Odd
people in our midst
by Nono L. Alfonso, SJ
They sing, dance, shout, jump, and speak in some unknown language. No, these people are not partying. They are not taking part in any concert although the joviality at times resembles that of a rock band concert. Far from merely merry-making, these people are seriously praying. They are seriously worshipping God. This is how members of the charismatic renewal movement typically gather together to conduct their prayer and worship.
In this country, we are familiar with these groups. Who has not heard of Mike Velarde and El Shaddai flock which claims a membership of 8 million here and abroad? There are smaller groups scattered around the country. No matter the size, what distinguishes them as charismatic groups is their unique spirituality characterized by all the fun, the singing, the dancing, and the speaking in tongues or what is technically referred to as “glossolalia.”
The sophisticated among us oftentimes look down at this kind of spirituality and the people embracing it as odd if not shallow people. Their spirituality is pure emotionalism, one criticism goes. There is too much emphasis on feeling happy. There is just too much celebration. There is no systematic attempt at a serious understanding of the faith. There is a little theology in their prayer services.
Another serious criticism is that there is so much stress on the personal, relegating to the sidelines the social dimension of the faith. The kind of prayer that is dominant among these charismatics, as the criticism goes, is the prayer of petition. With their handkerchieves in the air or their palms opened wide, they are always asking for something from God. Give me this, give me that. I need a job abroad. My mother needs to be healed from cancer. And so the detractors ask, what about giving, for once, rather than being on the receiving end of God all the time?
These criticisms of course are highly arguable. Against emotionalism, one can easily quote Paul: “God loves a cheerful giver.” It is a plus for the Church that in this misery-stricken country, people can still find comfort and consolation in the faith. Once they are passionate about their faith, or to borrow their expression, once they are in love with Jesus, they can begin the process of deepening and growing in their understanding of the faith – its doctrines, its morals. It is also not accurate to say that the social dimension of the faith is being denied by the charismatics movement. Many of these groups in fact have developed the sustained social services and outreach programs through the years. These services range from the corporal works of mercy such as visiting the aged in homes for the elderly and the inmates of Bilibid to more sophisticated social projects such as building houses for the poor.
But notwithstanding these criticisms, the charismatic renewal movement is here to stay. It is in fact growing in number. And the obvious reason for that is simply that it is answering a need. As Fr. Nick Cruz argues, outside of the highly formalistic rituals of the Church, the charismatics are experiencing, perhaps for the first time in their lives, a king of prayer that allows them contact with a God who is real and personal. A God who is alive. A God who is involved in their lives and is concerned with their mundane needs. And not only are they able to pray; more importantly, they find enjoyment and spiritual nourishment in this kind of prayer. That is the reason why they keep coming back to their regular prayer services.
Secondly,
the charismatic renewal movement responds to the need of people for
the sense of community. The Mass should be providing that, but in practice,
people are finding the one-hour celebration of the Eucharist every Sunday
not enough. Many a churchgoer would not identify himself with his parish.
He feels alienated from the congregation, whom he sees as a mere crowd.
Although the Eucharist remains the apex of prayer for the charismatic
movement, their prayer and worship complement the Mass. Their services,
what they call “fellowship,” allow people to experience
a sense of community, a sense that they belong to a group fellow believers.
In these groups, they are able to build a community, a church, in the
real sense of the word. Perhaps these groups even resemble the Christian
communities of the early years of the Church – vibrant communities
that pray and worship as one and discern their actions together.
Anthony de Mello, SJ tells a modern-day parable of a man who used to
be a good-for-nothing guy. When he joins a religious group, however,
he tries to change his ways. Suspicious of this conversion, his friends
quiz him on his knowledge of his new-found faith. They ask him questions
such as what the doctrine of the Trinity means or the mystery of the
Incarnation. When he can’t answer their intellectual questions,
his friends dismiss him as a fake, a con man. He responds to this very
humbly: “I don’t know the answers to your questions but
what I can tell you is that from the time I have known Jesus as my Lord
and Savior, I have stopped drinking and abusing my family. And we now
go to mass and pray together as a family.”
The
Church has been gifted with various kinds of spirituality which are
different ways toward God. What is important in the end is that we develop
a personal and intimate relationship with the Risen Christ. An intimacy
with the Lord that propels us to love and service of neighbor. To many
people, this has been the great service of the charismatic renewal movement.
