Dear Maximus:

I believe that one should be very careful about allowing people to lay hands on you, especially within the charismatic expression, as this is not always a prudent practice and can actually cause spiritual problems in some cases.

Your experience may be from God or may not be. It is hard for me to tell since I was not there and have not talked to you personally. But, it should be noted that just because you did not have an impulse to blasphemy does not mean that your experience was from the Holy Spirit. contrary to popular opinion, the devil can grant you positive experiences when it suits his purpose to potentially lead someone off the road of the Christ-life. People normally, this in extremely subtle ways. Thus, the note of caution.

With that cautionary note made, what you have described and the effects of that experience sounds like it was probably genuine. If that is the case, then your experience was that of the healing effect of the Holy Spirit. We can praise God for that.

There are some people whom I personally know who had similar experiences. Because I know them personally I was in a better position to evaluate their experience when they asked me. I believed that their experiences were one of the healing power of the Holy Spirit. The priest that you are going to be talking to will be in a better position than I to evaluate your experience since he will be talking to you personally.

As for the Charismatic Renewal, there are pros and cons to consider. There is a very extensive essay that I would advise you to read called, Charism Gifts Building Up the Church. This document thoroughly examines what is good about the Renewal and details some of its problems. It includes quotes from popes and bishops, gives a chart of some thirty charismatic gifts that I have found in Scripture, and details some of what I call "Pentecostalisms" that often intrude and are improperly included in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

The biggest problem in the Charismatic Renewal is the practice of tongues. Tongues are the least of all the gifts aaccording to St. Paul. I have heard charismatic leaders dangerously suggest that tongues provide the entryway to the rest of the gifts. I have no idea where they get that. The Scripture certainly does not say that and I'm not aware of any Saint who suggests that. Where I have heard of that notion is in the occult and New Age. Tongues are not the entryway to the rest of the gifts. The Scripture is very clear that God gives one person this gift another person a different gift with no mention that tongues as of entryway. That concept is extremely dangerous.

In addtion, for Tongues to be a Charism gift it must Build-up the Church, not merely the individual. The Pentecostal Gift, that is the Tongues spoken by the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost has nothing whatsoever to do with any "personal" tongues. In fact, the experience on the Day of Pentecost was a gift of hearing, not speaking. St. Peter and the others came out from the Upper Room and began to preach and the people "heard" the preaching in their own language.

There is no real evidence in Scripture about any "personal" tongues. The verse or two that Charismatics point to as evidence of a "personal" tongues are quite obvious misinterpretations of the passage. If such a phenomenon exists it does not quality as a Charism Gift that St. Paul talks about since the Charism Gifts of the Holy Spirit are always public gifts, not personal.

Another problem among many in the Charismatic renewal is a kind of arrogance and pride in their demeanor as if they have a personal and direct telephone line to God. The essay goes into the details of all this.

There is little doubt that the Charismatic Renewal can be a great asset to the Church if they remain loyal, obedient, and close to the Church not only in overall orthodoxy but also with the Catholic worldview. The Renewal also needs to rid itself of the Pentecostalisms that much of the Renewal seems to be contaminated with.

I hope this and the essay and your priest help you to evaluate your experience.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary