Charismatic Catholics want more from church

[rug]

7:03 a.m. EDT July 18, 2014
Heidi Hall, The Tennessean, Nashville

NASHVILLE — They gathered in the little chapel at St. Ignatius of Antioch, lit by stained-glass abstracts capturing the setting sun, ready to experience something outside the bounds of Mass.

Some strummed guitars; others grabbed maracas and tambourines from a basket and joined in; still others quietly paged through Bibles brought from home. After each song came shouts of "We praise you! We glorify your holy name!" One man dropped to his knees, palms facing upward, whispering "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" over and over.

None of that would look unusual in Middle Tennessee's Pentecostal-leaning congregations, but these charismatics are challenging the notion of Catholicism as a buttoned-up faith. They're also claiming a powerful ally in Pope Francis, who in interviews and speeches has joked that he first regarded the animated charismatics as "samba school" students but now endorses them as a great force — possibly because Pentecostal denominations are converting millions of South American Catholics.

In the Nashville area, charismatics have been meeting for decades. There are regular prayer meetings at St. Ignatius plus St. Luke in Smyrna and Our Lady of the Lake in Hendersonville. And today, more than 200 will gather for a regional conference at St. Ignatius.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/18/charismatic-catholics-want-more-from-church/12814669/

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

1. There is a Catholic Charismatic group in Chicago

I once went to one of their masses, and I was reminded very much of the time I attended a service at a Baptist church in rural Georgia (I must say that the preacher's comment, "You're the first white man to worship here who wasn't running for office" has stuck with me).

They have a website at http://chicagorenewal.org/

[rug]

2. Thanks for that link.

I really have no experience with Charismatics or Charismatic Catholicism. Consequently, I have only a superficial, and unpleasant, impression of it. I may seek out one of their services around her and check my bias.