Friday, March 29, AD 2024 12:44am

PopeWatch: Tongue

From the only reliable source of Catholic news on the net, Eye of the Tiber:

 

A man was kicked out of St. Robert Catholic Church’s Wednesday evening Charismatic Prayer group after he began to speak a real foreign language during a “prayer session.”

Jonathan Spencer, 43, had recently begun attending the group’s weekly prayer meetings, but will not be returning anytime soon.

“We were all together there in the room,” said Spencer. “Some people were jumping around, others were clicking and making all sorts of different noises, and then, don’t ask me how, I just started speaking in French. I’ve never studied French or even been to France.”

When Spencer’s sounds were identified as real words, the meeting turned ugly.

“I think it was Sally who first recognized that I was speaking in French,” said Spencer. “Immediately she walloped me with her tambourine and shouted for everyone to stop. They then informed me that the Holy Spirit only speaks in gibberish. Despite my insistence that they pardon my French, they presumed that I was mocking them by speaking a real language, and they asked me to leave and not return.”

The prayer group had a prepared statement on the incident printed in the following Sunday’s parish bulletin which simply stated: “Hashee ma-holeth, heemarabitur. A sheema tohaboretheeya.”

Go here to comment.  PopeWatch called the Vatican for comment, but all he could get was this recorded message:

 

ᏂᎯᏍᎩᏂ ᎢᏣᏓᏙᎵᏍᏗᏍᎬ ᎯᎠ ᏄᏍᏕᏍᏗ;

ᎣᎩᏙᏓ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᎨᎯ, ᎦᎸᏉᏗᏳ ᎨᏎᏍᏗ ᏕᏣᏙᎥᎢ.
ᏣᎬᏫᏳᎯ ᎨᏒ ᏫᎦᎾᏄᎪᎢ. ᎠᏂ ᎡᎶᎯ ᏫᏂᎦᎵᏍᏓ ᎭᏓᏅᏖᏍᎬᎢ, ᎾᏍᎩᏯ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏥᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᎭ.
ᏂᏓᏙᏓᏈᏒ ᎣᎦᎵᏍᏓᏴᏗ ᏍᎩᎥᏏ ᎪᎯ ᎢᎦ.
ᏗᎨᏍᎩᎥᏏᏉᏃ ᏕᏍᎩᏚᎬᎢ, ᎾᏍᎩᏯ ᏥᏗᎦᏲᎣᏥᏁᎰ ᏦᏥᏚᎩ.
ᎠᎴ ᏞᏍᏗ ᎤᏓᎪᎵᏰᏗᏱ ᎨᏒ ᏫᏗᏍᎩᏯᏘᏅᏍᏔᏅᎩ, ᏍᎩᏳᏓᎴᏍᎨᏍᏗᏉᏍᎩᏂ ᎤᏥ ᎨᏒᎢ. ᏣᏤᎵᎦᏰᏃ ᏣᎬᏫᏳᎯ ᎨᏒᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᏣᎵᏂᎩᏗᏱ ᎨᏒᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᎡᏣᎸᏉᏗᏳ ᎨᏒ ᏂᎪᎯᎸᎢ. ᎡᎺᏅ.

PopeWatch said Amen and ended the call.

 

 

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Greg Mockeridge
Greg Mockeridge
Saturday, July 20, AD 2019 4:22am

At least Popewatch got something resembling coherent verbiage. When I called the Vatican for comment, I got an audio version of Laudato Si. I hung up in exasperation.

Frank
Frank
Saturday, July 20, AD 2019 6:22am

I have always been a bit skeptical of this whole “charismatic renewal” thing. It just seems like protestantism in thin disguise, but I have heard people claim great spiritual rewards from it. Of course, you can also find people making such claims about Medjugorje, which now appears to be a complete hoax. Anyone here have direct experiences with the “Charismatic Catholics?”

Tom Byrne
Tom Byrne
Saturday, July 20, AD 2019 10:16am

Frank:
I’d call it faux-antiquarian rather than “protestant”. The phenomena was acknowledged in the early Church, but always treated rather cautiously. St. Paul approved, but saw it as a way for the individual to praise God. He saw little value for the congregation. The early Church had another customs like the agape-feast that it eventually abandoned also. I’m reading Eusebius and find no mention of “speaking in tongues” after the Apostolic Age.

The Christian Teacher
The Christian Teacher
Saturday, July 20, AD 2019 8:20pm

“I’d call it faux-antiquarian rather than “protestant”. The phenomena was acknowledged in the early Church, but always treated rather cautiously. St. Paul approved, but saw it as a way for the individual to praise God. He saw little value for the congregation.”

More than one thing you have said about speaking in tongues is Biblically incorrect. Try reading what the Bible actually says about it.

https://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.verses/ID/1451/Speaking-Tongues-verses.htm

And I can give you a very helpful modern example. My sister on the mission field distributing medicine had to use Spanish, which she did not know, in order to distribute medicines to local villagers in physical need–because there was no one else there to help. As long as she needed Spanish, she was able to use it. Before she needed it for medicine distribution & after she needed it for the same–she could not use or understand it. She was only able to use Spanish for the brief period of time that she needed it.

Stephen E Dalton
Sunday, July 21, AD 2019 12:10am

The Catholic Charismatic movement came from Protestsntism in the early ’60’s. That alone should have been reason to shut it down in its infancy.

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
Monday, July 22, AD 2019 1:35pm

St. Paul addresses this whole speaking in tongues thing in 1st Corinthians chapter 14:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+corinthians+14&version=RSVCE

I do think there is a legitimate gift of glossolalia here. I also think (as St. Paul points out) that is easily subject to abuse. Let’s be careful, however, and not attribute to the devil or to self-induced hallucinations what can really come from the Holy Spirit. Matthew 12:31–32, Mark 3:28–29, and Luke 12:10 come to mind.

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