By Father James Maciejewski

Every week, in a dozen places around the archdiocese, groups of people are gathering –not to plan or discuss or promote –but simply to pray.

Unusual phenomena sometimes characterize these prayer meetings –speaking in strange tongues, miraculous healings and the utterance of prophecy –phenomena or charisms mentioned in the New Testament as signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit, yet phenomena that were thought to have disappeared with the end of the first century.

There is, understandably, a great deal of curiosity in the Church about what is called the “charismatic (or Pentecostal) movement.”

I dropped in on a prayer meeting at the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish hall of a recent Thursday evening.

The group of about 20 people who gathered there that evening have been meeting for the past two years. They come from various parishes around the city. Men and women, married and single, they range in age from about ten to 55.

None of the priests at IHM parish were present at this particular session, but they have occasionally attended in the past. On hand was Fr. John Martell, a Marist priest who serves the downtown hospitals as chaplain.

The meeting began with a Mass, celebrated by Fr. Martell with great sincerity and sensitivity, at a makeshift altar in the parish library. Particularly memorable was the easy naturalness of the prayer of the faithful, to which almost everyone present contributed a petition without the awkwardness and hesitation often evident when a priest-celebrant invites spontaneous prayer contributions.

Memorable too were the impromptu efforts at song –sometimes screechingly off-key, but strangely moving in their heartfelt simplicity.

At the conclusion of Mass some Protestants joined the group. (It was explained that they prefer to come after Mass is over.) For the newcomers, Fr. Martell explained that there was no plan or form to the prayer meeting. “All as the Spirit moves,” he said.

In the ensuing hour there was spontaneous prayer, Scripture reading and undirected discussion.

Remarkably, most of the prayer was not prayer of petition, but rather prayer of praise and thanks. Much of the prayer was short and simply stated. “Praise the Lord” and “Thank you Jesus” were prayed repeatedly. The only prayer of petition I can recall was offered for a pastor in the archdiocese who was allegedly blocking the formation of a prayer group in his parish. The prayer for him was “that his eyes might be opened.”

Everyone present had brought along a Bible. Most copies were well-worn and dog-eared, indicating heavy usage. Passages from the Old and New Testament were read aloud. One woman said she had become “addicted to the Bible.” Still another related how she had now read the Bible, cover to cover, three times. She offered a systematic plan for others to follow: Every day read two psalms, two proverbs, eight chapters of the Old Testament and two of the New.

Inasmuch as the charismatic movement has sometimes been criticized for lacking social consciousness, some of the discussion was enlightening. One man related how he had gone to Harrisburg to participate in a “liturgy of peace” in behalf of the Harrisburg Seven at the time of the recent trial.

But most of the discussion concerned a program of prayer and fasting which the group members were about to initiate. Every day of the week at least one group member would spend 15 minutes in prayer or spiritual reading and would observe a fast. The fasting would allow for no solid food between dinner of one evening and that of the next. The goal of the prayer and fasting: the spiritual revival of the archdiocese and the city of Atlanta.

After the meeting had broken up, some of the participants gathered off to the side to pray over and lay hands upon those who felt a need for special blessing or special spiritual strength.

Nothing arcane or bizarre occurred during the evening. The little “speaking in tongues” that was heard through the meeting was almost inaudible. Speaking in tongues, it was explained to me, is the most controversial aspect of the charismatic movement, because it is the most sensational. But many “Pentecostals” (members of prayer groups) play down the gift of tongues as unnecessary and as only one particular manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s presence within.

Most edifying was the prayer of praise and thanksgiving that had been offered to God the Father, through Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit.

Very perceptible was the love and peace that such a profound life of prayer engenders.