Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:01 Pentecost is a unique event. It happened once and it will never happen. Again. The Pentecost essentially consists in an infusion of the Holy ghost in the apostles and Mary, this infusion brought about several effects. The first and most principle effect was, but most theologians and patristics consider the founding of the Catholic church while Christ was on earth. He laid the groundwork, but the references to his church were always in the future tense. For example, when he says to Peter upon this rock, I will build my church. Notice that he did not say churches, the church. This means that for God, there is only one church that is the Catholic church, which he has established in which enjoys divine rights over the deposit of faith and the sacraments. Anyone else who employs the sacraments outside the church does so contrary to justice, that is they violated the rights of the magistarium to administer and protect the sacraments.
Speaker 0 00:01:06 It also means that only the magistarium of the Catholic church has a right to pass judgment on the meaning of the deposit of faith. The second effect is that a perfect understanding of a deposit of faith was infused into the apostles. Prior to this moment, they seem to be in a constant state of confusion about what Christ had taught immediately upon the infusion of the Holy ghost. They understood what Christ had intended when he spoke to them while he was on earth. This is a necessary gift since if the magistarium it beginning with the apostles was to propagate and protect the meaning of the deposit of faith. They had to have a clear understanding of what it meant from this flow. The general teaching of Orthodox theologians that each of the apostles enjoyed personal infallibility when they spoke officially in their capacity as a possible.
Speaker 0 00:01:56 So is as teachers they did not air. The next effect is that God gave the apostles those things necessary to be able to preach, teach and protect the deposit of faith. For this reason, he gave them the gift of the Holy ghost, the fear of the Lord, which consistent of turning away from creative things and turning towards God, coupled with this gift was the confirmation in graves, which meant that the apostles would never commit mortal sin at least. And even possibly, depending on which author you take, not even venial sin, this was necessary so that the credibility of their testimony could not be compromised by sinfulness. Since we all have a natural inclination to ignore those who are sin for liars, when they're trying to get us to believe something, their character had to be impeccable and beyond reproach, God gave him the infused virtue of fortitude along with the gift of the Holy ghost of fortitude, so that they would have perfect confidence in preaching and a willingness to suffer and die for the deposit faith.
Speaker 0 00:03:00 He gave them the gift of understanding, which is a disposition of the soul by which one is able to intuitively grasp the meaning and truth of the articles of faith. He gave them infused knowledge, as well as the gift of the Holy ghost of knowledge so that they could always judge rightly about what to teach and the meaning of that teaching, but also gave them among all the other infused virtues and gifts, wisdom, which is the virtue and gift by which one contemplates the things of God. From God's perspective, this gift in virtue gives them the ability to seek God the way he sees himself. This is important, particularly since it is too easy to pollute the teachings of God with one's own ideas. As we see at every level of society and in the church today, people are constantly trying to remake God in their own image.
Speaker 0 00:03:51 So as to be comfortable in their vices and to condone their own sin, but this gift in virtue helps them to see God as he truly is that since God is our final land, that is that towards which we're all striving. It helps them to see the means to that end, that has gone for this reason, the apostles and Mary were perfectly why knowing not only how to save their own souls, but the souls of others, the apostles and Mary were given the gift of tongue. Now there's an awful lot of confusion. These days, about the gift of tongues. We have a certain movement in the church, which believes that one can pray for them and receive them. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches us. And as Summa Theologiae that these are what he calls <inaudible>, which is a Latin term, which means Grace's Richard, who had his sleep given.
Speaker 0 00:04:43 Now, what this means is, is that they are purely gratuitous. And so God gives them to whomever. He wills st. Thomas then tells us that these braces are ordered towards the good of the church. And so God only gives them when it will aid. The church. One cannot merit these gifts since they are gratuitous. What does that mean? Well, it means that those who think they can pray for them and get them are fundamentally mistake. And we must not be mistaken. On another point that is having one of these gifts is not ordered towards the site vacation of the person who hasn't nor is it a sign of the person's holiness, nor is it a sign of God's approbation? Obviously there are some who claim that they have the gift of tongues and prophecy and interpretation and alike, but upon close scrutiny, it's clear that they do not.
Speaker 0 00:05:32 For instance, there is one case in which a priest who was a linguist was invited to one of their meetings. When they began to speak in tongues, the priest got up and walked out. Someone went after him to ask why he left. He said that he had recognized one of the languages and that the person speaking that language was actually praising Satan. Yes, it is a fact that Satan can move people to speak languages. They do not know this is why father Jordan almond, perhaps one of the best spiritual writers of our day says that quote, a person may come under the power of the devil by reason of the habitual practice of evil or the uncontrolled desire to experience extra ordinary mystical phenomenon, or to receive charismatic graces, unquote, other linguists have gone to their meetings and said that more often than not, the people are just speaking jibberish.
Speaker 0 00:06:23 Have you ever wondered why possessed people? Many of them in modern day, mental institutions due to incompetence and the psychological community speak languages, they've never learned under title 11 in the Roman ritual, which is the section on exorcisms speaking languages. One does not know or has learned or is exposed to, is one of the principle signs of possession. It also manifests a lack of understanding of how God uses the things he creates when God creates something. He designed it in a specific way because he wants to use it in that way. For example, God created, man, because he wanted intelligent and volitional. Worsham now those who hold that, they do not understand what they're saying. When they speak in tongues must ask themselves two questions. One, why would God use an instrument that has intelligence and make it do something completely absurd? That is incoherently Jabber in jibberish.
