LONG ESSAY ON CHARISMATIC RENEWAL IN ZAMBIA

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1. Motive and aim
The motive behind this paper is first and foremost my very interest in the Renewal. I have been very motivated by the seriousness of this movement and the fact that it works. We may take refugee in theological reflections and condemn its allegiance to emotional outbursts, but the truth remains that the Renewal members are there for a course. Another reason is my conviction that the Church is in need of renewal and Charismatic Renewal is very instrumental in this regard, especially in the Church in Zambia as my focus.
The aim of the essay is to conscientise my fellow clergymen about the legitimacy of this movement and to help the extremists from within and without the Renewal to have a balanced view of the movement.
2. Research Methodology
Most of what has been done here has been library work. I have made use of the books available on the Renewal. However, I have also made use of the questioners to find out more from the members of the Charismatic Renewal. From these questioners I got first hand information and from them I came to have a balanced view on the Renewal more than just depending on the biased writings of the outsiders of the Renewal. I have also made use of my own experience by attending prayer meetings in the college and at my place of apostolate.
3. Limitation of the Study
The library work has been marred by the scarcity of the necessary books for this work. I have had very limited resources on the situation of the Church in Zambia. However, the little I have come across has helped in getting sufficient study on the subject. The other problem has been getting in touch with members of the Charismatic Renewal and getting their opinion and experience. Most of them have been too shy to due with the issue. Most of the outsiders of the Charismatic Renewal have been too emotionally negative and all covered with ignorance on the subject.
4. Statement of the problem
There are many questions and many misunderstandings about Catholic charismatic renewal but essentially, it is a renewal of the Church in our times using all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, just as the Church was intended from the beginning, to proclaim the Gospel News of Jesus Christ, risen and Lord of all, and to give all glory to God. Periodically throughout history, the Church has grown comfortable, complacent and has been in need of repentance, invigoration and a new spirit of evangelisation. At such times, there has always been a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but it does appear that in these times, this century, we are seeing a move of the Spirit of such proportions as the world has not experienced since the early days of the Church's existence. During the Second Vatican Council, a need for a charismatic movement in the Church as a whole was cautiously alluded to:
It is not only through the sacraments and the ministrations of the Church that the Holy Spirit makes holy the People, leads them and enriches them with his virtues. Allotting his gifts according as he wills (cf. Cor.12:11), he also distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. By these gifts he makes them fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church, as it is written, the manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for profit (1Cor. 12:7)
Within a year or so of the end of Vatican II, prayer groups were gathering (coincidentally?) to pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit as manifested at the first Pentecost and within a handful of years, the charismatic renewal was well underway. Individuals were experiencing the presence of the Spirit as of old.
It is in this form that the Charismatic Renewal reached Zambia. It is not that it brought anything new to the Church in Zambia but it has been instrumental in renewing the Church that seemed to have lost the salt for its growth.
5. Support of the Church
Of course there were doubts among many, and even today there are those who are sceptical of this renewal, but I think we might do well to remember that this has come about as a response to the heartfelt plea from the heart of the Vatican, with Pope John XXIII's prayer: Renew your wonders in our times, as though for a new Pentecost, and grant that the holy Church, preserving unanimous and continuous prayer, together with Mary the Mother of Jesus and also under the guidance of St. Peter, may increase the reign of the Divine Saviour, the reign of love and peace. Amen.
Since that time, the charismatic renewal has spread throughout the world, touching the lives and changing the hearts of millions, leading them to a new-found depth of spirituality and invigorating the Church with its joy filled worship and openness to the Spirit. The Renewal has moved from those heady but uncertain days to take its place as a part of Catholic spirituality, but there is still a long way to go. The Church has shown support and the Popes have encouraged the growth of the movement hence forth.
Although Pope Paul VI did not specifically support the renewal at the first gathering in Rome, he recognised the existence of the Renewal and outlined some of the characteristics,
The task for deep prayer, personal and in groups, a return to contemplation and an emphasising of praise of God, the desire to devote oneself completely to Christ, a great availability for the calls of the Holy Spirit, more assiduous reading of the Scriptures, generous brotherly devotion, the will to make contribution to the service.
However, the Holy Father called for guidance knowing fully well that there are always weeds in wheat, “so a work of discernment is indispensable” making sure that the pastors are well disposed to give guidance to the members of the Renewal.
6. The Flow of the Paper
Every event or thing has its history. One can only understand that very event after digging into the past. It is for this reason why the first chapter deals with history of the Renewal. The second chapter has more to do with the essence of the Charismatic Renewal, that is, looking at what the Renewal is all about. The last Chapter comes to concentrate on Zambia and how far the Renewal has been instrumental in the renewal of the church in Zambia.























Chapter I


A Short History of Charismatic Renewal




Introduction
We can trace the origins of the charismatic renewal from the sixteenth century. One of the major contributions of the sixteenth century reformation was its reemphasis on the subjective aspect of faith-life in which the believer comes to know the Lord on a personal level.

1. The Pentecostal movements
In looking at the history of the Pentecostal movements, we owe a great debt to the Protestant churches for their efforts to renewal the way of worship with the help of the Holy Spirit. They have always believed that true spirituality has to be a personal relationship with the God one worships and a direct control of the Holy Spirit. A Christian, they strongly believe, is a person who has been ‘born again in the Spirit’ and is therefore indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
George Fox, an English man formed the Quakers, a highly spiritual movement with little liturgy or form in the 17th century. They stressed deep personal union with Christ through obedience to the inner light, which every human being has within him. Visions, discernment, healing and a bit of tongue speaking accompanied this ministry.
Wesley John, in the later eighteen century began the Methodist revival in the Church of England. Those who followed were organized into small classes and societies, which followed certain techniques of spiritual discipline, their method from which the name Methodists came. This movement intended to stay in the Church of England but was separated from it because of innovations such as the society meetings and open air preaching. His ministry also had ‘enthusiastic outbursts’, including healing and tongues.
In the Lutheran Church there arose Morovian brethren movement in Saxony under Count Zinzendorf meant to enliven the church from within. But is also developed into a new denomination.

2. The Pentecostal movement in the USA
Coming to the United States of America we see the coming together of denominations at the end of the eighteenth century. They all emphasized personal experience of Christ the Lord and mature conversion from a life of sin to a life of grace. Their typical celebrations would be marked by local ministers coming into an area, setting up a tent and preaching the gospel. At the end of each meeting sinners would be invited to come forward and accept Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. This was accompanied by hymns, loud praying, shouting and hand clapping. There were also miracles, healings, casting out of demons and tongues. The educational level, however, of both the clergy and people made their theology and catechesis very inadequate and simplistic. Their interpretation of the bible was with “common sense”.
The Disciples of Christ in the States (north) and the Christian Church (south) as new denominations brought in a more rationalistic revival. Another revival was held by Holiness Movement from early Methodism’s emphasis on personal holiness. To distinguish this from the Baptist concept of one experience of grace, the Holiness Movement held for two experiences of grace, one for conversion or salvation, the second for complete holiness or sanctification. The experience of sanctification was also referred to as a Holy Ghost baptism, or spirit baptism, although they were connecting this to simple crisis experience of conversion.

3. Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church
How did this wave of the renewal or the Pentecostal movement enter the Catholic Church? So far we have been looking at the movement as it developed in the protestant circles. We have seen how the forerunners of this Pentecostal movement were really tired of the monotony of their religious experiences and wanted to have something different. They wanted to have a religion that could have tangible results. In a way, that was achieved through the charismatic gifts that accompanied their worship. They were tired of the sleepy and non-participatory worship, a worship that they would say was devoid of the Spirit.
The portent of the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church was the Pentecostal movement which flowed through the ministry of the Methodist pastor Charles P. Parham. Until this time other groups had taught their members to pray for the “baptism in the Spirit”, which the early Church had experienced at Pentecost. Parham, as the footnote indicates wanted and believed that the gift of tongues is a true manifestation of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He himself together with other students, prayed in tongues later.
In Los Angeles many years later, we see a number of congregants receiving the gift of tongues. In most cases, such Christians were excommunicated from their own denominations and ended up establishing their place “Pentecostal Churches”. These Pentecostal Churches were founded on the belief that the graces of Pentecost were meant for believers today. In the 1950’s, the mainstream Churches – Anglican, then Lutheran and Presbyterian – experienced the outpouring of the Spirit in a movement called the “new Pentecostalism”. Why new? First of all it was like the old Pentecostal movement in that it gave special emphasis to certain gifts, most notably the gift of tongues. It was new because it crossed the denominational lines and barriers. In the last century this is what we could call the second wave of the Pentecostal movement. The first wave refers to classical or old Pentecostalism, which has been dealt with in the first part of this chapter.
The Charismatic Renewal began in the Catholic Church in 1967 at a retreat of students and faculty of Duquesne University. As the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome, shortly before this retreat some of the students joined a faculty member in praying with Pentecostal Christians at a nearby home. During the weekend retreat, many students prayed for the renewal of the graces of their confirmation. In the process, many received “baptism in the Holy Spirit”. They are said to have experienced a profound peace and joy, as well as love for others, and a deepened thirst for Scripture and the sacraments.
From these students, the Charismatic Renewal spread to other students and faculty at other universities in the US. We are told that in 1968, about 100 to 150 Catholics met for Catholic Pentecostal conference. This conference was meant to bring to the awareness of these participants the action of the Holy Spirit and the charisma attached to the Spirit. They were to listen to the voice of the Spirit and to see which way to go in this new thing. There were about 450 Catholic Charismatics who met for the conference in 1969. Among this group were also about 30 priests. In no time the number of Catholic Charismatics grew to amazing proportions. In 1970, about 1,300 attended the conference, including Catholics from Canada. By 1973, the number had gone beyond 20,000 Charismatics, as from the number of those who attended the conference at Notre Dame, including Catholic participants from about 10 foreign countries.
By 1976 there were more than 25 thousand Charismatics in the United States and elsewhere. The annual convention of the Charismatics in Virginia in that year reports the presence of more than 28,000 people. It was on this convention that archbishop Emmanuel Milingo found a spiritual renewal and support he was looking for in his life. Milingo had gone for a meeting he was invited to attend by the Charismatics there in the States, having heard a lot about his fame in the healing ministry in Zambia.
3. Charismatic Renewal in Zambia
When talking about the Charismatic Renewal in Zambia, it would be very much incomplete and incorrect if the genius of Milingo Emmanuel, archbishop emeritus of Lusaka archdiocese from 1969 to 1983 were forgotten. Milingo will very much be referred to even in the main part of the essay because of his contribution to the spirit and growth of the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church. Believe it or not, despite what has happened in recent past regarding Milingo, his reputation is still strong in the minds of the Zambian faithful, especially in the Charismatic Renewal movement. Most of what has been achieved in the development of the movement in Zambia and some other parts of the country is due to him.
3.1 Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo and the Charismatic Renewal
Emmanuel Milingo was archbishop of Lusaka from 1969 to 1983. His work as an archbishop was coupled with rejection and disappointments due to his healing ministry. “Milingo's tenure as archbishop fostered a religious and spiritual revolution. Recognizing how deeply his Western education had separated him from his African background, he began Africanizing institutions, practices, and attitudes, making many foreign missionaries uncomfortable.” He worked very hard towards the inculturation of Christianity. Even his healing ministry was in the same line. In all he did his focus was pastoral, in the sense that he concentrated on people and tried to inspire them, as Christians to share in his vision of an African Church.
‘The Spirit blows wherever he wills,’ is what I can say in talking about the charismatic heart of Milingo and the coming into the country of the Charismatic Church. Milingo was charismatic long before he came into contact with the Charismatic Renewal. He already felt he had a Spirit-led life in his healing ministry. The Spirit for sure is not a monopoly of a certain group. She cannot be confined to time and space, but spreads and works wherever she wills. In June 1976 at the invitation by the charismatic community of Ann Abor, Michigan, Milingo went to the United States for a two-week leadership seminar. Many of the Charismatics here had heard a lot about the healing ministry of Milingo and wanted to give him support with their prayers. “Here Milingo found the moral and spiritual support he had failed to find in his own surroundings.” He came to understand that the gift of healing was not a personal affair, but a Spirit initiative, something from God to his Church.
From that experience in the United States, Milingo became part of the worldwide Charismatic Renewal, which removed all the isolation that he felt he had in his ministry as an archbishop. His coming back to Zambia saw to the founding of Charismatic communities in the archdiocese of Lusaka. Here we should note that Milingo was not the sole carrier of Charismatic groups in the country. There were already charismatic communities in the country that had been initiated by the expatriate missionaries. However, this was not long after 1975. The renewal in Zambia was very new and was just taking root. However, there was a difference between the Charismatic Renewal of the expatriates and that of Milingo. The charismatic groups of Milingo emphasized healing, especially that of exorcism, with Milingo having known the needs of his time and space. He knew that people needed healing from a priest in order to avoid going to the diviners for answers. His conviction was, if we can have answers as members of the clergy to Mashabe , which is a major problem of the Zambian flock then they would surely find a place in our Church and in this way be evangelized.
Milingo’s approach was pastoral, whereas the expatriate priests on the other wing had taken a theological orientation. His pastoral approach against theological was actually intentional. He spoke often about the religion that works, the religion of the heart, blasting the systematic and dogmatic theologians for not seeing what really matters. Milingo and the Charismatics in Zambia took up a task of fighting the spirit world, which was terrorizing the Zambian flock. Speaking against some theologians he wrote,

Some theologians… cannot stand a mention of Satan as one of the causes of today’s mess in the world. I cannot accept their denial on the basis that what they say is theological and approved by the Church. There is a big difference between a person who sees things in the perception of the world above, and one who only sees them through his academic theological knowledge. I dare say that I have much more in common with the people who live in this world, but commune with the world in-between and the final world, where God our Father and Creator is.
Theologians were a bit skeptical about the emotional/feeling involvement that surrounded the whole charismatic affair in the groups of Milingo. Most of the priests were disgusted at the shouting and convulsions that accompanied the Charismatic worship among the lay faithful. This was not only for the theologians but the common folk, here meaning the ordinary Christians, who had been brought up in traditional Catholic tradition were ill-at-ease with this group. They always thought of their way of prayer as Protestant. Becoming a Protestant in Zambia from the Catholic Church meant being a rebel. For staunch Catholic families one automatically became an outcast for forsaking the faith. Here is now what they could not understand – the Charismatic Renewal with all the elements of Pentecostal movements that had terrorized the country so to say, but remaining in the Catholic Church. The bishops in Zambia, most of them could not welcome the movement wholeheartedly. They thought of it as a sect within the Catholic Church. This can be seen from the way the other bishops misunderstood every step Milingo took after joining the worldwide Charismatic Renewal.
Christifidelis Laici came too late for the Church in Zambia. It would have been timely if it had reached the eyes of the Zambian Church at a time when one of the reasons for apathy towards the Charismatic Renewal was the role of the lay people in the Church. The Charismatic Renewal was seen as a threat to the power hungry clergymen of Zambia. They felt strongly that what the lay Charismatics were doing was intruding into the administrative circles of the presbyters. They could not see any reason why a layperson should lay hands on the sick when the sacrament of anointing, in which the laying on of hands is one of the requirements for validity of the sacraments is strictly a clerical act. But who says they were giving the Sacrament of the anointing of the sick? These people were, in their own way fulfilling the command of Jesus, “go and heal the sick.’ The lay faithful who until then were spectators in the game played only by the clergy became players. “This development was monitored closely by the upper echelons of the Church who feared that it might undermine their own position.”
One thing that was clear was that these members of the clergy had paid a deaf ear to the words of Pope Paul VI when he addressed 10,000 Charismatics at its world congress saying, “Nothing is more necessary to this more and more secularized world than the witness of the ‘spiritual renewal’ that we see the Holy Spirit evoking in the most diverse regions and milieu… How then could this ‘spiritual renewal’ not be a chance for the Church and for the world? And how, in this case, could one not take all the means to insure that it remains so?” The pontiff looked at the renewal as a true renewal of the Church, to help the Church be saved from mediocrity and sluggish religious piety it was in danger of falling.
The struggle to root the Charismatic Renewal in the Zambian Church was strife. Thanks to the persevering spirit of those who pioneered the movement, we have now a big group of Zambian Catholic Pentecostals who are strengthening the Church and keeping it truly African in their Spirit filled worship, of course not without defects.
Conclusion
The history just outlined is not all. There are many other developments that were taking place in this Charismatic Renewal somewhere else because if we believe that the Spirit blows wherever she wills then we should be sure that she was blowing somewhere else. However, I have limited myself to America and Zambia since that is the limit of my research. Even in Zambia there are other historical findings about the renewal that are not known to me. Most of the missionaries that came from the US to Zambia in the 70s were charismatic and transmitted that spirit to Zambians, but there has not been any systematic presentation of their work.











































