Charismatic Catholics

I'm a catholic, and happy to be one. Sometimes I feel bad about ignoring some of the teachings of the church, but not that much. Luckily the church has no problems with beer consumption or dancing, so it fits me pretty well. I also like the intellectual heft of an institution that's been around for about two millenia. I like the respectful (boring to some) masses that I go to on sundays (when I'm not too hungover). And I like looking around myself at mass and seeing catholics from all over (which is interesting in a country that is 95% Czech). As I said, there is one thing you can't call a Catholic mass: exciting. But there has been a lot of push in the developing world for a 'charismatic' catholicism, incorporating elements of protestantism. To a guy who likes the latin High Mass, this sounds ridiculous. Seeing those big-tent revivals in Texas turned me off of the whole evangelical thing. It seems kinda childish - as if people need miracles every five minutes, they need a sweaty, charismatic pastor screaming at them. In some ways it seems almost like they're looking for the religion of their youth, where Jesus was the nice man you prayed to if you wanted a new toy car for your birthday. Where they weren't beset by doubts over their own faith. Going back to the catholic 'charismatists', i suppose it is a good thing if it brings people back to the church. but this just bothers me...

Pizzamiglio clearly isn't eager to completely embrace the charismatic movement. Once, he recounted, some of the fourth-Sunday attendees wanted to institute "spirit baptisms," but a bishop intervened, reminding members of the congregation that they had already been baptized once. Still, Pizzamiglio acknowledges that the turnout for his charismatic services is always a bit larger than the crowds for traditional Mass. So, on those Sundays, he moves his body a little more, speaks a little more informally and sings along with the other voices. "It's not a big adjustment," he said. "In the same way I alter the Mass for children on Saturdays, I alter it a little on the fourth Sunday of the month."