TOS011 Charism of Tongues (Part 1) ; for Audio
Extraordinary Gifts of Grace Series
Described by St. Paul as the least of the gifts, this unusual gift is very helpful for all Christians. This episode will answer many of your questions about the charism of Tongues and help you to receive this gift of the Holy Spirit.
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Welcome to Truth of the Spirit. I’m Patti Brunner.
Today I begin a series on some of the extraordinary gifts of grace called “Charisms” that are available to us through the power and love of the most Holy Spirit.
Some years ago when our daughter made plans to attend Franciscan University at Steubenville, the graduate school contacted her and told her they had an unusual scholarship available to someone from Arkansas in her field of study. When we asked, “How do we apply?” They responded, “You need only accept it and be willing to write a note of appreciation to the donor if you choose to accept it.” Well, yeah!
That’s the way the Holy Spirit gives his gifts. The Gifts of the Spirit are already yours because you have the Giver of all gifts within you—the Holy Spirit: Given at Baptism, sealed at Confirmation and renewed in Eucharist. All you have to do is accept. The hesitation is in the receiving—not the giving.
Paul tells us in 1Corinthians 14:1a “Pursue love, but strive eagerly for the spiritual gifts”.
“Strive eagerly”: In other words, make every effort willingly, do your utmost with enthusiasm! NAB
Throughout history, the kingdom of God has had many ebbs and flows in accepting the fullness of the grace of God. When the people turn to God in their great need He raises up a saint, usually a former sinner because they have the greatest compassion, to reach out to others in His name with full authority of spiritual gifts and power. The “miracles” required for sainthood give witness to this. That does not mean that only particular saints can receive the gifts of power; no, all His children could step into the role of any saint in history but for the free-will and choosing to live for self rather than for others and God.
If you are familiar with the Acts of the Apostles, you know it was the manifestation of gifts that proved that followers of Jesus had received the Holy Spirit. Gifts of the Holy Spirit are basically gifts of grace. When the fullness of the Spirit is stirred up within our lives we call it “Baptism in the Spirit”. I shared about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in my recent podcasts.
Why shouldn’t you accept the Holy Spirit’s gifts? The Holy Spirit gives gifts of grace so that we can love Jesus and share that love with others. The gifts can be used in our everyday life. God wants us to use them to enrich our lives and to help friends and members of our family. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will choose a person to share His gifts in a special ministry. The Holy Spirit anoints that ministry with His grace. The Gifts of the Spirit are yours. God gives them freely. The hesitation to receive is yours.
Why not pray this way? Heavenly Father, I thank you for all you have given me. Help me to accept your gifts more fully. Open my heart and mind to accept gifts of love, of Word, of communion, of power, of mystery. Help me to acknowledge receipt of your gifts and manifest in me your Presence and fullness.
On today’s episode we’ll tackle that gift of the Holy Spirit that seems to scare people because it is so out of the ordinary and unusual: the charism of Tongues. Perhaps you know nothing or very little about this gift of tongues.
The first time I came across this gift, I was given a book to read that really wasn’t helpful. And I wrote it off and with it rejected the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Years later, when a few of the other gifts of the Holy Spirit started manifesting in my life, I looked for answers. When I was led to a small charismatic prayer group I found mentors to teach me and show me the truth of the Spirit. I read every Catholic educational resource my new friends suggested. I learned that I could ask for the gift of Tongues. How could that be possible! I read a book, “Why Speak in other Tongues?” by Dennis Holt and looked up the scriptures he referenced and, realizing I could ask—I did ask, and, ‘Lo and behold!’ I received the gift of Tongues.
Let me answer some questions you might have. Do people really pray in tongues? Yes. The 120 disciples started it off; that included the Apostles, Mary, and other followers of Jesus who were in the upper room at Pentecost, and they were the first to receive this gift. (Acts 1:14-2:4). The Gift of Tongues is referred to 35 times in the New Testament. Since Pentecost, history records many other people who have received this gift including saints and recent popes. Today many Christians have accepted this gift from the Holy Spirit. The Church has called it “Glossolalia” from the Latin word for “singing difficult words”.
Just what is “Tongues” or a “prayer language”? Prayer language is a way of allowing the Holy Spirit to pray to God, our Father, using our voices but His words. We make sounds, but the Holy Spirit chooses what is said or sung in prayer. A prayer language is one aspect of the Gift of Tongues (Acts 10:45-46). When praying in tongues it usually sounds as if the person is speaking a foreign language. Using our prayer language involves a surrender of our voices to God in praise and prayer.
One time I was praying and praising in tongues and I sensed that I was whispering into the ear of Jesus. As I continued to whisper to Jesus I realized I was speaking the words of the Father to Jesus via the Holy Spirit! As the words entered Jesus they ministered to the Body of Christ! I was overcome as the Father’s words then entered my body as part of the Body of Christ. It was an amazing experience!