Chapter II


The Essence of the Renewal


Introduction
In this chapter I am focusing on the Charismatic Renewal in its core. This is a movement that has been misunderstood by many an outsider. Many say it is a sect within the Church and others look at it as a source of confusion in Catholic worship. Today, many bishops have come to accept it, look at it as deserving the name renewal because it has really renewed the Church’s liturgical life.
In essence, the Charismatic Renewal centers on the renewal of individual commitments to the person of Jesus Christ in his Church, through the power of the Holy Spirit, as in the day of Pentecost of Acts 2,
Without wishing to absolutise the Acts of the Apostles, many see the central theological intuition of the renewal described in acts. Jesus, crucified and risen, sends the Spirit. “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear” (2:33). Jesus both receives and sends the Spirit. The outpouring of the Spirit results in baptism (2:38) and the birth of Christian communities (2:41). These communities are built up by the teaching of the apostles, fellowship (koinonia), eucharistic celebration and common prayer. “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers” (2:42)

The Charismatic Renewal movement in the Catholic Church is not simply a renewal of the charisma found in the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (Chapter 12). It is centred on the renewal of individual commitment to the person of Jesus Christ. This commitment has been the center of every authentic renewal in the history of the Church. The commitment begins by the re-anointing with the presence of the Holy Spirit. This is sometimes called the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Baptism in the Holy Spirit occurs when individuals ask Jesus Christ, who is the one who gives the Holy Spirit, to stir up the gift of the Holy Spirit within their hearts, that Spirit which they received at baptism and confirmation. It is primarily the renewal of the gifts received in the sacraments mentioned. The results are numerous. Apart from the gifts they receive people in the renewal talk of a new and deeper personal knowledge of Jesus. They find new power in prayer, a new love of Scripture, and a new and deeper appreciation of the Church, of the liturgy, and of the sacraments. As it is in Zambia, many Catholic Charismatic members can now boast about their faith and are not shying off sharing with their brothers and sisters of other faiths. The charismatic renewal has given them strength to open the Scriptures that in the past were a privilege of the clergy and they were only to take what most of the time were subjective interpretations. Bishop G. Emmett Carter of London, Ontario, wrote the following impression in his circular letter about the movement,
What I find is that these are persons who are using the holy scriptures with the inspiration and movement of the Holy Spirit himself to develop a deep sense of the presence of God and of his effective action in their lives. Far from causing people to be more removed from the Church in all of its aspects, they constantly declare how much it has helped to make them even better Catholics in the traditional sense of the term.
The Charismatic Renewal in Zambia has been a source of mature worship and lively liturgy in many ways. I now look at the structure of worship in the Charismatic Renewal. The word structure might look confusing because when we talk of someone being a charismatic we think of that person as opposed to structures, but if taken in that sense it is a misinterpretation.

1. The Liturgical Structure of the Renewal
Following the exaltation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium) the Charismatic Renewal movement encourages full participation in liturgical gatherings. There is no spectator and actor in the celebration. “Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that full, conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy and to which the Christian people… have a right and obligation by reason of their baptism.” The faithful are called not to be dormant, but to be actively involved in the Church worship.
To foster active participation in the Charismatic Renewal, members are divided into smaller groups, which they call prayer groups. In these prayer groups we see members full of joy and enthusiasm, which has been looked at by outsiders as emotional outbursts. Whatever outsiders may call this, it is genuine worship in most cases. Of course, we cannot deny the fact that some members do not emit that perfect joy in worship, but this does not go to disregard any efforts made by genuine worshippers among the Charismatics. In their own way the renewal members try to follow the recommendations of St. Paul when he says in their life they should be drunk not with wine but with the Holy Spirit. "Do not get drunk with wine and the ruin that goes with it, but be filled with the Holy Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, praying and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father" (Eph.5:18-20).
There is a lot of singing and clapping hands, and even dancing. This aspect has attracted many a Zambian worshiper so much in the dancing culture. Those who have been brought up in the Latin missionary church find it very hard to accept this kind of worship as true worship. It is more acceptable among the young people who feel that it is high time the Church realized that there has never been enough life in our worship. While the Charismatics sing and dance, there main purpose is to give glory to God our Father through our Lord Jesus Christ with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Spontaneity characterizes the prayer meetings. As they sing they keep in mind the words of our father in faith, St. Augustine who said, “he who prays singing, prays twice.” They have spiritual readings and commentaries, sharing, prayers for the particular needs of the individuals accompanied by the expression of the specific charismatic gifts. These gifts are for the building of the community as again St. Paul would say, "When you assemble, one has a psalm, another an instruction, a revelation, or speaking in tongues, or interpreting what has been said in tongues. Everything should be done for building up the Church" (1Cor.14:26).

2. Formal Meeting for the Prayer Group
In a more structured way, the Charismatic Prayer Meeting starts with a hymn to the Holy Spirit. By this the members are calling upon the Holy Spirit on whom they so much depend. They call upon this Spirit to come and take control and lead the group. The Charismatic members have no leader but the Holy Spirit. That is why the members who have a leadership role are not called leaders, but co-group. They are a co-group because they just coordinate what the Holy Spirit directs. The true leader is the Trinitarian God in the Holy Spirit. On this point they are very sensitive and they make sure that no misunderstanding regarding who is greater is made visible. An opening prayer in which all are involved follows the hymn to the Holy Spirit. The involvement is characterized by the ‘amen’, ‘yes’, etc., echoed spontaneously by the members as one says the prayer. One can see the emotional involvement in the whole prayer. We cannot judge whether such response is genuine or not. You really have to be an insider to judge. However, an analysis is in line looking at the experience and seeing how members of the renewal come to such an experience. After the prayer there follows the praise songs. These praise songs are an invitation to full participation and lively involvement.
After the praise songs when all are fired up with enthusiasm the group now goes into silence. This moment of silence is put in place to remind the members about the sacredness of their gathering lest they forget and reduce the prayer meeting into emotional outburst. This is one point that the Catholic Charismatics do not share with other protestant charismatics. It adds seriousness to the whole liturgical gathering. This time of silence can be replaced by repentance hymn or prayer of forgiveness. Forgiveness is understood as essential for anyone who really want to be in the Spirit. We block the way to the life in the Spirit if we cannot ask for forgiveness or know how to forgive. This prayer of forgiveness prepares the members to listen to the word of God that follows after this.
The word of God is read and a teaching or preaching follows. This is the time when the members of the prayer group break the word. There is one of the members prepared with the sharing of the word. This is followed by praise songs. A moment comes after this period of praise when members are to give testimonies. During these testimonies you find real life experiences. It is here that you experience the integration of faith and life among the charismatics. Most of them really connect what one might regard coincidences to faith experience. If you are an observer and you sit and listen to the testimonies you will realize that there are many things that you have taken for granted as natural happenings, which the members of the charismatic renewal have taken seriously as experience of faith.
After the testimonies they have prayer for those in difficulties. Here all those who are faced with problems come forward and this is another moment where you see a true trust in divine providence. They come forward and hands are laid on them and the members pray over them. This is in a way the end of the prayer meeting because only announcement follow with a concluding prayer at the end.
At a time when the Church is in full support of the Small Christian Communities these prayer groups are just timely. They are a kind of SCC in which the members share the word of God and come to deepen their Christian commitment. As we are aware, the Small Christian Communities engage Christians in the personal relationships needed for mutual support, faith reflection, or participation in the mission of Christ. The emphasis may vary from group to group. Bible study groups are aimed at a greater understanding of the Tradition and the Scriptures. In any form, small communities offer the compassion and courage for renewed discipleship. For a long time the Church has been impersonal in its approach. With the emergency of the Small Christian communities and the Charismatic Renewal there is a personal touch in worship. Due to the fact that the church is enormously big the small groups are great help for social and religious needs that we all have. In these groups we are able to get in touch with each other’s feelings and make our religion what it is, for it is a religion of persons. Our God knows each of us individually as we are told in the scripture, “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Mt.10: 30). Most of the people we have lost in the Catholic Church are because we did not make enough effort to make them feel they are cared for personally. The Charismatic Renewal has gone a long way in making each one feel cared for and have a sense of belonging to the Church. In the prayer meetings they also have what they call ‘cells’, which are smaller prayer groups and they meet in the houses of the members by rotation.

