From Emotionalism to the Charismatic
What if we let just the Holy Spirit do what He wants?
Happy 6th Week in Ordinary Time!
This issue is a kind of “part two” to last week’s discussion about moving from legalism to contemplation. In a legalistic spirituality, we confine the Holy Spirit to moving only in predetermined patterns - I act the way I should and God pours out His love. On the other end of the spectrum though, we have emotionalism, where the Holy Spirit works only in miraculous and spectacular ways. Both lead us to put false expectations on the Holy Spirit. This week, we will explore how there is another, better way to give Him the space to move.
Just in case you missed last week, or any of the articles earlier in the series, you can get caught up here:
Searching for God the Feeling
Despite the discomfort that came from sitting on rickety bleachers in a poorly air-conditioned gymnasium with thousands of teenagers, my mind was occupied to the point that my physical surroundings seemed to melt away.
It was one of my last years attending the youth conference I had faithfully gone to every summer. Every conference I attended before had served to bolster and excite my faith more than anything else in the mundane day-to-day. That was why I was so confused that year, when I found myself sitting before the Blessed Sacrament in Eucharistic Adoration feeling absolutely nothing. I had built up so much expectation that the real thing seemed like a total letdown.
Finally, in the midst of my confusion and disappointment, I felt God speak something to me:
“Are you waiting for God the Father or God the feeling?”
I know it sounds like it’s just waiting to be shared on social media by a megachurch pastor, but in that moment it was exactly what I needed to hear. I conditioned myself to expect God to only work through emotional encounters - I hadn’t learned yet how to know Him as one knows a friend, in the midst of everyday life.
For many, the first encounter with God is emotional. That’s not a bad thing. We believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of all desire - of course we’re stoked to discover that for the first time. Over time though, it can be easy to mistake good feelings for God Himself.
Emotionalism is a dangerous foundation on which to build a spiritual life - eventually, the feelings will dry up. If we don’t have a deeper well to draw from, it can seem as though God was never real in the first place.
Emotionalism is a key factor in what I call the “Spiritual Exhaustion Cycle.” It usually goes like this:
1 - Emotional encounter with God,
2 - A spiritual high with genuine progress in the interior life (the “honeymoon period”),
3 - A loss of the feelings associated with the encounter, followed by a drop-off and steady decline,
4 - Seeking the original high all over again.
Here’s the thing: the emotional high is only a small portion of the beauty that is found in a spiritual life. Always pursuing it is to misunderstand what being in relationship with God is like, and ultimately is a recipe for burnout.
While we want to avoid boxing in the Holy Spirit to these dramatic moments, we also want to avoid running to the other extreme (legalism). So how do we get out of this cycle?
All throughout the history of the Church, the Holy Spirit has been understood as having some level of mystery. We can’t easily interpret what He’s going to do in a given moment, and why or how.
In recent decades, there’s been a renewal of openness towards charismatic spirituality and a growing sense of mystery towards the Holy Spirit.
Now certainly, this charismatic spirituality has had its own excesses, and has even been used to spiritually abuse other believers.
At its best though, it’s a reclaiming of the understanding that the Holy Spirit can move outside of predictable patterns, in ways that might be emotional (but not always). This is a rich tradition in the Church and one that can help us move past the dangers of emotionalism without shutting off our emotions entirely. Whether the Spirit is bringing breakthrough at a conference or simply being in the silence, who are we to judge the different works of the same Person of the Trinity?
The goal is not to make the Holy Spirit move in a way that we understand, but to get out of the way and let Him do whatever He wants to.
Practice
How do we put into practice something as intangible as “let the Holy Spirit do whatever He wants?”
Yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit is largely responsive - something we do in the moment. That said, there’s a beautiful practice of surrendering in times of intentional prayer that can help prepare our hearts for when those moments arise. Our practice for this week is to:
Pray the Litany of Trust
If you can, don’t do this right now. We recommend you pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit down in the silence and work through the prayer slowly. You can find the free PDF right here.
I got this idea from my wife, who has one of the most beautiful relationships to the Holy Spirit of anyone I know. She told me she leaves this prayer pulled up in her browser all the time, and prays it most mornings to help her open up to the Spirit and the work He wants to do in her that day. (Yes, she’s a catch.)
Benediction
I’ll leave you with this good word:
Inhale: Come Holy Spirit
Exhale: Do whatever you want to
That’s all for this issue! We’ll be back next week to explore moving from proselytism to evangelization.
Great writing James! Love the part about waiting for God the Father or God the feeling.