Speaker 0 00:07:21 And in another sense, how is that going to give him honor. This would also apply to things like being slain in the spirit and other such nonsense. Ironically, being slain in the spirit has very close similarities to hypnotism and demonic possession. The second question is how do they know what they are saying is not demonic? If they don't understand it, then they cannot be certain. Clearly some of them would tell us that they can feel the spirit. Well again, Satan can come as a spirit of light and give all sorts of constellations, particularly appetitive and sensible constellations. This is why every Saint in the book, particularly Saint John of the cross, perhaps the greatest mystic or author on mysticism in the history of the church will tell you to avoid seeking constellations. And they are not the principle of God's judge of the principle judgment of God's approval since they can come from Satan.
Speaker 0 00:08:17 Moreover, even if God gives them to us, it is not a sign of God's thinking that we are wonderful. Rather, in fact, it is a sign of our imperfection since he has to use constellations, to get us to turn to him like a dog who will do a trick without a snack, once he is adequately trained. So we went advanced in the spiritual life, have no need of constellations since our will will become perfectly fixed on God. Some of the modern movements were arguing that they have interpreters and they know what they are saying. This has given testimony on one's own behalf over. It seems to me before I would trust anyone regarding the speaking in tongues. I would want someone who knows the language either by formal study or by upbringing only in this case, can we be certain of what is really occurring the last group historically, to take the idea that one can pray for these gifts and go around speaking.
Speaker 0 00:09:10 Incoherently where the modernist whose heresy of course was condemned. The apostles gift of tongues is very different than those in certain movements today, the apostles gifts seem to have come in three forms, which the patristics and doctors of the church tell us the first is that they could grasp and speak the new language to at least the level of their own native language. In other words, they knew exactly what they were saying. There are interesting instances in history and scripture, which this form is manifest, but then the reading of the acts of the apostles today suggest that perhaps the gift of tongues can also have a second form. Namely, the apostle would speak in his own language, but others would hear it in their own language. This made it possible for the apostles to address entire crowds of every nation and tongue. And yet everyone would understand them.
Speaker 0 00:10:05 The last form of this gift seems to come when one actually praises God in a foreign language, Saint Paul, however, warrants that the use of the gift in churches must be used in a certain way. It has not to be done with large numbers of people, jabbering incoherently at the same time, which is the practice of some who claim to have this gift. Rather, the use of the gift of tongues is to be done by a few each in turn with an interpreter. That's what Saint Paul says. If there is no interpreter, it is not to be done. Moreover, the interpreter must be verifiable that as he must demonstrate that he truly knows the language. An interpreter is not someone who listens to here in jibberish and then create some meaning in his own mind or speaks from some ephemeral interior inclination. He is someone who knows the language and knows what it means.
Speaker 0 00:10:58 Pentagon again is a unique event. This is so because many believe that their charismatic movements are a second Pentecost. One Bishop one time even gave a lecture at a rather prominent meeting of academics, trying to argue that Vatican two was on the same level of Pentecost. Well, quite frankly, this is blasphemy. It is analogous to equating a common everyday woman with our lady to equate a council at which serious infighting was done during the second session over the issue of contraception, a council, which has caused serious confusion in the minds of Catholic, regardless of how Orthodox of a spin one can put on the documents, a council, which has had the exact opposite effect of Pentecost by lowering the number of practicing Catholics, not increasing them to equate a, put this council on the level of one of the sacred, Holy and privileged moments in all of history is tantamount to blasphemy.
Speaker 0 00:12:00 Blasphemy is not Mary profaning God's name, but it's also language expressing disrespect for God or for something sacred or denigrating something sacred or to put something on the level of something sacred, which is not to put on the level of Pentecost to council in which infallibility was not even employed as Pope Paul, but the six tells us in a closing session is tantamount to blasphemy. Likewise, for someone to report that a movement in the church of the second Pentecost is also vast for me because it calls into question the efficacy of the true Pentecost somehow or another. That wasn't good enough. We need another one. The true Pentecost established, all that we have talked about and more and yet the current movement of the church has bought at best mixed results. And at its worst, that many Catholics away from a proper way of thinking Pentecost is unique.
Speaker 0 00:12:53 There has never been one before it, and there will never be one after it. We should not listen to those who claim some modern vendor, some movement to the churches to be Pentecost. There is only one Pentecost and there will not be another. The church have received the cost of guidance, buying companionship of the Holy ghost from the day of Pentecost in every generation, which he refuses, braces, virtues, gifts, and fruits to constantly sanctify the members of the church. The Holy ghost has no one has not gone anywhere else. Since the time of Pentecost, he is still in the Catholic church. He constantly offers guidance to the magistarium and under strict conditions guarantees what they say is infallible. But we must be clear that when the Pope and bishops at a council do not meet those conditions, there is no guarantee of infallibility. You get the Holy ghost constantly offers its guidance in the form of graces to those in these offices.
Speaker 0 00:13:51 So when we see those in the magistarium saying strange things, even when it seems to be virtually all of them, it still comes down to whether each of those individuals in the magistarium is faithful to the particular graces, which God sends them fidelity to grace, not only affects our own spiritual life. It can affect all of those around us, those seeking a new Pentecost do so because the moral and spiritual life have collapsed in the church because the magisterium is not protecting and teaching their positive faith clearly. And with one voice, but we should have confidence that the Holy ghost has not abandoned the church. The members of the church do not need a new Pentecost. What we need is fidelity to the graces of state of those and the magistarium of the church and the faithful execution of their offices. By those in the magistarium, what we need is the faithful adherence to the true Pentecost and a faithful adherence by the magisterium to the guidance of the Holy ghost, which is being given to them now by the graces of their state, in the name of the father, the son, the Holy ghost.
Speaker 0 00:14:56 Amen.
