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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
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| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Thu Feb 8th, 2007 08:51 pm |
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VATICAN CITY, FEB 8, 2007 (VIS) - The Pope today received participants in the annual meeting of bishops, friends of the "Focolare" movement, who are considering the theme: "Christ crucified and abandoned, light in the cultural night," and participants in the ninth congress of bishops, friends of the Sant'Egidio Community, who are studying the question: "The globalization of love."
The Pope told the bishops that their closeness to these movements "highlights the vitality of new groupings of the faithful, and expresses the communion between charisms that constitutes a typical 'sign of the times'."
This "multiplicity and unity of charisms and of ministries is inseparable from the life of the Church," said the Holy Father. "The Holy Spirit wants the variety of the movements [to be] at the service of the one Body which is, of course, the Church, and He brings this about through the ministry of the people He has placed to run the Church of God: the bishops in communion with Peter's Successor."
"In the wealthy Western world where, although cultural relativism does exist, there is no lack of a widespread desire for spirituality, your movements testify to the joy of the faith and the beauty of being Christian. In the vast deprived areas of the earth, they communicate the message of solidarity and stand alongside the poor and weak with that love, human and divine, that I sought to bring to everyone's attention with my Encyclical 'Deus caritas est'."
"The Focolare movement," he continued, "highlights the charism and service of unity, which it puts into effect in various social and cultural fields ... and through ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue. The Sant'Egidio Community, placing prayer and liturgy at the core of its own existence, wishes to be close to those suffering distress and social marginalization."
"Together we can face with greater fortitude the pressing challenges that call our attention at the beginning of this third millennium," such as "the search for justice and peace, and the urgent need to construct a more fraternal and united world, starting with the countries from which a number of you come, wracked by bloody conflicts."
Benedict XVI made particular mention of Africa "a continent," he said, "that I carry in my heart and that I hope may finally see a period of stable peace and real development. The forthcoming synod of African bishops will surely be an appropriate moment to show the great love that God reserves for the beloved people of Africa."
The above press release is taken from the Vatican Information Service.
Last edited on Thu Feb 8th, 2007 08:53 pm by CajunRick
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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hpj0828
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| Joined: | Sun Apr 1st, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 141 |
| First Name: | Henry | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Messianic Jewish believer, Hebrew Catholic |
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Posted: Thu Jun 21st, 2007 01:34 pm |
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Rick,
Can you tell me what is happening in the charismatic movement in the Roman Catholic Church--in America? Worldwide?
This seems like a very broad question.
Is the charismatic movement still alive in the US? Is it insular, or does it also express itself in social action and service?
How many parishes would have a charismatic "prayer group" or Mass?
Do charismatics "fit in" with the larger Roman Catholic Church?
What percentage of US Catholics would think of themselves as charismatics? Do you know the statistic worldwide? Are there statistics on growth of the charismatic renewal movement?
Thanks,
Henry
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HPJ
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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
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| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Thu Jun 21st, 2007 09:14 pm |
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hpj0828 wrote: Can you tell me what is happening in the charismatic movement in the Roman Catholic Church--in America? Worldwide?
This seems like a very broad question.
I think it's an impossible question to answer. The Charismatic movement has had an effect on the entire church, so there are Charismatic elements in many areas and people who would not consider themselves "Charismatic".
My perception would certainly be skewed. We have an active Charismatic covenant community in my parish, and our bishop is a former national president of Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Our diocese has become much more Charismatic since his arrival. We even have a Steubenville Youth Conference in our diocese now, one of two held in Louisiana every year. (Steubenville South is in Alexandria, his former diocese; Steubenville on the Bayou is held in our diocese.)
You asked if Charismatics "fit in" with other Catholics. The Catholic Church is a very broad tent. Those who are at the fringes of expression (Charismatics, traditionalists, etc.) tend to hold back from more extreme professions of faith when they are part of a larger community, so Charismatics will not pray aloud in tongues, and traditionalists will not say the Pater Noster with the congregation. When we are in community as a parish, we share communion even if we might personally prefer to give freer rein to our expressions. We are Catholic together.
But those are only my impressions. I am not aware of any statistics that would back them up.
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
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David W. Emery
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Posted: Fri Jun 22nd, 2007 12:18 am |
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Perhaps, Henry, there is some confusion in your question between the actual charisms of the Holy Spirit and the so-called charismatic movement. One does not have be involved involved in the charismatic movement — something that has existed only since the 1960s — to receive or carry out a charism.
