Perhaps it is better to refer to "
mainline"
Christian Charismatics/
pentecostalists as
liturgical Charismatics. I consider an awareness of ritual and
hierarchial division one of the most noticable differences between
fundamentalist/
evangelical/
Pentecostal charismatic practices and the integration of some pentecostalism in more ritualized Christianity. While my own personal experiences with ritualized pentecostalism are
Roman Catholic in nature, I propose that many elements of
RC pentecostalism apply to mainline Protestants as well. The following points bring up some of the more interesting aspects I have observed in Catholic charismatic practice.
One of the major criticisms that a few "
conservative"
Catholics lob at the "
Catholic Charismatic Renewal" is corruption of liturgy and
sacramentalism, concepts at the center of
Catholicism. While
speaking in tongues, known as "
glossolalia", or the "
Baptism of the Holy Spirit" may be construed as
nonliturgical, most often these actions are performed before or after the
Mass. Looking at Baptism of the Holy Spirit, I have noticed that the
laying on of hands during which prayer and invocation of the
Holy Spirit are bestowed on a worshipper is almost always tied to a formal and
licit liturgical action. True,
lay men and women are permitted in many circumstances to
bless as well as
priests. It seems infrequent for Catholic charismatics to bless people outside of a church setting. I say
infrequent since I have been blessed by a layman on a religious pilgrimage in
Bosnia while staying in a
pension; the experience of
aliturgical blessing may be contingent on individual communities.
The only other notable question concerning liturgical pentecostalism is "charismatic
personality cults." In my opinion, I have seen instances where believers have been seemingly entranced by priests or lay
preachers who develop a sanctified aura around them outside of the Mass or the functions of
sacerdotal vocation. These preachers or
clerics may or may not personally foster this attitude, and it is not my position to judge personal beliefs. Yet there appears to be a tendency to believe that since a person has exceptional
homiletic skills or gains a reputation for healing mental/physical afflictions, he or she contains a certain
charism of the Holy Spirit that is somehow individual to that particular person and not something which is obtainable by all believers. Perhaps I am being cynical, but in my experience this isolation of "star" preachers can lead to quasi-exhaltation of people as being spiritually more endowed than others.