futurefatherz, there is nothing wrong with being charismatic (having gifts). We all have gifts of the Holy Spirit and should celebrate those gifts.
The issue is what is perceived as charismatic (doing things with charisma) is not what it is all about. This is taken from a southern Baptist style of worship, getting up and shouting Amen or speaking in (what people perceive to be) tongues.

I attended a Pentecostal service a month ago because my wife got hired on to play some music for them. I was difficult for me to hear the pastor because of all the "Yes, Jesus", "Amen", and speaking in tongues. The music was happy clappy, and that is ok, I guess for this type of service.

The Catholic Church does not deny the gifts of the Holy Spirit but keep this mind.
The Mass is a sacred re-presentation of the sacrifice of Jesus' death and resurrection.
Music that is fitting of such a sacrifice should be played at Mass.
unfortunately the charismatic movement confuses the gifts of the Holy Spirit as meaning that you need to do everything with charisma. They miss the whole point of sacrifice.

The charismatic movement can be an inspiring thing but it should be left to outside of Mass. The only gift that means anything to me at Mass is the gift of my Savior in the True Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. My gifts have nothing to do with it, except that I do my best to produce beautiful music for such a great sacrifice.

One more thing to consider, In Acts 2:4-6, when the apostles spoke in tongues, they were speaking so every one in the crowd could understand them. Not gibberish.
In 1 Cor 12:10 many gifts are given for the common good. "to one is given .... the utterance of Wisdom, ... knowledge ,,, faith ... healing ... working of miracles ... prophecy ... distinguishing between spirits . various kinds of tongues, ... interpretation of tongues. these are all apportioned as the spirit wills.
I have been to a number of these services and the only gifts they all claim is healing (by laying on of hands and prayer) and speaking in tongues. All of the other gifts are no where to be seen, especially the one you would think that would be present is the interpretation of tongues. No one there has any idea what is being said by anyone else. Now why do you suppose the Holy Spirit would have people talking in a language that no one understands and no one can interpret. It all sounds a little weird to me.

I love their enthusiasm and if they are really speaking in tongues and healing people more power to them "God IS Great" but the Mass should be left as it is and as it has always been.

In general, there is a concern about where the movement gets its ideas: are theories from non-Catholic sources adopted without an adequate theological examination?

One particular point of concern is in the practice of "prophecy" in prayer meetings. I used to see groups letting certain individuals present little exhortations every week as "prophecy": sometimes people with questionable mental abilities giving messages that were harmless but pointless, and probably just the fruit of the person's own spiritual meditation rather than an authentic exercise of spiritual gifts.

Pentecostalism, as in "Church of God" in its various incarnations, places too much emphasis on the individual and his/her/its relationship with "The Spirit," whatever that spirit may be. There is no teaching, doctrinally authoritative church which determines truth or fiction. They have scripture, yes, but we all know how that can turn into a bottomless pit when left solely up to individual interpretation. I am Byzantine Catholic. We don't shake and tremble, see heavenly bodies move from their appointed courses, mumble in unknown languages, or take up the serpent. We also have a dim view of all the above.

Yes, lots of "Lord have mercy." I hope He is listening and answers that prayer!

I think the Charismatic Movement did pick up practices from Protestantism. Having been present during Vatican II and its aftermath, I have thought the Roman Rite in the U.S. in general, picked up some things from Protestantism, not all of them good. I am leery of the concept of "I felt this or that, therefore the spirit told me to (fill in the blanks here)" Here in the south, there is a Pentecostal church of some stripe always nearby. Some of them are aligned with national denominations, while some are so independent they can get a bit scary in practice and belief. There is a snake handling Pentecostal church not more than 40 miles from here. That's the extreme of course, and their snakes get confiscated regularly by the state since keeping poisonous snakes is illegal in this state.

take up the serpent

Sorry, couldn' help it.

True. If you have a specific, verifiable gift that is clearly attached to you as an individual, the hierarchy's decision should be sought.

From what I've read, the charismatic gifts themselves do exist, but only at limited times, e.g. you may do some sort of prayer healing once, but never again. The Holy Spirit (it is said) can work through anybody in any way He wants, thus these gifts will only sometimes manifest themselves.

I agree, however, that for a specific, prolonged, and publicized ministry of charismatic gifts (such as Frank Kelly), it would be wise discernment to get your local bishop's approval. The Charismatic renewal as a whole, so far as I know, has been approved however.

Salieri, my bass section often makes me wish for a couple of those serpents.

Charismatic catholicism = protestant influenced catholicism.
All protestant influence = bad.

Some elements of Anglo-Catholicism, "High" Lutheranism are good. Their contributions to sacred music have been important to the extant that they kept using the traditional roman catholic texts in latin/english/german and didn't deviate from them.
Other aspects that they maintained in common with RC's are also of value actually.
neither of them has anything to do with pentecostals.

Pentecostals are very very innovative protestants.

IMHO (speaking from decades of experience) there is a very fine line between "faith filled charismatics" and those who have gone off the deep end into diabolical territory. Tongues? Healing? ...these subjects can easily become distractions from the basics of religion, faith and morals... and the sacraments themselves... and of the Mass, which is the central element of our faith. Be very careful when "experience and/or emotion" becomes the barometer for whether or not you are 'feeling or actually ARE close to God'.

Take the story of Job for instance... or perhaps, Jesus, Mary and Joseph on their flight to Egypt... and it wasn't on Delta!

There are always pitfalls and dangers in every movement within the church. What it boils down to is this: Is it a means or an ends?

People in the Charismatic movement can end up in error when they over-emphasise the individual, personal, spirit-filled experiences. It can become a form of spiritual hedonism, where these experiences become the ends in of itself.

People in the Traditionalist movement can also end up in error in a few different ways, but a particularly prevalent one is the cult of aestheticism, where the aesthetics of the mass (the vestments, ceremonies, chanting) can become the ends in itself, rather than it's proper place as a means towards God.

There are lots of other places where errors can creep in despite the best of intentions. Many parishes have become so focussed on the gathering of people, that it is almost impossible to tell whether they are a church or a social club. Other churches place a very heavy emphasis on the preaching and catechises to the point that they feel like a college campus. There are also lots of small groups out there who seem to glamorise/romanticise the ideal of "poverty." All of these are aspects of Christianity, but an over-emphasis of any one of them will ultimately lead to error.

It has been said that the definition of heresy is the emphasis of one true to the expense of other truths.

Ultimately, one cannot pursue just one aspect of Christianity (take a look at where "Social Justice Christianity" has gone!) But these aspects are all complimentary and add up to a whole church.

A true charismatic spirituality will not object to the norms of the church. One such charismatic was very open to me when I explained that we don't have jubilant music during lent because this is a season where we think about our sinfulness and pray for our interior conversion. This gives way to Easter which is joyful music about the resurrection of Christ. Much the same could be said for Advent to Christmas.

Good responses. While I have had friends involve themselves in this movement, I have noticed they are consumed and distracted to the point of becoming less effective in their ministries .

I find hartleymartin's observations nail it down pretty accurately. The charismatics I know are mostly ignorant about liturgy and tradition, and are too self absorbed in their own feelings. I never said they are bad people, just too much off on a tangent.