The betrayal of Christ was the ultimate act of narcissism and self-deceit. Many people say, "Well, God can give His gifts to whom He chooses." I answer in two-fold fashion: Christ does not trust Himself to those who are not following Him and His Church fully, and I am addressing Catholic; second, He allowed Judas to betray Him, although Judas used his self-will, God willed the Passion and Death.
Here is more clarification on the reality of the gift of the Spirit from Garrigou-Lagrange and my comments are in blue:
APPLICATION OF THIS DOCTRINE BY ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS
To these charisms are generally linked the extraordinary favors which sometimes accompany infused contemplation, that is, private revelations, supernatural words, visions. St. John of the Cross treats these favors at length in The Ascent of Mount Carmel,(6) distinguishing them with great care from infused contemplation, which belongs to the grace of the virtues and gifts, or sanctifying grace, as we saw earlier in this work.
What John of the Cross is explalining is that those gifts which people assume they have when at very low stages of conversion in reality do not occur until the late state of extreme holiness, which follows the several conversions and passive purification of the heart, mind, soul, and will
Thomas Aquinas illuminates these states and gifts as well.
The teaching of St. John of the Cross on this point rests theologically on the tract on prophecy expounded by St. Thomas Aquinas in the
Summa theologica.(7) In question 175 St. Thomas devotes six articles (8) to rapture which sometimes accompanies prophetic revelation, as it may also accompany infused contemplation.
St. Thomas there explains in particular that prophetic revelation may be made in three ways: by a sensible vision, an imaginary vision, or an intellectual vision; and the prophet may be awake, asleep, or in ecstasy.
Infused contemplation is the result of years of meditation and discipline, as well as orthodoxy. The intellect must be involved in all these stages, not merely the emotions, obviously.
The vision is said to be sensible or corporeal when a sensible and exterior sign appears to the eyes or when an exterior voice is heard.(9) The vision is called imaginary when God, in order to express His thought to us, coordinates certain images that pre-exist in our imagination, or imprints new ones on it.(10) There is a supernatural intellectual vision when He acts immediately on the intellect by coordinating our acquired ideas or by imprinting new ideas, called infused.(11) There is always infused prophetic light to judge supernaturally of what is proposed, and indeed this light alone suffices to interpret certain signs, as Joseph interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh.(12)
The proliferation of false seers is a direct result of this confusion regarding the charismatic gifts.
Such saints as Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Bernard of Clairvaux, Francis of Assisi, and others are given these amazing gifts as a direct result of years of purification.
One does not merely come to a first conversion and then directly into the gifts. Those gifts must be suspect and frequently lead good people astray, especially those who are seeking consolations.
If the prophet is awake, the vision is more perfect than if given to him during sleep, because he has the full use of his faculties. (13) Occasionally, the so-called imaginary vision and the intellectual vision are accompanied by ecstasy, or alienation of the senses.(14) Ecstasy, especially when it is only partial (the alienation of one sense and not of all), may be a natural effect of the absorption of the higher faculties in the object manifested; the soul can no longer be attentive to exterior things.(15) But when ecstasy, instead of following, so to speak, precedes the vision or infused contemplation and prepares the soul for it, then ecstasy is extraordinary and deserves the name of rapture; it then implies a certain violence which lifts the soul above inferior things in order to fix it in God.(16)
One reason why there is so much confusion is that priests themselves do not understand the process of purification leading to perfection. To find a spiritually mature, such as a Dom Marmion, or Padre Pio, is almost impossible.
Christ and the Blessed Virgin had all these charisms in an eminent degree, but without losing the use of their senses. It is said of St. Gertrude that she never knew the weakness of ecstasy; of our Savior and His holy Mother it must be said that from the very beginning of their lives they were superior to ecstasy and rapture. (17)
To think that one is at these states of holiness is sheer arrogance. By their fruits, one knows the saints.
