Kenneth Henderson
The Great Mystery of Marriage
October 12, 2007
Possibly one of the most beautiful gifts that God has given to humanity is the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. Sadly, it is also the most attacked and profaned by Satan. Many people have very little understanding of just how important and holy the gift of marriage is. This can explain why many do not see the importance of saving the gift of sexuality for after they are married, why so many marriages end in divorce and why there is an increased push for homosexual unions. At the root of this problem is a lack of understanding of just what a sacrament is.
A sacrament is a sign instituted by Christ to convey grace. The Church teaches us that the sacraments are the most profound way that God administers His grace to us, His children. The sacraments are His most direct and significant means of healing our brokenness. It is through the sacraments that we, His children can come in direct contact with the living God. Ultimately it is the way that God makes Himself visible, physically present to us.
Through Baptism we receive the "initial cleansing" that washes away the stain of Original Sin, making us a new creation in Christ. Confirmation further equips and strengthens us with grace to be His disciples, to be warriors on the battlefield. The Eucharist, the most important of all the sacraments, is for us our "daily bread" — food for our daily needs — by which we receive Jesus in the most profound and real way we can, in His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. The Eucharist is the very flesh He gave for the salvation of the World, our salvation. Confession allows us to receive the continued cleansing of our souls and the need we have for further healing.
Because of the effect of Original Sin on our lives, we have a tendency to fall into sin. This tendency, called concupiscence, is what pulls us toward sin. By humbling ourselves in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we allow God to reach into our souls and heal us as individuals. The more humble and truthful we are with God, the more He can mend the brokenness of our souls.
The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, also known as Extreme Unction, strengthens us during times of illness and, if called, prepares us for the journey at the time of our deaths to be received by God into His heavenly kingdom.
The Church teaches us that marriage is more than just two people living together who share common likes or because of convenience. It is a sacramental covenant that bonds two people together in an indissoluble union by which the couple makes God present in their marriage. It is the only sacrament that is not administered by a priest. The priest is present at the wedding to witness the validity of the marriage. But the sacrament itself is administered by the husband and wife to each other. The sacrament begins at the moment they commit themselves in marriage with the exchange of vows to freely, faithfully and fruitfully love each other. But the sacrament is perfected when they consummate the marriage in the marital embrace. It is in the sexual union that the couple makes manifest the sacrament and shares in the divine grace that God wishes to give them as man and wife. The vows said with their mouths at the altar are perfected and renewed through their bodies each and every time in the conjugal act.
It is important to understand that the union must be open to life, open to the gift of children, for the marriage to be valid. This is why contraception is a direct contradiction to the very openness to life that must be present in a valid marriage. Without this openness, we block the grace that God wishes to give to marriage. This is also why two men or two women can never be married, because for a marriage to be valid in the eyes of God, the sexual union must potentially be fruitful — something that can never happen in homosexual unions.
In scripture, God gives us His intended plan for marriage and the beauty of sexuality. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul tells us of God's intention for marriage:
'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the church (Eph 5:21-32).
In the original Greek the word for "mystery" here means sacrament. The great mystery or sacrament of marriage is meant to reflect the love that Christ has for His people, the Church. Christ loves His people completely without holding anything back. His love is freely given, fruitful, and faithful. A marriage is to reflect Christ's love for the Church. This is why divorce is impossible for a valid marriage because the bond between man and wife has made them one flesh. To divorce is to profane and destroy what God has joined together.
Because of the great significance this sacrament has on the family itself, it has probably received the greatest attacks from Satan. As it is Satan's desire to destroy all of humanity, he knows that to attack the Sacrament of Marriage is to destroy families at their very core. Possibly the most significant attack that he has made is profaning and devaluing the gift of sexuality. Premarital sex is a significant problem and this is promoted by the mainstreaming of the mindset of the pornographic subculture. "Hooking up," a term used on college campuses to describe uncommitted sexual relationships, is common among young adults. To many, using another's body for their own selfish pleasure is just something to do for recreation.
Pride and selfishness are the key factors that Satan has used to lure man and woman away from God's intended purpose for life:
The Serpent said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden? ...You shall not die, For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil' (Gen 3:1-5).
The result was the Original Sin and with it came the corruption of love and marriage, distorting the original intent of marital love into lust. Lust is the desire to use another for ones own selfish pleasure, while love is to will the greater good of another. Love and lust are directly opposed to one another.
Satan's attack on the Sacrament of Marriage through the corruption of the sexual union is intended to prevent us from gaining the very grace that is given by God to help us throughout our married lives as man and wife. Indeed it is the very grace we need to help us succeed in marriage.
When men seek out selfish pleasures — "It's all about me and my pleasure. If you love me you will fulfill my sexual needs" — they will often turn to pornography, masturbation or even adultery. Their corrupted intellects see women primarily as objects to be used for sexual pleasure, a mindset that is all too often carried into marriage. With the Internet, pornography is much more accessible and is often used as an easy escape for many men. Yet, Jesus tells us in the gospel of Matthew, "You have heard it said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Mt 5:27-28). When men view pornography, they are committing adultery in their hearts.
Satan convinces women that men only want to use them for sex. If they are not getting their emotional needs met, if they are not feeling loved or understood by their husbands, they withdraw because they do not wish to be used. They may withhold sex as a bargaining chip or give into having sex with a man, even if they are being used in order to "feel" loved. Men will use love to get sex, while women will use sex to get love. Lust is the root cause of many of the problems we see in marriages today. Lust destroys marriages by destroying trust between the husband and wife. We must have trust to be vulnerable. We need to be vulnerable in marriage for marriage to succeed. Ultimately we need to trust God's intended plan for marriage for marriage:
Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (Eph 5:21, 24-25).
Couples must be subject to one another "out of reverence for Christ." Without this kind of trust, we cannot experience the kind of joy that God intended for marriage. Without wives giving themselves completely to their husbands, and without husbands loving their wives with the giving of their very lives, marriage will not work. Men must be trustworthy in order for their wives to be open and vulnerable. This level of trust in marriage can only be accomplished by allowing the grace of God to transform us and transform our marriages, to open our hearts completely to God and Trust Him with everything. In order to love as God loves us, we need to have the love of God in our hearts. We cannot give what we do not have.
Jesus performed his first public miracle at a wedding. This shows us the great significance that God places on marriage. The Catechism tells us that "Without [Christ's] help man and woman cannot achieve the union of their lives for which God created them 'in the beginning'" (CCC, n. 1608). This is the very reason that God gave us the sacraments, to help restore that which was lost in Original Sin. Christ came to restore the superabundance of grace that He intended for every holy sacramental marriage. We are to see each other as a gift to one another — to be given freely and not taken. We are to see in our spouses the image of God, as we are all created in the image of God. We need to give ourselves completely to God, entrust Him with our marriage, our family, indeed our very lives, to experience the great gift that He wants to give all of us.
URL: http://www.catholicexchange.com/node/66511
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
The Mass Series Part 5
The Mass series - Part V: The miracle of the Eucharist: 'My flesh is true food'
By Father Tom Margevicius
The following is the fifth part in a seven-part series.
Now that the bread and wine - the fruit of our lives - are at a dignified place on the altar, the assembly stands and begins a dialogue with the priest that's difficult to translate:
"The Lord be with you."
"And also with you" (literally, "and with your spirit").
So far, so good. "Sursum corda," the Latin says next. This has no verb and means literally, "upward hearts." Is the priest telling the people to "lift up your hearts," as our missal has it, or is he saying hearts are already there? Or both? The Latin is ambiguous, and has always been way back to at least A.D. 200.
Language of prayer
I mention the ambiguity for two reasons.
First, you may have heard that a new translation of the Mass is in the works, which might be finished by the end of 2009. It will be closer to the original Latin than the current missal.
You may wonder, "What's taking so long? How hard is it for experts to do a translation?" Well, harder than it seems. Our present text has been criticized because the translation was done too hastily in the 1960s and the changes happened too rapidly. The U.S. bishops don't want to repeat that haste.
Secondly, a theological point: Liturgy is multivalent, meaning it can be understood in many ways. Prayer is ultimately the language of lovers - us and God - and how does one pin down love?
I ask my students, "What's the meaning of a kiss?" It depends on who does it, to whom, when, how, etc. The symbolic language of liturgy also cannot be confined. Though theology tries to articulate it (remember "lex orandi, lex credendi" - "the law of believing, is the law of praying"), we can never fully understand it.
The language of prayer is more poetic than scientific; it moves the heart even more than the mind, which bows in awe before the miracle of the Eucharist.
Theologians use the word "transubstantiation" for this miracle. This means a change of substance: bread and wine become Jesus' true body and blood.
This word relies on ancient Greek philosophical categories of "substance" and "accidents." Substance means the "what" a thing is - a chair, a song, a loaf of bread - and accidents means how the "what" appears: hard or soft, heavy, light, chewy, etc.
After eucharistic transubstantiation the accidents remain: bread and wine appear the same as before. But they are not bread and wine anymore: their substance is now the body and blood of Jesus Christ himself. As he told his followers, "My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink."
Seven parts
Though our minds can't fully grasp the change, we can trace the outline of the prayer. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal lists seven basic parts of all eucharistic prayers.
Thanksgiving, including the dialogue and the preface in which the church thanks God the Father for the salvation wrought in Christ.
Acclamation, when the church joins the angelic and heavenly hosts in crying out, "Holy! Holy! Holy!'
Epiclesis, a Greek word meaning "calling down." The priest asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon the gifts to change them; and later he calls the Spirit down on the assembly, to change us so we also become the body of Christ.
"You are what you eat" is St. Augustine's phrase that originally means not "eat healthy and you'll be healthy;" it connects the church and the Eucharist, both as the body of Christ.
Words of institution. The priest repeats Jesus' own words at the Last Supper. Note that the priest is not "play-acting." He does not pretend to be Jesus and treat the assembly as apostles, telling them, "Take this, all of you. . ." Instead, these words are still part of a prayer addressed to the Father.
Anamnesis, another Greek word, means "making memory." In week one, I mentioned "remembering in the strong liturgical sense," not merely reminiscing about what Jesus did 2,000 years ago in the Upper Room. Rather, by making memory, salvation is actualized, really present among us here and now.
Intercessions occur in various places and usually mention the pope and local bishop by name, as well as saints, our beloved dead, and "any others for whom we now pray."
Doxology is the closing part when we give the Father all glory and honor through the Son in the Spirit. The assembly responds with the Great Amen: Let it be so! Let our lives be all for the glory of God. Such is a fitting way to end all prayers, and the great eucharistic prayer is the most excellent prayer of all.
But wait: there's more. For what happens next, you'll have to tune in next week.
Father Tom Margevicius is instructor of liturgical theology at St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.
URL: http://thecatholicspirit.com/main.asp?Secti..15&subsecti..132&articleID=881
By Father Tom Margevicius
The following is the fifth part in a seven-part series.
Now that the bread and wine - the fruit of our lives - are at a dignified place on the altar, the assembly stands and begins a dialogue with the priest that's difficult to translate:
"The Lord be with you."
"And also with you" (literally, "and with your spirit").
So far, so good. "Sursum corda," the Latin says next. This has no verb and means literally, "upward hearts." Is the priest telling the people to "lift up your hearts," as our missal has it, or is he saying hearts are already there? Or both? The Latin is ambiguous, and has always been way back to at least A.D. 200.
Language of prayer
I mention the ambiguity for two reasons.
First, you may have heard that a new translation of the Mass is in the works, which might be finished by the end of 2009. It will be closer to the original Latin than the current missal.
You may wonder, "What's taking so long? How hard is it for experts to do a translation?" Well, harder than it seems. Our present text has been criticized because the translation was done too hastily in the 1960s and the changes happened too rapidly. The U.S. bishops don't want to repeat that haste.
Secondly, a theological point: Liturgy is multivalent, meaning it can be understood in many ways. Prayer is ultimately the language of lovers - us and God - and how does one pin down love?
I ask my students, "What's the meaning of a kiss?" It depends on who does it, to whom, when, how, etc. The symbolic language of liturgy also cannot be confined. Though theology tries to articulate it (remember "lex orandi, lex credendi" - "the law of believing, is the law of praying"), we can never fully understand it.
The language of prayer is more poetic than scientific; it moves the heart even more than the mind, which bows in awe before the miracle of the Eucharist.
Theologians use the word "transubstantiation" for this miracle. This means a change of substance: bread and wine become Jesus' true body and blood.
This word relies on ancient Greek philosophical categories of "substance" and "accidents." Substance means the "what" a thing is - a chair, a song, a loaf of bread - and accidents means how the "what" appears: hard or soft, heavy, light, chewy, etc.
After eucharistic transubstantiation the accidents remain: bread and wine appear the same as before. But they are not bread and wine anymore: their substance is now the body and blood of Jesus Christ himself. As he told his followers, "My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink."
Seven parts
Though our minds can't fully grasp the change, we can trace the outline of the prayer. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal lists seven basic parts of all eucharistic prayers.
Thanksgiving, including the dialogue and the preface in which the church thanks God the Father for the salvation wrought in Christ.
Acclamation, when the church joins the angelic and heavenly hosts in crying out, "Holy! Holy! Holy!'
Epiclesis, a Greek word meaning "calling down." The priest asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon the gifts to change them; and later he calls the Spirit down on the assembly, to change us so we also become the body of Christ.
"You are what you eat" is St. Augustine's phrase that originally means not "eat healthy and you'll be healthy;" it connects the church and the Eucharist, both as the body of Christ.
Words of institution. The priest repeats Jesus' own words at the Last Supper. Note that the priest is not "play-acting." He does not pretend to be Jesus and treat the assembly as apostles, telling them, "Take this, all of you. . ." Instead, these words are still part of a prayer addressed to the Father.
Anamnesis, another Greek word, means "making memory." In week one, I mentioned "remembering in the strong liturgical sense," not merely reminiscing about what Jesus did 2,000 years ago in the Upper Room. Rather, by making memory, salvation is actualized, really present among us here and now.
Intercessions occur in various places and usually mention the pope and local bishop by name, as well as saints, our beloved dead, and "any others for whom we now pray."
Doxology is the closing part when we give the Father all glory and honor through the Son in the Spirit. The assembly responds with the Great Amen: Let it be so! Let our lives be all for the glory of God. Such is a fitting way to end all prayers, and the great eucharistic prayer is the most excellent prayer of all.
But wait: there's more. For what happens next, you'll have to tune in next week.
Father Tom Margevicius is instructor of liturgical theology at St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.
URL: http://thecatholicspirit.com/main.asp?Secti..15&subsecti..132&articleID=881
The Mass Series Part 4
The Mass Series - Part IV: Presentation of the gifts: Bread, wine and ourselves
By Father Tom Margevicius
The following is the fourth part in a seven-part series on the Mass.
Before moving forward let's review. One week ago, we saw that the church considers the Liturgy of the Word power-packed. What the liturgy's actions say, the word of God enacts. Or as the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" says: "The liturgical word and action are inseparable both insofar as they are signs and instruction and insofar as they accomplish what they signify."
Two weeks ago, we observed how the entrance rites developed in the church's history. At the time of St. Justin Martyr in A.D. 155, they were very rudimentary (see CCC, 1345), but other parts of Mass, including the procession of gifts, were already being done.
Three weeks ago, we examined some liturgical concepts that are helpful in understanding the Mass, especially how the liturgy makes use of signs and symbols to communicate God's grace to us.
All three of these - symbols, gifts, and word plus action - are important for the part of the Mass we look at today: preparation of the gifts.
Sometimes this is also called this the "offertory," but since the bread and wine will be supremely "offered" in the eucharistic prayer, we'll use the term preferred by the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.
Presentation of the gifts assumed great importance in the early church.
St. Cyprian, martyred in Africa in 258, chided those who came to Mass and received the Eucharist but made no offering of their own: "You are wealthy and rich, and do you think that you celebrate the Lord's Supper, not at all considering the offering? Who comes to the Lord's Supper without a sacrifice, and yet takes part of the sacrifice which the poor man has offered? Consider in the Gospel the widow. . ."
St. Augustine was impressed by a fifth-century procession of gifts in Rome in which the faithful brought from their own homes things from their kitchen tables. (After handling all the gifts, no wonder the priest had to wash his hands!)
Augustine called this an "admirable exchange" - for their gifts, God gave back Jesus. Our present prayer over the gifts from the sixth day in the octave of Christmas uses Augustine's language: "Lord, receive our gifts in this wonderful exchange: from all you have given us, we bring you these gifts, and in return, you give us yourself."
Valid matter. The church uses unleavened bread made only of pure wheat flour and water, and wine only from grapes. Why?
Because that's what Jesus used. He told us to "do this" in his memory, and if "this" changes too much, we're no longer following his command.
