David Ancell / Monday June 02, 2003
Whether your diocese celebrated the Ascension on Thursday or Sunday, we are now right in between Ascension and Pentecost. A couple of weeks ago, I was my cousin’s confirmation sponsor. At Mass, we have Scriptural passages about the Holy Spirit and the pouring out of the Spirit on the people.
This all comes to mind because I have been reading Let the Fire Fall by Fr. Michael Scanlan, TOR. He is, of course, well known for having made Franciscan University of Steubenville what it is today. He has done great work, and he seems to me to be a very holy man.
However, I am both intrigued and somewhat disturbed by one of the experiences he described. After he had been ordained for a while, a Carmelite advised him that he needed to be “baptized in the Holy Spirit.” This, of course, is a big deal in the Charismatic Renewal. He had some people pray over him, and he was then “baptized in the Holy Spirit.” He goes on in his book to tell the impact that this had on his life.
Here is what bothers me about the whole thing:
Isn’t the Sacrament of Confirmation the baptism in the Holy Spirit? Where did this other thing called being baptized in the Holy Spirit come from, and what is the point? It almost looks to me as though someone were out to invent a new Sacrament. Can someone please explain?
I do not mean to sound disrespectful. I do not question the work nor the holiness of Fr. Scanlan. I honestly want an answer.
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