October 1982 Print

by Joseph Martinez

The article which follows was sent to us by a reader in Arizona. He relates his experiences at a Catholic Charistmatic Renewal meeting! This type of "renewal" is becoming more prevalent each day and we are indebted to Mr. Martinez for sharing his experience with us.

Southern Arizona has a great Catholic heritage—at least one which lasted until the Modernist explosion of the late 1960's. It is in this region that the Jesuit Father Eusebio Kino established missions and converted many Indians in the 1600's and 1700's. It is also where Jean Baptiste Salpointe, coming from France, spread the Faith and became the first bishop in Arizona Territory during the pontificate of Pope Pius IX.

But, as is true of other areas of the United States and the contemporary Catholic world, Kino and Salpointe would no doubt be quite saddened if they were to see their now corrupted legacy. In Tucson, this corruption of Catholic heritage can be found in Andrew Greeley's sociology class at the University of Arizona, or in such a place as Our Lady of Fatima Parish, with its space-station architecture and monstrosity of a so-called crucifix, crudely scraped from a log which any God-fearing Catholic could not pray before if it were the last cross in Christendom. Here at Our Lady of Fatima, they don't even genuflect during the blaring consecration.

Or take another local parish of another incredibly paradoxical title: St. Pius X. In the vestibule, one will find a large autographed picture of the great Saint. But other than this relic there is nothing else visible to the visitor which bears any semblance of traditional Catholicity. This is the same place where in November, 1981, a "mass" was said for the repose of the soul of my father. The spectacle was celebrated by—shall we say a conciliar minister?—who remained seated throughout the entire liturgy. However, I am sure he would have risen for a special occasion, say, to offer the sign of peace to Morris Udall, our ardent pro-abortion congressman. No, this eucharistic minister wasn't ill, nor is he an invalid. I suppose he just figured that people are supposed to sit at meals!

Still, there is one more Tucson parish which must rank with the last two mentioned. This one is St. Cyril of Alexandria. I happen to live within its boundaries, but certainly do not participate in its community fellowship. St. Cyril's is the place where, in utter shock, I once came across a pro-abortion "Catholics for a Free Choice" advertisement in that heretical rag called the National Catholic Reporter. It was a most revealing experience in knowing them (schismatic wing of the Novus Ordo) by their fruits. St. Pius X Church also peddles the same leftist publication.

Inside of St. Cyril's, above the main entrance, there hangs a banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe. But readers not familiar with this part of the country should not be misled. Rather than intending to represent the Patroness of the unborn, or remind one of the Mexican martyr, Father Pro, La Virgen de Guadalupe is often used to identify with the radical Chicano causes in the Southwest. For example, the local Manzo Area Council was once located in a building with the Mexican Madonna painted on the outside wall. There was really nothing wrong with that until one discovered that one of the "services" conducted inside the building was abortion referrals. It now houses a Marxist-Leninist bookstore!

Incidentally, the Paulist pastor at St. Cyril's celebrates liturgy with a wine-glass and repeatedly refers to Jesus as "our brother."

It was here at St. Cyril's that I was introduced to the "Charismatic Renewal." A pentecostal acquaintance of mine enthusiastically urged me to attend the Tuesday night prayer meeting. So, accompanied by my girlfriend, I gave it a try. And try we did, because after all, my charismatic buddy stressed that I must "go into it with an open mind."

The presentation commenced with a folk-orchestra playing in front of the main table upon which a hunk of dried cholla cactus was used for a candle holder. Behind were the typical "He is Risen—Alleluia" banners and the cult of man thrones. To the extreme right was a bread-box type of tabernacle.

The terminology used by the participants was representative of Protestantism: "The Lord told me this...and the Lord said I should do that." Following all the witnessing from personal relationships with the Lord came the often talked about, but never coherent, tongues. I even brought along my cassette recorder for this one. It was an eerie mixture of mumbo-jumbo which appeared to have some Arabic or Yiddish syllables in it. It was the kind of noise one might expect to encounter during an exorcism. But fortunately nothing came out of my mouth, nor my girlfriend's. I guess our minds just weren't open enough.

The evening was topped off by anointing with holy oil. This was a bizarre routine in which people lined up as if situated along the non-existent communion rail. Behind every recipient there stood what is known as a "catcher." Upon receiving the oil on the forehead one person out of every four or so would simply collapse backwards, supposedly from the power of the "Holy Spirit."

What I clearly noticed was that every person who fell, did so in the same exact manner. My vivid impression was that there was no human fakery involved, and that something supernatural was definitly taking place. After fifteen to thirty seconds everyone who fell was revived in the protecting arms of the catcher.

Being rather naive and desperate for spiritual help at that time, I felt very remorseful for not having gone up to get anointed. But fear, or what I thought was fear at the time, kept me from doing so. Perhaps it was the Holy Ghost Himself Who held me back. Little did I know that eventually I would find my spiritual consolation in the Faith I was originally brought up in. That evening I left most confused and distressed, yet willing to give the Charismatic Renewal another open-minded try by attending a "Life in the Spirit Seminar."