Even in places of the world where wheat or grapes are scarce, the church still insists that these foodstuffs be imported instead of substituted with local products such as corn flour or rice wine. For persons with celiac disease or alcohol intolerance, the church permits virtually gluten-free hosts and mustum, wine, whose fermentation has been arrested.
Collection of money. Yep, it's in the Bible. "From the very beginning, Christians have brought, along with the bread and wine for the Eucharist, gifts to share with those in need" (CCC, 1351). Tithing and almsgiving are acts of worship (2 Corinthians 9:10-15) and express not only our desire to help those in need but also our generosity to God.
A $20 bill and a $1 bill are next to each other in a man's wallet. The $20 bill says, "Isn't life great! I get to go to the best places: to movies and nice restaurants and the mall." The $1 bill replies, "Well, I go to church." (Right about now lots of people are upset with me, while pastors are secretly sighing, "Thank you Father Tom!")
Made by hand. The ordinary form of Mass uses adapted Jewish "berakah" (blessing) prayers whose words are packed with meaning, even if they're done silently during the music.
Bread and wine symbolize a wonderful cooperation between God and humans. We lay upon the altar not only creation's goods but ours, too. The gifts are not mere wheat and grapes, but "the work of human hands."
Symbolically, that's us on the altar, offering ourselves to God. In the eucharistic prayer, we will ask God to send the Spirit to change the gifts and change us as well - but, again, I'm getting ahead of myself.
The gift of ourselves is never easy, and the church, knowing that, treats our offerings with great care. The priest places them in a dignified place on the altar, incenses them reverently, and asks God to receive them to himself.
"Pray, sisters and brothers, that our sacrifice" - not only bread and wine, but what they symbolize: our work, struggles, joys, money, our very lives - "may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father."
In the next part of Mass, the great eucharistic prayer, it happens: the Holy Spirit comes down, and as the words of Christ are repeated over the bread and wine . . . Stay tuned!
Father Tom Margevicius is instructor of liturgical theology at St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.
URL: http://thecatholicspirit.com/main.asp?Secti..15&subsecti..132&articleID=844
By Father Tom Margevicius
The following is the fourth part in a seven-part series on the Mass.
Before moving forward let's review. One week ago, we saw that the church considers the Liturgy of the Word power-packed. What the liturgy's actions say, the word of God enacts. Or as the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" says: "The liturgical word and action are inseparable both insofar as they are signs and instruction and insofar as they accomplish what they signify."
Two weeks ago, we observed how the entrance rites developed in the church's history. At the time of St. Justin Martyr in A.D. 155, they were very rudimentary (see CCC, 1345), but other parts of Mass, including the procession of gifts, were already being done.
Three weeks ago, we examined some liturgical concepts that are helpful in understanding the Mass, especially how the liturgy makes use of signs and symbols to communicate God's grace to us.
All three of these - symbols, gifts, and word plus action - are important for the part of the Mass we look at today: preparation of the gifts.
Sometimes this is also called this the "offertory," but since the bread and wine will be supremely "offered" in the eucharistic prayer, we'll use the term preferred by the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.
Presentation of the gifts assumed great importance in the early church.
St. Cyprian, martyred in Africa in 258, chided those who came to Mass and received the Eucharist but made no offering of their own: "You are wealthy and rich, and do you think that you celebrate the Lord's Supper, not at all considering the offering? Who comes to the Lord's Supper without a sacrifice, and yet takes part of the sacrifice which the poor man has offered? Consider in the Gospel the widow. . ."
St. Augustine was impressed by a fifth-century procession of gifts in Rome in which the faithful brought from their own homes things from their kitchen tables. (After handling all the gifts, no wonder the priest had to wash his hands!)
Augustine called this an "admirable exchange" - for their gifts, God gave back Jesus. Our present prayer over the gifts from the sixth day in the octave of Christmas uses Augustine's language: "Lord, receive our gifts in this wonderful exchange: from all you have given us, we bring you these gifts, and in return, you give us yourself."
Valid matter. The church uses unleavened bread made only of pure wheat flour and water, and wine only from grapes. Why?
Because that's what Jesus used. He told us to "do this" in his memory, and if "this" changes too much, we're no longer following his command.
Even in places of the world where wheat or grapes are scarce, the church still insists that these foodstuffs be imported instead of substituted with local products such as corn flour or rice wine. For persons with celiac disease or alcohol intolerance, the church permits virtually gluten-free hosts and mustum, wine, whose fermentation has been arrested.
Collection of money. Yep, it's in the Bible. "From the very beginning, Christians have brought, along with the bread and wine for the Eucharist, gifts to share with those in need" (CCC, 1351). Tithing and almsgiving are acts of worship (2 Corinthians 9:10-15) and express not only our desire to help those in need but also our generosity to God.
A $20 bill and a $1 bill are next to each other in a man's wallet. The $20 bill says, "Isn't life great! I get to go to the best places: to movies and nice restaurants and the mall." The $1 bill replies, "Well, I go to church." (Right about now lots of people are upset with me, while pastors are secretly sighing, "Thank you Father Tom!")
Made by hand. The ordinary form of Mass uses adapted Jewish "berakah" (blessing) prayers whose words are packed with meaning, even if they're done silently during the music.
Bread and wine symbolize a wonderful cooperation between God and humans. We lay upon the altar not only creation's goods but ours, too. The gifts are not mere wheat and grapes, but "the work of human hands."
Symbolically, that's us on the altar, offering ourselves to God. In the eucharistic prayer, we will ask God to send the Spirit to change the gifts and change us as well - but, again, I'm getting ahead of myself.
The gift of ourselves is never easy, and the church, knowing that, treats our offerings with great care. The priest places them in a dignified place on the altar, incenses them reverently, and asks God to receive them to himself.
"Pray, sisters and brothers, that our sacrifice" - not only bread and wine, but what they symbolize: our work, struggles, joys, money, our very lives - "may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father."
In the next part of Mass, the great eucharistic prayer, it happens: the Holy Spirit comes down, and as the words of Christ are repeated over the bread and wine . . . Stay tuned!
Father Tom Margevicius is instructor of liturgical theology at St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.
URL: http://thecatholicspirit.com/main.asp?Secti..15&subsecti..132&articleID=844
The Mass Series Part 3
The Mass Series - Part III: Christ is present in the word proclaimed
The following is the third part in a seven-part series on the Mass.
Of the articles I am writing for this series on the Mass, I am really excited about this one: the Liturgy of the Word.
For too long, we have assumed, "Protestants get the Bible, Catholics get the sacraments."
Wrong.
One is not more Catholic than the other; both are essential for the celebration of the Eucharist.
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist "are so closely interconnected that they form but one single act of worship."
The word proclaims what the sacrament enacts: it's the same Christ, really present. The Second Vatican Council's "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy" taught that Christ is present in multiple ways in the liturgy: in the people assembled, in the word proclaimed, in the ordained minister, in the other sacraments and especially in the Sacred Species.
Three years ago, the world's Catholic bishops held a synod discussing the Eucharist. Pope John Paul II followed up with the wonderful document "Ecclesia de Eucharistia," resulting in resurging interest in the importance of the Eucharist in the life of the church.
That's great, but we need to go further. Pope Benedict XVI has instructed the bishops that when their next synod meets in October 2008 the topic will be the word of God.
I predict the Holy Father will follow up with his own document on the word of God. (You heard it here first.) The bishops already have their "homework" assignment: you can read it on the Vatican Web page (www.vatican.va) if you search for "synod," "word" and "lineamenta," which is Latin for "outline."
No better food
Maybe you know someone who left the Catholic Church because they found another church where they "get fed," meaning they hear the word preached better.
Of course, the irony is they can't get fed any better than in our Eucharist. But we should take their departure seriously: a fuller celebration of the word of God will only enhance participation in the Eucharist.
The "Catechism of the Catholic Church" directs: "The Liturgy of the Word is an integral part of sacramental celebrations. To nourish the faith of believers, the signs which accompany the Word of God should be emphasized: the book of the word (a Lectionary or a Book of the Gospels), its veneration (procession, incense, candles), the place of its proclamation (lectern or ambo), its audible and intelligible reading, the minister's homily which extends its proclamation, and the responses of the assembly (acclamations, meditation psalms, litanies and profession of faith)."
Notice how we offer the word what we usually associate with the sacred Species: incense, gilded books, even processions.
The General Introduction to the Lectionary goes so far as to say, "The church has honored the word of God and the eucharistic mystery with the same reverence, although not with the same worship, and has always and everywhere insisted upon and sanctioned such honor."
Proper preparation
To honor the word of God, let the ambo be a fixed, dignified place that parallels the altar itself, since there is "one table of the word and the Eucharist." Don't proclaim the word from disposable booklets - for the same reason wine should not be consecrated in a throwaway cup. Let there be adequate lighting and amplification.
Regarding preparation, Pope Benedict writes, "I ask that the Liturgy of the Word always be carefully prepared and celebrated. Consequently I urge that every effort be made to ensure that the liturgical proclamation of the word of God is entrusted to well-prepared readers."
Just as we appreciate silence after receiving Communion, include periods of silence after the word so it can resonate in our hearts.
Finally, encourage priests and deacons when they preach homilies. Not a single preacher I know thinks it's easy.
Pope Benedict is straightforward on this issue: "The quality of homilies needs to be improved. The homily is 'part of the liturgical action' and is meant to foster a deeper understanding of the word of God, so that it can bear fruit in the lives of the faithful. Hence ordained ministers must 'prepare the homily carefully, based on an adequate knowledge of Sacred Scripture.' Generic and abstract homilies should be avoided.
"In particular,"?he said, "I ask these ministers to preach in such a way that the homily closely relates the proclamation of the word of God to the sacramental celebration and the life of the community, so that the word of God truly becomes the church's vital nourishment and support."
That intersection of three terms - word, sacrament and community - all come together in a beautiful way in the part of the liturgy we'll examine next week: the preparation of the gifts.
Father Tom Margevicius is instructor of liturgical theology at St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.
URL: http://thecatholicspirit.com/main.asp?Secti..15&subsecti..15&articleID=812
The following is the third part in a seven-part series on the Mass.
Of the articles I am writing for this series on the Mass, I am really excited about this one: the Liturgy of the Word.
For too long, we have assumed, "Protestants get the Bible, Catholics get the sacraments."
Wrong.
One is not more Catholic than the other; both are essential for the celebration of the Eucharist.
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist "are so closely interconnected that they form but one single act of worship."
The word proclaims what the sacrament enacts: it's the same Christ, really present. The Second Vatican Council's "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy" taught that Christ is present in multiple ways in the liturgy: in the people assembled, in the word proclaimed, in the ordained minister, in the other sacraments and especially in the Sacred Species.
Three years ago, the world's Catholic bishops held a synod discussing the Eucharist. Pope John Paul II followed up with the wonderful document "Ecclesia de Eucharistia," resulting in resurging interest in the importance of the Eucharist in the life of the church.
That's great, but we need to go further. Pope Benedict XVI has instructed the bishops that when their next synod meets in October 2008 the topic will be the word of God.
I predict the Holy Father will follow up with his own document on the word of God. (You heard it here first.) The bishops already have their "homework" assignment: you can read it on the Vatican Web page (www.vatican.va) if you search for "synod," "word" and "lineamenta," which is Latin for "outline."
No better food
Maybe you know someone who left the Catholic Church because they found another church where they "get fed," meaning they hear the word preached better.
Of course, the irony is they can't get fed any better than in our Eucharist. But we should take their departure seriously: a fuller celebration of the word of God will only enhance participation in the Eucharist.
The "Catechism of the Catholic Church" directs: "The Liturgy of the Word is an integral part of sacramental celebrations. To nourish the faith of believers, the signs which accompany the Word of God should be emphasized: the book of the word (a Lectionary or a Book of the Gospels), its veneration (procession, incense, candles), the place of its proclamation (lectern or ambo), its audible and intelligible reading, the minister's homily which extends its proclamation, and the responses of the assembly (acclamations, meditation psalms, litanies and profession of faith)."
Notice how we offer the word what we usually associate with the sacred Species: incense, gilded books, even processions.
The General Introduction to the Lectionary goes so far as to say, "The church has honored the word of God and the eucharistic mystery with the same reverence, although not with the same worship, and has always and everywhere insisted upon and sanctioned such honor."
Proper preparation
To honor the word of God, let the ambo be a fixed, dignified place that parallels the altar itself, since there is "one table of the word and the Eucharist." Don't proclaim the word from disposable booklets - for the same reason wine should not be consecrated in a throwaway cup. Let there be adequate lighting and amplification.
Regarding preparation, Pope Benedict writes, "I ask that the Liturgy of the Word always be carefully prepared and celebrated. Consequently I urge that every effort be made to ensure that the liturgical proclamation of the word of God is entrusted to well-prepared readers."
Just as we appreciate silence after receiving Communion, include periods of silence after the word so it can resonate in our hearts.
Finally, encourage priests and deacons when they preach homilies. Not a single preacher I know thinks it's easy.
Pope Benedict is straightforward on this issue: "The quality of homilies needs to be improved. The homily is 'part of the liturgical action' and is meant to foster a deeper understanding of the word of God, so that it can bear fruit in the lives of the faithful. Hence ordained ministers must 'prepare the homily carefully, based on an adequate knowledge of Sacred Scripture.' Generic and abstract homilies should be avoided.
"In particular,"?he said, "I ask these ministers to preach in such a way that the homily closely relates the proclamation of the word of God to the sacramental celebration and the life of the community, so that the word of God truly becomes the church's vital nourishment and support."
That intersection of three terms - word, sacrament and community - all come together in a beautiful way in the part of the liturgy we'll examine next week: the preparation of the gifts.
Father Tom Margevicius is instructor of liturgical theology at St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.
URL: http://thecatholicspirit.com/main.asp?Secti..15&subsecti..15&articleID=812
The Mass Series Part 2
The Mass Series - Part II: Entrance rites - Getting ready to meet God
The Mass: Special Section
By Father Tom Margevicius
The following is the second part in a seven-part series on the Mass.
Last week I mentioned a few concepts that help us appreciate the Mass, such as symbolic objects, words and actions, timelessness, active participation and changed lives. Now let's look more closely at the beginning of Mass.
Of course, we don't think that in the Upper Room one of the apostles fired up an organ, Jesus put on a stole and chasuble, got in line behind the altar servers carrying incense and candles, and they sang "Gather Us In" before beginning the Last Supper.
Around the year A.D. 155, St. Justin explained to a pagan emperor how Christians did it: "On the day we call the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same place. The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read . . ." (See "Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1345).
The rest of St. Justin's liturgy looks remarkably familiar, and it is reassuring that the early church celebrated Mass pretty much the same way we still do.
But notice that St. Justin says nothing about the entrance rites. These developed gradually over several hundred years.
Altar. One of the earliest things to develop is the symbolism of the altar itself. At the start of Mass, when everyone reaches the sanctuary, we bow to the altar, even if the tabernacle is in a different chapel. And bishops, priests and deacons kiss the altar. Why?
That's because according to St. Ambrose (late 300s) the altar is a symbol of Christ. The liturgy calls Jesus Christ priest, victim and altar: As High Priest, he makes the offering (Hebrews 5:1-10). As Victim, he is the one being sacrificed, the Lamb who was slain (Revelation 13:8).
But why altar? St. Paul says we "offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, our spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1). Since we know the Father accepts Christ's sacrifice, we place our lives on Christ himself; he is the one through whom we sacrifice our lives. Reverencing the altar is reverencing Christ himself.
Greeting. The celebrant greets the assembly with the Sign of the Cross and a scriptural text such as, "The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you" (Titus 1:4).
This is much richer than merely saying, "Good morning." No matter how much the priest and people like one another, something more is happening: The priest is wishing God upon the people, and the people respond not just to the man, but to Jesus Christ himself. That's why the literal translation of the people's response is, "And with your spirit." Christ greets his bride (the church), and the bride greets the spirit of Christ present in the priest.
Penitential rite. Are you ready to meet Jesus, who really comes to us in the Eucharist? Sometimes, neither am I. That's why we usually ask for mercy next. This can take several forms: The most ancient predates even the use of Latin in Mass: We cry out "Kyrie eleison," Greek for "Lord have mercy."
The Confiteor ("I confess . . .") first shows up around the eighth century. And sometimes, such as at Easter and Masses with baptism, we renew our baptismal promises and replace the penitential rite with a sprinkling with water.
The Gloria comes from the song the angels sang at Jesus' birth (Luke 2:4) and originally was used only during the Christmas season. It found its way into Mass during the sixth century. Christ is born anew in each Mass we celebrate, and we sing his praises with the angels and saints who are continually praising him. Each time we pray Mass, we join with the liturgy already going on in heaven (CCC, 1090).
