The Holy Spirit Paradox

“Those involved intimately in the restoration events of 1897-1904 would attribute it to Divine intervention”

-- Cornelius Jaenen, The Apostle’s Doctrine and Fellowship, p. 520

“Historians find it difficult to conceive of any movement being entirely novel and without antecedents. At the very least, there must be some favourable context and set of circumstances to spawn even the most revolutionary concept.” (507)

He tries to distance is opinion by softening the statement one sentence later, “The social historian is content to observe that such initiatives originate and succeed only when the sociopolitical environment is compatible” ; However, 2 pages later he says “there was a mystical element involved as the believers encountered of directly through some manifestation of God’s grace, or revelation, rather than through the pursuit of knowledge about God and the scriptures as in the case of the Plymouth Brethren” (522)

Jaenen admits that it is “conceivable” that the Walkerites, Kellyites, and Irvingites helped “pave the way for the Dublin and Tipperary movements”.

He appears to be criticizing the statement of William Neatby who was an authority on the Plymouth Brethren when he says, “On the other hand, some sectarian historians prefer to advance a thesis of spontaneous generation, even Divine intervention” (507).

He repeats this theme later when discussing the origins of the 2×2 Fellowship. The date 1897 is a clear reference to the 2×2 Fellowship, even by Jaenen’s standards, as this is the year that he notes a splitting from the Faith Mission by a number of workers who “became disillusioned with the apparent unscriptural basis of their ministry” (521) and started organizing their own assemblies. Jaenen writes that it was likely November 1897 when Edward Cooney met William Irvine at a revival in Nenagh, He might have chosen the year 1904 as significant because that’s when the first convention was held at Crocknacrieve. ??check this***

4 months later Cooney approached Irvine who was preaching in Borrisokane in County Tipperary, “each claiming the liberty to follow Jesus as [he] received progressive light from God by the Spirit”

He quotes Alfred Magowan in an unpublished typescript “we were so zealous that no arguments made against us could have made the slightest effect” (527)

As a boarder at a Jesuit college, Jaenan himself “experienced a deep spiritual awakening” (25)

Irvine put God to the test with his bicycle tour which, by being successful, convinced Irvine that he was right and that the Holy Spirit was with him - self-indulgent daydream of heroically “saving the church”; theatrical, dramatic starring in their personal movie of faith —> point to his believing the Isaiah passage about being a “thresher:

Catholic “Discernment of Spirits” contra Sentimentalism

St. Ignatius of Loyola: Founder of the Jesuits, he developed the classic framework for testing interior movements. His Rules for the Discernment of Spirits distinguish between consolation (an increase in faith, hope, and charity) and desolation (a withdrawal or dryness). He taught that true consolation draws a person toward God, while a false, "emotional high" often fades and leaves the soul feeling dry, confused, or self-centered

St. John of the Cross: A Doctor of the Church who extensively wrote about the "Dark Night of the Soul." He explicitly warned against seeking spiritual thrills, visions, or emotional sweetness. He taught that the Holy Spirit often purifies the soul by stripping away emotional highs, requiring a person to walk by pure faith rather than "feeling

St. Francis de Sales: Known for his practical, gentle approach to the spiritual life, he advised against mistaking emotional fervor for holiness. He taught that the true test of the Holy Spirit's presence is the steady practice of virtue and obedience, rather than how strongly one's heart is "warmed" during prayer. [1,2]

Fr. Wojciech Giertych, O.P.: The theologian to the Papal Household, he directly addresses the trap of sentimentalism in his book Faith and the Emotions. He uses the wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas to outline how a rightly ordered emotional life should serve reason and grace, rather than ruling the spiritual lif

It is not necessary to fee “good” when praying; Jesus had perfect faith, but still suffered while in the Garden, or on the Cross, or when feeling moved by the crowds; Emotions are not a sign of faith. Psychological concept “You are not your feelings” passions (a felt experience) are neither bad or good, we were created by God and God does not create evil; anger as a passive feeling is not a sin, but anger as choice of the will is a sin

although it is true that understanding your emotions can help incarnate your faith

Emotions can be weaponized, like the the Workers accuse someone o having the “wrong Spirit”

the entire Protestant revivalist movement was predicated on emotional conversion experiences

Holy Spirit can be confused on individual level (like Irvine), on a population level (2×2s). see also every Protestant denomination in the history of Christianity (but the Catholic Church is not exempt - see SSPX recently)

CCC 1767

For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." - 1 Corinthians 14:33

Ignatius of Loyola's Rules for the Discernment of Spirits, found in his Spiritual Exercises, are practical guidelines for distinguishing the influence of God from that of evil or disordered human desires. Ignatius teaches that spiritual movements should be judged by their fruits rather than their immediate emotional appeal. Those who are moving toward God generally experience spiritual consolation—an increase in faith, hope, love, peace, and desire for holiness—while the evil spirit seeks to produce discouragement, confusion, anxiety, and desolation.

Cornelius Jaenen, in his book The Apostles’ Doctrine and Fellowship, inadvertently makes my point by quoting Plymouth Brethren member H.A. Ironside’s opposition to one of the founders John Nelson Darby (511):

“There was no attempt at first to enforce uniformity of procedure in these meetings, and if I may be allowed to record here my profound conviction as to the chief causes of the apparent failure of the testimony of the Brethren and their eventual break-up into many different groups, I should say that it was through their failing to maintain the principle that unity is not necessarily uniformity. If the Brethren had been content to allow the Spirit of God to have His own way in each place, and had not made the attempt to enforce common methods of procedure and church order upon the Assemblies as they did some years afterwards, they might have still presented a marvelous testimony of the Unity of the Spirit” [quoting from Thomas Steward Veitch, The Story of the Brethren Movement (London: Pickering & Inglis, n.d.), pp. 24-25]

I’m sure all of the Brethren had the same “profound conviction” that what they were doing was right and that they were, in fact, being led by the Holy Spirit.

consider mentioning Jaenen’s Irvingites stories (513-515)

relate the story of Irvine opening the Bible and putting his finger on Isaiah 41:10-20 and took that as a sign that “God had called him to protest the evils of Christendom” (CK 29) —> that is the most Protestant thing a Protestant could ever say. And what does it say about a person who decides that God chose him, of all people in all times, to “fix” all that is wrong with God’s earthly kingdom; not to save souls, but to “save” the church in its entirety. What kind of narcissistic jackass thinks that way?