I found it rather difficult in blindly approaching the first session and hearing the introduction given by a layman who mimicked genuflection and the traditional, pious style of praying. He told us how old fashioned Catholics should not feel inhibited about joining in raised hands to praise the Lord.

My skepticism grew when the Pentecostal leader proceeded to give us this pitch on the powers we can receive from the Holy Spirit. The miraculous powers to heal, prophesy and speak in tongues, which he was trying to sell everyone present, were what I always thought of as something to be reserved for saints and the like.

Then, so as to dispel anyone's doubts about Charismatic Renewal, he held up a paper declaring official approval from the bishop. Well, quite to the contrary, that's when I really became disillusioned with the whole deal. The now retired bishop to whom he was referring was the same liberal prelate who was shown obscene sex-education material by two concerned mothers I know. In their embarrassment of calling the filth to the bishop's attention, the bishop replied, "Well, it all depends on how you look at it!"

But before leaving, I just had to stick around for the laying of hands or "healing." The layman lined up a few chairs at the front of the church and started asking for people from the audience with bad backs, whiplashes and what not. It was now time for the cure-all. The seats were filled and the ensuing scene reminded me of a magician's act. The layman would place his hands on whatever part of their body ailed them, and wouldn't you know, arms and legs stretched out to equal, normal lengths before our very eyes. The "patients" would begin to moan with relief while the healer clapped and muttered, "Oh, Jesus, thank you, Jesus." Of course, the audience joined in applause.

It was when I looked at the faces of the gawking onlookers that I decided to leave. What I saw and heard were gullible expressions with oohs and aahs of individuals as easily entertained as if watching a carnival show. At this point I turned to my girlfriend and whispered, "This is enough, let's get out of here."

My main objection to the Charismatic Renewal is not simply that it appears "strange." After all, many traditional Catholic customs probably first appear strange to the convert-to-be. The reason it is detrimental to the Mystical Body is that, for one thing, it is a Protestant offshoot discovered by a Methodist minister.

Consequently, if one recognizes the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity as the force behind the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, then one believes that the Holy Spirit first descended upon Protestants (heretics) before entering the one true faith!

I say that, despite denials by the charismatics, the Pentecostal movement detracts from the sublimity of the Sacrament of Confirmation. Furthermore, I have yet to hear any promotion of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Rosary or other traditional forms of worship coming from the charismatics.

Nor is the Charismatic Renewal something strictly non-compatible just with traditionalists. I even know of three semi-orthodox priests of the Novus Ordo who have nothing to do with them. But unfortunately, Pope John Paul II seems to be delighted with it, as revealed in the August 1982 issue of New Covenant.

It should be specially emphasized that the Charismatic Renewal is only part of the whole ecumenical potpourri—the family of liberation theologians, National and World Council of Churches, et al.

As for the healing kick many are on, what does that do to the hanging crutches at the shrines of Marian apparitions? Are Catholics to believe that some preacher in 1910 was suddenly given equal powers to the Blessed Mother or Our Lord Himself? And if I come down with cancer, and not just some stiff neck, does this mean that I should not bother with the expense of a plane ticket to Lourdes, when I can just hop in the car and stop by St. Cyril's?

In all fairness there are many charismatics who perhaps do not know any better and may mean well, because the prayer meetings they go to are filled with love, peace and joy. That is precisely part of the problem. There seems to be no room for old-time compunction, mortification, penance, etc. It is all love, peace, and joy, meant to distract one from so many evils present in our day. These people are too busy petitioning the Lord and getting on a spiritual high to be worrying about the destruction of our Church or perhaps their own souls.

Then there is the much suspected, but little discussed, possibility of demonic influence in the Charismatic Renewal. The Holy Father himself has given a much too ambiguous word of caution concerning this. Satan is extremely insidious and deceptive. Evil can be manifested not only in blatant wrongdoing and sin, but also in negligence, passivity, apathy and indifference in such critical matters as the Protestantization of the Church.

It is also important to notice who, how and why certain people may react to certain issues. For instance could Father Drinan or Sister Kane have any objection to the Charismatic Renewal? I seriously doubt it, because the Renewal doesn't stand in their way of poisoning Holy Mother Church as devotion to St. Anthony or St. Michael the Archangel obviously would!

For Catholics considering becoming charismatic, it is imperative to remember that we live in an era in which many will be deceived, and that in order to reach heaven, there's no need for emotional euphoria. Who among us deserves such a divine experience in the first place! The Church already has the Little Way, the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises and Introduction to the Devout Life, to name a few. With these in their proper application, plus the Holy Sacraments, one cannot miss the goal of eternal life. Far too many fail to realize that Christian perfection involves suffering and not purely sensational phenomena or blissful ecstasy. The saints got by just fine without Tuesday evening prayer meetings! The great Popes never pushed any powers and gifts of the Holy Spirit upon the faithful. Most of all, Christ nor His Virgin Mother never ordered, encouraged nor insinuated that we call down the Holy Ghost at our whim. As Dr. William Marra would say, "God has given us seven sacraments, not eight!"