Opening prayer. The opening prayer is also called the "collect." The priest intones, "Let us pray," and then a brief silence follows. The silence is not just waiting for the server to bring the book; each of us is supposed to be praying silently during that time, and after a short while the priest "collects" all those silent prayers into the opening prayer.
When the priest ends, we all acclaim "Amen!" signaling our agreement with the prayer, and we are ready for God to speak to us.
Father Tom Margevicius is instructor of liturgical theology at St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.
URL: http://thecatholicspirit.com/main.asp?Secti..15&subsecti..15&articleID=790
The Mass: Special Section
By Father Tom Margevicius
The following is the second part in a seven-part series on the Mass.
Last week I mentioned a few concepts that help us appreciate the Mass, such as symbolic objects, words and actions, timelessness, active participation and changed lives. Now let's look more closely at the beginning of Mass.
Of course, we don't think that in the Upper Room one of the apostles fired up an organ, Jesus put on a stole and chasuble, got in line behind the altar servers carrying incense and candles, and they sang "Gather Us In" before beginning the Last Supper.
Around the year A.D. 155, St. Justin explained to a pagan emperor how Christians did it: "On the day we call the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same place. The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read . . ." (See "Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1345).
The rest of St. Justin's liturgy looks remarkably familiar, and it is reassuring that the early church celebrated Mass pretty much the same way we still do.
But notice that St. Justin says nothing about the entrance rites. These developed gradually over several hundred years.
Altar. One of the earliest things to develop is the symbolism of the altar itself. At the start of Mass, when everyone reaches the sanctuary, we bow to the altar, even if the tabernacle is in a different chapel. And bishops, priests and deacons kiss the altar. Why?
That's because according to St. Ambrose (late 300s) the altar is a symbol of Christ. The liturgy calls Jesus Christ priest, victim and altar: As High Priest, he makes the offering (Hebrews 5:1-10). As Victim, he is the one being sacrificed, the Lamb who was slain (Revelation 13:8).
But why altar? St. Paul says we "offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, our spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1). Since we know the Father accepts Christ's sacrifice, we place our lives on Christ himself; he is the one through whom we sacrifice our lives. Reverencing the altar is reverencing Christ himself.
Greeting. The celebrant greets the assembly with the Sign of the Cross and a scriptural text such as, "The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you" (Titus 1:4).
This is much richer than merely saying, "Good morning." No matter how much the priest and people like one another, something more is happening: The priest is wishing God upon the people, and the people respond not just to the man, but to Jesus Christ himself. That's why the literal translation of the people's response is, "And with your spirit." Christ greets his bride (the church), and the bride greets the spirit of Christ present in the priest.
Penitential rite. Are you ready to meet Jesus, who really comes to us in the Eucharist? Sometimes, neither am I. That's why we usually ask for mercy next. This can take several forms: The most ancient predates even the use of Latin in Mass: We cry out "Kyrie eleison," Greek for "Lord have mercy."
The Confiteor ("I confess . . .") first shows up around the eighth century. And sometimes, such as at Easter and Masses with baptism, we renew our baptismal promises and replace the penitential rite with a sprinkling with water.
The Gloria comes from the song the angels sang at Jesus' birth (Luke 2:4) and originally was used only during the Christmas season. It found its way into Mass during the sixth century. Christ is born anew in each Mass we celebrate, and we sing his praises with the angels and saints who are continually praising him. Each time we pray Mass, we join with the liturgy already going on in heaven (CCC, 1090).
Opening prayer. The opening prayer is also called the "collect." The priest intones, "Let us pray," and then a brief silence follows. The silence is not just waiting for the server to bring the book; each of us is supposed to be praying silently during that time, and after a short while the priest "collects" all those silent prayers into the opening prayer.
When the priest ends, we all acclaim "Amen!" signaling our agreement with the prayer, and we are ready for God to speak to us.
Father Tom Margevicius is instructor of liturgical theology at St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.
URL: http://thecatholicspirit.com/main.asp?Secti..15&subsecti..15&articleID=790
The Mass Series Part 1
The Mass Series - Part I: What we believe is what we pray and live
By Father Tom Margevicius
For The Catholic Spirit
"Ite, Missa est." This is the Latin ending of the Mass, rendered in English as: "The Mass is ended, go in peace."
"OK," you're thinking, "here's another article - or worse, a series of articles - on the pre-Vatican II Mass."
Wrong.
I know the old Latin Mass is a hot topic, but I start this column with the Latin words for two other reasons.
The first is to say that "missa" is where we get the English word "Mass."
Second, "Ite, Missa est" means we are "missioned" by Jesus Christ himself to bring the Good News to the world (Matthew 28:19-20). The dismissal more than just signals that we can go home - it tells us what to do after Mass.
The church uses the Latin phrase, "lex credendi, lex orandi" - "the law of believing is the law of praying" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church," 1124). This means that if you want to know what we Catholics believe, look at how we pray, and vice versa.
Pope Benedict XVI's exhortation, "The Sacrament of Charity," follows that basic pattern: Part 1 is titled "A Mystery to Be Believed" ("lex credendi"). Part 2 is "A Mystery to Be Celebrated" ("lex orandi").
But the pope adds a Part 3: "A Mystery to Be Lived." One might say Pope Benedict?XVI expands the phrase to "lex credendi, lex orandi, lex vivendi" - the law of belief is the law of praying is the law of living.
Mass is about more than fancy words and strange vestments and vessels. It's about changed lives: ours, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, the lives of those we encounter.
For that reason, the popular "Gather" hymnal we use in church could also have been titled "Dismiss!" because we are charged to go out and bring Christ to a world that needs him.
These articles on what happens at Mass mean nothing unless we are converted.
But I'm ahead of myself. We'll discuss the dismissal in a few weeks. For now, let's start with a few other basic concepts for understanding Mass.
Time and space. The incarnation, Passion and resurrection of Jesus are timeless. Though they happened historically and geographically in Palestine 2,000 years ago, their reality becomes present here and now in our celebration. "Remembering," in the strong liturgical sense, is how we become present to that always-and-everywhere reality (CCC, 1362-1363).
Signs and symbols. Question: Is the Eucharist the real presence of Christ, or is it a symbol? Answer: Yes.
The Eucharist is both the real presence and a symbol, or better, a collection of symbols.
We hesitate because "symbol" to us connotes something unreal, but that is not the traditional Catholic understanding. Every sacrament is a sign (CCC, 1123); the sign is the reality, present in a particular way. To say the eucharistic presence is symbolic means Jesus Christ comes to us through bread and wine, which the Spirit changes into Christ's Body and Blood, and also through the Word, people, actions and even objects of the Mass (CCC, 1131).
Distinctive roles, words, actions and objects. A few years ago, a college sports team met with President Bush, and people gasped because some women on the team wore flip-flop sandals. The reaction was reasonable because for really special events we dress up.
The Eucharist commemorates the most important event ever, and our words, actions and objects should dress it up. That's why the church protects worship from becoming too pedestrian. Not just anybody leads the Eucharist. We choose particular men and ordain them to do so. We don't use paper cups and plates, nor do we talk to God using words like, "Hey, Dude!" Something special is going on.
Full and active participation. St. Pius X didn't want people to pray at Mass, he wanted them to pray the Mass. Pius XII encouraged full and active participation, a phrase re-emphasized at Vatican II. The better we understand our special roles, words and actions, the better our worship.
During the next six weeks, we will look at each part of the Mass in succession so we can understand, celebrate and live it even better.
Father Tom Margevicius is instructor of liturgical theology at St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul
URL: http://thecatholicspirit.com/main.asp?Secti..15&subsecti..132&articleID=762
By Father Tom Margevicius
For The Catholic Spirit
"Ite, Missa est." This is the Latin ending of the Mass, rendered in English as: "The Mass is ended, go in peace."
"OK," you're thinking, "here's another article - or worse, a series of articles - on the pre-Vatican II Mass."
Wrong.
I know the old Latin Mass is a hot topic, but I start this column with the Latin words for two other reasons.
The first is to say that "missa" is where we get the English word "Mass."
Second, "Ite, Missa est" means we are "missioned" by Jesus Christ himself to bring the Good News to the world (Matthew 28:19-20). The dismissal more than just signals that we can go home - it tells us what to do after Mass.
The church uses the Latin phrase, "lex credendi, lex orandi" - "the law of believing is the law of praying" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church," 1124). This means that if you want to know what we Catholics believe, look at how we pray, and vice versa.
Pope Benedict XVI's exhortation, "The Sacrament of Charity," follows that basic pattern: Part 1 is titled "A Mystery to Be Believed" ("lex credendi"). Part 2 is "A Mystery to Be Celebrated" ("lex orandi").
But the pope adds a Part 3: "A Mystery to Be Lived." One might say Pope Benedict?XVI expands the phrase to "lex credendi, lex orandi, lex vivendi" - the law of belief is the law of praying is the law of living.
Mass is about more than fancy words and strange vestments and vessels. It's about changed lives: ours, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, the lives of those we encounter.
For that reason, the popular "Gather" hymnal we use in church could also have been titled "Dismiss!" because we are charged to go out and bring Christ to a world that needs him.
These articles on what happens at Mass mean nothing unless we are converted.
But I'm ahead of myself. We'll discuss the dismissal in a few weeks. For now, let's start with a few other basic concepts for understanding Mass.
Time and space. The incarnation, Passion and resurrection of Jesus are timeless. Though they happened historically and geographically in Palestine 2,000 years ago, their reality becomes present here and now in our celebration. "Remembering," in the strong liturgical sense, is how we become present to that always-and-everywhere reality (CCC, 1362-1363).
Signs and symbols. Question: Is the Eucharist the real presence of Christ, or is it a symbol? Answer: Yes.
The Eucharist is both the real presence and a symbol, or better, a collection of symbols.
We hesitate because "symbol" to us connotes something unreal, but that is not the traditional Catholic understanding. Every sacrament is a sign (CCC, 1123); the sign is the reality, present in a particular way. To say the eucharistic presence is symbolic means Jesus Christ comes to us through bread and wine, which the Spirit changes into Christ's Body and Blood, and also through the Word, people, actions and even objects of the Mass (CCC, 1131).
Distinctive roles, words, actions and objects. A few years ago, a college sports team met with President Bush, and people gasped because some women on the team wore flip-flop sandals. The reaction was reasonable because for really special events we dress up.
The Eucharist commemorates the most important event ever, and our words, actions and objects should dress it up. That's why the church protects worship from becoming too pedestrian. Not just anybody leads the Eucharist. We choose particular men and ordain them to do so. We don't use paper cups and plates, nor do we talk to God using words like, "Hey, Dude!" Something special is going on.
Full and active participation. St. Pius X didn't want people to pray at Mass, he wanted them to pray the Mass. Pius XII encouraged full and active participation, a phrase re-emphasized at Vatican II. The better we understand our special roles, words and actions, the better our worship.
During the next six weeks, we will look at each part of the Mass in succession so we can understand, celebrate and live it even better.
Father Tom Margevicius is instructor of liturgical theology at St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul
URL: http://thecatholicspirit.com/main.asp?Secti..15&subsecti..132&articleID=762
Seven Sanctifications for Spouses
Seven Sanctifications For Spouses
catholics and divorce, part 3
BY Melinda Selmys
October 14-20, 2007 Issue Posted 10/9/07 at 11:48 AM
For the last two weeks, we’ve been examining the problem of divorce, its nature and it’s causes. Last week, we looked at “7 Worldly Wisdoms.”
Today we will seek out the cure.
1. “He who is forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:47).
A heavy weight of grudge, complaint, injustice and remembered wrongs can sink any marriage. Wrongs remembered in times of anger are fuel thrown on the fire. Take time in prayer to recall old wounds that you haven’t healed and set them before the cross. Everything in marriage should be brought to God — whether it is something as trivial as laundry left undone, or something as serious as adultery.
Real forgiveness, like real contrition, expects no recompense: If you have forgiven, you will not be bitter about being the one who had to forgive. Rejoice. Marriage gives us many opportunities to cash in on God’s promise that we will be forgiven as we forgive.
2. “Love issues from a pure heart” (1 Timothy 1-5).
Be chaste in thought and in deed. If you rehearse adultery in the theater of your mind, you will find it difficult to resist temptation when it comes. Pornography, prurient entertainment and steamy romance novels all replace your real spouse with a figment, a sexual automaton who possesses no personality or needs beyond your own.
If your spouse is involved in these behaviors, be gentle and patient: They may be compulsive, and quite humiliating.
3. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
Work together, play together, relax together, fight together — and make sure that you make separate time for each of these activities. We are often inclined to try to do the wrong things at the wrong time. If you want to rip your husband’s head off and eat it with ketchup, it isn’t the time to fight. Go calm down, then go for a walk in the park, or take the kids to the zoo.
When you’re getting along again, then it’s the time to talk about the problems in your relationship and get them resolved. I suspect that most divorces are the result of couples littering the floor with each other’s emotional entrails when angry, and then trying to keep a tight-lipped peace when they’re not.
4. “Pride goes before destruction” (Proverbs16:18).
No divorcee is ever responsible for the divorce. If they committed adultery, it was because their husband was distant and emotionally abusive. If they asked for the divorce, it was only after years of putting up with their wife’s frigidity. Marriage requires the humility to admit that you are wrong. Say, “I’m sorry,” and don’t add a “but …”
Remember that pride is the invisible vice; you can see it easily in others, only with difficulty in yourself. Frequent the sacrament of confession and get into the habit of knowing your own faults.
5. “The measure you give will be the measure you get” (Mark 4:24).
Money is always a means to an end; people are ends in themselves. It is therefore a severe perversion of the moral order to allow money to undermine a relationship. Put first things first.
If you tithe, give alms, lend to those who cannot repay you, and invest your treasure in your faith and your marriage instead of your property, then God will provide you with everything that you really need (and often with much more). Have faith in divine Providence, and there will be no need to fight or worry over money.
If your spouse cannot do this, don’t fight, and don’t worry. Discuss it reasonably and charitably and let them have their way. Better to lose your house and gain your marriage than to surround yourself with baubles and lose your spouse.
6. “Whoever would save his life will lose it” (Matthew 16:25).
If you cling to your spouse, and try to hold him captive with threats of private detectives, or with the latest tricks from the magazines at the grocery counter, you will suffocate your marriage.
Be faithful, and trust your spouse to be faithful. It is much more difficult to disappoint someone who loves and trusts you than to defy someone who holds you on a leash.
7. “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28).
Be open to filling your house with children. A child is an incarnation of your love for each other. They confirm that love, and each one is an incarnation of a different aspect of your union.
If this has not proved true in your marriage, spend more time really interacting with your children (i.e. not watching television or playing video games with them, or watching them inertly over a frazzled cup of coffee). You will find in them a reflection of the spouse you fell in love with, and they will find in you an image of God’s unconditional love.
Melinda Selmys is a staff writer
at VulgataMagazine.org.
catholics and divorce, part 3
BY Melinda Selmys
October 14-20, 2007 Issue Posted 10/9/07 at 11:48 AM
For the last two weeks, we’ve been examining the problem of divorce, its nature and it’s causes. Last week, we looked at “7 Worldly Wisdoms.”
Today we will seek out the cure.
1. “He who is forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:47).
A heavy weight of grudge, complaint, injustice and remembered wrongs can sink any marriage. Wrongs remembered in times of anger are fuel thrown on the fire. Take time in prayer to recall old wounds that you haven’t healed and set them before the cross. Everything in marriage should be brought to God — whether it is something as trivial as laundry left undone, or something as serious as adultery.
Real forgiveness, like real contrition, expects no recompense: If you have forgiven, you will not be bitter about being the one who had to forgive. Rejoice. Marriage gives us many opportunities to cash in on God’s promise that we will be forgiven as we forgive.
2. “Love issues from a pure heart” (1 Timothy 1-5).
Be chaste in thought and in deed. If you rehearse adultery in the theater of your mind, you will find it difficult to resist temptation when it comes. Pornography, prurient entertainment and steamy romance novels all replace your real spouse with a figment, a sexual automaton who possesses no personality or needs beyond your own.
If your spouse is involved in these behaviors, be gentle and patient: They may be compulsive, and quite humiliating.
3. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
Work together, play together, relax together, fight together — and make sure that you make separate time for each of these activities. We are often inclined to try to do the wrong things at the wrong time. If you want to rip your husband’s head off and eat it with ketchup, it isn’t the time to fight. Go calm down, then go for a walk in the park, or take the kids to the zoo.
When you’re getting along again, then it’s the time to talk about the problems in your relationship and get them resolved. I suspect that most divorces are the result of couples littering the floor with each other’s emotional entrails when angry, and then trying to keep a tight-lipped peace when they’re not.
4. “Pride goes before destruction” (Proverbs16:18).
