Henri Nouwen's Perspective of the Early Catholic Charismatic Renewal at Notre Dame
As a personal eyewitness to spiritual revival in the Spring of 1967, Fr. Henri Nouwen was in a unique place to observe and comment on what has come to be known as the "Catholic Charismatic Renewal"
Two months after an event called the Duquesne Weekend
A month and a half after similar experiences for the first few at Notre Dame
One and a half weeks after the “Michigan State Weekend” at Notre Dame
One of the earliest perspectives about the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is probably one you’ve likely never read, by a well-known Catholic priest and prolific author who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
While not commonly associated with the Charismatic Renewal, Fr. Henri Nouwen was in the midst of his time as a visiting professor at Notre Dame when “the Pentecostals” started to generate attention on campus in the spring of 1967. As an observer, yet deeply prescient of its possible long term impact, Nouwen offered a thorough reflection about the experience as he saw it firsthand.
Published in The Scholastic on April 21, 1967, Nouwen’s essay The Pentecostal Movement: Three Perspectives (beginning on page 15) remained nearly unchanged when he later incorporated it as a chapter in his first book, Intimacy. In the essay, Nouwen explores the Pentecostal experience at Notre Dame from Historical, Psychological, and Theological perspectives.
Nearly sixty years after the events of that spring, reading Nouwen today with the knowledge of what later passed showcases a truly prophetic recognition of the potential for both good and ill in the new movement. As someone who himself spent a lifetime seeking community, Nouwen notably kept seeking after this, but his conclusion ends with the openness to avoid “hasty judgment and an intolerant condemnation.”
From the Historical perspective, Nouwen frames the movement as a revival. He compares the Notre Dame of decades long past with the completely changed atmosphere of competition and distance among students. He sees the Spirit bringing a new intensity that cuts through the loneliness and the brokenness of student life.
From the Psychological perspective, Nouwen asks:
“Does it heal or hurt?”
“Can it be dangerous?”
“Does it create community?”
“Are the prayer meetings all spontaneous?”
In the psychological realm in which Nouwen himself dwelt so deeply, Nouwen recognizes problems seemingly wiped away, but he wonders if they are “cured or covered?” He proposes that the movement can largely be beneficial for certain people while dangerous for those who are not emotionally prepared. He wonders about the feelings of guilt for those who honestly seek the gifts of the Spirit but who do not receive them as they see others receive.
Nouwen states that it is undeniable that some form of community exists. He worries, however, about the sudden impact of intense openness and intimacy. He cautions that there may not be room for much distance. He sees in the prayer meetings not simply the work of the Spirit but claims “this all could not take place without strong and very influential leaders”—leaders, who to Nouwen, “neglect a definite responsibility, not only in terms of preparation and the actual event but also in terms of the long-range consequences that these experiences will have on the ongoing development of the spiritual life of the people involved.”
From the Theological perspective, Nouwen states that due to the renewal of Catholic practices and participation, the movement does not seem “to threaten the Catholic Orthodoxy.” Yet in the revitalization of orthodox faith life, Nouwen worries that the participants do “not take into account the major development of the recent renewal in Catholic theology”, a renewal centered around the “humanization of the Church.” Viewed in the timeframe of the late 1960s, Nouwen advises that then-popular attitudes toward social action and “worldly” involvement are not reflected in the movement of the Catholic Pentecostals.
Ultimately, the Catholic Pentecostal movement as Nouwen observed it early in the Spring of 1967 would not offer the fruit of community that he continually sought. For Nouwen, while “a real community is stretching out,” the early Renewal “tends to be bent over inwards.” Even only two months into the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, he saw it as an “in-group, which develops the idea of a spiritual elite (as the Cursillo did) with a subtle handling of the terms ‘we’ and ‘they’.”
Nouwen’s article and others from The Scholastic are available courtesy of the University of Notre Dame digital archives: VOL_0108_ISSUE_0019.pdf (nd.edu)
Other articles and media linked above are available courtesy of the University of Notre Dame archives and Oral Roberts University.