Every Catholic is called to be charismatic, and common concerns that charismatics are part of an emotional spiritual movement are often misunderstandings of the actual vocation of following Christ, author Madeleine Dobrowski argued in a recent article for Word on Fire.
Dobrowski wrote that Catholics who criticize “charismatic” spirituality usually have four definitions of the term. Many say “charismatic” connotes faith based on emotions or feelings, or spontaneously or expressively praying, such as raising hands. Catholics also use the term to describe those who freely use the gifts of the Holy Spirit — such as speaking in tongues or prophesying — or a movement associated with praise and worship music.
She cited Ascension Press’ Jackie Angel, who said that “Being a charismatic Catholic simply means embracing the charisms (or gifts) of the Holy Spirit,” which, once accepted, are used to build up the Church as the Body of Christ.
“The term charismatic comes from the word ‘charism,’ referring to a gift of the Holy Spirit,” Dobrowski continued. “To be charismatic, therefore, means to live a charism-filled life, one in which a person is radically open to the Holy Spirit and the conferment of his gifts.”
She later noted, “Ever since the early days of the Church, the Holy Spirit has been at work through the charisms. For the followers of Christ, being inebriated by the Spirit was an essential part of Christian maturity.”
A true understanding of “charismatic” and the common idea that it is a movement of faith purely based on emotions cannot be held at the same time, Dobrowski argued. She wrote that there is “nothing inherently emotional about being open to God’s Spirit” and noted that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not contingent on emotions being present.
The belief that “charismatic” means spontaneously praying can be disproved in the same way, Dobrowski said.
“Spontaneous acts of prayer are often associated with charismatic spirituality for good reason,” she wrote. “Radical openness to the Spirit involves moving beyond the (good and beautiful) structures of rote prayer and speaking to God directly from our hearts. However, God’s Spirit works with our individuality, not against it.”
She added, “Charismatic spirituality does not have to look a certain way, but it is always marked by abandonment and love.”
The third criticism of charismatics — that the spirituality is “all about using the gifts of the Spirit — raises concerns that some Catholics are rejecting the gifts of the Holy Spirit and Christianity itself, Dobrowski argued.
“If we object to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, is it not simply Christian spirituality in general that we are objecting to? How can we want the Spirit but not his gifts?” she wrote, emphasizing that the charisms are meant to be used with prudence and “in obedience and unity with the Church.”
The final conception of the word “charismatic,” equating the spirituality with praise and worship music, often comes from those who have had limited experiences with charismatics, Dobrowski said.
“These people often walk away from these communities with the impression that the musical genre is synonymous with the spirituality,” she wrote. “In short, it is not. The musical genre is secondary to the disposition. One can be equally moved by the Holy Spirit to chant as well as to a guitar.”
Citing Pope St. John Paul II’s praise of the Charismatic Renewal, which held up the movement as a “particular gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church” that could “help foster the growth of a solid spiritual life based on the Holy Spirit’s power at work in the Church,” Dobrowski said charismatic spirituality is exactly what the Church needs right now.
She added, “It is time for Christians to unite under the label of charismatic spirituality, to cast off inaccurate interpretations, and to embrace the fullness of the Spirit’s power in the Church.”