Following these principles accepted by theologians, St. John of the Cross draws a clear distinction between general and obscure infused contemplation (18) and different modes of particular and distinct supernatural knowledge: (I) visions, sensible, imaginary, or intellectual; (19) (2) revelations; ()20) (3) interior words.(21) After enumerating these modes of knowledge, St. John of the Cross adds: "In regard to obscure and general knowledge, there is no division; it is contemplation received in faith. This contemplation is the end to which we should lead the soul; all other knowledge should be directed toward this, beginning with the first; and the soul should progress by detaching itself from all of them." (22)
The arrogance of so many lay leaders of the charismatic renewal is staggering, especially when so many lack the basic necessary level of orthodoxy, that is, obedience to the teachings of the Church. I have met charismatics who are involved in false teaching (such as universal salvation, the denial of hell, relativism, and other modernists heresies, false seers, IVF, contraception, disobedience regarding sacramental rules, disobedience regarding Sunday Mass observance, etc. who think they have the higher gifts. If one is still committing mortal sin or in a habit of venial sins, one is not at the stage of the giving of the gifts.
Following the example of St. Thomas,(23) we shall proceed from the general to the particular, and we shall first discuss revelations; then we shall see the special modes of their manifestation, that is, either by visions, or by words, a mode which is generally more expressive.
Moreover, we shall consider first among these favors those that are more exterior, that are manifestly directed toward the benefit of our neighbor and are more directly connected with charisms or graces gratis datae. Next, we shall consider those which are more directly ordained to the sanctification of the person who receives them. This is particularly the case with various interior locutions and also with divine touches received in the will, which St. John of the Cross discusses last.(24)
So, if these words of the great saints are true, what are people experiencing?
These good people are deceived by self-will and pride and are receiving bogus, false gifts from the evil one to lead them out of the Church and out of orthodoxy.
Satan does not care how one gets to hell, even on a road which seems good and holy, externally. In effect, many of these charismatics have become protestants.
External gifts only come have the purification of the interior life.
Divine revelations manifest supernaturally a hidden truth by means of a vision, a word, or only a prophetic instinct; they presuppose the gift of prophecy. They are called public if they have been made by the prophets, Christ, or the apostles, and are proposed to all by the Church, which preserves them in Scripture and tradition. They are called private when they are directed only to the particular benefit of certain persons. Private revelations, no matter what their importance, do not belong to the deposit of Catholic faith. However, some may draw attention to a certain form of worship of a nature to interest all the faithful, for example, the devotion to the Sacred Heart. After examining the reasons which motivate this worship, the Church may promote it and establish it without judging infallibly about the divine origin of the private revelation which gave rise to this movement of prayer. These private revelations will remain the object of pious belief, as will the supernatural origin of exceptional favors which occasionally accompany them, such as the stigmata of a particular servant of God.(1)
Note, as I have written here before, the lack of infalliblity concerning even the greatest saints' writings. For example, Hildegard of Bingen's ideas of sex or herbs are not infallible. So too, the Church is very careful about approving things even said by saints....much less so called prophets in private prayer meetings.
Divine revelations manifest supernaturally a hidden truth by means of a vision, a word, or only a prophetic instinct; they presuppose the gift of prophecy. They are called public if they have been made by the prophets, Christ, or the apostles, and are proposed to all by the Church, which preserves them in Scripture and tradition. They are called private when they are directed only to the particular benefit of certain persons. Private revelations, no matter what their importance, do not belong to the deposit of Catholic faith. However, some may draw attention to a certain form of worship of a nature to interest all the faithful, for example, the devotion to the Sacred Heart. After examining the reasons which motivate this worship, the Church may promote it and establish it without judging infallibly about the divine origin of the private revelation which gave rise to this movement of prayer. These private revelations will remain the object of pious belief, as will the supernatural origin of exceptional favors which occasionally accompany them, such as the stigmata of a particular servant of God.(1)
Note, as I have written here before, the lack of infalliblity concerning even the greatest saints' writings. For example, Hildegard of Bingen's ideas of sex or herbs are not infallible. So too, the Church is very careful about approving things even said by saints....much less so called prophets in private prayer meetings.
To be continued..
