When Pope John Paul said that “the church rediscovered the charismatic dimension as one of her constitutive elements,” what did he mean?

The Rediscovery of Our Catholic Charismatic Dimension

The Rediscovery.  It is no small thing to say that the Roman Catholic Church "rediscovered" a part of her essential identity.   Yet In 1998 Pope John Paul II spoke of a “rediscovery” of the Catholic Church’s “charismatic dimension” that took place at the Second Vatican Council.  This charismatic dimension refers not only to the Charismatic Renewal but to all the aspects of the church and movements that arise by the Spirit’s action, from the inner vitality of the faith, created neither by programs nor by the hierarchy but arising spontaneously in Christian life.  Within the term "charismatic dimension" Pope John Paul II included ecclesial movements like Cursillo, and Communion and Liberation among others when he said:

This is the unforgettable experience of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, during which, under the guidance of the same Spirit, the church rediscovered the charismatic dimension as one of her constitutive elements . . . The institutional and charismatic aspects are co-essential as it were to the church’s constitution…It is from this providential rediscovery of the Church’s charismatic dimension that, before and after the Council, a remarkable pattern of growth has been established for ecclesial movements and new communties… (L’Osservatore Romano, EnglishJune 3, 1998.)

Importance.  When a Pope speaks of something being both “constitutive” and “rediscovered” its importance cannot be underestimated.  It means that something essential to the very identity of the Church became hidden or set aside for a time, and that it was later “rediscovered.”  Some will ask, “rediscovered after how long?”  The answer is; somewhere between 1200 - 1700 years.  After Saint Paul's famous pastoral guidance about charismata in 1 Corinthians 12-14 there is little other guidance of a pastoral nature about charisms in the New Testament, even if they are mentioned in almost every book.  Many have noted that by the mid 4th Century the attention given to charisms by the fathers, apologists, and pastors of the church was no longer pastoral guidance but apologetic in nature. (By "apologetic," I mean that the presence of charisms in the Church was cited, but not to guide the use of charisms in the church, but rather to prove the divine authority of Christ and his Church).  The ninth century saw a transformation as the charisms receded from theological and pastoral discourse, eclipsed by the idea of the seven gifts of the Spirit.  Eventually, these seven gifts became defined as a different theological category than charisms, a category that became the norm for what should be expected through Confirmation.

This certainly does not mean that the Spirit was not active or that people did not have gifts of the Spirit.  It means that the topic of charisms was not an object of pastoral or theological reflection in the normal life of the Church from the 4th Century until Scholasticism.  St. Thomas Aquinas treated the charisms in his Summa Theologiae (II-II, 171-8), but he is in remarkable solitude among his peers.  Not until the Second Vatican Council was St. Paul’s doctrine on charisms re-proposed to the masses. 

The rediscovery of something essential to the Church’s nature necessitates that all that developed in it’s absence must be reconsidered in its presence to detect any need for development of the apostolic faith.

Vatican II:  The Council of
Charismatic Rediscovery

Vatican II.  At Vatican II there was an historic debate that would prove to be providential for both the Church and the coming Charismatic Renewal.  Cardinal Suenens described it in his memoirs:

Mention of “charisms” at Vatican II:  [Cardinal Ruffini] asked that this word [charism] be suppressed; he felt that charisms were all very well in the primitive Church, but their mention as something that might still be relevant today could easily lead to abuses.  I felt, to the contrary, that this mention was necessary, and that the charisms of the Holy Spirit are an integral part of Christian life and of evangelization.  The Council adopted this point of view, and mention was made of charisms in the Council text, with a wording that was wise and discriminating, but definitely positive.  Unwittingly, my remarks had foreshadowed future events, for this text was to come in useful one day to clear the name of the “Charismatic Renewal.” ( Suenens, Memories and Hopes, p. 140)

The documents from the Council mention charisms fourteen times.  Charisms, the Council teaches, are gifts of the Spirit to be accepted with thanksgiving even as they must be under the authority of the Church’s pastors.  Since the Council and its Catechism, Roman Catholic orthodoxy now requires grateful acceptance of the charismatic graces (CCC 2003).

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal began two years after the close of the Council.  Cardinal Ratizinger (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) saw the manifestation of charisms in the Charismatic Renewal as a sign that the new Pentecost envisioned by the fathers of the Council was happening:

The period following the Council scarcely seemed to live up to the hopes of John XXIII, who looked for a 'new Pentecost'. But his prayer did not go unheard. In the heart of a world desiccated by rationalistic scepticism a new experience of the Holy Spirit has come about, amounting to a worldwide renewal movement. What the New Testament describes, with reference to the charisms, as visible signs of the coming of the Spirit is no longer merely ancient, past history - this history is becoming a burning reality today.  (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. The Ratzinger Report.  151).

Results  When something that is constitutive or essential to the human body is weak or absent from the body compensations are made to balance the weakness.  When an ankle has been twisted or, more dramatically, a limb is missing other parts of the body grow stronger to compensate.  This also happens in the life of the Body of Christ, the Church.  When one aspect of the faith becomes weak or hidden other parts grow stronger to compensate.  One clear example of this is the way the theology of the “seven-fold” gift of the Spirit developed in the absence of the doctrine of “charisms” (See Raniero Cantalamessa, Come Creator Spirit.  178-180).  

Why did God allow the eclipse of the theology of charisms?  What did God’s divine will accomplish?  We know that God makes good of all things, even bodily deficiencies.  However, when the weak part of the body is restored all of the compensatory actions that were learned in its absence need also to be restored to normality.  Some that became strong have to balance out to incorporate the strength that was restored.  To be sure, the restoration of the charismatic dimension to the body will influence almost everything, our mission, the laity, the liturgy, the hierarchy, our theology and probably much much more.

The Pentecostal movement and Catholic Charismatic Renewal

No one was prepared in 1900 (the beginning of the pentecostal movement) or in 1967 (the beginning of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal) for God's answer to questions  that few were asking.  Who was asking in those days, "How can the Church evangelize again, after so many have grown so cold?"  But the Father yearns for communion with his children and so he answered the question anyway. 

Rediscovering Charisms

Charisms are gifts of the Holy Spirit, and you have at least one!  I base this fact on the repetition of the word "each" in Saint Paul's teaching.  He writes more than once, as does Saint Peter, that "each" of the baptized has received some manifestation of the Holy Spirit that will benifit the Church, the world, and the gifted person.  These gifts are not the same as natural talents, though they may include natural talents.  Their primary purpose is not to sanctify the person that has the gift but rather to bless others.  A charism is a gift that the Holy Spirit gives to others through you.  You benefit from having it, but it is not given to make you feel important, but to equip you for the ministry the God has for you. Pope Benedict XVI praised the communities of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal for restoring the "topicality" of charisms:

“Your current reflection on the centrality of Christ in preaching is very interesting as well as on the importance of "Charisms in the life of the particular Church", referring to Pauline theology, the New Testament and the experience of the Charismatic Renewal. What we learn in the New Testament on charism, which appeared as visible signs of the coming of the Holy Spirit, is not a historical event of the past, but a reality ever alive. It is the same divine Spirit, soul of the Church, that acts in every age and those mysterious and effective interventions of the Spirit are manifest in our time in a providential way. The Movements and New Communities are like an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Church and in contemporary society. We can, therefore, rightly say that one of the positive elements and aspects of the Community of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is precisely their emphasis on the charisms or gifts of the Holy Spirit and their merit lies in having recalled their topicality in the Church.” (Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to participants in a meeting organized by the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant)

Benchmarks for a Culture of Pentecost