Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, crying out
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst, “and “God has visited his people.” (Luke 7:16)
What is a prophet, in the Catholic tradition? A prophet is one who speaks for God, and in doing so, communicates God's message to men. This message could refer to the past, the present, or the future. A prophet is NOT necessarily one who predicts the future, as is commonly thought to be the case when prophets are mentioned today. Prophecy can indeed speak to the future, but it can also speak to the past and present.
The people in today's Gospel were obviously influenced by the miracle that Jesus just performed. They thought that He was definitely a man who knew God, so they called Him a prophet. While that was not necessarily wrong, it was incomplete if that is all they thought He was. He was that, but as we know, He was and is a lot more; the Second Person of the Trinity, Son of God, Lord, Savior and Redeemer.
Prophecy is one of the charisms of the Holy Spirit that are illuminated in 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
A charism is a power given a believer by the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church, the good of men, and to the needs of the world (see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, p.799)
The nine charisms of the Holy Spirit are different from the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit that I spoke of in an earlier post. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to every baptized person, and are primarily for the good of that individual. The charisms, on the other hand, are given to some individuals as a grace from God not just for that person, but more importantly, for the Church. Some people may receive more than one charism, some one, and some none at all (although I believe everyone can receive at least one.)
Here is a list of the nine charisms, based on the Scripture passage above.
1) Word of wisdom a supernatural insight which reveals God's timing and method of ministry in given situation; it can explain a given revelation of one of the other eight charisms
2) Word of knowledge a supernatural revelation of facts past, present, or future which we did not learn through the efforts of the natural mind
3) Faith a supernatural outpouring or anointing of the Holy Spirit which enables us to confidently believe without a doubt that something spoken or undertaken in Jesus' name will be accomplished (distinct from the theological virtue of faith, which refers more to belief in what God has revealed in general, this charism, rather, is a belief in a specific instance when someone speaks or acts in Jesus' name)
4) Gifts of healing supernatural outpouring of God's power which results in the healing and sickness and disease without the use of medical means
5) Working of miracles interventions into the course of events which seem to contradict the so-called laws of nature
6) Prophecy a supernatural communication from God to an individual or a group of believers
7) Discernment of spirits a supernatural ability to recognize whether a person or situation is being motivated by the Holy Spirit, their human spirit, an evil spirit, or a combination of these spirits
8) Tongues a spontaneous, inspired utterance by the Holy Spirit in which we use our voice according to the Spirit's prompting (contrary to popular belief, it does not necessarily mean speaking in an unrecognizable voice, it could be speaking in any language God desires )
9) Interpretation of tongues a prophetic message given in response to God's signal of "speaking in tongues" ; this is distinct from tongues, as this is the interpretation that needs to follow the praying in tongues.
A lot more can and needs to be said about each of these charisms, and perhaps future posts will get into at least some of them in more detail. However, this gives us a brief introduction to them. I bet for a lot of readers of this blog, these charisms may seem a little "out there". However, there is no need to be afraid of any of them, as they all come from the same God who gives us all the theological virtues, as well as the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are for the building up of Christ's Mystical Body, which is the Church, and for the good of all mankind. Let us pray, if it be God's will, that we can receive one or more of them, and combined with the gifts of the same Holy Spirit, and the theological virtues, may we do the works of grace, and may men and women look at us, and like Our Lord, believe we are men and women of God, and come to know Him through us.
The Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit (see paragraph 797 in the Catechism). The Church, therefore, has the authority and responsibility to discern and confirm these charisms. Joseph is the protector of the Church. Therefore, we need to pray to him so that the Church can continue to discern and confirm the existence and power of these charisms for the good of the people of God.
Saint Joseph, Protector of Holy Church, pray for us.
Great Inputs. It has all that I was searching for. Praise God.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words!
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