| I. CHARISMATIC GRACES (In General) a. All authentic charisms are at the service of the Body
of Christ, the Church (1 Cor 12, 14). As gifts of the Holy Spirit, they are supernatural
graces beyond the power of human striving and human nature (e.g. miracle working), though
some may build upon the natural talents of the recipient (e.g. teaching). St. Paul
contrasts these charismata with "the greater gifts" of Faith, Hope and Charity
(1 Cor. 13) which he says have lasting value. These "theological virtues" unite
the person's mind and will to God. As a consequence, the Church teaches that Faith, Hope
and Charity are necessary for salvation but the charismata are not. St. Paul's experience
at Corinth demonstrated rather early in the Church how susceptible these charisms are to
exaggeration. In another context, he would even warn the Corinthians that the devil can
appear as an angel of light (1 Cor 11:14). Similarly, both St. Peter and St. John (1 Pet
5:8-9; 1 John 4:1) warn us of this danger.
b. St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae [ST
II-II q177] tells us that the Holy Spirit does not accomplish the charisms directly but
through the mediation of angels. Since they are within the power of the angelic nature,
they are also capable of demonic imitation. It is difficult to explain the
"charismatic power of speech" of a Hitler, for instance, on purely natural
grounds. It is for these reasons that most spiritual writers, especially the mystical
doctor St. John of the Cross, warn us not to seek such extraordinary phenomenon. The
Magisterium, likewise, had this to say at the Second Vatican Council.
Whether these charisms be very remarkable or more
simple and widely diffused, they are to be received with thanksgiving and consolation
since they are fitting and useful for the needs of the Church. Extraordinary gifts are not
to be rashly desired (my emphasis) nor is it from them that the fruits of apostolic labors
are to be presumptuously expected. Those who have charge over the Church should judge the
genuineness and proper use of these gifts, through their office, not indeed to extinguish
the Spirit but to test all things and hold fast to what is good (cf. 1 Thes. 5:12, 19-
21). [Lumen Gentium 12]
Unfortunately, the appearance in the Church of a
"sola scriptura" (Scripture alone) mentality has robbed many Catholics of the
Holy Spirit's wisdom embodied in the Church's Sacred Tradition. We need to recover our
faith in Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium if this trend is to be reversed.
II. DISCERNMENT (In General)
a. The Apostle John encourages us to test the
spirits (1 John 4) and over the years the Church has developed criteria to determine
whether the fruits are good or bad (Mt. 7:15-20). St. John teaches that if anyone denies
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (1 John 4:3) it is proof that the person does not have
the Spirit of God. We can call this the doctrinal test of the fruit. The Spirit of God
would never lead one away from the truth about Christ. Since the Church is an extension of
the mystery of the Incarnation, the Spirit of God would never lead one away from the
Catholic Church or Her teachings. Similarly, the Spirit of God would never lead one away
from the practice of the faith (morally, devotionally, sacramentally). Christ has left us
the means of salvation and His Spirit would never deprive us of them. This could be called
the practical test of the fruit. "Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter
the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven"
(Mt. 7:21-23). Positively said, the Holy Spirit's activity (including among non-Catholics)
must necessarily tend toward Catholic truth and unity (doctrine and practice), no matter
how remote that unity might appear.
b. On the other hand, a spirit which acknowledges
Jesus Christ come in the flesh is of God (1 John 4:2). Such doctrinal correctness is a
motive of credibility in the authenticity of a charism or event. Yet, a person may simply
be operating by the human spirit fortified by Faith and may not be manifesting an
extraordinary gift. To determine whether a given phenomenon exceeds human nature calls for
a discernment beyond simple orthodoxy. When a bishop declares an event to be "worthy
of belief" or "not worthy of belief" he does so based upon both scientific
(can it be explained?) and theological (is it from God?) criteria. If he faithfully and
prudently performs this discernment, there is little likelihood that he would err.
Although such a decision is not infallible, the prudent Catholic will give it great
weight, and in any case faithfully obey any regulations he may enact.
c. Since only the Magisterium has the charism of
infallibility, a local bishop isn't able to positively affirm that a given phenomenon is
from God. It belongs to the Pope, or the bishops acting collegially (Lumen Gentium
25), to make such a determination. The Popes do this quite frequently when they affirm the
miraculous character of a cure offered in support of a Cause for Canonization. When they
grant an official status to an apparition such as Lourdes (by canonizing the seer and
granting a Feast Day for the apparition itself), we can be certain that it is from God.
