Answered by Legionary of Christ
Father Edward McNamara, professor of
liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum
university.
Q: What is allowed
for regarding the (so-called)
"speaking in tongues" during a
Charismatic Mass? And what exactly
is an acceptable type of such Mass?
A:
There are practically no universal
guidelines on this subject,
except of course the general norms
that prohibit adding anything
whatsoever to officially prescribed
texts.
It must be noted that the Brazilian
bishops have a
generally positive view of the
Charismatic Renewal, and a
significant number participate in
charismatic Masses. The
renewal is considered as being
especially attuned and appealing to
a wide swath of Brazilian society
and is
credited as helping to stem the
hemorrhaging of Catholics toward
Pentecostal sects.
"In the celebration of Holy Mass
the words of
the institution must not be stressed
in an inadequate fashion. Nor must
the Eucharistic Prayer be
interrupted by moments of praise for
Christ's Eucharistic presence by
means of applause, cheers,
processions, hymns of Eucharistic
praise or any other manifestations
that exalt in this way the Real
Presence and end up emptying out the
various dimensions of the
Eucharistic celebration."
When referring to speaking in
tongues (No. 62), the document
offers the following clarifications:
"Speaking or praying in tongues:
The
object or destination of praying in
tongues is God himself, being the
attitude of a person absorbed in a
particular conversation with God.
The object or destination of
speaking in tongues is the
community. The
Apostle Paul teaches, 'When I am in
the presence of the community I
would rather say five words that
mean something than ten thousand
words in a tongue' (1 Corinthians
14:19). Since in practice
it is
difficult to distinguish between the
inspirations of the Holy Spirit and
the instigations of the group
leader, there should never be a call
encouraging praying in tongues, and
speaking in tongues should not take
place unless there is also an
interpreter."