In the original news article, the word “charism” is used in its traditional sense of a calling to a particular type of work to build up the Church. In the lay apostolates mentioned, one group is called to work for unity of Christians through their work in the social and cultural areas of society, while another seeks to foster union with God among its members by working among the outcasts and suffering of society. The Coming Home Network is itself a lay apostolate, and it has its own charism of aiding the conversion process of those who have expressed an interest in Catholicism, especially when they are clergy of other faiths.
Now regarding your questions about the charismatic movement:
First, I have never seen any scientifically collected statistics which would answer your question. They probably don’t exist. Furthermore, I live in an area and culture dominated by Hispanics, and Hispanics have a strong tendency to be enthusiastic supporters of what they deem to be the “charismatic movement.” So any comment I might make on the local situation or my personal experience would be biased. By the way, I do not consider myself “charismatic” in the sense that my personal path to God has been through monastic tradition rather than through popular culture.
What I mean by “the local situation” is that most parishes in this area do in fact feature a charismatic prayer group of some kind, usually organized at the parish level, to act as a rallying point for those who prefer the enthusiasm and comaraderie of this approach. In my own parish it takes the form of a bible study group, led by the pastor himself. In other parishes it may take the form of a catechism class conducted on the congregational level and led by a deacon, or it can be an entirely lay get-together filled with prayer, singing and testimony. Some parishes favor several small groups, while others prefer a single large one.
But as a matter of fact — and this can be seen as my second point — the definition of “charismatic movement” is so loose and fluid that any enthusiastic believer (more emotional than the staid approach to faith often seen even today among those of northern European descent) could conceivably be described as a “charismatic.”
One claim that I have heard, although I have no numbers to go with it, is that there are more Catholic charismatics than there are charismatics of all other denominations put together. Considering that Hispanics and Africans, who constitute a large portion of that group, also constitute over half of the Catholic Church’s membership, I think the statement is credible. Even if only one percent of these groups participated, we would be looking at somewhere around 50 million Catholic charismatics.
On the other hand, the charismatic movement is not something specific to the Catholic Church. It can be seen in various forms and density within most denominations and, if you will pardon the expression, “non-denominations” of the Evangelical variety. In some cases, charismaticism (a word which I may have coined here informally to represent the realm of the movement) is the primary distinguishing characteristic of the group; in others, one will find a sub-group with “charismatic” characteristics, in contradistinction to other sub-groups which emphasize other approaches to worship, theology and the spiritual life.
I think Rick has described well enough the place of the charismatic movement as it exists within the Catholic Church at this time. Most Catholics probably consider it a “style of worship” rather than a distinct and formal group, for a Catholic charismatic is first of all Catholic. Everyone lives his life giving particular emphasis to things he considers important; the charismatic finds that certain aspects of the person-to-person relationship with God can best be expressed in his own life through those aspects of spirituality emphasized within the movement.
I was a new Catholic when the charismatic movement got its start. A number of my friends were involved. Never, however, did I hear of them venturing into the practices that later smeared the the movement’s reputation. Initially, I think, they saw it more as a youth and young adult movement, not specifically tied to an unbalanced theology of spirituality that required physical manifestations and freaky behavior as proof of the action of the Holy Spirit.
David
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BettyBoopToo
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| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Camas/Washougal, Washington USA |
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| First Name: | Betty | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Fist Baptist/Calvary Babtist/Secular Confusion/ Roman Catholic |
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Posted: Sun Jun 24th, 2007 11:37 pm |
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Henry
How many parishes would have a charismatic "prayer group" or Mass?
Do charismatics "fit in" with the larger Roman Catholic Church?
We have a very active charismatic group in our parish, others in the area also attend their functions, including priest from across the river in oregon. The group puts on a couple of weekend retreats thoughout the year and I have really enjoyed attending them. and possibly getting myself into a closer or rejuvinate an attentive relationship with the holy spirit.
My own MIL is a member of the group and to my knowledge they do not have anything in their practice that would be in contradiction with or frowned upon by the Bishop or father.
They have had visting priest come for special life in the spirit masses, theri retreats and functions they nomally call them "One Mind, One Heart retreats" or "Life in the Spirit".
They are a wonderful and special group in our parish family, when attending their prayer groups (weekly) or one of their retreats and instructional functions many of them pray in tongues or have more enthusiastic spiritual interactions than someone such as my self, but I always come away from the group with an appreciation of their gifts. Our group encourages reconsiliation often to stay as very close and open to the spirit as possible. I'm not sure if other groups are the same or not.
Betty
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"Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent."
St. John of the Cross
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