The gift of Tongues is not the most important gift. We know that because Paul tells us that. But it certainly seems to be the strangest. In 1st Corinthians Chapter 14, verse 18, Paul proclaims, “I give thanks to God that I speak in tongues more than any of you.” NAB Well it’s not most important but it certainly is important. Otherwise Paul wouldn’t be praying in tongues all the time! In Ephesians 6:18 St. Paul tells us to pray in the Spirit always: “With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.” NAB and yet Paul calls this the least of the gifts. That may be why this gift is often the first to be received by a person newly “baptized in the Spirit”. Paul tells us that the gift of prophecy is greater.
At times, the Holy Spirit will allow the person who hears Tongues to understand the prayer language for their own good or to share the words with others. This is called Interpretation of Tongues. Scriptures say in the Acts of the Apostles as the disciples received the gifts of the Holy Spirit there was a sound that came when the Spirit came. And the scripture says: “Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.” NAB So, immediately after the disciples received their gift of Tongues this ministry of Interpretation of Tongues came into effect because the large crowd could understand what they were saying.
This Language Gift of Tongues is not only for the Early Church. Saint Francis Solano who was born in 1549 served as a Franciscan missionary in South America. It is said that he had the gift of tongues, often addressing tribes of different tongues in one language and being understood. Once at Patriarch House we had Spanish-speaking people, who could barely understand English, come who then understand clearly every word of a speaker who taught in English about the Holy Spirit.
Why should you and I use the Gift of Tongues, if you and I are not around foreign speaking people? The Catechism of Catholic Church paragraph #741 quotes Romans 8:26 saying: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” [the Catechism says] The Holy Spirit, the artisan of God’s works, is the master of prayer.”
Jesus promises that if we ask we will receive. And the best gift that God the Father can give is the Holy Spirit. God gave us the Holy Spirit to be our helper. The Holy Spirit helps us to pray for what we need not just for what we want. We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us when we don’t know how to pray for something or someone. It is perfect prayer and in it many weaknesses are overcome in us. It allows us to pray the best prayer possible for ourselves and for others. By surrendering our prayer to the Holy Spirit, we show God that we trust Him and give our free will to Him. We know we are praying the perfect prayer because the Holy Spirit provides the words. It opens us more fully to God.
Using the “Gift of Tongues” our “Prayer Language” overcomes pride because I must humble myself to surrender to the Holy Spirit. I use freewill to give up my own words to speak the Lord’s words. I set my own desires aside to pray God’s will not my will.
Tongues overcome the Doubt of how to pray for a certain situation. We can immediately pray God’s perfect will for a situation. Often God also gives words of knowledge and wisdom to edify the person for whom we pray. Tongues overcome the Doubt of receiving God’s gift of grace. This gift is so unusual that it clearly is a charism, “a special gift of grace”. Praying in Tongues overcomes Lack of faith because it takes a leap of faith to believe that God is willing to give this gift to me if I ask for it.
Using “Prayer Language” establishes the truth of the scripture. New Testament scripture often refers to praying in “a tongue”, “other tongues”, “angelic tongues”, praying “in the Spirit”. It focuses on the Lord’s will; we cannot be discussing anything but the Lord’s will when we pray in tongues. Perfect prayer is offered that might be unpleasant to our limited understanding.
Using the Gift of Tongues establishes connection with the Holy Spirit. All prayer is communication to the Lord. In using our prayer language, the Holy Spirit joins intimately with us providing the words as we give the sound. It establishes our Surrender of self. As often as we pray in the Spirit we surrender our freewill to the Lord.
Praying in “Tongues” heals on a spiritual level. Direct contact with the Holy Spirit heals layers of our hearts. It instructs the heart. The gift of understanding is magnified. Other charisms develop. It provides perfect praise. We praise God using the words the Holy Spirit supplies. We can even sing melodies provided by the Holy Spirit.
Who can receive the gifts of the Spirit? Remember, Gifts of the Spirit are graces from God. God’s graces are available in abundance to all who open their hearts to receive them. God is pouring His grace upon us constantly. As we allow God to help us remove barriers we receive manifestations of His love.
How do I ask for the Holy Spirit’s gifts? Just ask! Surrender yourself to God and accept His grace. Remember that the Holy Spirit wants us to use these gifts to share Jesus’ love with others. There are prayers for dedicating our life to Jesus and asking for the help of the Holy Spirit available in various publications. I have a book called “Fresh Anointing” on my website Patriarchministries.com that explains some of the ways we can use God’s gifts. Ask for all of God’s gifts. It is not necessary to limit God to a particular gift until you are ready for more. God knows what is best for you and will manifest His grace in you in perfect order. The important things are to desire His gifts, to be willing to accept His gifts, and to open our hearts fully to the Lord. His grace makes the rest easy.
How do I receive the Gift of Tongues? Having the desire to receive this gift is necessary. God will not give you something you don’t really want. The first step in receiving a gift of the Holy Spirit is to accept Jesus as Lord of your life. At our baptism, our parents and godparents did this for us. Since we now use our own free will, we should personally confirm this desire. You will have to actually use your voice and surrender it to the working of the Holy Spirit.
I received my prayer language of the gift of tongues when I was 46 years old. My daughter received hers at age 11. We both got ours immediately after asking for the gift from God. My husband received his about 6 months after asking the first time, and asking several times within that 6 months. How come I can’t get it? You will. Lack of trust is a barrier to receiving God’s gifts. Sometimes we block God’s gifts because of fear or pride. Sometimes we have unforgiveness against others in our heart. We may need to ask Jesus to clean out our heart to make room for the Holy Spirit.
Pride quenches the Spirit and the spiritual gifts. Pride that we are chosen, that we are special; pride in the gifts that manifest. When amazing things happen, we begin to think that we’re amazing. Pride can be overcome by realizing we are only a “water hose” that contains God’s living water, His Spirit. He made us his extension cord! It’s His power flowing through!
Fear quenches the Spirit and the spiritual gifts. At times people fear that they really haven’t been given anything–especially if they haven’t seen a burning bush or tongues of fire coming down upon them. Who has? Besides Moses and the apostles? Tell the enemy, “We don’t have to see to believe!”
We have a fear of looking foolish: Speaking what sounds like gibberish.
Let go! Even the apostles were accused of being drunk! At first. In Luke 11:9-13. Jesus said, “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent [snake]; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” NAB
Jesus is telling us to trust the Father!
Using the Gift of Tongues Prayer Language will help you to overcome fear because to “Pray in the Spirit always” is part of putting on the armor of God per Ephesians 6:18. Maybe you fear that it’s not of God: How do I know this is from God? The true measure of all charisms is love. And, though the charism may be something bold and new, it will still line up with the Church’s teaching. It is a duty of the Church not to extinguish the fire of the Spirit but to test and hold on to what is good so that all the charisms will work together for the common good.
Look at Saint Padre Pio. A modern saint who died in 1968 who was full of charisms and the Church authority monitored him very closely. If Padre Pio had turned away from the Church to do his own thing, the Spirit would have been quenched. Instead he was obedient and respectful and humble. He never put the gifts before the Giver. And the Lord was faithful and God increased his gifts including Bi-location, miracles, reading of hearts during Confession, gifts of conversions, healing, ability to go without sleep, even fragrance from his open wounds of the stigmata.
Let us review some scriptures that speak of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
John 7:37-39. “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” NAB
Understand that the Spirit of God could not be given to us until Jesus died and rose from the dead. God could not give His Spirit to spiritually dead men and we were spiritually dead before Jesus died and rose again.
Acts 1:8. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” NAB
We will receive power when the Holy Spirit empowers us with the Gift of Tongues. The more we use His gifts, the greater witness for Christ we will become. Even to the ends of the earth. Okay?
Acts 2:1-4. “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” NAB
This verse reveals that the Holy Spirit will enable us to speak in tongues or give us the utterance. He will provide the words but He will not move our mouth and tongue for us. We must do that.
Acts of the Apostles, chapter 10:44-46. “While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God.” NAB
So the gift of Tongues proved that Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit. And they were extolling God in tongues! So we can rest assured that when we pray in tongues we are glorifying God.
1 Corinthians 14:2. “For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.” NAB
When we pray in tongues we are speaking mysteries to God. We are not speaking to other people. Unless they receive the Gift of Interpretation they will not understand.
1 Corinthians 14:4. “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.” NAB
So this is where Paul is telling us that Prophecy is a better gift. It says when we speak in a tongue we edify ourselves. When we pray in tongues we build up our own spirit. We will not understand what we are praying when we receive our prayer language. We have to trust God and walk in faith.
1 Corinthians 14:14. “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.” NAB
So the scripture is telling us that praying in tongues does not occupy your mind—only your heart and your voice. And that’s true. You can drive a car, work a math problem, carry on tasks at work or home while praying in tongues. Paul says a better way–he tells the Corinthians to pray with their mind, too, while they are praying in tongues.
When we pray in tongues we are building up our most holy faith because we are being obedient to God even though we may not understand totally what we are doing.
In the letter of Jude chapter 1 verse 20, it says: “But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit.” NAB
Are you feeling a little overwhelmed? Are you thinking, “This seems too hard!”