Only a few mystical phenomenon ever achieve this degree of certainty.
d. There is yet another dimension of the
discernment which needs to be considered. Since charisms are given to build up the Church,
there is no necessary connection with personal sanctity. Saints, sinners and even
unbelievers have manifested these gifts. The pagan prophet Balaam was given the Divine
spirit of prophecy in order to authenticate Israel as the People of God (Num. 22). Thus
the moral state of the recipient (good or bad) does not by itself indicate a true or false
charism. When actually under the constraint of the Spirit of God, however, the true
charismatic could not say or do anything contrary to that Spirit. No one could claim, for
instance, that the Spirit of God led him to get drunk or do anything sinful, although he
might at other times do such things. This is why the mystical phenomena that takes place
during the life of a person is considered equivocal evidence of holiness and may even
complicate a Cause for Canonization.
e. Individuals can also do much to discern the
spirit. As noted earlier, it is easier to dismiss a phenomenon as certainly NOT from God
than it is to determine its exact origin. For the laity especially, this is generally
enough. Knowing which of the other two possibilities (human or demonic) would be secondary
to knowing it was NOT from God. This has been true at apparitions such as Necedah, Wis.
and Bayside, NY., where many Catholics knew something was wrong well before the local
bishops judged them as unworthy of belief. Even without the episcopal grace and the help
of a commission of experts, we can apply our sense of the faith, the general theology of
the Church and the history of authentic mysticism to such phenomena. We need only
prayerfully ask "is a particular event a credible example of the action of the Spirit
of God - a Spirit incapable of any lie or sin and which can only lead people (even
non-Catholics) to a deeper Catholic faith and unity?" Pending the action of the local
bishop or a decision of the Holy See, this should do much to protect us from the roaring
lion (1 Peter 5:8).
III. TORONTO BLESSING (In Particular)
a. The signs and wonders associated with the
Toronto Blessing, as reported in God's Manifest Presence, a Toronto Airport
Vineyard publication (the church from which the phenomenon is spreading) are: shaking,
jerking, loss of bodily strength, heavy breathing, eyes fluttering, lips trembling, oil on
the body, changes in skin color, weeping, laughing, drunkenness, staggering, travailing,
dancing, falling, visions, hearing audibly into the spirit realm, inspired utterances
-prophecy, tongues, interpretation - angelic visitations and manifestations, jumping,
violent rolling, screaming, wind, heat, electricity, coldness, nausea as discernment of
evil, smelling or tasting good or evil presences, tingling, pain in the body as
discernment of illnesses, feeling heavy weight or lightness, trances -altered physical
state while seeing into the spirit world, inability to speak normally, disruption of
natural realm - electrical circuits blown.
b. The teachings of the leaders of this movement,
who accuse Catholicism of stifling the Spirit and praise Luther and the Reformation for
freeing it, includes:
There is going to be a move of the Spirit of God
that is going to include powerful signs and wonders, such as the early days of the Church
in Jerusalem. There is also going to be leaders raised up in the Body of Christ that are
going to move in an authority that will be trans-denominational. They will be pastors of
pastors, and will be recognized as spokesmen and leaders for the government of God in the
Body of Christ across all denominational lines. [Marc Dupont, as reported in Catch the
Fire by Guy Chevreau]
c. Based on the principles of discernment
enunciated earlier, it seems exceedingly unlikely that the Toronto Blessing is from God.
Those who receive it exhibit both heterodoxy (false teaching) and bizarre behavior
incompatible with the Holy Spirit. Some phenomena, such as uncontrollable laughter, could
be the result of the human spirit and does not necessarily forebode demonic activity. The
reports of bestial grunting and groaning, and rolling around on the floor, however, is
worrisome, since the same reactions accompany authentic cases of possession, both in
Scripture and in Church experience. They are not, however, unequivocally extraordinary
since they are within our power. Of a more certain extraordinary character is the
phenomenon called "holy glue." (A person becomes extremely heavy and others are
unable to move them). This is a recognized mystical phenomenon called "extreme
immobility" and is the opposite of levitation. It is clearly beyond us; however, it
is within the power of an angel. Levitation is better known among the saints and is
usually explained as the result of the ecstatic striving of the soul toward God. In the
case of immobility, it has been reported in connection with reports of supernatural
protection from some external evil - such as a physical assault, attack on one's virtue
etc. It would be interesting to know the meaning in the cases associated with the Toronto
Blessing. Does it manifest a "going down," as opposed to the "going
up" of levitation? Or is God protecting some souls from the immodest behavior which
seems associated with the Toronto Blessing? Or does it have a positive meaning that
supports the authenticity of the Blessing? In any case, the entire mystical tradition
teaches us that we must never seek such phenomenon since through them the devil misleads
many souls. Yet, this is exactly what people are doing in great numbers, including many
Catholic laity and clergy.
d. Another point has to do with the bizarre
behavior in general. In the Summa [II-II, q168] St. Thomas explains that modesty (which
most people falsely associate only with sexual matters) has to do with becoming behavior
in general. This includes such things as dress, mannerisms, laughter, play - anything
which could ennoble or debase the dignity of the person. Quoting St. Ambrose and St.
