It's a big and therefore diverse church.
And in this diversity we find find division. Sadly there has always been division as the enemy has always sought to create it. Just before Jesus's victory on the cross we see it in full swing. He was crucified between the two thieves who were divided. One mocked him and shouted "If you're the son of God, take yourself, and us, down from the cross. Here we hear the voice of the enemy: Take yourself down from the cross. Come down, show us who you really are then they'll believe. Satan never fully knew if Jesus really was truly the son of God. And in a perverse way he refused to believe it. If you're the son of God, throw your self down. If you're the son of God, tell these stones....
If if if if if. This is the voice of the enemy.
The other thief, in his dying breath, sais "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom".
This is Jesus showing us that for every action there is a comparable reaction.
This is how the church functions. Jesus lived in diversity. We do too.
You can find yourself at mass one Sunday where there's a classical choir, a resounding organ as powerful as thunder and an incensed alter. Everything will be in Latin and you'll feel like you've gone back hundreds of years.
Yet in a neighbouring church you might find guitars, tambourines, bells, drums and hands uplifted.
That is to say, you may come across a congregation who does things very traditionally and in direct contrast you'll discover a totally different congregation where praise is offered in a more informal way.
It's still the same mass though and we are all family. As Pope Francis said in his 2019 address to participants in the international conference of leaders of the catholic charismatic renewal international service - CHARIS. Here he states that casting aspersion on what is new is not of God and that professing that one way is better than another is also not of God. For more information please click on the link:
To participants in the International Conference of Leaders of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service - Charis (8 June 2019) | Francis (vatican.va)
It will take you to the document which was made available by Vatican Publishing House which is a publisher established by the Holy See in 1926 and is responsible for publishing official documents of the Roman Catholic Church, including Papal bulls and encyclicals.
The photograph below of Pope Francis was taken during a Pentecost vigil marking the 50th anniversary of the Catholic charismatic renewal at the Circus Maximus in Rome
This page is not here to prove a point, it's simply to indicate that there are many aspects of the Catholic church and it's very important that as Catholics we are accepting of diversity. Whether that's cultural diversity because we exist in different countries or whether it's diversity because we feel compelled to worship God in different ways. Catholicism should not be political.
The question can be asked as to whether charismatic Catholics embrace the Latin aspect of the church.
Catholic spirituality has, at its source, a deep love and a tremendous reverence for the Eucharist which translates to a profound reverence for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Many traditional hymns such as Adoremus in Aeternum and Salve Regina have their roots in the Latin era of the church. Services including Benediction and stations of the cross are defined by their historical lineage. The Latin aspect of the church is her crown but it's important not to take the early Christian stance of preference e.g. "I am for Paul. I am for Apollos."
Francis himself can be quoted as saying "We cannot truly call on God, the father of all, if we refuse to treat (others) in a brotherly way".
The priesthood is both a physical and spiritual sign of unity - as is the mystical body of Christ. Separation, as Saint Paul says, is unhealthy: "there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret?"
We cannot have division. We are a theocentric family whose main concern is the centrality of the living God in our diverse lives.
Jesus commands us to love one another. This we must do.