No divorcee is ever responsible for the divorce. If they committed adultery, it was because their husband was distant and emotionally abusive. If they asked for the divorce, it was only after years of putting up with their wife’s frigidity. Marriage requires the humility to admit that you are wrong. Say, “I’m sorry,” and don’t add a “but …”
Remember that pride is the invisible vice; you can see it easily in others, only with difficulty in yourself. Frequent the sacrament of confession and get into the habit of knowing your own faults.
5. “The measure you give will be the measure you get” (Mark 4:24).
Money is always a means to an end; people are ends in themselves. It is therefore a severe perversion of the moral order to allow money to undermine a relationship. Put first things first.
If you tithe, give alms, lend to those who cannot repay you, and invest your treasure in your faith and your marriage instead of your property, then God will provide you with everything that you really need (and often with much more). Have faith in divine Providence, and there will be no need to fight or worry over money.
If your spouse cannot do this, don’t fight, and don’t worry. Discuss it reasonably and charitably and let them have their way. Better to lose your house and gain your marriage than to surround yourself with baubles and lose your spouse.
6. “Whoever would save his life will lose it” (Matthew 16:25).
If you cling to your spouse, and try to hold him captive with threats of private detectives, or with the latest tricks from the magazines at the grocery counter, you will suffocate your marriage.
Be faithful, and trust your spouse to be faithful. It is much more difficult to disappoint someone who loves and trusts you than to defy someone who holds you on a leash.
7. “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28).
Be open to filling your house with children. A child is an incarnation of your love for each other. They confirm that love, and each one is an incarnation of a different aspect of your union.
If this has not proved true in your marriage, spend more time really interacting with your children (i.e. not watching television or playing video games with them, or watching them inertly over a frazzled cup of coffee). You will find in them a reflection of the spouse you fell in love with, and they will find in you an image of God’s unconditional love.
Melinda Selmys is a staff writer
at VulgataMagazine.org.
Quote
"As soon as worldly people see that you wish to follow a devout life they aim a thousand darts of mockery and even detraction at you. The most malicious of them will slander your conversion as hypocrisy, bigotry, and trickery. They will say that the world has turned against you and being rebuffed by it you have turned to God. Your friends will raise a host of objections which they consider very prudent and charitable. They will tell you that you will become depressed, lose your reputation in the world, be unbearable, and grow old before your time, and that your affairs at home will suffer. You must live in the world like one in the world. They will say that you can save your soul without going to such extremes, and a thousand similar trivialities. ... All this is mere foolish, empty babbling. These people aren't interested in your health or welfare."
-St. Francis de Sales
-St. Francis de Sales
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Christian or New Age? Part 7
This article is from The Catholic Herald online.
Ouija Boards and Tarot Cards
Oct 8, 2007 3:00 PM
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the seventh part of a series that examines how Catholics are being challenged by followers of New Age philosophies.]
Fortune-telling has real staying power.
It’s been attracting crowds since prehistoric time. And in the recorded history of Greece for the period spanning 700-800 B.C., the ancients believed the home of the oracle of Delphi was the center of the universe.
In modern times, divining the future can be cheap and convenient. For the do-it-yourself crowd, toy stores stock plenty of ouija boards and tarot cards, and any New Age bookstore will sell a variety of crystals and how-to manuals on palm-reading.
But don’t let the price tags mislead you. Those items might not seem to cost very much, but the spiritual price we pay for using them is often much steeper than we realize.
Some people are not aware that fortune telling and other forms of divination are linked to the occult. Consider the background of two of the most popular forms of modern fortune-telling: ouija boards and Tarot cards, both of which are currently being sold as children’s games.
Ouija Boards
The ouija board set consists of an alphabet board and heart-shaped pointer, known as a planchette, which are used for divination through spirit contact.
The use of alphabet boards for divination dates back to 1200 B.C. in China, when similar instruments were used to communicate with the dead, according to information from the Museum of Talking Boards. Ancient Greeks used a table that moved on wheels to point to signs that were then interpreted as revelations from the "unseen world."
Modern use of the ouija board entered the United States as part of the Spiritualism movement of the mid-19th century. In some forms, followers use a pendelum that swings over a plate or a table with letters painted around the edge to spell out messages.
In 1890, two businessmen named Elijah Bond and Charles Kennard patented the idea of using a planchette and alphabet board as a "talking board." An employee of theirs name William Fuld took over production of the product in 1901 and started selling the board under the name "ouija," which was derived from the French, German and Dutch words meaning "yes" — oui and ja.
In 1966, Fuld sold the patent to the Parker Brothers (now Hasbro) game corporation, which began marketing the board as a game. Although the company does not release sales figures on its ouija board, anywhere from 20-25 million boards have been sold, according to an estimate by Mitch Horowitz, the editor-in-chief of Tarcher-Penguin books and author of "Ouija: How This American Anomaly Became More Than Just Fun and Games."
The world saw how well a ouija board could work in the blockbuster Hollywood horror film, "The Exorcist," a fictional account based on the true story of an exorcism performed in 1949 for a 13-year-old boy from Mount Ranier, Wash. Introduced to the board by an aunt, the boy used it to contact her spirit after she died. However, instead of contacting his aunt, he unwittingly contacted demons who disguised themselves as friendly spirits and eventually possessed him.
The board is one dangerous toy, writes Joel S. Peters, an apologist for Catholic Answers in San Diego, Calif.
"The ouija board is far from harmless, as it is a form of divination (seeking information from supernatural sources)," Peters writes. "The fact of the matter is, the ouija board really does work, and the only ‘spirits’ that will be contacted through it are evil ones. . . ."
"Just because someone regards the board as harmless doesn’t mean it is," Peters said. "A disbelief in something does not necessarily mean that something isn’t real. The ouija board has an objective reality that exists apart from a person’s perception of it. In other words, it’s real even if you don’t believe it is."
Tarot Cards
Although there are many different theories about the origin of tarot cards (pronounced "tar-o"), there is some evidence that they originated in Italy in the 14th century, with the earliest recorded mention of their use dating to 1391, according to Father William Saunders, dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College, who wrote an article titled, "The History of Tarot Cards" for the Arlington (Va.) Catholic Herald.
Based in the occult, tarot cards are used predominantly for cartomancy, divination or fortune telling.
The modern history of the tarot, according to the New Age Alamanac, can be traced to a French Huguenot pastor named Antoine Court de Gebelin (1719-1784). De Gebelin became active in Parisian freemasonry circles, and joined the Philalethes, a French Masonic occult order. He became an accomplished occult scholar and, through his various social connections, discovered the tarot.
De Gebelin believed the occult symbolism of the cards tied them to ancient Egypt, although that has never been substantiated.
In 1783, a fortune teller known only as Etteilla published a book detailing a methodology for tarot cartomancy, and the use of the cards for fortune telling continues to this day.
Father Saunders describes the composition of the 78 cards in the tarot deck this way: "The pack of cards — known as the "Tarocco" — is made up of 22 major "enigmas," whose figures represent a synthesis of the mysteries of life, and 56 minor images incoporating 14 figures in four series (gold, clubs, swords and goblets)."
The gold series symbolizes intellectual activity; the club series symbolizes government; the sword series symbolizes the military; and the goblet series symbolizes the priesthood.
"Practitioners of Tarot believe that these enigmas, images and series represent the sum of the knowledge of all sciences, particularly astrology, and that the permutations in "dealing with the cards" is capable of revealing the future and solving all problems," Father Saunders writes.
The occult links of ouija boards and tarot cards may not be immediately obvious to some individuals, especially when they are sold as children’s games. Some people fall unwittingly into the habit of using the divining devices without realizing they have exposed themselves to the influence of demonic spirits.
Because of such hidden dangers, strong warnings against all forms of divination are found throughout Scripture and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
One such admonition is found in the book of Deuteronomy: "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist [spiritualist] or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is destestable to the Lord." (18:10-12)
The Cathecism also notes that, along with breaking the first commandment, the use of divination devices is wrong because they "conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to concilate hidden powers." (No. 2116)
"To invoke Satan or any other power, to enter the darkness [the occult] for any assistance, or to attempt to usurp powers which belong to God alone is a defiance of the authority of almighty God," warns Father Saunders. "To commit such acts is to turn away from God and place our own souls in jeopardy."
NEXT ISSUE: Energy Medicine, Part One.
(This article originally appeared in The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
OTHER PARTS OF THE SERIES
PART SIX: Bewitched by Wicca
PART FIVE: Is acupuncture acceptable for Catholics?
PART FOUR: The enneagram: What's your number?
PART THREE: Reiki and healing touch
PART TWO: Ten Questions to Help You Determine: "Christian or New Age?"
PART ONE: Popular Movement Is One of the Most Pressing Challenges to Christian Faith
http://www.coloradocatholicherald.com/display.php?xrc=646
Ouija Boards and Tarot Cards
Oct 8, 2007 3:00 PM[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the seventh part of a series that examines how Catholics are being challenged by followers of New Age philosophies.]
Fortune-telling has real staying power.
It’s been attracting crowds since prehistoric time. And in the recorded history of Greece for the period spanning 700-800 B.C., the ancients believed the home of the oracle of Delphi was the center of the universe.
In modern times, divining the future can be cheap and convenient. For the do-it-yourself crowd, toy stores stock plenty of ouija boards and tarot cards, and any New Age bookstore will sell a variety of crystals and how-to manuals on palm-reading.
But don’t let the price tags mislead you. Those items might not seem to cost very much, but the spiritual price we pay for using them is often much steeper than we realize.
Some people are not aware that fortune telling and other forms of divination are linked to the occult. Consider the background of two of the most popular forms of modern fortune-telling: ouija boards and Tarot cards, both of which are currently being sold as children’s games.
Ouija Boards
The ouija board set consists of an alphabet board and heart-shaped pointer, known as a planchette, which are used for divination through spirit contact.
The use of alphabet boards for divination dates back to 1200 B.C. in China, when similar instruments were used to communicate with the dead, according to information from the Museum of Talking Boards. Ancient Greeks used a table that moved on wheels to point to signs that were then interpreted as revelations from the "unseen world."
Modern use of the ouija board entered the United States as part of the Spiritualism movement of the mid-19th century. In some forms, followers use a pendelum that swings over a plate or a table with letters painted around the edge to spell out messages.
In 1890, two businessmen named Elijah Bond and Charles Kennard patented the idea of using a planchette and alphabet board as a "talking board." An employee of theirs name William Fuld took over production of the product in 1901 and started selling the board under the name "ouija," which was derived from the French, German and Dutch words meaning "yes" — oui and ja.
In 1966, Fuld sold the patent to the Parker Brothers (now Hasbro) game corporation, which began marketing the board as a game. Although the company does not release sales figures on its ouija board, anywhere from 20-25 million boards have been sold, according to an estimate by Mitch Horowitz, the editor-in-chief of Tarcher-Penguin books and author of "Ouija: How This American Anomaly Became More Than Just Fun and Games."
The world saw how well a ouija board could work in the blockbuster Hollywood horror film, "The Exorcist," a fictional account based on the true story of an exorcism performed in 1949 for a 13-year-old boy from Mount Ranier, Wash. Introduced to the board by an aunt, the boy used it to contact her spirit after she died. However, instead of contacting his aunt, he unwittingly contacted demons who disguised themselves as friendly spirits and eventually possessed him.
The board is one dangerous toy, writes Joel S. Peters, an apologist for Catholic Answers in San Diego, Calif.
"The ouija board is far from harmless, as it is a form of divination (seeking information from supernatural sources)," Peters writes. "The fact of the matter is, the ouija board really does work, and the only ‘spirits’ that will be contacted through it are evil ones. . . ."
"Just because someone regards the board as harmless doesn’t mean it is," Peters said. "A disbelief in something does not necessarily mean that something isn’t real. The ouija board has an objective reality that exists apart from a person’s perception of it. In other words, it’s real even if you don’t believe it is."
Tarot Cards
Although there are many different theories about the origin of tarot cards (pronounced "tar-o"), there is some evidence that they originated in Italy in the 14th century, with the earliest recorded mention of their use dating to 1391, according to Father William Saunders, dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College, who wrote an article titled, "The History of Tarot Cards" for the Arlington (Va.) Catholic Herald.
Based in the occult, tarot cards are used predominantly for cartomancy, divination or fortune telling.
The modern history of the tarot, according to the New Age Alamanac, can be traced to a French Huguenot pastor named Antoine Court de Gebelin (1719-1784). De Gebelin became active in Parisian freemasonry circles, and joined the Philalethes, a French Masonic occult order. He became an accomplished occult scholar and, through his various social connections, discovered the tarot.
De Gebelin believed the occult symbolism of the cards tied them to ancient Egypt, although that has never been substantiated.
In 1783, a fortune teller known only as Etteilla published a book detailing a methodology for tarot cartomancy, and the use of the cards for fortune telling continues to this day.
Father Saunders describes the composition of the 78 cards in the tarot deck this way: "The pack of cards — known as the "Tarocco" — is made up of 22 major "enigmas," whose figures represent a synthesis of the mysteries of life, and 56 minor images incoporating 14 figures in four series (gold, clubs, swords and goblets)."
The gold series symbolizes intellectual activity; the club series symbolizes government; the sword series symbolizes the military; and the goblet series symbolizes the priesthood.
"Practitioners of Tarot believe that these enigmas, images and series represent the sum of the knowledge of all sciences, particularly astrology, and that the permutations in "dealing with the cards" is capable of revealing the future and solving all problems," Father Saunders writes.
The occult links of ouija boards and tarot cards may not be immediately obvious to some individuals, especially when they are sold as children’s games. Some people fall unwittingly into the habit of using the divining devices without realizing they have exposed themselves to the influence of demonic spirits.
Because of such hidden dangers, strong warnings against all forms of divination are found throughout Scripture and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
One such admonition is found in the book of Deuteronomy: "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist [spiritualist] or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is destestable to the Lord." (18:10-12)
The Cathecism also notes that, along with breaking the first commandment, the use of divination devices is wrong because they "conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to concilate hidden powers." (No. 2116)
"To invoke Satan or any other power, to enter the darkness [the occult] for any assistance, or to attempt to usurp powers which belong to God alone is a defiance of the authority of almighty God," warns Father Saunders. "To commit such acts is to turn away from God and place our own souls in jeopardy."
NEXT ISSUE: Energy Medicine, Part One.
(This article originally appeared in The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
OTHER PARTS OF THE SERIES
PART SIX: Bewitched by Wicca
PART FIVE: Is acupuncture acceptable for Catholics?
PART FOUR: The enneagram: What's your number?
PART THREE: Reiki and healing touch
PART TWO: Ten Questions to Help You Determine: "Christian or New Age?"
PART ONE: Popular Movement Is One of the Most Pressing Challenges to Christian Faith
http://www.coloradocatholicherald.com/display.php?xrc=646
Christian or New Age? Part 6
This article is from the Catholic Herald online
Bewitched by Wicca
Susan Brinkmann, Special to the HeraldOct 8, 2007 3:00 PM
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the sixth part of a series that examines how Catholics are being challenged by followers of New Age philosophies.]
Sometimes called the Goddess movement, Goddess spirituality or the Craft, Wicca is one of the fastest growing religions in America today.
It was recognized as an official religion by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986, and today there are more than 200,000 adherents of Wicca and related, "neopagan" faiths practicing in the United States.
"Wicca" is derived from the old English word, wic-a — meaning "witch" — in its use as the umbrella name for modern religious witchcraft.
Wicca was invented by Gerald B. Gardner (1884-1964) in England, and was meant to be a goddess-centered, nature religion.
However, in the decades since it came to the United States, Wicca has mushroomed into a vast array of beliefs encompassing ancient Celtic, Greek, Roman and Egyptian religions, as well as many forgotten traditions, including shamanic healing circles and Toltec wisdom.
Brooks Alexander of the Spiritual Counterfeit Project in Berkeley, Calif., writes that contemporary "witchcraft is individualistic to the point of being anarchic, with no centralized authority or even any agreed-upon definition of what a ‘witch’ is."
Alexander adds: "In effect, a witch is whoever says they are a witch, and witch beliefs and practices amount to whatever individual witches actually believe and do."
Wiccans pride themselves on making things up as they go along, but there are four commonly held beliefs.
First there is the belief that divinity is immanent in all of nature (harking back to animism, polytheism and pantheism). Second, Wicca is either female-centered and goddess-oriented or it is centered on a paired god and goddess. Third, it does not believe in the concept of sin and the uniqueness of Christ. Fourth, it espouses spiritual reciprocity — "what goes around comes around."
Wiccans also generally follow a basic ethic known as the "Wiccan Rede." The Rede is usually written as, "An it harm none, do as ye will." — not because the motto is as ancient as it sounds, but because Wiccans like to couch things in obsolete terms to give them the appearance of antiquity, according to Alexander.
In modern English, their Rede translates, "As long as it doesn’t hurt anyone, do whatever you want."
There is no central authority or established organization in the Wiccan religion. In fact, it’s unofficial "church" is the Internet — where there are a variety of Wiccan sites for people of all ages, including chat rooms, coven-finders and bulletin boards.
Many Wiccans belong to covens or circles, which usually consist of 13 people.
"The covens are governed by a high priestess and a high priest, with the high priestess being the leading figure in the coven," according to Donald H. Thompson, a retired police officer and cult expert for the Baltimore police department. Thompson’s writing includes a chapter in the book, "Today’s Destructive Cults and Movements," which has been compiled by Father Lawrence J. Gesy, cult consultant to the Baltimore Archdiocese.
"Their purpose is to guide members to achieve a nature-based attitude and to instruct them in the ways of the Craft, with its rituals and initiations," Thompson writes.
"There are rituals for initiation, rituals for healing and protection, rituals for the sun and the sea, and it goes on and on," he says. "You can look at witchcraft as a religion expressed in rituals."
Wicca rituals are commonly held in homes or out in the open, and some are conducted "skyclad," meaning without clothes.
"Most Wiccan witches believe in reincarnation, that at the time of death the soul is reborn," Thompson goes on. "They believe this is possible over and over again to increase their mental powers. Most witches practice clairvoyance and divination, usually starting with tarot cards; however, crystal balls (the larger the better) flasks and black mirrors all become part of the rituals to develop clairvoyance and divination."
One of the most startling of all Wiccan practices is astral projection. Wiccans believe that when the body is relaxed, through the powers of concentration, a person can transfer his conscious mind into the air around him.
"While this may seem absurd to many of us, let me assure you that these powers are possible to achieve," Thompson writes, "and many have succeeded in obtaining these powers and having out-of-body experiences."
Where the powers come from is of grave concern. Although Wiccans do not worship or believe in Satan, some of their practices are rooted in occult traditions.
Father Gesy said he believes the reason why many people are falling into the snares of New Age movements, including Wicca, is because they’re searching.
"The rapid growth of Wicca is the perfect example of how these false religions attract people who are searching," he said. "They’re vulnerable, lonely, hurting and perhaps 50 percent of them are either not practicing their faith or don’t have a faith. When something happens, and they have a ‘religious revival,’ I hate to say it, but the first group that gets there gets them."
That may be where Wicca’s extensive use of the Internet comes in. And then there are some youth subcultures that seem to attuned to Wicca, such as the self-described "Goths" — teenagers whose personal style, attitude and musical choices are dark, gothic and disaffected.
"You take someone who isn’t popular at school but who gets in with the wrong group — and all of a sudden, people are paying attention to them, to the way they dress and behave," Father Gesy said. "It’s not positive attention, but it’s still attention."
Unfortunately, many of these young people are then introduced to Wicca, which leads them into the worship of false gods.
Wiccans believe in the ancient gods of the British Isles — the Horned God of hunting, death and magic, and the Great Mother, a goddess who supposedly gives regeneration and rebirth to souls.
"The practice of Wicca is incompatible with Christianity because it is based on the worship of pagan deities, and is therefore a sin against the First Commandment," Father Gesy said. "Wicca is basically a pantheistic religion, which means it is a worship of nature. It’s pagan, which means it is also polytheistic, in that it worships multiple gods and goddesses."
"On the other hand, we are monotheistic, meaning we worship the one true God," he added.
When it comes to Wicca and other New Age spiritualities, Father Gesy said, the best way to assess whether a religion is compatible with Christianity is to ask a simple question: "Is it leading you to put your faith in creatures or in the Creator?"
NEXT ISSUE: Divining the Future — Ouija Boards and Tarot Cards.
(This article originally appeared in The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
Bewitched by WiccaSusan Brinkmann, Special to the HeraldOct 8, 2007 3:00 PM
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the sixth part of a series that examines how Catholics are being challenged by followers of New Age philosophies.]
Sometimes called the Goddess movement, Goddess spirituality or the Craft, Wicca is one of the fastest growing religions in America today.
It was recognized as an official religion by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986, and today there are more than 200,000 adherents of Wicca and related, "neopagan" faiths practicing in the United States.
"Wicca" is derived from the old English word, wic-a — meaning "witch" — in its use as the umbrella name for modern religious witchcraft.
Wicca was invented by Gerald B. Gardner (1884-1964) in England, and was meant to be a goddess-centered, nature religion.
However, in the decades since it came to the United States, Wicca has mushroomed into a vast array of beliefs encompassing ancient Celtic, Greek, Roman and Egyptian religions, as well as many forgotten traditions, including shamanic healing circles and Toltec wisdom.
Brooks Alexander of the Spiritual Counterfeit Project in Berkeley, Calif., writes that contemporary "witchcraft is individualistic to the point of being anarchic, with no centralized authority or even any agreed-upon definition of what a ‘witch’ is."
Alexander adds: "In effect, a witch is whoever says they are a witch, and witch beliefs and practices amount to whatever individual witches actually believe and do."
Wiccans pride themselves on making things up as they go along, but there are four commonly held beliefs.
First there is the belief that divinity is immanent in all of nature (harking back to animism, polytheism and pantheism). Second, Wicca is either female-centered and goddess-oriented or it is centered on a paired god and goddess. Third, it does not believe in the concept of sin and the uniqueness of Christ. Fourth, it espouses spiritual reciprocity — "what goes around comes around."
Wiccans also generally follow a basic ethic known as the "Wiccan Rede." The Rede is usually written as, "An it harm none, do as ye will." — not because the motto is as ancient as it sounds, but because Wiccans like to couch things in obsolete terms to give them the appearance of antiquity, according to Alexander.
In modern English, their Rede translates, "As long as it doesn’t hurt anyone, do whatever you want."
There is no central authority or established organization in the Wiccan religion. In fact, it’s unofficial "church" is the Internet — where there are a variety of Wiccan sites for people of all ages, including chat rooms, coven-finders and bulletin boards.
Many Wiccans belong to covens or circles, which usually consist of 13 people.
"The covens are governed by a high priestess and a high priest, with the high priestess being the leading figure in the coven," according to Donald H. Thompson, a retired police officer and cult expert for the Baltimore police department. Thompson’s writing includes a chapter in the book, "Today’s Destructive Cults and Movements," which has been compiled by Father Lawrence J. Gesy, cult consultant to the Baltimore Archdiocese.
"Their purpose is to guide members to achieve a nature-based attitude and to instruct them in the ways of the Craft, with its rituals and initiations," Thompson writes.
"There are rituals for initiation, rituals for healing and protection, rituals for the sun and the sea, and it goes on and on," he says. "You can look at witchcraft as a religion expressed in rituals."
Wicca rituals are commonly held in homes or out in the open, and some are conducted "skyclad," meaning without clothes.
"Most Wiccan witches believe in reincarnation, that at the time of death the soul is reborn," Thompson goes on. "They believe this is possible over and over again to increase their mental powers. Most witches practice clairvoyance and divination, usually starting with tarot cards; however, crystal balls (the larger the better) flasks and black mirrors all become part of the rituals to develop clairvoyance and divination."
One of the most startling of all Wiccan practices is astral projection. Wiccans believe that when the body is relaxed, through the powers of concentration, a person can transfer his conscious mind into the air around him.
"While this may seem absurd to many of us, let me assure you that these powers are possible to achieve," Thompson writes, "and many have succeeded in obtaining these powers and having out-of-body experiences."
Where the powers come from is of grave concern. Although Wiccans do not worship or believe in Satan, some of their practices are rooted in occult traditions.
Father Gesy said he believes the reason why many people are falling into the snares of New Age movements, including Wicca, is because they’re searching.
"The rapid growth of Wicca is the perfect example of how these false religions attract people who are searching," he said. "They’re vulnerable, lonely, hurting and perhaps 50 percent of them are either not practicing their faith or don’t have a faith. When something happens, and they have a ‘religious revival,’ I hate to say it, but the first group that gets there gets them."
That may be where Wicca’s extensive use of the Internet comes in. And then there are some youth subcultures that seem to attuned to Wicca, such as the self-described "Goths" — teenagers whose personal style, attitude and musical choices are dark, gothic and disaffected.
"You take someone who isn’t popular at school but who gets in with the wrong group — and all of a sudden, people are paying attention to them, to the way they dress and behave," Father Gesy said. "It’s not positive attention, but it’s still attention."
Unfortunately, many of these young people are then introduced to Wicca, which leads them into the worship of false gods.
Wiccans believe in the ancient gods of the British Isles — the Horned God of hunting, death and magic, and the Great Mother, a goddess who supposedly gives regeneration and rebirth to souls.
"The practice of Wicca is incompatible with Christianity because it is based on the worship of pagan deities, and is therefore a sin against the First Commandment," Father Gesy said. "Wicca is basically a pantheistic religion, which means it is a worship of nature. It’s pagan, which means it is also polytheistic, in that it worships multiple gods and goddesses."
"On the other hand, we are monotheistic, meaning we worship the one true God," he added.
When it comes to Wicca and other New Age spiritualities, Father Gesy said, the best way to assess whether a religion is compatible with Christianity is to ask a simple question: "Is it leading you to put your faith in creatures or in the Creator?"
NEXT ISSUE: Divining the Future — Ouija Boards and Tarot Cards.
(This article originally appeared in The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
Christian or New Age? Part 5
This article is from the Catholic Herald online
Susan Brinkmann, Special to the HeraldSep 7, 2007 4:45 PM
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fifth part of a series that examines how Catholics are being challenged by followers of New Age philosophies.]
In July 1971, while accompanying Henry Kissinger to China, The New York Times columnist James Reston had an emergency appendectomy. Afterward at the Anti-Imperialist Hospital in Peking, doctors treated his pain with a traditional form of Chinese medicine known as acupuncture.
"I was in considerable discomfort if not pain during the second night after the operation," Reston wrote shortly after his return to the United States. "Li Chang-yuan, doctor of acupuncture at the hospital, with my approval, inserted three long, thin needles into the outer part of my right elbow and below my knees, and manipulated them in order to stimulate the intestine and relieve the pressure and distension of the stomach.
"Meanwhile, Doctor Li lit two pieces of an herb called ai, which looked like the burning stumps of a broken, cheap cigar, and held them close to my abdomen while occasionally twirling the needles into action. All this took about 20 minutes, during which I remember thinking that it was a rather complicated way to get rid of gas in the stomach. But there was noticeable relaxation of the pressure and distension within an hour and no recurrence of the problem thereafter."
Many people in the medical field, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), believe that event is what precipitated what is now a 20-year surge of interest in acupuncture in the United States.
A report from a Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture held at the NIH in 1997 stated that acupuncture is being widely practiced by thousands of physicians, dentists, acupuncturists and other practitioners in the U.S.
According to the largest and most comprehensive survey of complementary and alternative medicine in use by American adults, the 2002 National Health Institute Survey, "an estimated 8.2 million U.S. adults had . . . used acupuncture [at some time] and an estimated 2.1 million U.S. adults had used acupuncture in the previous year."
How Does Acupuncture Work?
The Chinese theory behind acupuncture as a medical treatment is very different from the kind of acupuncture used in Western medicine.
"Traditional Chinese acupuncture is based on the theory that the body is a delicate balance of two opposing and inseparable forces: yin and yang," says the NIH Web site for Complementary and Alternative Medicines. "Yin represents the cold, slow or passive principle, while yang represents the hot, excited or active principle."
It goes on to explain that the Chinese believe health is achieved by maintaining the body in a balanced state, and that the disease is caused by an internal imbalance of yin and yang.
"This imbalance leads to blockage in the flow of qi (energy) along pathways know as meridians," according to the NIH site. "It is believed that there are 12 main meridians and eight secondary meridians, and that there are more than 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body that connect with them."
Chinese practitioners believe that by inserting extremely fine needles into those points in various combinations, a person’s energy flow may be re-balanced, thus allowing the body’s natural healing mechanisms to take over.
Because there is no anatomical or other physically verifiable basis for the existence of acupuncture points, qi or meridians, the Western version of acupuncture is not based on the concept of yin and yang, but on neuroscience. Today, science believes acupuncture may work in three ways: by releasing endorphins, which are part of the body’s natural pain-control system; by stimulating nerves in the spinal cord that release pain-suppressing neurotransmitters; or by the naturally occurring increase in blood flow in the needle-puncture area, which removes toxic substances.
Origin of Acupuncture
The word "acupuncture" is derived from the latin acus meaning "needle" and pungere meaning "prick." The origins of Chinese acupuncture are uncertain. There is some archeological evidence of its practice during the Han dynasty (202 B.C. to 220 A.D.) with the first mention of it a century earlier in the Yellow Emperor’s "Classic of Internal Medicine," a history of acupuncture that was completed around 305 B.C.
However, hieroglyphics dating back to 1000 B.C. have been found what may be an indication that acupuncture was in use much earlier. There is also some speculation surrounding the discovery of Otzi, a 5,000-year-old mummy with over 50 tattoos on his body, some indicated on established acupuncture points.
Other scientists believe there is evidence to support the practice of acupuncture in Eurasia during the early Bronze Age. In an article that appeared in the British medical journal, The Lancet, researches said, "We hypothesized that there might have been a medical system similar to acupuncture (Chinese Zhensiu: needling and burning) that was practices in Central Europe 5,200 years ago. . . . This raises the possibility of acupuncture having originated in the Eurasian continent at least 2,000 years earlier than previously recognized."
Can Catholics Use It?
The Western form of acupuncture, which is based on science and not Taoism, is acceptable for use by Christians. However, the traditional Chinese acupuncture belief system is not compatible with Christianity.
"The philosophical thinking behind acupuncture comes from Taoism and the concept of the yin and yang, and of being at one with the forces in the universe through meditation," the Irish Theological Commission wrote in 1994 in its document, "A Catholic Response to the New Age Phenomenon."
Christians believe man is a union of body and soul, and that the soul is an essential form — not an energy force. The belief that one can meditate and be at one with the forces of the universe is based in pantheism, the belief that the universe, God and nature are all equivalent.
At present, there are many unlicensed practitioners who may be practicing a blended version of Western and Chinese acupuncture.
"The New Age movement has no difficulty with acupuncture because it accepts the Eastern philosophy behind it," the theological commission said. "But what about Christians? Can they accept the help and not be affected by its religious content? Many believe they can.
"The general principle in this matter is that these practices are not bad in themselves, and dissociated from their original context, can be practiced by Catholics with due discretion."
Father Lawrence J. Gesy, the cult consultant for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the lead author of "Today’s Destructive Cults and Movements," says those seeking an acupuncturist should "make sure the person who is doing the acupuncture is medically licensed."
According to the Mayo Clinic Web site, there are about 3,000 medical doctors in the U.S. who use acupuncture as part of their clinical practice. No individual needs to resort to a New Age practitioner in order to enjoy the benefits of acupuncture.
"Those who are into the Chinese-god concept of acupuncture usually have charts up, or will talk about gods and energy levels," Father Gesy said. "These people are ‘channeling.’ The needle becomes their channel from the source of the energy of the gods into that person."
Acupuncture works without the religious component, and is a much better bargain for Christians because it comes all the benefits, but none of the spiritual risks.
NEXT ISSUE: Bewitched By Wicca.
(This article originally appeared in The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
Susan Brinkmann, Special to the HeraldSep 7, 2007 4:45 PM[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fifth part of a series that examines how Catholics are being challenged by followers of New Age philosophies.]
In July 1971, while accompanying Henry Kissinger to China, The New York Times columnist James Reston had an emergency appendectomy. Afterward at the Anti-Imperialist Hospital in Peking, doctors treated his pain with a traditional form of Chinese medicine known as acupuncture.
"I was in considerable discomfort if not pain during the second night after the operation," Reston wrote shortly after his return to the United States. "Li Chang-yuan, doctor of acupuncture at the hospital, with my approval, inserted three long, thin needles into the outer part of my right elbow and below my knees, and manipulated them in order to stimulate the intestine and relieve the pressure and distension of the stomach.
"Meanwhile, Doctor Li lit two pieces of an herb called ai, which looked like the burning stumps of a broken, cheap cigar, and held them close to my abdomen while occasionally twirling the needles into action. All this took about 20 minutes, during which I remember thinking that it was a rather complicated way to get rid of gas in the stomach. But there was noticeable relaxation of the pressure and distension within an hour and no recurrence of the problem thereafter."
Many people in the medical field, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), believe that event is what precipitated what is now a 20-year surge of interest in acupuncture in the United States.
A report from a Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture held at the NIH in 1997 stated that acupuncture is being widely practiced by thousands of physicians, dentists, acupuncturists and other practitioners in the U.S.
According to the largest and most comprehensive survey of complementary and alternative medicine in use by American adults, the 2002 National Health Institute Survey, "an estimated 8.2 million U.S. adults had . . . used acupuncture [at some time] and an estimated 2.1 million U.S. adults had used acupuncture in the previous year."
How Does Acupuncture Work?
The Chinese theory behind acupuncture as a medical treatment is very different from the kind of acupuncture used in Western medicine.
"Traditional Chinese acupuncture is based on the theory that the body is a delicate balance of two opposing and inseparable forces: yin and yang," says the NIH Web site for Complementary and Alternative Medicines. "Yin represents the cold, slow or passive principle, while yang represents the hot, excited or active principle."
It goes on to explain that the Chinese believe health is achieved by maintaining the body in a balanced state, and that the disease is caused by an internal imbalance of yin and yang.
"This imbalance leads to blockage in the flow of qi (energy) along pathways know as meridians," according to the NIH site. "It is believed that there are 12 main meridians and eight secondary meridians, and that there are more than 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body that connect with them."
Chinese practitioners believe that by inserting extremely fine needles into those points in various combinations, a person’s energy flow may be re-balanced, thus allowing the body’s natural healing mechanisms to take over.
Because there is no anatomical or other physically verifiable basis for the existence of acupuncture points, qi or meridians, the Western version of acupuncture is not based on the concept of yin and yang, but on neuroscience. Today, science believes acupuncture may work in three ways: by releasing endorphins, which are part of the body’s natural pain-control system; by stimulating nerves in the spinal cord that release pain-suppressing neurotransmitters; or by the naturally occurring increase in blood flow in the needle-puncture area, which removes toxic substances.
Origin of Acupuncture
The word "acupuncture" is derived from the latin acus meaning "needle" and pungere meaning "prick." The origins of Chinese acupuncture are uncertain. There is some archeological evidence of its practice during the Han dynasty (202 B.C. to 220 A.D.) with the first mention of it a century earlier in the Yellow Emperor’s "Classic of Internal Medicine," a history of acupuncture that was completed around 305 B.C.
However, hieroglyphics dating back to 1000 B.C. have been found what may be an indication that acupuncture was in use much earlier. There is also some speculation surrounding the discovery of Otzi, a 5,000-year-old mummy with over 50 tattoos on his body, some indicated on established acupuncture points.
Other scientists believe there is evidence to support the practice of acupuncture in Eurasia during the early Bronze Age. In an article that appeared in the British medical journal, The Lancet, researches said, "We hypothesized that there might have been a medical system similar to acupuncture (Chinese Zhensiu: needling and burning) that was practices in Central Europe 5,200 years ago. . . . This raises the possibility of acupuncture having originated in the Eurasian continent at least 2,000 years earlier than previously recognized."
Can Catholics Use It?
The Western form of acupuncture, which is based on science and not Taoism, is acceptable for use by Christians. However, the traditional Chinese acupuncture belief system is not compatible with Christianity.
"The philosophical thinking behind acupuncture comes from Taoism and the concept of the yin and yang, and of being at one with the forces in the universe through meditation," the Irish Theological Commission wrote in 1994 in its document, "A Catholic Response to the New Age Phenomenon."
Christians believe man is a union of body and soul, and that the soul is an essential form — not an energy force. The belief that one can meditate and be at one with the forces of the universe is based in pantheism, the belief that the universe, God and nature are all equivalent.
At present, there are many unlicensed practitioners who may be practicing a blended version of Western and Chinese acupuncture.
"The New Age movement has no difficulty with acupuncture because it accepts the Eastern philosophy behind it," the theological commission said. "But what about Christians? Can they accept the help and not be affected by its religious content? Many believe they can.
"The general principle in this matter is that these practices are not bad in themselves, and dissociated from their original context, can be practiced by Catholics with due discretion."
Father Lawrence J. Gesy, the cult consultant for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the lead author of "Today’s Destructive Cults and Movements," says those seeking an acupuncturist should "make sure the person who is doing the acupuncture is medically licensed."
According to the Mayo Clinic Web site, there are about 3,000 medical doctors in the U.S. who use acupuncture as part of their clinical practice. No individual needs to resort to a New Age practitioner in order to enjoy the benefits of acupuncture.
"Those who are into the Chinese-god concept of acupuncture usually have charts up, or will talk about gods and energy levels," Father Gesy said. "These people are ‘channeling.’ The needle becomes their channel from the source of the energy of the gods into that person."
Acupuncture works without the religious component, and is a much better bargain for Christians because it comes all the benefits, but none of the spiritual risks.
NEXT ISSUE: Bewitched By Wicca.
(This article originally appeared in The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
Christian or New Age? Part 4
This article is from the Catholic Herald
The Enneagram: What's Your Number?
Susan Brinkmann, Special to the HeraldAug 23, 2007 4:15 PM
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth part of a series that examines how Catholics are being challenged by followers of New Age philosophies.]
If you’re a "seven," you’re a compulsive optimist who likes everything warm and fuzzy.
"Sevens" don’t get along very well with "fours," because "fours" are too "artsy" and think suffering is a way to be special in a plain world.
If you’re not sure what number you are, perhaps you’ve never been exposed to the enneagram, a numerical system of nine personality types that is often popular with people involved in New Age philosophies. They use it for spiritual direction and self-knowledge.
Followers are taught how to identify their enneagram type, improve their personality, and "pray in sync" with whatever their "type" may be.
That might sound harmless, but it is not, according to the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Interreligious Dialogue
In their 2003 document, "Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian Reflection on the New Age," the councils describe enneagrams this way: "(T)he enneagram, [is a] nine-type tool for character analysis, which when used as a means of spiritual growth introduces an ambiguity in the doctrine and the life of the Christian faith."
The problem with the enneagram starts with its roots.
Derived from the Greek word "ennea," which means nine, and "gramma," which means line drawing, the enneagram is a circle around an inner triangle and hexagon.
At the nine points where the angles touch the circle are nine personality types: the perfectionist, the caregiver, the achiever, the artist, the observer, the team player, the optimist, the competitor and the peacemaker.
"The circle symbolizes creation and the unity of life," writes Father Mitch Pacwa, S.J., in his book, "Catholics and the New Age" (Servant, 1992) "The triangle represents the Trinity, the threeness in God, which is ‘inside creation."’
But the Christian symbolism is just a veneer.
According to Father Pacwa’s research, the enneagram entered Western culture through the teachings of two men: George Gurdjieff and Oscar Ichazo. Gurdjieff brought the actual symbol from the Orient, and Ichazo was responsible for applying the various personality "types" to the symbol.
Occult influences appear in the teachings of both men.
Gurdjieff was a Russian millionaire who established what he called the "Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man" in Moscow in 1922. He learned the enneagram symbol during his travels through central Asia. He claimed that Muslim mystics, known as Sufis, taught him the enneagram’s numerology and other mystical uses, including divination — which is forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:9-14 and other Bible passages.
Ichazo’s history is even more troubling. Born in 1931, Ichazo claimed he was having out-of-body experiences at the age of 6, which resulted in his leaving the church. He claimed that he could not accept Catholic teaching on heaven or hell because he had been there, and knew more about them than Christ and the church.
To gain control of his own consciousness, Ichazo studied Oriental martial arts, Zen, Andes Indian thought, shamanism, yoga, hypnotism and psychology. He joined esoteric groups in Bolivia and Argentina and traveled to Hong Kong, India and Tibet to study mysticism.
Ichazo claims to have received instructions from a higher entity, called "Metatron, the prince of the archangels." Members of his group contact lower spirits through meditation and mantras, and are guided by an internal master, known as the Green Qu’ Tub, who makes himself known when a student reaches a sufficiently high stage of development.
Many instructors of the enneagram, including Ichazo and Gurdjieff, have claimed its roots go back as far as 2500 B.C. in Mesopotamia, but the only historic evidence Father Pacwa could find for the enneagram goes back no further than the 1960s.
His own enthusiasm for the enneagram faded as he became increasingly aware of serious problems with the concept, from its purported antiquity and links to occultism to a variety of theological problems. He also found there is a danger in using a scientifically untested system for the purpose of helping people deal with personality disorders.
That concern is shared by Christopher Rees, whose article "The Enneagram and Catholic Personalism" appeared in the April 2001 issue of the journal Homiletics and Pastoral Review.
"Unlike some ‘personality type indices,’ the enneagram remains untested by any scientific study," Rees wrote.
"Like Sufism, the ‘dynamisms’ adopted in each of the nine ‘types’ depends on which guru or shaikh you prefer," Rees added. "There are as many ways of constructing groups and interpreting the enneagram as there are gurus. So the only apparent similarity the enneagram shares with behavioral sciences is its lack of a paradigm."
Because the enneagram has descriptions that read like those for esoteric systems such as tarot cards, astrology and biorhythms, according to Rees, "advocacy of the enneagram by some Catholics is more problematic.
"The Gnostic roots manifest in all enneagram systems guarantee that enneagram systems can never be reconciled with the sacred deposit of faith," he said.
Those gnostic roots are also particularly troublesome to Father Lawrence J. Gesy, the cult consultant for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the lead author of "Today’s Destructive Cults and Movements."
"Gnosticism is a heresy that has existed since the time of the Greeks," Father Gesy said. "It is based on the belief that we are saved by our knowledge and not by our faith.
The truth, as taught by the Catholic Church, is different in that, he noted: "Our wisdom does not save us, but the humility to surrender to God’s grace as the source of salvation is essential for the Christian self-transformation. We are not saved by our own merits or our wisdom — but with God’s assistance. In other words, self-transformation is impossible, but transformation by God’s grace is possible."
The enneagram joins other New Age beliefs because of its reliance on self rather than on God, Father Gesy said: "It gives credit to the creature rather than the Creator for the source of our being and salvation."
Father Pacwa agrees. "The mixture of so many non-Christian elements in the enneagram system raises the need to be very careful about accepting it wholeheartedly," he warned in his book.
In fact, Father Pacwa wrote, Catholics should be wary of putting their faith in any system that remains so untested, and which lacks any established norms for its concepts or instructors.
"No tests, no standards, no board of examination exists," he says, "so most enneagram ‘experts’ have that title through self-declaration and workshop advertising.
"People do not go to doctors and psychologists unless that practitioner is tested and licensed," Father Pacwa said. "Should not some similar requirement be made of enneagram teachers, who not only explain what your personality is like, but make recommendations about what you should be like?"
NEXT ISSUE: Is accupuncture acceptable for Catholics?
(This article originally appeared in The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
The Enneagram: What's Your Number?
Susan Brinkmann, Special to the HeraldAug 23, 2007 4:15 PM[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth part of a series that examines how Catholics are being challenged by followers of New Age philosophies.]
If you’re a "seven," you’re a compulsive optimist who likes everything warm and fuzzy.
"Sevens" don’t get along very well with "fours," because "fours" are too "artsy" and think suffering is a way to be special in a plain world.
If you’re not sure what number you are, perhaps you’ve never been exposed to the enneagram, a numerical system of nine personality types that is often popular with people involved in New Age philosophies. They use it for spiritual direction and self-knowledge.
Followers are taught how to identify their enneagram type, improve their personality, and "pray in sync" with whatever their "type" may be.
That might sound harmless, but it is not, according to the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Interreligious Dialogue
In their 2003 document, "Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian Reflection on the New Age," the councils describe enneagrams this way: "(T)he enneagram, [is a] nine-type tool for character analysis, which when used as a means of spiritual growth introduces an ambiguity in the doctrine and the life of the Christian faith."
The problem with the enneagram starts with its roots.
Derived from the Greek word "ennea," which means nine, and "gramma," which means line drawing, the enneagram is a circle around an inner triangle and hexagon.
At the nine points where the angles touch the circle are nine personality types: the perfectionist, the caregiver, the achiever, the artist, the observer, the team player, the optimist, the competitor and the peacemaker.
"The circle symbolizes creation and the unity of life," writes Father Mitch Pacwa, S.J., in his book, "Catholics and the New Age" (Servant, 1992) "The triangle represents the Trinity, the threeness in God, which is ‘inside creation."’
But the Christian symbolism is just a veneer.
According to Father Pacwa’s research, the enneagram entered Western culture through the teachings of two men: George Gurdjieff and Oscar Ichazo. Gurdjieff brought the actual symbol from the Orient, and Ichazo was responsible for applying the various personality "types" to the symbol.
Occult influences appear in the teachings of both men.
Gurdjieff was a Russian millionaire who established what he called the "Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man" in Moscow in 1922. He learned the enneagram symbol during his travels through central Asia. He claimed that Muslim mystics, known as Sufis, taught him the enneagram’s numerology and other mystical uses, including divination — which is forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:9-14 and other Bible passages.
Ichazo’s history is even more troubling. Born in 1931, Ichazo claimed he was having out-of-body experiences at the age of 6, which resulted in his leaving the church. He claimed that he could not accept Catholic teaching on heaven or hell because he had been there, and knew more about them than Christ and the church.
To gain control of his own consciousness, Ichazo studied Oriental martial arts, Zen, Andes Indian thought, shamanism, yoga, hypnotism and psychology. He joined esoteric groups in Bolivia and Argentina and traveled to Hong Kong, India and Tibet to study mysticism.
Ichazo claims to have received instructions from a higher entity, called "Metatron, the prince of the archangels." Members of his group contact lower spirits through meditation and mantras, and are guided by an internal master, known as the Green Qu’ Tub, who makes himself known when a student reaches a sufficiently high stage of development.
Many instructors of the enneagram, including Ichazo and Gurdjieff, have claimed its roots go back as far as 2500 B.C. in Mesopotamia, but the only historic evidence Father Pacwa could find for the enneagram goes back no further than the 1960s.
His own enthusiasm for the enneagram faded as he became increasingly aware of serious problems with the concept, from its purported antiquity and links to occultism to a variety of theological problems. He also found there is a danger in using a scientifically untested system for the purpose of helping people deal with personality disorders.
That concern is shared by Christopher Rees, whose article "The Enneagram and Catholic Personalism" appeared in the April 2001 issue of the journal Homiletics and Pastoral Review.
"Unlike some ‘personality type indices,’ the enneagram remains untested by any scientific study," Rees wrote.
"Like Sufism, the ‘dynamisms’ adopted in each of the nine ‘types’ depends on which guru or shaikh you prefer," Rees added. "There are as many ways of constructing groups and interpreting the enneagram as there are gurus. So the only apparent similarity the enneagram shares with behavioral sciences is its lack of a paradigm."
Because the enneagram has descriptions that read like those for esoteric systems such as tarot cards, astrology and biorhythms, according to Rees, "advocacy of the enneagram by some Catholics is more problematic.
"The Gnostic roots manifest in all enneagram systems guarantee that enneagram systems can never be reconciled with the sacred deposit of faith," he said.
Those gnostic roots are also particularly troublesome to Father Lawrence J. Gesy, the cult consultant for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the lead author of "Today’s Destructive Cults and Movements."
"Gnosticism is a heresy that has existed since the time of the Greeks," Father Gesy said. "It is based on the belief that we are saved by our knowledge and not by our faith.
The truth, as taught by the Catholic Church, is different in that, he noted: "Our wisdom does not save us, but the humility to surrender to God’s grace as the source of salvation is essential for the Christian self-transformation. We are not saved by our own merits or our wisdom — but with God’s assistance. In other words, self-transformation is impossible, but transformation by God’s grace is possible."
The enneagram joins other New Age beliefs because of its reliance on self rather than on God, Father Gesy said: "It gives credit to the creature rather than the Creator for the source of our being and salvation."
Father Pacwa agrees. "The mixture of so many non-Christian elements in the enneagram system raises the need to be very careful about accepting it wholeheartedly," he warned in his book.
In fact, Father Pacwa wrote, Catholics should be wary of putting their faith in any system that remains so untested, and which lacks any established norms for its concepts or instructors.
"No tests, no standards, no board of examination exists," he says, "so most enneagram ‘experts’ have that title through self-declaration and workshop advertising.
"People do not go to doctors and psychologists unless that practitioner is tested and licensed," Father Pacwa said. "Should not some similar requirement be made of enneagram teachers, who not only explain what your personality is like, but make recommendations about what you should be like?"
NEXT ISSUE: Is accupuncture acceptable for Catholics?
(This article originally appeared in The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
Christian or New Age? Part 3
This is from the Catholic Herald online
Reiki and healing touch
Susan Brinkmann, Special to the HeraldAug 9, 2007 12:15 PM
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third part of a series that examines how Catholics are being challenged by followers of New Age philosophies.]
Everyone wants to be healed. Anyone who has ever attended a healing Mass can attest to the crowds that flock to the altar of the Lord to receive his healing touch.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of imitations available in the so-called "New Age" movement. One of the most popular is Reiki, with a variety of close cousins such as "healing touch," "therapeutic touch" and "hands of light."
Those alternative therapies are among practices that Catholics are cautioned about in a Vatican document, "Jesus Christ The Bearer of the Water of Life — A Christian reflection on the ‘New Age,’" issued in 2003 by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
In their warning, the councils note that in such New Age therapies, "the source of healing is said to be within ourselves, something we reach when we are in touch with our inner energy or cosmic energy."
Reiki
According to Moira Noonan, a former Reiki Master and author of a memoir, "Ransomed from Darkness," that is, indeed, what Reiki teaches.
"Reiki is a method of healing through the transmission and activation of a person’s spiritual energy," she writes. "This therapy looks somewhat like the Christian laying-on of hands, but this is deceptive. The symbolism of Reiki is deeply influenced by Buddhist traditions and invisible spirit guides. These spirit guides are specifically invoked by name to confer their healing powers."
There is discrepancy in what is said to be the true history of Reiki. For instance, organizations that are involved in selling the concept to the largely Christian West either downplay or deny its association with Buddhism. See "What Catholics believe" later in this article.
However, disinterested parties, such as academic centers for religious studies, seem to agree on certain key facts about Reiki.
First, it was said to be rediscovered in the 19th century by a medical doctor named Mikao Usui.
Second, Usui rediscovered Reiki during a 21-day retreat devoted to studying Buddhist Tantric texts. Tantric Buddhism involves the use of spells, incantations, complicated rituals and magical powers to achieve enlightenment.
And, third, Reiki energy supposedly entered Usui during his retreat.
From that time on, Usui had healing power, and he initiated others into the secrets of that power through what he called "attunements."
In that procedure, "attunement energies" are channeled into students through Reiki masters, who are guided by the Rei or God-consciousness, and by other Reiki "guides" and other spiritual entities that help the process along.
Like other forms of New Age healing, Reiki is promoted as a technique that is obtainable through weekend workshops. Becoming a Reiki master can be expensive: Workshop fees range from $175 to $500.
Healing Touch
Healing practices that are based on using energy-channeling to heal have morphed into a variety of techniques known as "healing touch" or "therapeutic touch."
One of the most popular is promoted by Barbara Brennan, a former NASA research scientist turned New Age healer. The author of "Hands of Light," Brennan is regarded as one of the most widely recognized teachers of New Age healing that uses spirit guides.
The former New-Ager Noonan attended Brennan’s institute.
"As Brennan herself admits, her ideas are drawn from direct communication with a spirit guide named Heyoan," Noonan writes in her memoir. "(Brennan’s) channelings from this entity are regularly published word-for-word by her institute, and offered to the world as expressions of divine wisdom.
"This is what I mean when I talk about the role of demons in the practice of Reiki," Noonan writes.
Another former New Age practitioner, Clare McGrath Merkle, had similar experiences with energy healers, which caused her to return to the Catholic faith.
Merkle is an accomplished author and speaker who has appeared on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) and various national radio programs. She now devotes her life to warning people about the dangers of the New Age.
Merkle says one popular, so-called energy healing technique is being promoted by a company called Healing Touch International (HTI).
HTI was founded in 1993 by two nurses who wanted to bring the influence of New Age "energy channeling" techniques to hospitals, schools and parishes.
Merkle writes in the article, "Is Healing Touch at your parish?" that "The HTI web site describes the techniques as ‘energy based healing therapies from a Judeo-Christian perspective.’ They (say they) teach ways to ‘integrate Healing Touch into church/parish healing ministry.’"
But, she says, beneath its Christian veneer, the principles underlying "Healing Touch" are not compatible with Catholicism.
"If you go to their Web site and look at their recommended resources and books, it’s a mile long of occult texts," Merkle said.
That is not how it appears to the public however: "They work in teams at hospitals, and come around to your bed and ask, ‘Would you like us to pray over you?’ Of course people who are sick are going to say yes. Then they start doing their ‘energy’ work."
Is this deliberate deception on the part of Healing Touch practitioners?
Probably not, Merkle says. The problem is that most practitioners have done little more than read a few books or take a few weekend workshops in their training. Very few can correctly identify the source of the "energy" they’re trying to manipulate.
According to Merkle, many experts say that although such "energy" techniques are known by different names, they have the same root: "The root is in Kundalini yoga and the raising of the ‘serpent power’ up the spine, opening the chakras and giving people magical occult powers. She says New Age "energy techniques" and "healing modalities," as they are called, are forms of this magic.
What Catholics Believe
The fact that these practices borrow from other religions is not the problem, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said in the 1989 document issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, "Some Aspects of Christian Meditation." Speaking about various forms of Eastern meditation, he assures us that we can adopt what is good from other religions, "as long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured."
The problem with Reiki and healing touch is that it is based on beliefs peculiar to various forms of Hinduism and Buddhism which "posit the existence of a life energy (ki or kundalini) and interpret that energy as spiritual," which is not a Christian belief.
Christians believe that man is a union of body and soul, and that the soul is an essential form of the body — not an energy force.
"From a spiritual perspective, we believe the soul is the life-principle of the body, not something else," wrote the editors at Catholic Answers. "Consequently, there is no spiritual ‘life energy’ animating the body. Any energy used as part of the body’s operations — such as the electricity in our nervous system — is material in nature, not spiritual. . . . Since this (belief) is contrary to Christian theology, it is inappropriate for Christians to participate in activities based on this belief."
Jesuit Father Mitch Pacwa, an internationally known biblical scholar and popular television and radio host, raises another question about practitioners of those and other healing fads that are being practiced, in some cases, on a church’s property.
"Are these people practicing medicine without a license?" he asks. "And if so, who is going to be liable if there’s a malpractice suit?"
Although many practitioners sincerely believe they are helping people, there is no scientific study associated with any of these methods, Father Pacwa says.
Even more troubling is the fact that their practitioners disguise them as a form of the Christian laying-on of hands, according to Father Pacwa.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the laying on of hands as a "sign" (CCC, No. 699) not a means of channeling "energy."
"Reiki is an attempt to make a ‘technique’ out of praying for the sick," Father Pacwa said. "Praying for the sick has to be understood as an aspect of God’s grace operative in our lives. It’s not a ‘technique.’ That’s where it becomes ‘magical,’ and Christianity is not about using magic."NEXT TOPIC: We look at enneagrams.
(This article originally appeared in The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
Reiki and healing touch
Susan Brinkmann, Special to the HeraldAug 9, 2007 12:15 PM[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third part of a series that examines how Catholics are being challenged by followers of New Age philosophies.]
Everyone wants to be healed. Anyone who has ever attended a healing Mass can attest to the crowds that flock to the altar of the Lord to receive his healing touch.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of imitations available in the so-called "New Age" movement. One of the most popular is Reiki, with a variety of close cousins such as "healing touch," "therapeutic touch" and "hands of light."
Those alternative therapies are among practices that Catholics are cautioned about in a Vatican document, "Jesus Christ The Bearer of the Water of Life — A Christian reflection on the ‘New Age,’" issued in 2003 by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
In their warning, the councils note that in such New Age therapies, "the source of healing is said to be within ourselves, something we reach when we are in touch with our inner energy or cosmic energy."
Reiki
According to Moira Noonan, a former Reiki Master and author of a memoir, "Ransomed from Darkness," that is, indeed, what Reiki teaches.
"Reiki is a method of healing through the transmission and activation of a person’s spiritual energy," she writes. "This therapy looks somewhat like the Christian laying-on of hands, but this is deceptive. The symbolism of Reiki is deeply influenced by Buddhist traditions and invisible spirit guides. These spirit guides are specifically invoked by name to confer their healing powers."
There is discrepancy in what is said to be the true history of Reiki. For instance, organizations that are involved in selling the concept to the largely Christian West either downplay or deny its association with Buddhism. See "What Catholics believe" later in this article.
However, disinterested parties, such as academic centers for religious studies, seem to agree on certain key facts about Reiki.
First, it was said to be rediscovered in the 19th century by a medical doctor named Mikao Usui.
Second, Usui rediscovered Reiki during a 21-day retreat devoted to studying Buddhist Tantric texts. Tantric Buddhism involves the use of spells, incantations, complicated rituals and magical powers to achieve enlightenment.
And, third, Reiki energy supposedly entered Usui during his retreat.
From that time on, Usui had healing power, and he initiated others into the secrets of that power through what he called "attunements."
In that procedure, "attunement energies" are channeled into students through Reiki masters, who are guided by the Rei or God-consciousness, and by other Reiki "guides" and other spiritual entities that help the process along.
Like other forms of New Age healing, Reiki is promoted as a technique that is obtainable through weekend workshops. Becoming a Reiki master can be expensive: Workshop fees range from $175 to $500.
Healing Touch
Healing practices that are based on using energy-channeling to heal have morphed into a variety of techniques known as "healing touch" or "therapeutic touch."
One of the most popular is promoted by Barbara Brennan, a former NASA research scientist turned New Age healer. The author of "Hands of Light," Brennan is regarded as one of the most widely recognized teachers of New Age healing that uses spirit guides.
The former New-Ager Noonan attended Brennan’s institute.
"As Brennan herself admits, her ideas are drawn from direct communication with a spirit guide named Heyoan," Noonan writes in her memoir. "(Brennan’s) channelings from this entity are regularly published word-for-word by her institute, and offered to the world as expressions of divine wisdom.
"This is what I mean when I talk about the role of demons in the practice of Reiki," Noonan writes.
Another former New Age practitioner, Clare McGrath Merkle, had similar experiences with energy healers, which caused her to return to the Catholic faith.
Merkle is an accomplished author and speaker who has appeared on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) and various national radio programs. She now devotes her life to warning people about the dangers of the New Age.
Merkle says one popular, so-called energy healing technique is being promoted by a company called Healing Touch International (HTI).
HTI was founded in 1993 by two nurses who wanted to bring the influence of New Age "energy channeling" techniques to hospitals, schools and parishes.
Merkle writes in the article, "Is Healing Touch at your parish?" that "The HTI web site describes the techniques as ‘energy based healing therapies from a Judeo-Christian perspective.’ They (say they) teach ways to ‘integrate Healing Touch into church/parish healing ministry.’"
But, she says, beneath its Christian veneer, the principles underlying "Healing Touch" are not compatible with Catholicism.
"If you go to their Web site and look at their recommended resources and books, it’s a mile long of occult texts," Merkle said.
That is not how it appears to the public however: "They work in teams at hospitals, and come around to your bed and ask, ‘Would you like us to pray over you?’ Of course people who are sick are going to say yes. Then they start doing their ‘energy’ work."
Is this deliberate deception on the part of Healing Touch practitioners?
Probably not, Merkle says. The problem is that most practitioners have done little more than read a few books or take a few weekend workshops in their training. Very few can correctly identify the source of the "energy" they’re trying to manipulate.
According to Merkle, many experts say that although such "energy" techniques are known by different names, they have the same root: "The root is in Kundalini yoga and the raising of the ‘serpent power’ up the spine, opening the chakras and giving people magical occult powers. She says New Age "energy techniques" and "healing modalities," as they are called, are forms of this magic.
What Catholics Believe
The fact that these practices borrow from other religions is not the problem, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said in the 1989 document issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, "Some Aspects of Christian Meditation." Speaking about various forms of Eastern meditation, he assures us that we can adopt what is good from other religions, "as long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured."
The problem with Reiki and healing touch is that it is based on beliefs peculiar to various forms of Hinduism and Buddhism which "posit the existence of a life energy (ki or kundalini) and interpret that energy as spiritual," which is not a Christian belief.
Christians believe that man is a union of body and soul, and that the soul is an essential form of the body — not an energy force.
"From a spiritual perspective, we believe the soul is the life-principle of the body, not something else," wrote the editors at Catholic Answers. "Consequently, there is no spiritual ‘life energy’ animating the body. Any energy used as part of the body’s operations — such as the electricity in our nervous system — is material in nature, not spiritual. . . . Since this (belief) is contrary to Christian theology, it is inappropriate for Christians to participate in activities based on this belief."
Jesuit Father Mitch Pacwa, an internationally known biblical scholar and popular television and radio host, raises another question about practitioners of those and other healing fads that are being practiced, in some cases, on a church’s property.
"Are these people practicing medicine without a license?" he asks. "And if so, who is going to be liable if there’s a malpractice suit?"
Although many practitioners sincerely believe they are helping people, there is no scientific study associated with any of these methods, Father Pacwa says.
Even more troubling is the fact that their practitioners disguise them as a form of the Christian laying-on of hands, according to Father Pacwa.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the laying on of hands as a "sign" (CCC, No. 699) not a means of channeling "energy."
"Reiki is an attempt to make a ‘technique’ out of praying for the sick," Father Pacwa said. "Praying for the sick has to be understood as an aspect of God’s grace operative in our lives. It’s not a ‘technique.’ That’s where it becomes ‘magical,’ and Christianity is not about using magic."NEXT TOPIC: We look at enneagrams.
(This article originally appeared in The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadelphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
Christian Or New Age? Part 2
This is from the Catholic Herald online.
Ten questions to help you determine 'Christian or New Age?'
Susan Brinkmann/Special to the HeraldJul 30, 2007 11:00 AM
The following is an excerpt from "Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian Reflection on the ‘New Age,’" a document published by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
1. Is God a being with whom we have a relationship (Christian) or something to be used or a force to be harnessed (New Age)?
The Pontifical councils explain, "The New Age concept of God is rather diffused . . . The New Age god is an impersonal energy. ‘[G]god’ in this sense is the life-force or soul of the world. Divinity is to be found in every being," from a single crystal up to and beyond God himself.
"This is very different from the Christian understanding of God as the maker of heaven and earth and the source of all personal life," the councils say. "God is in himself, personal, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who created the universe in order to share the communion, of his life with creaturely persons."
2. Is there just one Jesus Christ (Christian) or are there thousands of Christs (New Age)?
Jesus is often represented in New Age writings as one among many wise men or great prophets.
Christians believe Jesus Christ is God, the Second Person of the Trinity, the same Jesus of Nazareth about which the Gospels speak, who is the only Son of God, true man and true God.
3. The human being: Is there one universal being (New Age) or are there many individuals (Christian)?
The concept of "holism"— which is the theory that complete entities, including human beings, are components of a larger reality, that has an existence over and above the sum total of themselves — pervades New Age thought and practice, where union with the whole cosmos is sought.
"The real danger is the holistic paradigm. New Age thinking is based on totalitarian unity and that is why it is a danger," the councils write.
The Christian approach is that each man and woman is a unique creation, made in God’s image and likeness. Our human "wholeness" does not come about by achieving union with the cosmos.
"The human person is a mystery fully revealed only in Jesus Christ," the councils explain, "and in fact becomes authentically human in his relationship with Christ through the gift of the Spirit."
4. Do we save ourselves (New Age) or is salvation a free gift from God (Christian)?
The Pontifical councils put the question this way: "Do we save ourselves by our own actions, as is often the case in New Age explanations, or are we saved by God’s love?"
The response: "For Christians, salvation depends on participation in the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, and on a direct personal relationship with God, rather than on any technique. The human situation, affected as it is by original sin and by personal sin, can be rectified only by God’s action: Sin is an offense against God, and only God can reconcile us to himself."
5. Do we invent truth (New Age), or do we embrace it (Christian)?
"New Age truth is about good vibrations, cosmic correspondence, harmony and ecstacy, in general, pleasant experiences," the councils’ document states. "It is a matter of finding one’s own truth in accordance with the feel-good factor."
Christians believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
"His followers are asked to open their whole lives to him and to his values. In other words, to an objective set of values which are part of an objective reality ultimately knowable to all," the councils write.
6. Prayer and meditation: Are we talking to ourselves (New Age) or to God (Christian)?
"The tendency to confuse psychology and spirituality makes it hard not to insist that many of the meditation techniques now used are not prayer," state the councils. "They are often a good preparation for prayer, but no more, even if they lead to a more pleasant state of mind or bodily comfort."
Christian prayer, by contrast, is a double orientation which involves "introspection but is essentially also a meeting with God. Far from being a merely human effort, Christian mysticism is essentially a dialogue, which ‘implies an attitude of conversion, a flight from "self" to the "you" of God.’"
7. Are we tempted to deny sin (New Age) or do we accept that there is such a thing (Christian)?
"In New Age, there is no real concept of sin, but rather one of imperfect knowledge; what is needed is enlightenment, which can be reached through particular psycho-physical techniques," the councils say.
Those who ascribe to New Age philosophies "are never told what to believe, what to do or what not to do [but, rather] ‘There are a thousand ways of exploring inner reality. Go where your intelligence and intuition lead you. Trust yourself.’"
In the Christian perspective, "only in the knowledge of God’s plan for man can we grasp that sin is an abuse of the freedom that God gives to created persons so that they are capable of loving him and loving one another. Sin is an offence against reason, truth and right conscience; it is a failure in genuine love for God and neighbor," the Vatican councils say.
8. Are we encouraged to reject suffering and death (New Age) or accept it (Christian)?
"Some New Age writers view suffering as self-imposed or as bad karma, or at least as a failure to harness one’s own resources . . .," the councils explain.
