Mr. Slavek,

The Gift of Speaking in tongues is one of the Ten Gifts of the Holy Spirit, however, it is not a gift that is given to everyone. The gift of speaking in tongues benefits, if there is no one present to interpret it, only the one who speaks in tongues.

One may also believe that the Holy Spirit would never allow anyone to speak in tongues during the celebration of Holy Mass, yet, on more than one occasion, I have had the misfortune to experience such a blasphemous act taking place during the Consecration.

Scripture is quite clear on speaking in tongues. If one were to consider themselves to have such a gift from the Holy Spirit they would do well to read, in its entirety, the words of St. Paul regarding the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. This can be found in 1 Cor. 12: through 1 Cor. 14: 40.

According to St. Paul, anyone who speaks in tongues benefits no one but himself, that is, provided that his gift is real. To speak in tongues without having someone there to interpret what is said must be construed to be coming, not from the Holy Spirit, but from the evil spirit. Never forget that even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, in his book titled “The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius” has provided us with two chapters on the “Discernment of Spirits,” a teaching designed to help us determine which spirit is attempting to lead us.

St. Paul says, in 1 Cor 14:6, “So when I come to you, my brothers, what use will I be to you if I speak in strange tongues? Not a bit, unless I bring you some revelation from God or some knowledge or some inspired message or some teaching”.

In 1 Cor. 14: 18-19, St. Paul tells us, “I thank God that I speak in tongues much more than any of you. But in Church worship I would rather speak five words than can be understood than speak thousands of words in tongues”. This is in no way meant to be a criticism of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Group within the Church provided that they, in their devotion, do not, during Mass, and especially not during the Consecration, disrupt it with a ungodly blasphemous act of impiety. I find such a demonstration, to be an act that has been specifically, not only orchestrated, but motivated and controlled by Satan himself, and under no circumstance should such a profane act of irreverence be tolerated.

Mr. Slavek,

Your words, in response to John’s question on January 27, 2012 were,

“With all that having been said, I'd like to add that in my college years I frequented charismatic celebrations, both at Mass and as separate services. I was quite fond of the prayer meetings where members often found themselves with the gift of speaking in tongues, however there never was someone present with the gift of interpretation so I'll never know if the gift was genuine and if it was, what they were saying.”

You also said,

“Regarding the celebrations of Liturgy where charismatic gifts were encouraged (such as praise and worship): well personally I found it distracting when used at Mass.

Charismatic prayer is a FORM of prayer, as is liturgical prayer, private prayer, devotional prayer, contemplative prayer, etc... of all these forms of prayer, liturgical prayer is the highest, and just as you would not insert a another form of prayer into the liturgy for example devotional prayer such as the Rosary into the Mass, in my opinion you would not insert charismatic prayer into the Liturgy.

Mr. Slavek,

Thank you for a most concise answer to the question that I’m sure many Charismatic and non-Charismatic people were pondering within their hearts. This Charismatic Renewal group, as it continues to grow, could, in fact, be the shot in the arm that the Church needs. However, as with all things, there is always the chance that one can be mislead. For this, we must be steadfast and pray constantly.

Our prayers should be constant, and should always ask the Holy Spirit for the His gift, the gift of the “Discernment of Spirits”. Without the ability to discern which spirit is attempting to lead us, we may find that we can easily be mislead by Satan who has the power to disguise himself, even as an angel of light.

May the Lord continue to bless you and your ministry,

John R.