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2022-08-14 Sermon at Seoul for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost: charisma

My dear brethren,

Today in the epistle, St Paul exposes the diversity of the gifts of the God. First, he sets the principle that all good actions come from God, and only good actions can come from God: “I give you to understand, that no man, speaking by the Spirit of God, saith Anathema to Jesus. And no man can say ‘Jesus is the Lord’, but by the Holy Ghost” (1 Cor. 12:3). He says that by contrast to what the Corinthians did before their conversion, when they “went to dumb idols”: such evil actions do not come from God. So, one can “discern the spirits” by looking objectively whether the action is good or bad. Following this teaching, the Church in her discernment of the causes of the Saints looks at their actions, and from the objective goodness of their actions, that is, from the conformity of their actions with the Law of God and examples of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church concludes that they “were led by the Spirit of God” (Rom. 8:14).

Note that never, absolutely never, does the Church tell us to listen to the devil, under the pretext that, under the command of an exorcist, he would say the truth. On the contrary, even if he does say the truth, the Church commands him to be silent and to go away, as our Lord Himself did in the Holy Gospel (Lk. 4:34-35). Indeed, the Church knows how cunning the Devil is, and how often he hides his poison of error in the midst of some pleasing truths.

Then in the Epistle, St Paul distinguishes three kinds of good deeds coming from God: “Now there are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit; and there are diversities of ministries, but the same Lord; and there are diversities of operations, but the same God, who worketh all in all” (1 Cor. 12:4-6). He attributes to the Holy Ghost the graces such as charismas as he will develop afterwards but also sanctifying grace and infused virtues and the Seven Gifts; he attributes to our Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, the ministries, such as the different works of the hierarchy ministering at the Altar, but also the charitable ministries to the poor, the sick, the ignorant. Lastly, he attributes to God the Father the operations, such as when everyone fulfils his own duties. His point is that no matter the difference of works, offices and graces, there should be perfect unity among all of us, as there is One true God in Three Persons: the perfect unity of the Holy Trinity is the model and pattern for the perfect unity that must reign among all the members of the Church.

There were dissensions and divisions in Corinth, which St Paul had denounced from the very beginning of his epistle. He wrote at the very first chapter: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you; but that you be perfect in the same mind, and in the same judgment. For it hath been signified unto me, my brethren, of you, by them that are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you” (1 Cor. 1:10-11). In particular, out of pride, some preferred the more showy charisma, such as the speaking in tongues, rather than humble charity.

“To be perfect in the same mind, and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10): That expression has been enshrined by the First Vatican Council to affirm that we should keep the Faith of all times, having today “same mind and same judgement” as the Fathers of the Church, avoiding novelties of all kinds. Unity in the one true unchangeable Faith is the very foundation of the unity of the Church.

Then in today’s epistle St Paul describes the charisma. One needs to know that there are two kinds of gifts of the Holy Ghost: gifts given directly for the sanctification of the person who receives it (and through his good example for the sanctification of others), and gifts given for the edification of others and of the whole church, though they can also profit for the person who has them. The first gifts are all connected with sanctifying grace, with all the virtues that flow from it, Faith, Hope, Charity and all the infused moral virtues and the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost and ultimately the twelve fruits of the Holy Ghost, which I have already described in other sermons. These are for the sanctification of the person who receives them, conforming him to our Lord Jesus Christ and binding him with God by “charity, which is the bond of perfection” (Col. 3:14). By way of consequence, they also profit others who are edified by the practice of these virtues. These are the gifts that make saints. But often, these gifts are hidden to others, and that itself is good because it keeps the person who has them more humble.

