Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 3.djvu/652

 CHARISMATA

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CHARISMATA

men, who shall be fit to teach others also" (II Tim., ii, 2). Such faithful men are the catechists in mis- sionary countries.

(5) The word of wisdom and the word of knowledge (X6701 ffo0/cts, X670S yviiaem). Wisdom (stipientin) is in St. Paul the knowledge of the great Christian mysteries: the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrec- tion of Christ, and the indwelling in the believer of the Spirit of God (I Cor., ii, passim; cf. Eph., i, 17). Knowledge (yvuxris, seientiu) likewise implies ac- quaintance with the religion of Christ, though in a lesser degree (I Cor., i, 5). In I Cor., viii, 1-7, "knowledge" denotes the special knowledge that all heathen religion is vain, that "there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we unto him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him". The word of wisdom and the word of knowledge seem to be degrees of the same charisma, viz., the grace of propounding the Faith effectively, of bringing home to the minds and hearts of the listener with Divine persuasiveness, the hidden mysteries and the moral precepts of Christianity. The charisma in question was manifested in the speech of St. Peter to the multitude on the day of Pentecost (Acts, ii) and on many occasions when the heralds of the Faith being delivered up, took "no thought how or what to speak", for it was given them "in that hour what to speak" (Matt., x, 19).

(6) Helps (di-TiX^fcis, opitulationes). — A charisma connected with the service of the poor and the sick performed by the deacons and deaconesses (Acts, vi, 1). The plural is used to mark the many forms assumed by this ministry.

(7) Government (Kvpepvi)cm.s, gubernatlones) . — -The special gifts bestowed on the rulers of the Church for the faithful exercise of their authority. This charisma is connected with all the grades of the hierarchy, with the Apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests, with doctors and deacons and administrators. St. Gregory calls the govern- ment of souls the art of arts; if it is so at all times, we must expect to find it endued with more special Divine assistance when the nascent Church was struggling against all the powers of Jew and Gentile.

The second series of charismata (those tending to promote the outer development of the Church) is not connected with any special office. These graces show the power of God at work in the members of the new Church; they were intended to strengthen the faith of believers and to dispel the incredulity of out- siders.

(8) Faith, as a charisma, is that strong faith which removes mountains, casts out devils (Matt., xvii, 19, 20), and faces the most cruel martyrdom without flinching. Such faith, common at the be- ginning, has been granted by God in all ages to saints and martyrs, and to many holy men and women whose hidden lives offered no occasion for miracles or martyrdom.

(9) The working of miracles (Ivtpyrma. Swdfieuiv, operatio virtutum) is the God-given power to perform deeds beyond the ordinary power of man. Under this charisma are comprised the many signs men- tioned by Mark (xvi, 17, 18): "In my name they shall cast out devils: they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay their hands upon the sick, anil they shall recover". St. Peter heals the infirm and sick and such as were troubled with unclean spirits (Acts, v, 15, 16); Philip works miracles in Samaria (Acts, viii, 6); St. Paul suffers no harm from tin- viper that hung on his hand (Acts, xxviii. 3-5); St. Peter raises Tabitha from the .lead (Acts, i\, 40).

(10) Healing (x^pLapa. laparuv, (/rut in snnitatum) is singled out by St. Paul among other miracles because it was probably the most frequent and the

most striking. The plural is used to indicate the great number of infirmities that were healed and the variety of means used in the healing, e. g. by pro- nouncing the name of Jesus (Acts, iii, 6), by the imposition of hands, by anointing with oil, by the sign of the cross.

(11) The gift of tongues and (12) the interpretation of tongues are described at length in I Cor., xiv. In what did glossolalia exactly consist? — (a) It was speaking, opposed to being silent (I Cor., xiv, 28), yet (b) not always in a foreign tongue. On the day of Pentecost the Apostles did indeed speak the various languages of their hearers, but the still unbaptized Gentiles in the house of Cornelius "speak- ing with tongues, and magnifying God" (Acts, x, 46) and the twelve newly baptized Ephesians speaking with tongues and prophesying (Acts, xix, 6) had no reason for using any strange tongue. Again, instead of the expression "speaking with tongues" Paul uses the alternative phrases, "speaking in a tongue", "by a tongue", "with a tongue" (I Cor., xiv, 2, 4, 13, 14, 27). The object of the gift was not to convey ideas to listeners, but to speak to God in prayer (ibid., 2, 4), an object for which a foreign language is unnecessary. Lastly — and this argument seems conclusive — Paul compares glossolalia, as regards its effect, with talk- ing in an unknown language: it is, therefore, not itself an unknown language (ibid., 11). (c) It was an articulate language, for the speaker prays, sings, gives thanks (ibid., 14-17). (d) The speaker was in a kind of trance — "If I pray in a tongue, my spirit [xwO/ta] prayeth, but my understanding [w>0s, mens] is without fruit " (ibid., 14). (e) On unbelievers glossolalia made the impression of the marvellous; perhaps it recalled to their mind the religious ravings of hierophants: "Wherefore (i. e. because unintelli- gible) tongues are for a sign, not to believers, but to

unbelievers. If all speak with tongues, and

there come in unlearned persons or infidels, will they not say that you are mad?" (I Cor., xiv, 22, 23). (f) The gift of tongues is inferior to that of prophecy: "Greater is he that prophesieth, than he that speaketh with tongues: unless perhaps he interpret, that the church may receive edification" (ibid., 5). (g) The charisma of interpretation is, then, the necessary complement of glossolalia; when interpretation is not forthcoming, the speaker with tongues shall hold his peace (ibid., 13, 27, 28). Interpretation is the work either of the speaker himself or of another (ibid., 27). It takes the form of an intelligible address; the ex- planation was to follow the speech with tongues as regularly as the discerning of spirits succeeded prophecy (I Cor., xiv, 28, 29).

Among the Fathers it is sententia communissima that the speaking with tongues was a speaking in foreign languages. Their interpretation is based upon the promise in Mark, xvi, 17, "They shall speak with new tongues", and on its final fulfilment in the gift of tongues to the Apostles (Acts, ii, 4). A new tongue, however, is not necessarily a foreign language, and a gift which had a special use on the day of Pentecost appears purposeless in meetings of people of one language. There are, besides, textual objections to the common opinion, although, it must be owned, not quite convincing [cf. (b) above]. Many explanations of this obscure charisma are pro- posed, but not one of them is free from objection. It may indeed be that there is some truth in all of them. St. Paul speaks of "kinds of tongues", which may imply that glossolalia manifested itself in many forms: e. "g. in the form of foreign languages when reqviired by circumstances, as with the Apostles; as a new language — "a kind of speech distinctive of the spiritual life and distinguished from common speech, which to the exuberant feeling of the new faith ap- peared unsuitable for intercourse with God" (Weiz- sacker); or as the manifestation of the unspeakable