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Practicing the Charism of Prophecy in the Charismatic Renewal
by: María José Cantos de OrtizProphecy is a message from God, a manifestation
of the Spirit to be used for the general good,
because those who prophesy build up, exhort and
comfort the community (1 Cor. 12:7; 14:3). It can be
expressed through a sentence, a vision or a text
from the Bible.
In the prayer groups in the CCR [Catholic Charismatic Renewal] there are many
interventions that are inspired by the Holy Spirit:
sometimes, some people feel moved by the Spirit to
share an experience, to say a prayer or to read a text
clearly guided by God; other times, an idea, a vision
or an enlightenment received is communicated to
the others. When we speak of prophecy we are
referring to communications from the Lord. These
can be expressed in a simple and direct way, for
example:"I am with you, do not be afraid..." through
a message in tongues and its interpretation, through
a prophetic song or a vision received.
In the reception of the prophecy there are two
aspects involved: feeling moved by God to speak,
and the enlightenment of the mind to express
the message, aspects that can be consecutive or
simultaneous. To feel moved or driven by God to
speak can be manifested in physical signs, like
the increase of the heart beats, a weight that
persists, or like a soft impulse to say something.
In any case, we must always take into account
that no divine impulse is neither disturbing nor
uncontrollable:"the prophetic spirit is to be under
the prophets' control" (1 Cor. 14:32). In its turn,
the enlightenment of the mind happens through
ideas, words, sentences that arise in the mind,
visions or a sudden inspiration. Sometimes the
person receives a complete message, but it is very
common that the person receives the message as
he/she expresses it. The contents of the prophecy
is a message from God for that moment, and its
purpose is to edify the community, to comfort
giving peace and joy, to encourage, to strengthen,
to correct or to exhort.
Even though the prophecy is a message from
God, this is given through a person who speaks
when moved by the Spirit. For the same reason,
discernment is required to know if it is genuine.
The more the person is surrendered to God, the
purer and more transparent will the message be.
That is why the prophecy must be discerned by the
community: "Let two prophets, or three, speak
while the rest weigh their words" (1 Cor. 14:29).
The criteria for discernment can be grouped
considering that the message from God must have
the fragrance of Christ..., "the smell of life leading
to life" (2 Cor. 2,14.16). Allan Panozza considers
five criteria for the discernment of a genuine
prophecy: it gives good fruit; it is according to the
Holy Scriptures; it encourages, it edifies, it exhorts,
it brings peace and not fear; it gives glory to God
and the prophet is under God's anointing.
Through the discernment process may the true
prophecy, the false prophecy and the pseudo
prophecy be distinguished. The true one has the
attributes previously expressed. The false prophecy
does not often appear, it usually contradicts in some
of its parts what the Word of God or the teaching
of the Church express; it is expressed in aggressive
or condemning words; its effects are negative and
its fruit is uneasiness, anguish or anxiety. There
are situations which favor false prophecy such as:
people who have been in touch with the occult,
divisions in the group, situations of sin or the desire
for extraordinary charisms. Pseudo prophecy
corresponds to a message which comes from the
person, be it from his/her thoughts, feelings or
emotions; without being harmful it lacks the power
and anointing that come from God. Lastly, there
are also messages given as prophecies where what
comes from God and what comes from the person
who says it, is mixed. This usually happens when a
person begins to prophesy. In this case the people
responsible for the group or community must help
so that this gift is purified in the brother or sister
who manifests it.
Prophecy is a gift which is very appreciated by
Saint Paul. "Make love your aim; but be eager, too,
for spiritual gifts, and especially for prophesying"
(1 Cor. 14:1). Not to despise it is an insistence which
he makes in his letters (Th. 5: 19.21), so we must
appreciate it and promote it in the prayer groups
giving appropriate teachings on the subject,
supporting, guiding and helping the brothers and
sisters who manifest to have this gift to grow,
encouraging and teaching the group to welcome
and express the prophecy which usually appears in
moments of recollection, adoration, long silences
or after singing in tongues.
Finally, we must consider that there has to be
some kind of authority to which the prophecy
yields; in the prayer group it is the leaders who
discern it, in other events as retreats or meetings,
the discernment is made by a team.
To sum up, as the prophecy is a message inspired
by the Spirit it is a gift highly esteemed in the
CCR [Catholic Charismatic Renewal] and in the prayer groups, and it should be
conveniently encouraged. When a group prays
and invokes the Spirit, He acts edifying, exhorting
or comforting the community placing prophetic
words in simple people who open themselves to His
action. However, the discernment is essential to
distinguish the real prophecy from other messages
which do not come from God.
With Permission: ICCRS [International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services]
Leadership Formation Newsletter – March-April 2009.