily “signs of the times” on MeWe:

Follow Mark’s writings here:

Listen on the following: