LAUGHING IN THE SPIRIT
Now I laugh like an idiot and bark like a dog,
If I don't sober up, I'll likely hop like a frog!
And I'll crow like a rooster 'till the break of day,
'cause the Holy Ghost is moving, and I can't stay away… listen
Could holy laughter be evidence of the Holy Spirit? What about love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control? Hmmm. The Bible does not endorse laughter for worship. The NT refers to laughing 6 times— either in negative context or with warning: “Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection.”(James 4:9)
Holy Laughter Chaos
Holy laughter began was brought into Ottawa's Catholic churches by four priests, Fr Roger Vandenakker, Fr Bob Bedard, Fr Dennis Hayes and Fr Mark Slatter. They are members of a new religious order, the Companions of the Cross. Fr Hayes and FR Vandenakker went to a Vineyard leaders meeting at the Toronto Airport Vineyard called "Catch the Fire" and both were “pinned to the floor with holy glue”.
”This past February, the priests sponsored a three-day Vineyard seminar at St. John the Apostle, beginning with a Mass for both Catholics and non-Catholic, many chewing gum and drinking from cans of pop throughout the long service.
What's particularly frightening about the spread of the Vineyard in Ottawa churches, said MacEachern, is that it seems to attract clergy and laity who "tend to have their heads screwed on right.
"The priests who have become involved were the ones who we knew wore the scapular and prayed the rosary, and we have been surprised by the lay faithful who have become involved."
At St. John's, Fr. Hayes related his first Vineyard experience to the assembly. "God fell all over me that night in ways I didn't expect. 'Carpet time' is now part of my vocabulary. I laughed all the way down the 401....
"After my Communion service - Eucharist - I noticed a kinda new power. In fact, people were falling all over the place [laughter from the assembly]. You're not supposed to do that a whole lot anyway in a Catholic church. But it's great" (hooting and hollering from the assembly).
Fr. Hayes described the physical sensations and experiences he has enjoyed, characterized them as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and said he wanted to have more of them. At that point, the special guest speaker, Mark DuPont from the Toronto Vineyard, said, "Let's pray for Dennis," and the assembly began chanting, "More, More, Give him more. Fill him! Fill him more!"
Then Fr. Hayes began twitching, jerking, and laughing in the sanctuary, and fell to the floor. Another moment of "carpet time."
On March 17th, there was a Vineyard "healing service" at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Ottawa, with Fr. Hayes, Fr. Peter Coughlin from Hamilton, Deacon Jim Heffernan, and at least 400 people packing the entire church, including the center and side aisles.
After Fr. Coughlin, the featured speaker, gave a little address, the healing service began. All those who wanted to be healed were invited to identify themselves by raising their hands. Then, those who were there to pray for the afflicted were invited to stand and pray.
After two hours and three rounds of praying, the healing began, with six teams of ministers spread out around the church, two in the back, two in the center, and two in the sanctuary.
People started lining up for healing, and when they were "zapped" or "smacked," they began "dropping like flies," said MacEachern, who attempted to videotape the event, but was stopped during the "healing" part of the service.
In the sanctuary, Fr. Hayes began pointing at people, and one after another, they dropped to the floor, littering the sanctuary with bodies crumpled in every direction.” Giggling For God