3. The Charismatic Renewal and the Sacraments of Initiation
Many of those who have joined the Charismatic Renewal have found new meaning in the Sacraments. The Sacraments of initiation no longer have the routine touch they have always had to many a catholic. With the renewal we see many appreciating the Sacraments and deepening their understanding of the importance of these Sacraments. Before looking at the effect of the renewal on the sacramental worship, let me outline the things that have led to mechanical and magical understanding of the sacraments of initiation and the rest of the Sacraments.
3.1 Background of the Mechanical Approach to Sacraments
Sacramental worship in the Catholic Church has been a fruit of Scholasticism. In scholastic thought the over concern for system and methodic approach to philosophical and theological disciplines led to the systematization of worship too. The scholastics applied the hylomorphic theory to sacramental worship. Every sacrament must have matter and form, making it difficult for Holy orders and matrimony. Looking for metaphysical essence of each sacrament reinforced the legalistic rubricism that came to characterize so much of catholic ritual worship.
With reformation the focus shifted to whether the sacraments were seven or whether Jesus instituted them. The polemics has to answer to whether these sacraments were efficacious. When polemics or apologetics take over, what we notice is the putting aside of important aspects of the Christian faith experience. This is so when abstraction dominates the scene, which in most cases leads to the production of a certain imbalance in popular religious attitudes. In fact for most of the Catholics the only consolation they could have in their sacramental life was in the efficacy of the sacraments for this was the giftedness of God’s grace and salvation. But over-emphasis on the efficacy of the minister’s prayer tended to blind many Catholics to the fact that the total factual effectiveness of any sacrament involved there personal attitude. That is why the absence of such an understanding led to mechanical efficacy.
Mechanical approach to sacraments led to more formalistic worship. It was now a kind not different from the pharisaic fulfillment of the law. There was no depth in sacramental worship. It was magic which when well performed impresses the audience. Oversimplified explanations of the meaning of sacramental efficacy, exaggerated concern with the prayer of the sacramental minister tended to obscure in the minds of many Catholics the prophetic character of sacramental worship. Many Catholics seemed to forget that sacramental worship, when properly understood, is in fact a covenant renewal which challenges each sacramental worshipper to a daily, personal, public witness to Christ.
Unfortunately, so to speak, this is the understanding that most of the missionaries brought to the Zambian common folk. There are cases reported of some people who were told to be baptized otherwise they lose the material benefits attached to missionary Christianity. As such most people in Zambia were baptized without actually knowing what was involved in baptism. The ‘holy’ missionaries, innocent as they were did not realize that they were coming to a culture so much haunted by magical powers and surrounded by deep convictions that the ‘mzungu’ who had come as a missionary brought with him those powers. Water baptism was an act of magic that somehow blinded the people and left them satisfied with mere baptism. They could not see any further meaning apart from the fact that the pouring of water on their heads was sufficient for salvation. Nay, this understanding prevented them from participating fully in the sacramental worship because everything depended on the ‘Shimapepo.’
Thanks to the development of hermeneutics and exegesis among Catholic theologians, the historical arguments for the divine institution elaborated by apologists were gradually shown to be historically, exegetically and hermeneutically naïve. Much of what had been done to reformulate and give a new meaning to sacramental worship was by German existentialists, mostly Heideggerian. This was adopted by Karl Rahner to mount critique of the scholastic theological manuals with their ontic patterns of thinking. There was now less preoccupation with the metaphysical essence of the sacraments and more with the sacrament’s historical meaning and symbolic structure. This alerted theologians to the possibility of far more creative flexibility in the forms of Catholic worship than had been possible under the old legalistic rubricism.
‘Primordial sacramentality’ emerged from here. Theologians became aware that the full meaning of the seven sacraments could be grasped only when the formal acts of worship were resituated in a broader context. The theology of sacramentals had remained preoccupied with excluding “sacramental efficacy” from the acts of private devotion so much that it precluded in practice a fuller insight into the sacramental symbolism of acts of personal devotion and faith. As in the case of sacraments themselves, then, the question of the symbolic meaning of extra-sacramental acts of worship tended to be neglected. Karl Rahner came to the rescue in his book The Church and the Sacraments when he gave an expanded notion of the Sacramental – sacramentality is understood as any concrete event within human experience, which both reveals and conceals the power and presence of God.
This understanding shifts theological attention away from the material and formal essence of the sacrament and raises the broader question of each sacrament’s historical and salvific meaning. The sacraments are now seen as public acts of worship which recall the normative revelation of God in Jesus Christ. It grounds the sacramental character of the sacraments in the symbolic significance of the Christian community as that historical community which emerges consciously from the historical revelation of God’s word and which is formed in its historical progress by the guidance and gifts of his indwelling Spirit.
Why did we have to go so far in understanding the relationship between sacraments of initiation and Charismatic Renewal? This is to provide the grounds in which the renewal found its home. The tight hands of the sacraments had been loosened to pave way for the new meaning of sacraments. This is not to say that the Scholastic understanding had been eliminated completely. No! Our thinking is scholastic, only that modern thought has turned the stiff sacramental understanding into elastic lines. Today the Charismatic Renewal can proudly live a sacramental life full of meaning. They see in the sacraments of initiation the realization of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are integral to any thorough understanding of the sacraments. Let us look at these Sacraments of initiation – Baptism, Eucharist and confirmation.
3.2 The Sacrament of Baptism
The sacrament of baptism for the Charismatics is a rebirth, a new experience of change in one’s life. The members of the renewal see in baptism what the early Christians experienced in sacramental baptism , that is, the full experience of the Holy Spirit’s power, love, and joy. The Charismatic members are described as Christians who have an earnest desire to recapture the early practices of the first followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Through baptism a Christian is summoned sacramentally to put on the mind of Christ by growing in openness to the gifts of the sanctification.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds the Christians that baptism makes us a new creation (a neophyte) and a temple of the Holy Spirit. It is this Spirit that gives us the sanctifying grace which in turn gives us the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts the Holy Spirit gives. These gifts or charisms are without number and they constitute the means by which each member of the Church ministers to the whole body. We are going to say more about the charisms in this chapter. Persons of the renewal do not see too much difference between the essential content of initiation celebrated in the communities of the early Church and that celebrated in the Church today. The members of the renewal see the celebrations as Spirit filled. There being in the renewal is like salt adding taste to the food. They find every celebration enriching and new because the Spirit that leads them makes all things new as we say, “send forth your Spirit and you shall renewal the face of the earth.”

