Hi, Jenn —

The Holy Spirit doesn't spook anyone, nor does He possess anyone. Tongues, like prophecy, and all other gifts, remain under the control of the person who has been granted the gift. It is common for many who are touched by the Holy Spirit to express themselves in very emotional ways. We have no way of knowing why this woman was crying short of her telling us. It could be that while praying:

• the Holy Spirit convicted her of sin and she was crying tears of repentance, or
• tears of joy because she experienced a release or emotional healing.

Those are just two possibilities. Remember tongues is essentially a gift of prayer. It can be a very deep, travailing prayer which manifests itself as an outward emotional expression. Nevertheless, the person is always in control. I pray in tongues fairly regularly, but I control it. The Spirit may move me to exercise the gift, but I can turn it on or off much like one opens or closes a faucet.

Your assumption that God doesn't scare people, is not exactly correct. Yes, God is gentle, loving, forgiving, and so forth, but He is an Awesome God of signs and wonders as well.

The entire Israelite camp was scared when they heard God's voice. So much so, that they all said to Moses, you speak to God for us, and let God speak to you, and then you tell us what He said.

As far as your reaction (being spooked) as you put it, it sounds like you've never been exposed to extraordinary gifts of Charisms before. Most Catholics are pretty much in dark when it comes to these Charismatic gifts. They see it as weird or eccentric. That's mainly because the clergy doesn't talk about these gifts, they never explain them, and people aren't taught to expect them.

These gifts normally come with the Holy Spirit when we get confirmed, but if your average Confirmation candidate isn't taught to expect them or to be open to them, they often remain dormant and unused.

With respect to folks who get slain in the Spirit, that's a tough one. For the most part, folks get overwhelmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit and have physical/emotional response.

I've seen a lot of it, and much of it can be ascribed to a group dynamic. Then again, I've had experiences while being prayed over that are akin to being slain in the Spirit.

To your questions:

• Do we doubt that the Holy Spirit will let the people get hurt?
• Why do we need to intervene?

As I stated before, there is a group dynamic that can take over. Some people are really Slain in the Spirit while some people just fall back because it looks like the thing to do, since everyone else is doing it. You've got to remember, some people get caught up in the gifts or the experience. They show up at a Charismatic meeting seeking an experience rather than God. To be safe, you have ushers catch people as they fall back.

The bottom line is: Going up for prayer just to get slain in Spirit is a pretty dubious practice. Getting Slain in the Spirit as a result of, or in response to, sensing the presence of God, is not.

Again, if it's truly an authentic experience, you should be able to control it and snap out of it before you get hurt, but again for safety sake, catchers are a good precaution, just in case.

John