From the bulletin of May 23, 2021
As this weekend is Pentecost, I thought we’d pause our journey through Papal documents to look at some teachings on the Holy Spirit. Should everything go according to plan for my homily (I’m writing this on the Monday before), I will preach about the charisms of the Holy Spirit. If you haven’t yet heard that homily, you may want to do that first. As I say in the homily, the charisms are not about your personal holiness – that’s what the seven gifts are for. These are about building up the Church as a whole. Still, identifying and cooperating with your charism can bring a sense of belonging and purpose. Everyone who receives the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation is given a charism. I encourage you to pray intentionally to recognize and cooperate with your own charisms.
Here’s a list of charisms that might help you get started: Administration, Celibacy, Craftsmanship, Discernment of Spirits, Encouragement, Evangelism, Faith, Giving, Healing, Helping, Hospitality, Intercessory Prayer, Knowledge, Leadership, Mercy, Missionary, Music, Prophecy, Service, Teaching, Voluntary Poverty, Wisdom, Writing. There’s not enough space here to explain every one of these nor is does this list cover all possibilities. Still, it might give you a sense of the kinds of things that the Holy Spirit empowers people to do in service to the Church and the world.
Some of the charisms, like faith, prophecy, wisdom, and knowledge can be obviously miraculous and supernatural, but the reality is that all charisms are to some extent supernatural. They are the Holy Spirit, who is God, working in and through us. It may not seem supernatural for a person to exercise their charism of administration, but there are a lot of hidden and subtle ways that such a charism can enable and support the salvation of souls. Neither does being more flashy mean it is more important. In fact, given the way God likes to be hidden (e.g. Jesus spending 30 years in Nazareth, the resurrection happened in the middle of the night, etc.), a more hidden charism might just be more important. It’s also worth noting that a charism is not the same thing as a natural talent, although the two can very much work together. A charism, as God working in a person, cannot be used for evil but talents can. As with all things related to our faith, our reason only takes us so far and there is a lot that is invisible but nonetheless real.
One thing I want to address here is the gift of tongues. If you’ve spent any time with the Charismatic movement in the Catholic Church, you’ve probably heard about “speaking in tongues.” There are many people who will tell you with a lot of certainty what the Church says about tongues, but they are often overly restrictive in their view. The Catechism mentions this charism exactly once and it does not explain what it is. “Tongues” has been debated by Catholics, with saints against saints, from nearly the beginning. Scripture seems to portray two kinds of tongues. On Pentecost, we see the Apostles speak one language but everyone else hear things in their own language; a kind of miraculous translation. It’s easy to see how such a gift could be useful and I’ve personally heard a few stories of this happening, like one priest who heard a confession in English to find out after that the person doesn’t speak English.
In other places, scripture talks about some kind of mystical language and it mentions another gift that enables someone to interpret it. Some people call this a “prayer language.” Is this kind of tongues a real thing and how does it work? Yes, I would have to say it is real. I’m not entirely sure how it works (I’ve never done it), but I would also have to say that it is easy to fake. It doesn’t take much creativity to babble and make up syllables. I am certain some people fake it. I think some people fake it without even realizing it. I also believe some people really do manifest this gift. But it is not a necessary gift nor is it particularly important (as St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians). If and when you encounter it, the best response is to let it be. Don’t feel like you have to try to copy it and don’t let anyone pressure you into trying. Don’t put too much stock in it or give too much credit to the person doing it. Don’t assume they are faking, either. Let it be and keep your eyes open for other signs of God at work: personal holiness, stronger faith community, service to those in need, etc. In the meantime, ask God to show you your own charisms and to give you the grace to use them well.
In Christ,
-Fr. Albert