The Charisma are the gifts given to edify the whole Church (1 Cor. 12:7), mainly by the preaching of the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ and the confirming of His words by signs and wonders. St Paul describes them today. The first three gifts are directly for the predication of the Word: “To one indeed, by the Spirit, is given the word of wisdom: and to another, the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; To another, faith in the same spirit; to another, the grace of healing in one Spirit;” (1 Cor. 12:8-9). The “word of wisdom” is the ability to expose the high principles of the Catholic Faith: for instance St Athanasius preaching the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the very foundation of all the Catholic Doctrine. The “word of knowledge” is the extensive and deep knowledge that we find in the Doctors of the Church. The “faith” which St Paul describes here is, according to St Thomas Aquinas, such a “supereminent certitude of Faith” while preaching that is communicates to the hearers, wonderfully strengthening them in the Faith. This was the typical charisma of Archbishop Lefebvre: his predication was simple, as to the African tribesmen among whom he had started his work of preaching, but it was so solid and strengthening his hearers very much.

Then comes the gifts to confirm the preaching by wonders: “to another, the grace of healing in one Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the discerning of spirits; to another, diverse kinds of tongues; to another, interpretation of speeches” (1 Cor. 12:9-10). Here “healings” are miracles that profit the receivers, such as the many healings in Lourdes; “miracles” are wonders that impress the witnesses, such as the miracle of Fatima, without necessarily healing the bodies. “Prophecy” means to announce the future; “discerning of spirits” means the reading of the secrets of the hearts. “Diverse kinds of tongues” means those speaking in foreign tongues; “interpretation of tongues” means those able to translate these foreign tongues.

 

You need to know that though there were many such miracles and wonders at the beginning of the Church, by the time of St Augustine, end of the fourth century, they had become quite rare, so rare in fact that he thought they had completely stopped. He explained that they were useful at the beginning of the Church to solidly establish the Church and the Faith on God’s testimony, but once established there were much less needed. He corrected himself when he saw the many miracles done on the triumphant path of the relics of St Stephen who had been shortly before him found in the Holy Land and went on through major cities around the Mediterranean sea, including Carthage.

In fact throughout the history of the Church, there were some miracles here or there, relatively few in numbers, but given as per the Providence of God according to the needs of every century. To mention some closer to us, the very examination of the Holy Shroud in 1978 in Turin manifested that there is a (wonderful) image on the Shroud, but we do not know how it came to be there. Even with today’s technology we would be incapable of making such image! So, we can say truly that this is a miraculous image: though it was made about 2000 years ago, its miraculous nature has been exposed in recent years. There is no other similar cloth in the whole world.

And St Paul concludes: “But all these things one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will” (1 Cor. 12:11). It is a conclusion on unity, which St Paul continues in his epistle: “For as the body is one, and hath many members; and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body, so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:12-13). Then he exposes that there is a better thing than all these charisma, and this is charity: and he develops this in the beautiful chapter 13 of that epistle, which we have every year on Quinquagesima Sunday.

 

Then in chapter 14, he comes back on the charisma, and shows that the speaking in tongues is of a lesser value than the others, especially prophecy, and should not be permitted unless there is someone to interpret. Note that this is one reason for which we promote you having a translation of the Latin missal, so that you may profit more from the beautiful traditional prayers of the Church. Latin is useful to keep the integrity and sacredness of the prayers, but you need to understand them too, hence you need a translation in your hands. This also shows that the modern charismatics are not inspired by the same Holy Spirit, because they give too much importance to that one charisma, and they use it against the very rule of St Paul, requiring an interpreter. Moreover, what is said among them is often not in conformity with the Faith of all times, not “in the same mind, and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10) as St Paul had said at the beginning of this epistle. So, this is not the same Spirit, it is not the “Holy” Spirit that inspires them, but rather an unholy spirit, spirits of darkness and deceits.

 

The great lesson to draw from this epistle is the care of unity in the Church, based on the Faith of the Apostles, the Faith of all times to which the many healings and miracles done by the Apostles and the Saints at the beginning of the Church gave an unshakable foundation. Though our modern world is very proud of its science, we should rather develop the virtue of humility as our Lord teaches in today’s Gospel, especially because of the great sinfulness of our times. Fidelity to the Faith of all times goes with humility and provide the secure way to Heaven.

May our Lady, Guardian of the Faith, and all the Saints help us to be docile to the Holy Ghost, humble and faithful so that we may go to heaven! Amen.

Father François Laisney