Scripture says, “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13 NAB). Jesus provides the strength for us to follow Him. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6 NAB). Jesus provides the way to overcome all difficulties. Before I was “Baptized in the Spirit” I backed away from accepting the Gifts of the Holy Spirit because I thought they would make my life difficult. What I failed to realize was that the Holy Spirit never asks us to do something without giving us the grace to succeed. Remember, the Lord never gives a gift that is bad for us. His gifts are always gifts of love.
Some of us have not had a fire in our hearts for quite a while–if ever! Others are fearful that the blaze will get out of control, and so we quench the little flame. Fear is so destructive to God’s gift of faith. Fear causes the bloom to fade and fall before the fruit is set. Think of this: God loves the greatest sinner as much as He loves Spirit-filled Christians. We are able to demonstrate His power only because His love has overcome sin within us.
If I pray in tongues, what do I do if people make fun of me? When people make fun of a person because of their religious beliefs it is called “persecution”. [John 15:20] Many of the saints were not just embarrassed by others in this way but were physically hurt because of their faith and love for Jesus. St. Paul took joy in persecution because he said it meant that he was on the right track. The gifts of Tongues may seem odd to people who do not understand it. When we tell the truth about what is happening to us, no one can call us a liar.
During the 2018 Super Bowl a young quarterback was reported praying in tongues on the sideline. After his team won because of his outstanding performance, the first thing out of his mouth was praising God and giving Him the glory. Why would people criticize this? When people don’t understand something that calls for change, they assume it is wrong until proven otherwise. More importantly, the evil one, Satan, does not want us to grow closer to Jesus and will try to use other people to put roadblocks in our path. Some are ignorant of the truth of the Spirit shared in scripture. Some people are ignorant of why the Holy Spirit gives these gifts. Some may be afraid that the use of these gifts is a sign of pride rather than love.
We have a fear of failure; that we’ll be embarrassed if we fail in using the gifts. When Jesus prayed for healing, they were all healed. We fear we’ll be more like the disciples who failed to cast the demon out and had to turn it over to Jesus! Start out by turning it over to Jesus. Then it’s on His shoulders!
We have a fear of commitment, in case we succeed in using the gifts. What if everyone is healed when we pray for them? How would our lives change? Realize that before God allows that to happen, He’s going to get us ready. You can look at any revival in history. God prepared his workers with desire for revival. And Jesus did on-the-job training for his disciples, way before He released the Spirit at Pentecost. The opposite of fear is trust. We have to trust God. He knows what He’s doing!
Disrespect for Church Authority quenches the Spirit and the spiritual gifts. Fear and pride makes us think we know more than Mother Church. What we forget is that God has given the charisms to build-up and restore the Church. The Spirit gives life to the Church. Recent popes encourage the Church to be open to the charisms.
Pope Paul VI said: “Now this charismatic form of gifts, which are gratuitous gifts and, in themselves, not necessary but given by the Lord from his superabundant storehouse because he wants to make the Church richer, more lively, more capable of defining and proving herself, is called precisely “the outpouring of the charisms.”
Saint Pope John Paul II said, “Today, I would like to cry out to all of you gathered here in St Peter’s Square and to all Christians: Open yourselves docilely to the gifts of the Spirit! Accept gratefully and obediently the charisms which the Spirit never ceases to bestow on us! Do not forget that every charism is given for the common good, that is, for the benefit of the whole Church.”
We forget that God created the earth and the stars and He is the giver of Gifts. The gifts are so fantastic we doubt them; we seek a rational explanation. Too often when we do get our prayer answered for healing, we give the glory to some medicine we took. Let’s quit giving rational answers and start glorifying God, the Giver of Gifts.
Pray with me: Lord, we surrender! We surrender our disbelief, our need for explanation or for the burning bush. We surrender our fear of embarrassment if we fail and our fear of commitment if we succeed.
We surrender pride—the pride that we are chosen, the pride that you use us, the pride that we are special. We take on the cloak of humility as we realize we are but a “water hose” that contains your living water, your grace, your power. You love the greatest sinner as much as you love us and are able to use us to demonstrate your power because your love has overcome sin within us.
Lord, we accept your fullness that you placed within us at Baptism. The potential is always there for the manifestation of that grace. Thank you, Lord, that by calling me to You today You shall unleash that potential and use me to change the world in ways big and small.
We ask especially that you release from our lips, the perfect prayer and praise by manifesting the gift of tongues.
I ask you now to pray in tongues with me. Alleluia, Alleluia…[prayer in Tongues]…Praise you Lord, Thank you Jesus.
We thank you, Lord, for sealing in your gifts into our heart, minds and bodies. Protect us by keeping our pride, fear, and lack of piety from interfering with the work of the Lord. Amen.
If you would like to read the blog of this episode, except for the words we just prayed in tongues, you can find it on my website: PatriarchMinistries.com. You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit with Patti Brunner. I invite you to subscribe–its free!– and come back for more. With the Holy Spirit there is always more!
Amen