3.3 The sacrament of the Eucharist
The Eucharist is one of the most important sacraments of the church that nourish the person of the baptized. In this sacrament Christ is contained, offered and received. It is through this sacrament that the Church lives and grows. For this reason we find in the new Code of Canon Law a teaching on the section dealing with the Eucharist that this sacrament is the most eminent sacrament.
When we talk about the Eucharist we are not confined to the time of consecration during Mass. In the thinking of many “apart from the “consecration” the rest of the celebration of the Mass appears to be simply a decoration or the external frame of the actual “transubstantiation” taken as the only element that counts” It is the whole celebration performed by the Church which is the body of Christ united with this Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit that make up the Eucharist. And for this reason to talk about Eucharist is to talk about Mass.
Since it is the whole celebration that matters members of the faithful are called to participate in the celebration. It is not just a show where we have an audience and the presenters. “The faithful are not just onlookers when they participate in the Mass. When they offer Christ in the Mass they to God the best gift they have – the Son of God himself…By uniting themselves with Jesus the faithful share in his thanksgiving for his brothers and sisters…”
The Charismatic Renewal members see in Mass a source of healing. It is in it that they visibly see Christ the healer. In the Old Testament there are many instances of God getting in touch with his people through sacred places. The consecration of the priests was done at the altar with cymbals, harps, trumpets and other instruments. The leader of the Charismatic Renewal movement in U.S.A., Fr. Robert De Grandis states,
The Lord is present with his people today in sacred places, our churches are saced because of the healing presence of Jesus. In ancient days the glory descended on the temple that contained only symbols of the Lord’s presence. How much more should we experience the healing presence of the Lord with the Eucharistic presence of God in our own churches?
If we get healing through the Eucharist, let us then look briefly at the various parts of the Mass, which the whole content of the Eucharist and see how a Charismatic Renewal member finds healing in it.
3.3.1 Penitential rite
During the penitential rite the entire community is involved as they go through a formula of general confession which is concluded with the priest’s absolution. It is a moment that a person has to remember his/her sinfulness and ask for God’s forgiveness. Forgiveness is a preamble to healing. “The penitential rite is the key to healing through the Mass because it is here that we open ourselves and others.” This opening is very much required if healing has to take place in our lives. Most of what the Charismatic Renewal members stress about is forgiveness. There is a long prayer of healing through forgiveness that De Grandis suggests in his Healing through Forgiveness. He recounts here how much harm unforgiveness can do to a believer and also cites the prayer of Our Father which bears a condition on forgiveness, “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin again us”.
3.3.2 Liturgy of the Word
The word of God is considered as a very vital aspect of the Mass. If we look at the feeding of the five thousand in Mark it was after teaching the disciples that Jesus fed the hungry with food. First we listen to his word and then receive the food from our Lord at his table. We are told that the Church receives nourishment spiritually at the twofold table of the Eucharist. We grow in wisdom from the word of God and in holiness from the Eucharist. Thanks to the Church’s encouragement many a faithful are finding more and more joy in the word of God. The Scriptures are making more sense to people who were far from the direct contact with the word of God. However, there are still big numbers not familiar with God’s word and remain a laughing stock to most of our Protestant brethrens who feel comfortable with the scriptures in Zambia. The word of the Lord as we hear it and respond to it in our hearts can be healing whenever we attend Mass. This calls for proper delivery of the word of God by pastors. The homily is not a place for moralism, but for Good news. “Homilies that primarily say what Jesus has done for us will offer healing and hope: He loves us, He died for us, He forgives us; the gift is ours. Homilies that say “We should do this; we should do that…can sometimes bring more discouragement than healing.”


3.3.3 Liturgy of the Eucharist
The celebration of the Eucharist gives us access to “the divine Sanctuary and the true Tent that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up” (Heb 8:2). It is at this divine Sanctuary that we meet God, the healer. By the offering of bread and wine and the collection we are being called to give not only our support, but our whole selves in the offering of bread and wine to God. When the priest puts a little water in the wine as per Jewish tradition this signifies for us the melting of ourselves into Jesus Christ in the Mass.
3.3.4 Consecration
“One priest maintains that when the consecration takes place, there is a tremendous sweep of divine energy through the congregation.” The Holy Spirit during consecration has a dual activity. She sanctifies the gifts of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ and unifying the people of God to the body of Christ. We see this point coming out clearly during the epiclesis when the priest reaches the epiclesis. There are two epiclesis. The first one is over the gifts and the second over the Church. “The purpose of the first epiclesis is to invoke the sanctifying power of the Spirit over the Eucharistic Gifts so that the minister, the words of Christ may hold the efficacy of Spirit, giver of life…The second epiclesis is the invocation for the action of the Holy Spirit over the community which is about to participate in the communion with the Body of Christ, and therefore the “epiclesis of communion” is invoked”. Most of the reports about healing take place at consecration. Those with demons fall more at this time because there is no way that the spirit of evil can unite itself with Christ. Sneezing and coughing abound at this time because of this theological presence of Christ. “This is negative energy being cleansed from People” This understanding goes with the orients who believe that sickness is a result of the domination of the negative energies in our existence.
Although I have spent so much explanation on consecration and epiclesis it should be clear that the whole Eucharistic celebration has a healing effect. The whole celebration is the summit of our healing as Fr. George Maloney, S.J. would confirm:
Eucharist: The peak of all Christian healing, especially in deeper faith, hope and love on a spiritual plane, should be found in our frequent and devout reception of the Holy Eucharist. It is the new covenant whereby God continually gives His blood for the remission of sins and the life of the world (Heb.9-15,25-28). In this sacrament that, as priests, we bring to others and also receive each day in the divine liturgy, we approach God, the consuming fire (Heb. 12:29), with great expectancy… that the deep roots of sinfulness in us will be replaced with a new surge of God’s eternal resurrectional life in us. Like the woman with the hemorrhage in the gospel story (Lk 8:43-44), we need only touch Jesus and His power will flow into us bringing new life.
3.4 Confirmation
Confirmation is a further share in the priesthood of Christ and like baptism it imprints a character that cannot be deleted. The first sharing is given in baptism as Divinae Consortium Naturae of Pope Paul VI says, “In Baptism neophytes receive forgiveness of sins, adoption as sons of God and the character of Christ whereby they are made members of the Church and given a first sharing in the priesthood of their Saviour.” “The Holy Spirit “anoints” the baptized, sealing each with an indelible character (cf 2Cor 1:21-22), and constituting each as a spiritual temple, that is, he fills this temple with the holy presence of God as a result of each person’s being united and likened to Jesus Christ.” This is perfected in the sacrament of confirmation which we have said is a deeper sharing in the priesthood of Christ. Not only does a member of the faithful share in this priesthood, but also in the other two ministries – prophetic and kingly ministries making up the threefold mission of Christ. This is done by the anointing with the oil of chrism which was only used for kings and priests in the Old Testament. By this anointing we are the body of Christ because we are all anointed and in him we are christs. The Charismatic Renewal reminds itself of this anointing in confirmation by the act of Spirit anointing that is administered by a validly ordained minister, a priest. The priest anoints the member on the forehead. This is not to repeat the anointing done at confirmation or baptism. No. It is an act of commissioning for the member to go out and proclaim the message of Christ; to participate fully in the priestly, kingly and prophetic mission of Christ.


3.4.1 Baptism in the Holy Spirit
Baptism in the Spirit is preceded by seminar. This is called life in the Spirit seminar and it consists of seven talks on basic Christian doctrine – God’s love, Salvation, the New Life, Receiving God’s gift, Praying for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Growth and Transformation in Christ.
To go back to the understanding of Karl Rahner, of sacramentality we are here faced with baptism in the Holy Spirit, which has been mentioned earlier when talking about baptism. Karl Rahner states clearly that sacramentality is any concrete human expression in which the presence of God is manifested. Although Spirit baptism is not in itself a sacrament in the strictest sense of the word somehow in this new understanding it can be taken as a sacrament. However, it is not a sacrament in the sense of being a replacement of any sacrament. Much more than being associated with the sacrament of baptism, Spirit baptism is more akin to the sacrament of confirmation. We cannot put it on the same level because it does not, as confirmation does, endow its recipient with a permanent public status in the community. “Spirit baptism is not, therefore, a fraudulent imitation of confirmation unless those who perform it intend it to be a fraudulent imitation of confirmation.”
Baptism in the Spirit came from the words of Christ just before his ascension: “John baptized with water; but before many days, you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). Therefore, the baptism in the Spirit is substantially that which happened to the 120 disciples when the Holy Spirit descended on them on that first Christian Pentecost. It is from the renewal of this same experience that the Charismatic Renewal movement gets both its name and its dynamism. Those disciples who were the pioneers to experience the baptism in the Spirit went through an inner experience of the power of the Holy Spirit filling and transforming them.
Spirit baptism involves a group of Christians gathering together to pray over one of its members that he or she may receive the Spirit of Christ in his eschatological fullness, just as the apostles received him on the first Pentecost. In the case of Catholic Pentecostals who receive confirmation before Spirit baptism, the prayer over them that they receive Spirit baptism is in fact an expression of their desire to break with sin and to cooperate more fully with the sacramental grace of their confirmation. The fact that confirmation imprints an indelible character does not guarantee a virtuous life. It is true that the special graces which attend us at confirmation accompany us through our faith journey. It is for this reason that we should turn to God to beg for greater docility to the grace of confirmation. By laying hands in prayer over those to receive Spirit baptism, they join their prayers to those of the ones receiving and to those of the bishop who previously confirmed them that they will cooperate more fully with the grace of the sacrament.
What exactly happens at Spirit baptism? I attended sometime ago the Spirit baptismal celebration. I could see different experiences from the receivers. Some were crying, others laughing uncontrollably and others ‘resting in the Spirit’, meaning laying prostrate on the ground, while others did not show any reaction. At the end of the celebration the presiding minister (priest) explained to the new members that the fact that there was no external manifestation for some of them did not mean that they had not received the Spirit baptism. The Spirit works in diverse ways and has different effects from one person to another. It is not easy actually to know what is essential to this baptism. Just as from my experience we can point out two main types of manifestation of baptism in the Spirit, that is the manifest type and the hidden type.
The manifest type is much easier to characterize, because it occurs at a definite moment in the form of a conscious experience. For, example, sometimes while a person is being prayed over, he is filled with an overwhelming sense of the presence, power and love of God. He experiences great joy, but at the same time a deep peace. He may be moved even to the point of tears; but they always seem to be tears of joy. It is not as though he has some kind of inner experience, for example, a vision of God or the feeling of something happening to him, as a result of which peace descends or joy arises. No, he has no other experience or perception than simply that of being inexplicably filled with the peace, joy and love of God…. The realization that one has been filled with, that one is full of, something that may be called joy or peace or love, depending on the nuances of the case.
The manifest type is what characterized the first Spirit baptism in the Acts of the Apostles. The Christians were accused of being drunk in the morning, the fourth hour because of the joy manifested after the reception of this baptism. Many people doubt this experience even in our time. They think the person involved has gone crazy or is really drunk. Or even question whether such an experience is a genuine one or not. Definitely we all have our understanding and most of the time when a certain action is not in our favour we try our best to dismiss its credibility. Those who are not in the Charismatic camp will look at this experience as pretence and drama. The insiders just marvel at seeing a person finding himself at a given moment suddenly filled with light whereas before he was dark and empty; but he cannot point to anything that has brought this experience about. There is no inner discourse by which, after experiencing these things, a person comes to discover that God is their source. To know the peace of God, and to know that it is from God, are one and the same thing. This means it is implicit in the person experiencing such outpouring as coming from God.
The experience of Elijah in meeting God in the first book of Kings can help us understand the hidden type of Spirit baptismal experience. We are told that there was a strong mighty wind rending the mountains and crushing the rocks but the Lord was not in the wind. Then come the earthquake and the fire and the Lord was in neither. It was only in a tiny whispering sound, something of no peculiarity or mysterium that the Lord was present. (cf 1Kings 19:9-13) It is the same with the hidden type of Spirit baptism. Some members even think that when they do not experience anything at that particular moment Spirit baptism has not taken place. It is true that nothing manifestly happens to some of them, but this does not mean that they have not received Spirit baptism. After a number of days they begin to realize that truly something has happened. For this person who had experienced the hidden type “a new light has dawned in his soul, although he did not observe the moment of sunrise. He may find himself filled with a deep new joy, peace and love”.
Most of the people after this baptism find their way to Spiritual gifts; the gifts that most members believe are peculiar to the Charismatic Renewal. We are now going to look at these Charismatic gifts and how they help the faith of a charismatic.
4. The Charismatic Gifts
Charismatic gifts are quite controversial at the same time vital in the Charismatic Renewal. For those having these gifts in most cases they have not been taken kindly by the Church leaders and outsiders among the faithful. The all issue surrounding Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo has been about Charismatic gifts and how to use them. Paradoxically enough, the Church is said to be charismatic, but is very careful when it comes to discernment in dealing with those gifted with these charismata. In the past, the Church tended to monopolize all the gifts of the Spirit, and the result was that the laity became more and more passive. In too many areas, the clergy are still the domineering element. It would be encouraging to see the people enabled to grow in confidence and in the exercise of their gifts; for lack of this will make the Church not to grow in maturity.
The Church as we know it is a “pneumatic community”, a community of the Spirit. It is a human society but divine. Without the Spirit, the Church could be equal to any other human society. Because there is the Spirit directing the actions of the Church there are ministries and charisma that the Spirit gives to the Church. Therefore before talking about the Charisma in the Charismatic Renewal let us look at the Church and the Charismatic gifts and make a distinction required.
4.1 The Church and Charism
The word charism comes from Greek, which means gift. As such talk of a charismatic gift is a repetition of words. However it is necessary to use such terminology for clarity. When we talk of charismatic gifts we are referring to the preternatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are the gifts that St. Paul mentions in 1Cor. 12:8-10, that is, healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, speaking in tongues and the interpretation of what has been spoken in tongues. There are other charismata which we call ministries. These are hierarchical gifts or charisma. Pope John Paul II states that the Spirit furnishes and directs the Church with various gifts, both hierarchical and charismatic, and adorns her with the fruits of his grace. By hierarchical gifts we mean particular services/responsibilities (flowing from the Spirit’s gift) entrusted to certain members of the faithful for the good of the community.
From the New Testament we have evidence of the presence of charisms and hierarchical gifts or ministries inspired by the Holy Spirit in the various Christian communities. For instance, in the Christian community at Antioch, “there were prophets and teachers” (Acts 13:1ff). Both types of gifts flow from the Spirit. One who possesses one should not think of his/her position as more privileged than one who possesses another. The Holy Spirit distributes his gifts according to his own richness and the needs of the ministries, and he vivifies, unifies, and moves the whole body so that his role can be compared to that of the soul in the human body. It should be pointed out that every ministry is grounded in charisms and expressive of charisms or charismatic gifts.
Lack of space prevents me from entering deeply into the Charismatic gifts one by one. Let us look at the gift of tongues that is more common than anything among the Charismatic Renewal members. It is actually like an identity card for the members and a proof for many that you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. However, the gift of tongues as charis (grace) of God is unmerited by the believer. The Holy Spirit does not give gifts because we have a right to them through out achievements, but because the world needs God’s power. This understanding refers mainly to gifts other than that of tongues because the gift of tongues is more of a personal gift of prayer.
4.2 Gift of tongues
St. Paul gives an understanding of how the charisma of tongues was taken in the early church and how it should have been understood. The church at Corinth had not understood the use of tongues and was abusing it. Paul did not disregard this gift, but corrected its misuse. He told the Corinthians that such gift should be practiced in public only in the presence of an interpreter. This is just courtesy because it is not fair to say something which we know no one understands. Neither should this be practiced in the presence of unbelievers, “So, if the whole church meets in one place and everyone speaks in tongues, and then uninstructed people or unbelievers should come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds?” (1Cor.14:23).
The gift of tongues as mentioned earlier should be used for private purposes, that is, for personal edification with the Spirit. “For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to human beings but to God, for no one listens; he utters mysteries in spirit…Whoever speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but whoever prophesies builds up the church.” (1Cor.14:2-4). It is self-building because with this tongue-speaking a person speaks to the unconscious.
Speaking in other languages is a capacity of the unconscious which has also been observed in non-Christian religions. Yet through speech in other languages the Holy Spirit can directly penetrate the subconscious.
There are examples of persons who have been healed from subconscious burdens through this charisma. Praying in other languages seems to have a generally beneficial effect on spiritual growth. For many persons it strengthens their joy in Jesus, their desire to pray and read the Bible, and their consciousness of Jesus’ presence throughout the day. But this happens only when this charisma is seen as an enrichment of the personal life and not as a sensation which increases one’s own honor.
What we see happening in most of the Charismatic Renewal members is that they see this gift as prestige. It is a sign of honour and they go around boasting that they can speak in tongues. This was happening at the time of Paul too. That is why he says that the gift of tongues is nothing if it is not motivated by love (1Cor. 13:1).
We cannot exhaust anything in dealing with tongues. The fact is it is very complicated. I have reports of people who have been taught how to speak in tongues. In this way it ceases to be a gift. However, we cannot discredit the importance and a existence of such a gift.
Finally on this chapter, we look at the pitfalls of the Charismatic Renewal movement. There is no society that has no defects as long as it is a society of humanity in whose composition error is a necessity.
5. Main defects of Charismatics
The defects here are not only among the protestant charismatics, as most of the them will refer to them, but they are also a check for the Catholic Charismatics so that they do not fall in the same pit. There is of course, when there is no direction, a tendency to be protestant among the Charismatic Renewal members.
5.1 Oversimplification
Members most of the time are offered quick and easy solution to problems. They are told that healing when one believes is automatic. There are steps for one to attain wealth, victory in life and that there are no problems after that.
5.2 Illuminalism
This is a tendency to attribute enlightenment and direction as coming from above . There is a kind of manipulation of the Holy Spirit. Even what she has not said we make her say. You would hear someone say, “the Spirit has just told me this”. We do not deny that God can still speak to people, but most of the time they are fabrications made. “It is a danger inherent in the very essence of Christianity. Whenever it is recognized that the Spirit of God is imparted to man as a source of strength and guidance superior to natural reason, one must be prepared to contend with people wo will use the Holy Spirit as a cover for irrationality or wickedness.”
5.3 Spiritual Pride
The feeling that they are better than the rest of the Christian fork is very strong among the Charismatics. They are better because they have achieved a lot in their faith. Here faith ceases to be grace but human merit. This is what we can call the pharisaic mentality against that of the sinner in the parable Jesus gave.
5.4 Charismania
It is when one attributes too much importance to the charismatic gifts and they become the centre of attention as if one who does not have has no God in him/her. “It has two forms, of which the first is the mentality which regards the charismatic as the sole or principal criterion of spiritual excellence…. They forget that love alone is the measure of Christian Spirituality.”
5.5 Experientialism
This is a strong emphasis on feeling and emotionalism versus the use of the mind and intellect. There are some who even look at the mind as evil and reject scientific discoveries.
These are just some of the errors. There are many others that the Christians observe but I do not see them as errors, for instance they point out to noise and emotional outbursts. Fine, noise can only be a distortion rather than an error.

Conclusion
This chapter has been a systematic approach to the Charismatic Renewal. In my own way I have tried to bring out the theological content of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal while tying to be balanced in my judgement. Much attention has been focused on the sacramental life since that is where the Charismatic Renewal is felt strongly. This attention prepares well for the next and last chapter that looks at the effects of the Charismatic Renewal movement on the Zambian church and the support of the church in this regard.













Chapter III


The Church in Zambia and the Charismatic Renewal



Introduction
So far the essay has been dealing with the renewal in general and its beginnings. Now we look at how the Renewal has affected the Church in Zambia. Zambia was declared a Christian nation by Dr. Frederich Chiluba when he took over power from Dr. Kaunda in 1991. This alone speaks volumes of a country that is predominantly Christian. About 80 percent of the people of Zambia are Christian; many of them adhere to independent churches which combine elements of Christianity and African religions. Most of the remainder follow traditional religions. The Roman Catholic population of the 80 percent is 33 percent. Most of the Zambians who have joined evangelical churches have been baptized Catholics. They left the Catholic Church due to what they term as ignorance of Scriptures and ritualism from the Catholic folk. They look at Catholics as people who are not convinced of their faith and cannot speak openly about the God they believe in. Cathoics are viewed by Protestants as lacking in spiritual gifts and that miracles are foreign to them. The Spirit, they claim, has left the Church.
Ecumenical effect
Charismatic Renewal has come out as a point of contention on the Protestant scene, at the same time as a merging point. Contention because this is not the Catholic Church they knew before, the Church with renewed worship, the Church of miracles and charismatic gifts – tongue speaking, prophecy, etc. It is not as satanic as it was thought to be. As a merging point because it is this Charismatic Renewal that is making many Catholics who left the Church for emotional attractions that evangelical churches offered come back to their mother Church. It is not because there are emotional outbursts that they found in these churches that they came back, but it is mostly because they found the Holy Spirit at work in the Catholic Church that they were told was no longer there.
Recently on my holidays in Zambia I witnessed the coming back of a lady who had joined the Pentecostal church. Her reason for coming back was that she did not find strong doctrinal foundation in the Pentecostal church and that she could not understand anything in the preaching of their pastors. It may not be true that their preaching is not understood, however, without resort to judgement, most of what evangelical preachers say is without substance. This lady came back to get what she was missing while finding what she has been attracted to in the Charismatic Renewal.
Another thing is that Catholics in the renewal no longer the Protestant brethren of Evangelical churches as opponents, but they are partner in the spreading of the gospel. They meet with them in healing ministries, in crusades organized by the Catholics. From my family in which I find myself as the only Catholic; apart from the extended family which is predominantly Catholic, my elder sister (Pentecostal Assemblies of God), recognizes the presence and power of the Holy Spirit working among the Catholic Penteostals.
There is renewed understanding of Scriptures among Zambian Catholics with the coming of the Charismatic Renewal. They can open the bibles and share the word of God openly. It is interesting to find the Catholic Charismatics in Zambia having bible sharing with the members of the Evangelical churches. Of course at this point the work of a clergyman is crucial. As members of the clergy we are called to instruct these Charismatics so that they are not misled in their common sharing instead be instruments of the truth to their Evangelical brethren.
The Catholic Church known before was very aversive towards the songs from the Protestant churches. In fact, in Zambia it was a very grave mistake, if not a sin to sing Protestant tunes in the church. Actually it sounded as if the God of the Catholics would not be happy to hear protestant tunes. With the coming of the Charismatic Renewal in Zambia things have changed. Now our God can hear the so called Protestant tunes in the church. Of course, many still do not like it (I mean the outsiders in this regard). This is all the more reason why they consider Catholic Charismatic Renewal members as Protestants. In a way this has brought back many to the Church.
“You mean Catholics can also speak in tongues?” so you hear our Protestant brethren question. They have been taken by surprise to see Catholics speaking in tongues, which for most Evangelical churches if not all is a clear manifestation of the working of the Holy Spirit. So, then they say the Catholics can be part of the fellowship. While this can be see as an ecumenical point, to the Catholic Church that has gone through rejection and misunderstandings, the recognition of Evangelical churches breaks no bone.
Healing
This aspect of the renewal has faced criticism from the hierarchy and some members of the Catholic faithful in Zambia, especially exorcism. Healing in Zambian religious circles is not a new phenomenon. In Zambian traditional religion, Creator God. Mulenga is one who comes to the rescue of the people when they are confronted with difficulties or danger. This is clear from the proverb of traditional Bemba of Zambia, “Lesa ntula, we watulile mulonda-londa ngaliputwike.” (God, you who rescued the wasp from being split into two rescue me).
As healer God is called Lucele-ng’anga (in Lala, meaning the Lord-Healer). It is this same God who enables patients to regain their health through the application of herbs. A religion then that provides healing finds a home in such a tradition. Archbishop Milingo gained popularity because of his involvement in healing ministry. If we go back to Scripture tradition we find many people flocking to Jesus seeking healing, be it mental, physical or spiritual healing.
Charismatic gift of healing is concerned with the healing of physical illnesses, from a cold to terminal decease. Beyond that, it includes all the illnesses of the soul, which today are becoming more and more numerous, neuroses, psychoses, ingulu/amashabe, etc. With the coming of Charismatic Renewal in Zambia, people have come to know that witchdoctors cannot outdo the power of God in dealing with physical and mental illnesses. God can do it all and way with superstition. They recognize the power of negative forces – the evil powers and still realize that God can do better than them.
However, connected to this healing, exorcism among the members has not bee an easy task considering the fact that the Church does not allow anyone to exorcise. This puts most of the members in dilemma. One may be having the gift to exorcise but he/she finds a powerful hand of a parish priest who says no to it. The permission of the bishop is required for this. However agent the matter might be, the head of the diocese has to know about it. This is not disputed, but the issue of bureaucracies when it comes to the boundaries of the Holy Spirit has to be readdressed knowing that the Spirit blows wherever she wills.
Effects on worship
The missionaries did a very good job to evangelise Zambia. They came with a very good intention and put all their efforts in helping the people to cultivate Christian faith. However, to Zambians whose traditional religion was festive – who worshipped their God in drum and festivity, the Christian religion looked too foreign. It was too solemn. The celebration of the Eucharist was covered with mystery and everything done in Latin. The banquet aspect of the Eucharist was not emphasized. This made the pirest and a few altar servers as actors while the rest of the congregation remained on the spectator’s bench. Participation was minimal. Mass was for the choir and the priests.
Thanks to Vatican II that allowed more participation by allowing the vernacular to be used in worship. Zambian Catholic worship opened a new page when traditioinal tunes and drums could be used in Christian music. This brought back the festive mood of celebration during Mass. The coming of Charismatic Renewal added more participation. For the Charismatics, singing in the church is not a sole duty of the choir. Everyone is expected to participate and sing for the Lord. A Charismatic Eucharistic celebration is marked by active participation and joy, taking the Eucharist as an opportunity for healing, as mentioned in chapter two.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the Charismatic Renewal has a big role to play in the Catholic Church in Zambia. However, much has to be done by the clergy to correct any mistakes that the extremists in the Charismatic Renewal movement have. In more ways than one, the Charismatic Renewal movement is headed for the renewal of the Church in Zambia and for the return of many to the Church through their example. The leaders in the Church in Zambia are in their turn to take a sympathetic stand. They are not to condemn what they do not know. You cannot judge a book by its cover. Read the book and then you can review it. Charismatic Renewal members are crying for support from the clergy and this support will surely help them renew their faith in God and the work of the Holy Spirit.























