Abstract
On 25 December 1961, John XXIII convoked the Second Vatican Council with his apostolic constitution Humanae salutis, praying that God would show again the wonders of the newborn Church in Jerusalem “as by a new Pentecost”. Not six years later, in 1967, a group of students at Duquesne University in the United States prayed while on retreat for an infusion of the Holy Spirit that they might also experience the power of Pentecost. They received what they reported to be the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and out of the spiritual experiences of that retreat arose what would become an international movement known as the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. This movement, influenced by Pentecostalism, would develop its own embodied praxis of prayer that seeks a renewed encounter with the power of the Holy Spirit made manifest at Pentecost. This article analyzes the embodied prayer language of the Renewal by drawing from Louis-Marie Chauvet’s distinction between language as mediation (or, symbol) and language as tool (or, sign). It will use Chauvet’s distinction as a hermeneutic to flesh out the relationship between post-Vatican II charismatic prayer practices and their intended purpose of participating in the encounter of Pentecost.
Highlights
One of the most distinctive spiritual movements arising in the wake of the SecondVatican Council is the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, the formal name given to CatholicPentecostalism
“Pentecostalism” in general is typically defined according to its historical genealogy as a spiritual movement arising in the United States in the Twentieth Century (Synan 1997)
First argue that the Renewal is characterized by a desire to experience in prayer the wonders and the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in the Church and is interpreted as a divine response to John XXIII’s prayer for the Council that the Holy Spirit should renew the Church “as by a new Pentecost”. Drawing from this interpretation of Vatican II and its reception, as well as from Louis-Marie Chauvet’s distinction between “language as instrument” and “language as mediation”, I analyze three examples of embodied prayer language frequently expressed by members of the Renewal: glossolalia, the raising of hands, and “resting in the Spirit”
Summary
One of the most distinctive spiritual movements arising in the wake of the Second. Vatican Council is the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, the formal name given to Catholic. I first argue that the Renewal is characterized by a desire to experience in prayer the wonders and the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in the Church and is interpreted as a divine response to John XXIII’s prayer for the Council that the Holy Spirit should renew the Church “as by a new Pentecost” Drawing from this interpretation of Vatican II and its reception, as well as from Louis-Marie Chauvet’s distinction between “language as instrument” and “language as mediation”, I analyze three examples of embodied prayer language frequently expressed by members of the Renewal: glossolalia, the raising of hands, and “resting in the Spirit”. While a theology of charism has been challenging to develop, a praxis of charism has been alive and well within the Church
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