Augustine, Aquinas says: "the habit of mind is seen in the gesture of the body, and
the body's movement is an index of the soul....from these things the man that lies hidden
in our hearts is esteemed to be either frivolous, or boastful, or impure, or on the other
hand sedate, steady, pure, and free from blemish." [Ambrose, De Officiis]
"In all your movements, let nothing be done
to offend the eye of another, but only that which is becoming to the holiness of your
state." [Augustine, Rule]
Continuing, he adds, "And in so far as
outward movements are signs of our inward dispositions, their moderation belongs to the
virtue of truthfulness, whereby a man, by word and deed, shows himself to be such as he is
inwardly."
As St. Paul notes, "God is not the God of
disorder but of peace" (1 Cor. 14:33). The god of disorder is, of course, the devil.
Similarly, one of the modern experts in mystical
theology, Fr. Jordan Aumann, OP, in his book Spiritual Theology, places gravity
and discretion among the signs of the Spirit of God. Both of these marks seem greatly
lacking in the behavior of those under the influence of the spirit of the Vineyard.
Gravity. The Holy Spirit is never the cause of
things that are useless, futile, frivolous or impertinent. When He moves the soul it is
always for something serious and beneficial.
Discretion. The Holy Spirit makes the soul
discreet, prudent and thoughtful in all its actions. There is nothing of precipitation,
lightness, exaggeration, or impetuosity; all is well-balanced, edifying, serious, and full
of calmness and peace.
e. Finally, if the Toronto Blessing is ordered to
the building up of a trans-denominational church authority, as some of its leaders
suggest, then it is incompatible with Catholic truth and unity. It already has begun to
demonstrate this property by the divisions being created in parishes and the Church at
large. Aside from the dangers associated with a false charism, the participation of
Catholics in a movement with such a goal would certainly be a grave sin.
© Colin B. Donovan, STL 9/25/95
rev. 3/31/99 (The Year of the Father)
History of this Anointing:
(from the movement's literature and
other public sources)
Reinhard Bonnke – The "grandfather" of the Revival Movement. A missionary
in Kenya, in 1988 he publically prophesied that people would experience Jesus in two days
and many miracles would occur. According to the Kenyan Times, two days later on June 11th,
1988, a white robed man suddenly appeared among the crowd at a Christian healing and
prayer service in a village near Nairobi. Christians and Moslems alike recognized him as Jesus
and many miracles were reported. On the web site of Benjamin Creme, the new
age prophet, we are told this was Lord Matraiya, "Christ returned, the fifth
Buddha, the Messiah, the Kalki Avatar, the World Teacher" who will usher in the New
Age (www.shareintl.org/job). Bonnke's disciples have tried to disassociate him from
this prophesy. However, it has hardly dampened the enthusiasm of Pentecostals for
Bonnke's anointing.
Rodney Howard-Browne – South African
minister who received the spirit from Reinhard Bonnke and then passed it on to
American pastor Randy Clark.
Randy Clark – a minister who received the anointing
from Rodney Howard-Browne and passed it to the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church when
invited there by John Arnott on Jan. 20th, 1994.
John Arnott – The founder of Spread The Fire
Inc, co-founder of the International Revival Network and Senior Pastor of Toronto Airport
Christian Fellowship (TACF),
the North American center of the Blessing Movement.
Marc Dupont – One of the TACF assistant
pastors and a prophet of the Toronto Blessing movement. His have been some of the
most explicit statements of the goals of the revival, as far as a new church are
concerned.
Eleanor Mumford – Received the anointing
at Toronto and brought it to Holy Trinity Anglican, Brampton, England. It has become
another principal center of propagation.
Steve Hill – American minister who went to a
revival at Brampton and was anointed. He, in turn, brought it to the Brownsville
Assembly of God in Pensacola, FL, in 1995. Brownsville has become another major center.
John Kilpatrick – pastor of the Brownsville
Assembly of God, Pensacola, FL, where they claim 2.5 million people have attended Revival
services.
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