Dear Leon:

Wow, is all I can say about Mr. Clark. I have rarely read a document that is so offensive and so wrong in many aspects as Mr. Clark's little missive.

This man is the posterboy for all that is wrong about the Charismatic Renewal. His assertion that "Baptism" of the Holy Spirit compares with the unitive stage of infused contemplation is hubris in the first degree. Many Charismatics feel themselves superior, but this notion "takes the cake." Even the worse of the Charismatics are not this arrogant. 

The unitive stage of infused contemplation is a gift given only to a few people. It has no relation to and no comparison with the Pauline Charismatic Gifts, which is what the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" is suppose to give people. The Charismatic Gifts are given to buildup the Church, not to buildup the individual. They are gifts to help the Church do what it does to help the Faithful help each other to live the Christ-life, to do ministry, and to find salvation. Any "gift" that does not do ministry is not a Charism gift.

Thus, the so-called private tongues, if it exists, is not a Charism Gift because it is private and allegedly benefits the person. Infused Contemplation is a gift given to a few persons. It is not a Pauline Charism Gift. Whatever benefits tongues gives to people it is nothing compared to the unitive state. This is like comparing the finest steak with a peanut M&M.

Mr. Clark states (my emphasis in bold), "in (sic) the charismatic renewal, people are being baptized in the Spirit at the beginning of their spiritual growth. Before the charismatic renewal, it was not common for people to experience the gift of the Spirit and infused prayer until some years had passed in their spiritual growth. True, traditional spiritual writers have always known that it did not have to take many years. They knew it could happen at any time. But they did not normally expect it to happen until a person had spent many years in spiritual growth."

Here is a clue. Mr. Clark is suggesting that this so-called "baptism of the Spirit" is a short-cut to the benefits of infused contemplation. There is a reason it takes so long to reach the unitive state. Short-cuts are wanted and taken by children and as such, whatever they come up with results in immature actions and notions and behavior. There is a good definition of the many people in the Renewal.

Mr. Clark claims Tongues is the most important gift. ("The gift of tongues is so important for beginning the life of the Spirit that it is not possible to ignore it when talking about being baptized in the Spirit"). First of all, we are "baptized" in the Spirit in the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Secondly, St. Paul says otherwise. St. Paul says that Love is superior to all the gifts (1 Corinthians 13:1-3; see all of chapters 12-14). Tongues is the least of all gifts. (see 1 Corinthians 14:2-5). Such an assertion is arrogance and insulting. Most people, and most Saints, are filled with the Spirit without ever speaking in tongues. But, worse...

Mr. Clark claims that tongues is an entry gift. ("It allows us to yield to the Spirit and respond to the presence of the Spirit in a way which we could not before. It is therefore a kind of gateway to the full life of the Spirit."). I guess us poor folks and Saints, on the other side of the charismatic tracks cannot respond to the Spirit "in a way we could not before" because we have the disability of not speaking in tongues. Mr. Clark, like many other Charismatics, gives lip service to the Church's teaching that not all must speak in tongues, but then using rhetoric to suggest that we do need it if we are to enjoy the height of the Spirit.

Mr. Clark seems to think that those "baptized in the spirit" must exhibit outward exuberance kumbaya hands waving in the air. Mr. Clark does say some accurate things about what happens, but he seems to have a tendency toward some outward expression as evidence of the "baptism" like there was in the book of Acts (which are verses about the Sacrament of Confirmation, by the way). In one spot he states, "What happens at the moment when people are baptized in the Spirit varies a great deal. One person I prayed with for the coming of the Spirit said that he felt like an electric current was running through him. Another felt "a strange warmth" fill him. Many simply feel a deep peace, or a joy. Some even laugh."

The idea of sensations and outward demonstrations and emotion is called "sensualism." This is condemned by the Church as a form of idolatry. Emotions and the like are a great gift from God, but must always be guided by reason, the Church says. Then Cardinal Ratzinger made reference to this problem in the forward to Cardinal Suenens's book on the Renewal, which is quoted in the essay linked below.

But, the worst of it is this notion of a gateway. This idea comes from occultism. It is a dangerous notion that can open up people to demonic harassment, attachment, and worse. How can a subjective and emotional gift which can easily be counterfeited by the devil be the gateway to the spiritual life and the other gifts? In the essay link below the experience of a priest is recounted where he was present when someone was "praising God" in tongues. The tongue happened to be his native language. He told the woman that she was not praising God but cursing Him. What was it that St. Paul said? "...nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue" (1 Corinthians 14:19). But worse...

The man flies close to heresy in my opinion when he says, "The fact that being baptized in the Holy Spirit is different from having a deeper realization of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is important when we come to the point of wanting to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. We cannot begin the life in the Spirit solely by realizing more who the Holy Spirit is." Heaven to Mr. Clark. Our life in the Spirit begins with the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, not some extra=sacramental event. And, again, I guess most of us and most Saints have never begun our life in the Spirit because we have never had the "Charismatic" experience as defined by the Renewal. How arrogant and offensive. 

If I were to go on with the problems of this man's essay, it would take me 50 hours or more to write and polish. Instead, I refer you to an essay that took more than 500 hours to write and polish that goes into great detail of the pros and cons of the Charismatic Renewal, statements from Popes and Bishops, and a detailed list of "Pentecostalisms" that have no business in Catholicism as they are based on erroneous theology.

Charism Gifts Building Up the Church

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary