I Have a Question - Fr. Hugh Barbour, O. Praem

J-J-J-Jive Talkin' or Jubilation?
Is speaking in tongues an authentic gift of the Holy Spirit? And other questions from our readers.

Q I recently attended a meeting of a charismatic renewal group. I had heard of the phenomenon of "speaking in tongues," but hadn't ever witnessed it. A friend explained that it is one of the "original gifts" given to the Church at the time of the Apostles, but that it had become uncommon until the new outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our times. What do you say?

A Well, it's not what I say that counts, but what Scripture and the Sacred Tradition of the Church say. I'll answer by following St. Paul's treatment of the "gift of tongues" in 1 Corinthians 14.

It has always been the constant and unquestioned teaching of both Scripture and Tradition that the gift of tongues is a miraculous charism, whereby the speaker prays to God or instructs the hearers in a language unknown to him, which he is able to speak by a special grace. If anyone is present who understands that language, either because he knows it naturally or has a special gift of interpretation akin to the gift of prophecy, then the gift of tongues edifies and instructs the hearers. If not, then the speaker speaks only to God in a manner more or less private, and of relatively little importance for the community.

St. Paul is quite clear in his preference for interpreted tongues over the uninterpreted variety, the importance of building up the Church being greater than that of building up the individual. In addition, the use of the gift in church is to be carried out in an orderly fashion. He particularly criticizes a situation in which those present all speak in tongues together. The Apostle describes this as "a command of the Lord."

St. Augustine teaches that in the first days of the Church, this gift was especially necessary in order for the gospel to be preached swiftly to all the nations of the world, in a manner which gave miraculous proof of the divine origin of the doctrine taught. He goes on to say that since now the Church really does speak all the languages of the world and is found in every land, the gift is less necessary. In the 32nd of his treatises on the Gospel of John, he adds, "Nowadays when the Holy Spirit has just been received, no one speaks in the languages of all the nations, since the Church already speaks the languages of all the nations, and if one is not in her, he does not receive the Holy Spirit."

St. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologiae, offers the same doctrine as St. Paul and St. Augustine, but he goes on further to infer from St. Augustine's words a connection between the practice of Christ and of the Church. Aquinas, the Church's officially proclaimed "Common Doctor," points out that Our Lord surely had the knowledge of all languages, but because He was sent to preach to only one nation, the Jews, He used only His "mother tongue." So too, the Church, which has the Holy Spirit, being now in every land and speaking all languages naturally, does not need to use this miraculous gift as much as she did previously.

Even so, the gift is still given. There are true examples of this gift in the lives of the saints. For example, St. Pachomius in the fourth century, St. Norbert in the 12th century, St. Anthony of Padua in the 13th century, St. Vincent Ferrer in the 14th century and St. Bernardine of Siena in the 15th century. I even know personally a priest who, while leading a pilgrimage at the monastery where Padre Pio lived in San Giovanni Rotondo in Italy, invoked Padre Pio and was able to hear confessions and give advice in English even before he learned English. This was a clear example of the gift used to "disclose the secrets of hearts," as St. Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 14:25.

What is often referred to as tongues today might be better described as ecstatic speaking — the expression of devout

emotion which cannot be put into words. Even so, it can have an orderly, practical artistic expression, like the long, protracted syllables in some Gregorian chants, or the beautiful ison or "droning" in Eastern Christian chant.

St. Augustine speaks of the "jubilation" which exceeds the bounds of words and set melody, like workers in the field who sing a kind of "fa-la-la." Indeed, this kind of musical passage is called a jubilus in Gregorian chant.

Any true spiritual renewal must involve a return to the profound depths of Catholic Tradition and to the sound tastes and preferences of the saints.

On a personal note, I was present at an international Charismatic gathering in Rome in 1984. One of the conference leaders, a famous writer and speaker in the renewal, vehemently encouraged all those present to speak in tongues right away and all at once. He said that every Christian has this gift and that "all you have to do is open your mouth" to do it. Not exactly the teaching of St. Paul.

At the end of the conference, there was a Papal Mass in St. Peter's, when the Holy Father preached to the assembly of priests involved in the Charismatic renewal. Hardly by chance, he spoke of St. John of the Cross' "Dark Night of the Soul," of the senses and of faith, not of emotional release or of special charisms. Although his hearers prayed and sang with various utterances after Holy Communion, he simply watched and listened with fatherly attention. His was the example and authoritative "word of knowledge and of wisdom."


Q The religion teacher at my Catholic high school says that Jesus didn't know in advance what was going to happen to Him, but could only predict in the same way anyone else could: by making a good guess based on how things were going. This is how he explained that Jesus told the apostles that He was going to Jerusalem to be crucified and then rise from the dead. He said this is what Scripture scholars and theologians teach nowadays. Isn't there something wrong with this?

A When Our Lord said, "I am the Truth," He meant it! It is the constant teaching of the Church that Our Lord, as both God and man, had the fullness of knowledge both of God and of created things.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 471-478) teaches quite clearly that, even as Our Lord had the natural knowledge of a man, which comes from the experience of the senses (CCC 472) and is, by its nature, limited, He also had the special knowledge of everything that pertained to His mission as the Savior (CCC 474), and the immediate knowledge of His Father (CCC 473).

Since He is the Savior of all men individually as well as collectively, He knew each one of us individually, and since there is nothing in the life of a person which does not have a bearing on his or her salvation, it is hard to think of anything about human activity and history He did not know during His life and His sufferings (CCC 478).

Since the immediate knowledge of God means "without any medium," Christ knew God as the blessed in heaven do, as He is in Himself, not by some image or created vehicle. This is true of Christ from the first moment of His conception in the womb of the Blessed Mother through His abandonment on the Cross.

In the encyclical letter Mystici Corporis, Pope Pius XII taught this plainly. And Pope John Paul II used the text that seems the most difficult to reconcile with this teaching to boldly reaffirm it. When giving his catechesis at the Wednesday audience of November 30, 1988, our Holy Father explained that Our Lord's words on the Cross, "My God, My God, why have you abandoned Me?" meant that even though Our Lord's emotional life and lower reason were stripped of all consolation, still, "at the height of His being, He had the clear vision of God."

Thus, it is grave error to teach that Christ was ignorant of His mission, or that He only understood it after His glorification. There are many different ways to explain and to prove this teaching in Catholic Tradition, but the teaching is clear. The argument that "no modern theologians or Scripture scholars" hold it, is a very untheological and worldly one. The answer is that no Fathers or Doctors of the Church, no saints, popes, or general councils teach anything else! Your teacher should actually learn Catholic theology before trying to make a living at "teaching" it, and in the process teaching error to young Christians, who need to know Who Christ really is.


Q At some of the Sunday Masses in our parish, we have Holy Communion under both species. When there is a great quantity of the Precious Blood remaining afterwards, the Eucharistic ministers pour it down the special sink in the sacristy. My pastor claims this is allowed. Can this be so? It seems so irreverent.

A No, it's not allowed at all. The bishops of the United States published an instruction on Communion under both kinds called, This Holy and Living Sacrifice. It can be obtained from any Catholic supply house, or from the bishops' NCCB publications office directly.

This instruction states that even if the sacred vessels are to be purified after Mass, the Precious Blood must all be consumed before the final "prayer after Communion," either by the priest, other ministers or by members of the faithful, if help is needed because of the great quantity. The bishops further state that under no circumstance is the Precious Blood to be poured down the sacrarium or sacristy sink. This would be a serious irreverence toward the Blessed Sacrament.

Your pastor is the custodian of the Blessed Sacrament for his people, and his ignorance is inexcusable. Every priest should take the time to read the liturgical instructions officially given by Church authority.

What is more tragic, though, is that it is not immediately obvious to him or to any other Catholic who observes this that such a practice is contrary to our faith in, and love for, the substantial Presence of the Lord under the sacramental signs. Here is evidence of a very weak or non-existent faith. Unfortunately, this practice must be occurring with some regularity, or the bishops would not have to point it out so emphatically.

Undoubtedly, this is one of the things which made Our Lord sweat the same Precious Blood in the Garden of Olives. The Christian soul is inspired to make acts of loving reparation, such as the one offered by the angel at Fatima: "O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I offer You the precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for all the outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences by which He is offended, and by the infinite merits of His Sacred Heart, and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners."

Anyone, priest or faithful, who thinks I am making too much of this should go before the Blessed Sacrament and pray, "Lord, increase my faith." Let's forget about what other pastors or parishes may be doing, forget human respect and laziness, and honor the Lord!


Q In our new parish church, there are no plans for putting in kneelers. I asked about this at a parish meeting when we were encouraged to come with suggestions and questions about the new church. The pastor explained that kneeling is not the ancient custom of the Church, and that it is a sign of penance, and is thus usually inappropriate for celebrations of the Eucharist. He said we should just be kneeling on special occasions, like during the opening penitential rite during Lent. Recently we were asked to stand during the consecration. What's going on? Am I mistaken to be concerned? I know it's just an external thing.

A In Acts 9:40, St. Peter kneels down and prays before raising Tabitha from the dead. In Acts 20:36, St. Paul kneels down to pray with the elders of the church of Ephesus before leaving them. In Acts 21:5, St. Paul and the others kneel down on the beach and pray at Tyre. Our Lord kneels to pray in the Garden of Olives in Luke 22:41. Daniel kneels to pray in Daniel 6:10, and Solomon kneels to pray in the temple in 2 Chronicles 6:13.

The tradition of kneeling in the Church comes from the example of the Lord and of the Apostles and prophets. In most of these scriptural contexts, the prayer is not penitential in nature.

The first ecumenical council of Nicea forbade kneeling during the Easter season, which of course meant that the faithful knelt at other times of the year. Even to this day, on Pentecost Sunday in the Byzantine rite, the priest leads the people in the "kneeling prayers," to begin again the practice of kneeling at the end of Eastertide. In the current Roman Rite, the faithful are directed to kneel at the consecration of the Mass if it is possible to do so (General Instruction of the Roman Missal #21). The Latin rite bishops of the United States amended this norm to kneeling after the Sanctus of the Mass until after the Amen of the Eucharistic prayer. This norm has not been changed, but has been recently re-affirmed by the bishops.

During the liturgical year, the faithful are also directed to kneel during the creed at the profession of the incarnation, on both Christmas day and the feast of the Annunciation of the Lord (they are to bow at this point in the creed at other Masses during the year, something widely unobserved). The faithful are to kneel on Palm Sunday and Good Friday at the point of the Gospel when Our Lord expires on the Cross. At ordinations, the faithful are to kneel during the singing of the litany of the Saints.

There are other places where the faithful can kneel, but do not have to, according to the liturgical decisions made locally. For example, when receiving Holy Communion, at the incensation and procession of the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday, and at the general intercessions on Good Friday. These norms should be observed. If individuals have their own theories about kneeling, they should not impose them on those who simply desire to observe the current norms.

It is true that there is no general liturgical norm requiring kneelers in churches, but in any case, Christians knelt for centuries, and still do in many places, without special kneelers as church furniture. So even if there aren't any kneelers, you are still able to kneel at the appropriate times in most churches. We can offer up the inconvenience, and overcome human respect at the same time if we just kneel anyway (though only at the proper times, and without troubling anyone else).

And finally, let's remember that the Church's liturgy of the hours begins each day, and has for centuries, with the words of Psalm 95: "Come in, let us bow and bend low; let us kneel before the God who made us."


Send your questions to Fr. Hugh Barbour, O.Praem. at: "I Have a Question," St. Michael's Abbey, 19292 El Toro Road, Silverado, CA 92676. Or e-mail them to Fr. Hugh at phoshilaron@yahoo.com.