GENERAL CONCLUSION


The Charismatic Renewal has come to stay and it is an asset to the Church. It is an asset because through it many are finding their way to holiness. This does not mean that there are not defects in it. The defects were pointed out and those defects are just a clear sign that they are human. Most of them have developed a deep appreciation of the word of God and can speak openly about their Catholic faith. Despite the fact that many Clergy men have not been very supportive of this movement, the renewal has a strong ray of hope due to the support it has received from the supreme pontiff and from the bishops.
Zambian Catholic Charismatic Renewal shines with hope after the flustrations the members went through after Archbishop Milingo‘s resignation and consequent transfer to Rome. The Renewal members who do not see themselves as an isolated group keep on injecting their influence in the Small Christian Communities. They are members of action groups in which you immediately notice their presence from their joy, dedication and commitment. This is not a canonization of their efforts but a picture of ideal Charismatics. On the other side we have members who feel very much contended with the Renewal that they do not need any group for support. They isolate themselves from the Church activities and are very much with Pharisaic attitudes. These are the ones that require pastoral attention from the priest incharge. The priest in this respect should not play the role of a judge, but that of a father, helping such a member to understand wheat is needed from his/her part as a member of Christ’s body.
To this end I would like to make some few suggestions. Zambian Church is more than a hundred years. However, a lot of help is needed from the pastors to the flock that still requires a sense of direction. The Protestant influence is too big for us to just be content with the Sunday homilies and a few catechetical lessons. Presence is needed where a priest is concerned about spiritual welfare of the people.

















BIBLIOGRAPHY


Durasoff, Steve. Bright Wind of the Spirit: Pentecostalism Today. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1972.

Ford, Massingberd J. The Pentecostal Experience: A New Direction for American Catholics. New York: Paulist Press, 1970.

Gelpi, Donald L. Pentecostalism: A Theological View Point. New York: Paulist Press, 1971.

Hamilton, Michael P. ed. The Charismatic Movement, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1975.

Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens, A New Pentecost? Trans. Francis Martin, New York: The Seabury Press, 1974.

McBrian, Richard P. Catholism, Vol.2, Minneapolis: Winston Press, Inc., 1980.

Mcintyre, John. The Shape of Pneumatology. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, ltd., 1997
O’Connor, Edward D. Perspectives on Charismatic Renewal, London: University of Notre Dame Press, 1975.

O’CONNOR, EDWARD D. The Pentecostal Movement in the Catholic Church, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 1971.

RANAGHAN, KEVIN AND DOROTHY, Catholic Pentecostals, New York: Paulist press, 1969.
Robinson, Wheeler H. The Christian Experience of the Holy Spirit, Glasgon: Fontana Books, William Collins Sons & Co., Ltd., 1962.

SPITTLER, RUSSELL P. ed., Perspectives on the New Pentecostalism. Michigan: Baker Books House Company, 1976.








General introduction 1
1. Motive and aim 1
2. Research Methodology 2
3. Limitation of the Study 2
4. Statement of the problem 2
5. Support of the Church 4
6. The Flow of the Paper 5
Chapter I 6
A Short History of Charismatic Renewal 6
Introduction 6
1. The Pentecostal movements 6
2. The Pentecostal movement in the USA 8
3. Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church 9
3. Charismatic Renewal in Zambia 11
3.1 Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo and the Charismatic Renewal 12
Conclusion 16
Chapter II 18
The Essence of the Renewal 18
Introduction 18
1. The Liturgical Structure of the Renewal 20
2. Formal Meeting for the Prayer Group 22
3. The Charismatic Renewal and the Sacraments of Initiation 25
3.1 Background of the Mechanical Approach to Sacraments 25
3.2 The Sacrament of Baptism 29
3.3 The sacrament of the Eucharist 30
3.3.1 Penitential rite 32
3.3.2 Liturgy of the Word 33
3.3.3 Liturgy of the Eucharist 34
3.3.4 Consecration 34
3.4 Confirmation 35
3.4.1 Baptism in the Holy Spirit 37
4. The Charismatic Gifts 41
4.1 The Church and Charism 41
4.2 Gift of tongues 43
5. Main defects of Charismatics 45
5.1 Oversimplification 45
5.2 Illuminalism 45
5.3 Spiritual Pride 46
5.4 Charismania 46
5.5 Experientialism 46
Conclusion 47
Chapter III 48
The Church in Zambia and the Charismatic Renewal 48
Introduction 48
Ecumenical effect 49
Healing 51
Effects on worship 52
Conclusion 53
GENERAL CONCLUSION 54
BIbLIOGRAPHY 57

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