"Reincarnation is often seen as a necessary element in spiritual growth, a state in progressive spiritual evolution which began before we were born and will continue after we die. . . .
"Reincarnation is irreconcilable with the Christian belief that a human person is a distinct being who lives one life for which he or she is fully responsible . … The Redeemer suffered in place of man and for man. Every man has his own share in the redemption. Each one is called to share in that suffering through which all human suffering has also been redeemed. In bringing about the redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the redemption."
9. Is social commitment something to be ignored (New Age) or positively sought after (Christian)?
"Much in New Age is unashamedly self-promotion. . . . The fusion of individuals into the cosmic self, the relativisation or abolition of difference and opposition in a cosmic harmony, is unacceptable to Christianity," the councils state.
On the other hand, they write, Christians believe that "where there is true love, there has to be a different other (person). A genuine Christian searches for unity in the capacity and freedom of the other to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the gift of love. Union is seen in Christianity as communion; unity as community."
10. Is our future in the stars (New Age) or do we help construct it (Christian)?
A fundamental New Age belief is based on the idea of an imminent astrological Age of Aquarius, which will end the period of the last 2,000 years, known as the Age of Pisces — which is referred to as the Christian age.
According to the pontifical councils: "[New Agers believe that] the New Age which is dawning will be peopled by perfect, androgynous beings who are totally in command of the cosmic laws of nature. In this scenario, Christianity has to be eliminated and give way to a global religion and a new world order."
Aside from the fact that astrology is not a science, but rather, an ancient belief system, Christians do not believe in the passage of astrological ages.
Christians believe that the true new age began 2,000 years ago with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Because Christians believe he will come again, they are always vigilant, not knowing when will be the day or the hour of his triumphant return.
Ten questions to help you determine 'Christian or New Age?'
Susan Brinkmann/Special to the HeraldJul 30, 2007 11:00 AMThe following is an excerpt from "Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian Reflection on the ‘New Age,’" a document published by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
1. Is God a being with whom we have a relationship (Christian) or something to be used or a force to be harnessed (New Age)?
The Pontifical councils explain, "The New Age concept of God is rather diffused . . . The New Age god is an impersonal energy. ‘[G]god’ in this sense is the life-force or soul of the world. Divinity is to be found in every being," from a single crystal up to and beyond God himself.
"This is very different from the Christian understanding of God as the maker of heaven and earth and the source of all personal life," the councils say. "God is in himself, personal, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who created the universe in order to share the communion, of his life with creaturely persons."
2. Is there just one Jesus Christ (Christian) or are there thousands of Christs (New Age)?
Jesus is often represented in New Age writings as one among many wise men or great prophets.
Christians believe Jesus Christ is God, the Second Person of the Trinity, the same Jesus of Nazareth about which the Gospels speak, who is the only Son of God, true man and true God.
3. The human being: Is there one universal being (New Age) or are there many individuals (Christian)?
The concept of "holism"— which is the theory that complete entities, including human beings, are components of a larger reality, that has an existence over and above the sum total of themselves — pervades New Age thought and practice, where union with the whole cosmos is sought.
"The real danger is the holistic paradigm. New Age thinking is based on totalitarian unity and that is why it is a danger," the councils write.
The Christian approach is that each man and woman is a unique creation, made in God’s image and likeness. Our human "wholeness" does not come about by achieving union with the cosmos.
"The human person is a mystery fully revealed only in Jesus Christ," the councils explain, "and in fact becomes authentically human in his relationship with Christ through the gift of the Spirit."
4. Do we save ourselves (New Age) or is salvation a free gift from God (Christian)?
The Pontifical councils put the question this way: "Do we save ourselves by our own actions, as is often the case in New Age explanations, or are we saved by God’s love?"
The response: "For Christians, salvation depends on participation in the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, and on a direct personal relationship with God, rather than on any technique. The human situation, affected as it is by original sin and by personal sin, can be rectified only by God’s action: Sin is an offense against God, and only God can reconcile us to himself."
5. Do we invent truth (New Age), or do we embrace it (Christian)?
"New Age truth is about good vibrations, cosmic correspondence, harmony and ecstacy, in general, pleasant experiences," the councils’ document states. "It is a matter of finding one’s own truth in accordance with the feel-good factor."
Christians believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
"His followers are asked to open their whole lives to him and to his values. In other words, to an objective set of values which are part of an objective reality ultimately knowable to all," the councils write.
6. Prayer and meditation: Are we talking to ourselves (New Age) or to God (Christian)?
"The tendency to confuse psychology and spirituality makes it hard not to insist that many of the meditation techniques now used are not prayer," state the councils. "They are often a good preparation for prayer, but no more, even if they lead to a more pleasant state of mind or bodily comfort."
Christian prayer, by contrast, is a double orientation which involves "introspection but is essentially also a meeting with God. Far from being a merely human effort, Christian mysticism is essentially a dialogue, which ‘implies an attitude of conversion, a flight from "self" to the "you" of God.’"
7. Are we tempted to deny sin (New Age) or do we accept that there is such a thing (Christian)?
"In New Age, there is no real concept of sin, but rather one of imperfect knowledge; what is needed is enlightenment, which can be reached through particular psycho-physical techniques," the councils say.
Those who ascribe to New Age philosophies "are never told what to believe, what to do or what not to do [but, rather] ‘There are a thousand ways of exploring inner reality. Go where your intelligence and intuition lead you. Trust yourself.’"
In the Christian perspective, "only in the knowledge of God’s plan for man can we grasp that sin is an abuse of the freedom that God gives to created persons so that they are capable of loving him and loving one another. Sin is an offence against reason, truth and right conscience; it is a failure in genuine love for God and neighbor," the Vatican councils say.
8. Are we encouraged to reject suffering and death (New Age) or accept it (Christian)?
"Some New Age writers view suffering as self-imposed or as bad karma, or at least as a failure to harness one’s own resources . . .," the councils explain.
"Reincarnation is often seen as a necessary element in spiritual growth, a state in progressive spiritual evolution which began before we were born and will continue after we die. . . .
"Reincarnation is irreconcilable with the Christian belief that a human person is a distinct being who lives one life for which he or she is fully responsible . … The Redeemer suffered in place of man and for man. Every man has his own share in the redemption. Each one is called to share in that suffering through which all human suffering has also been redeemed. In bringing about the redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the redemption."
9. Is social commitment something to be ignored (New Age) or positively sought after (Christian)?
"Much in New Age is unashamedly self-promotion. . . . The fusion of individuals into the cosmic self, the relativisation or abolition of difference and opposition in a cosmic harmony, is unacceptable to Christianity," the councils state.
On the other hand, they write, Christians believe that "where there is true love, there has to be a different other (person). A genuine Christian searches for unity in the capacity and freedom of the other to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the gift of love. Union is seen in Christianity as communion; unity as community."
10. Is our future in the stars (New Age) or do we help construct it (Christian)?
A fundamental New Age belief is based on the idea of an imminent astrological Age of Aquarius, which will end the period of the last 2,000 years, known as the Age of Pisces — which is referred to as the Christian age.
According to the pontifical councils: "[New Agers believe that] the New Age which is dawning will be peopled by perfect, androgynous beings who are totally in command of the cosmic laws of nature. In this scenario, Christianity has to be eliminated and give way to a global religion and a new world order."
Aside from the fact that astrology is not a science, but rather, an ancient belief system, Christians do not believe in the passage of astrological ages.
Christians believe that the true new age began 2,000 years ago with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Because Christians believe he will come again, they are always vigilant, not knowing when will be the day or the hour of his triumphant return.
Christian or New Age? Part 1
This is from an article from the Catholic Herald online.
Popular movement is one of the most pressing challenges to Christian faith
Susan Brinkmann, Special to the HeraldJul 6, 2007 10:30 AM
We’re all in this universe together, from planets to porpoises, flowers to fungi, babies to barnacles, all sharing the same, immense vibration of energy. People are like holograms, reflecting the image of all creation, where everyone and everything vibrates on its own frequency and yet is intimately united by a mysterious energy force called life. We’re a collection of inter-connected neurons in the earth’s central nervous system.
That concept of life might sound like a magical mystery tour, but in fact it is the concept of "reality" many espouse for a new age, which has supposedly begun to dawn in the universe. Some describe that age as the Age of Aquarius, the time for a major paradigm shift in our world-view, replacing the world-view of the present Christian era, which they call the Age of Pisces and which they believe is slowly dying away.
Sound fanciful?
It is, according to "Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian Reflection on the New Age," which is a document issued in 2003 by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
"For many people, the term ‘New Age’ clearly refers to a momentous turning-point in history," the Vatican councils state in the publication. "People who stress the imminent change in the world are often expressing a wish for such a change, not so much in the world itself as in our culture."
The Age of Aquarius is a vision, they say, not a theory — and there are several basic principles behind the new vision of the individual, society and the world.
Among those principles is a desire to shift from traditional forms of religion to more personal expressions of what is now being called "spirituality" — to move from a male-dominated culture to one that celebrates the feminine, and to rely less on reason and more on feelings and emotions.
Those shifts are found in everything from the Human Potential Movement and the worship of goddesses such as Gaia and Sophia and with pre-Christian forms of religion such as shamanism and ancient Egyptian practices.
"The New Age movement is both the symptom of a culture in deep crisis and the wrong answer to this situation of cultural crisis, its worries, questions, aspirations and hopes," Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, wrote in the March 5, 2003, edition of L’Osservatore Romano.
"The phenomenon of the New Age Movement, together with other new religious movements, is one of the most pressing challenges to the Christian faith," Cardinal Poupard wrote in the article. "The New Age Movement sets forth theories and doctrines about God, man and the world, which are incompatible with the Christian faith."
What is most attractive about these New Age alternatives is that they "do not demand any more faith or belief than going to the cinema and yet claim to satisfy people’s spiritual appetites," the pontifical document states.
This leads one to ask, what exactly are those spiritual appetites, according to the New Age?
The answer to that question, the Vatican councils say in "Jesus Christ: The Bearer of Water and Life," is the key that distinguishes some of the differences between the Christian tradition and much of what can be called New Age.
"Some versions of New Age harness the powers of nature and seek to communicate with another world to discover the fate of individuals, to help individuals tune in to the right frequency to make the most of themselves and their circumstances. In most cases, it is completely fatalistic," the document warns of "New Age" philosophy. "Christianity, on the other hand, is an invitation to look outward and beyond, to the ‘new Advent’ of the God who calls us to live the dialogue of love."
Many of those New Age fascinations are being fueled by modern technology, such as the Internet, which can be a "volatile vehicle of misinformation on so many aspects of religion," the Vatican authors warns.
"Not all that is labeled ‘Christian’ or ‘Catholic’ can be trusted to reflect the teachings of the Catholic Church and, at the same time, there is a remarkable expansion of New Age sources ranging from the serious to the ridiculous," they say in the 2003 document. "People need, and have a right to, reliable information on the differences between Christianity and New Age."
The document cites specifically many popular practices, including the enneagram, healing touch massage, Celtic Christianity and Wicca. What are these practices? Where do they come from and how compatible are they with Christianity?
"It would be unwise to say everything connected with the New Age movement is good, or that everything about it is bad," the document states.
That is why their aim is not to condemn, the writers say, but to help Catholics understand the basic principles behind New Age thinking "so that they can then make a Christian evaluation of the elements of New Age they encounter."
At the same time, Cardinal Poupard writes that unknowingly using New Age products or therapies does not necessarily mean embracing the entire ideology of the New Age movement.
"A certain discernment is necessary both for what pertains to products labeled New Age and for what pertains to those who, to a greater or lesser degree can be considered ‘clients’ of the New Age movement," the cardinal wrote.
"Clients, devotees and disciples are not the same thing," he says. "Honesty and integrity require that we be very prudent and not turn every blade of grass into a bundle, by using labels with the greatest of ease."
Beginning this issue, The Colorado Catholic Herald will launch a multi-part series on a variety of New Age practices. Each part will provide historical information on the origins of a particular practice, first-hand accounts from practitioners and what our church teaches about it.
We will explore common questions among the laity, including: What is the difference between the various forms of "healing touch" and the Christian practice of laying on of hands? When are meditation techniques useful for Christian prayer, and when do they stray into forms of meditation that are not consistent with Catholic teaching? How sound a science is astrology, and why does one expert say our "sun signs" need to be moved back one complete sign? Is there such a thing as magic, and where do those powers come from?
NEXT ISSUE: "Divination: Consulting psychics and mediums" and a 10-question test to determine whether practices you are reading about or may be encountering are Christian or New Age.
(This article originally appeared in The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadalphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadalphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
Popular movement is one of the most pressing challenges to Christian faithSusan Brinkmann, Special to the HeraldJul 6, 2007 10:30 AM
We’re all in this universe together, from planets to porpoises, flowers to fungi, babies to barnacles, all sharing the same, immense vibration of energy. People are like holograms, reflecting the image of all creation, where everyone and everything vibrates on its own frequency and yet is intimately united by a mysterious energy force called life. We’re a collection of inter-connected neurons in the earth’s central nervous system.
That concept of life might sound like a magical mystery tour, but in fact it is the concept of "reality" many espouse for a new age, which has supposedly begun to dawn in the universe. Some describe that age as the Age of Aquarius, the time for a major paradigm shift in our world-view, replacing the world-view of the present Christian era, which they call the Age of Pisces and which they believe is slowly dying away.
Sound fanciful?
It is, according to "Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian Reflection on the New Age," which is a document issued in 2003 by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
"For many people, the term ‘New Age’ clearly refers to a momentous turning-point in history," the Vatican councils state in the publication. "People who stress the imminent change in the world are often expressing a wish for such a change, not so much in the world itself as in our culture."
The Age of Aquarius is a vision, they say, not a theory — and there are several basic principles behind the new vision of the individual, society and the world.
Among those principles is a desire to shift from traditional forms of religion to more personal expressions of what is now being called "spirituality" — to move from a male-dominated culture to one that celebrates the feminine, and to rely less on reason and more on feelings and emotions.
Those shifts are found in everything from the Human Potential Movement and the worship of goddesses such as Gaia and Sophia and with pre-Christian forms of religion such as shamanism and ancient Egyptian practices.
"The New Age movement is both the symptom of a culture in deep crisis and the wrong answer to this situation of cultural crisis, its worries, questions, aspirations and hopes," Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, wrote in the March 5, 2003, edition of L’Osservatore Romano.
"The phenomenon of the New Age Movement, together with other new religious movements, is one of the most pressing challenges to the Christian faith," Cardinal Poupard wrote in the article. "The New Age Movement sets forth theories and doctrines about God, man and the world, which are incompatible with the Christian faith."
What is most attractive about these New Age alternatives is that they "do not demand any more faith or belief than going to the cinema and yet claim to satisfy people’s spiritual appetites," the pontifical document states.
This leads one to ask, what exactly are those spiritual appetites, according to the New Age?
The answer to that question, the Vatican councils say in "Jesus Christ: The Bearer of Water and Life," is the key that distinguishes some of the differences between the Christian tradition and much of what can be called New Age.
"Some versions of New Age harness the powers of nature and seek to communicate with another world to discover the fate of individuals, to help individuals tune in to the right frequency to make the most of themselves and their circumstances. In most cases, it is completely fatalistic," the document warns of "New Age" philosophy. "Christianity, on the other hand, is an invitation to look outward and beyond, to the ‘new Advent’ of the God who calls us to live the dialogue of love."
Many of those New Age fascinations are being fueled by modern technology, such as the Internet, which can be a "volatile vehicle of misinformation on so many aspects of religion," the Vatican authors warns.
"Not all that is labeled ‘Christian’ or ‘Catholic’ can be trusted to reflect the teachings of the Catholic Church and, at the same time, there is a remarkable expansion of New Age sources ranging from the serious to the ridiculous," they say in the 2003 document. "People need, and have a right to, reliable information on the differences between Christianity and New Age."
The document cites specifically many popular practices, including the enneagram, healing touch massage, Celtic Christianity and Wicca. What are these practices? Where do they come from and how compatible are they with Christianity?
"It would be unwise to say everything connected with the New Age movement is good, or that everything about it is bad," the document states.
That is why their aim is not to condemn, the writers say, but to help Catholics understand the basic principles behind New Age thinking "so that they can then make a Christian evaluation of the elements of New Age they encounter."
At the same time, Cardinal Poupard writes that unknowingly using New Age products or therapies does not necessarily mean embracing the entire ideology of the New Age movement.
"A certain discernment is necessary both for what pertains to products labeled New Age and for what pertains to those who, to a greater or lesser degree can be considered ‘clients’ of the New Age movement," the cardinal wrote.
"Clients, devotees and disciples are not the same thing," he says. "Honesty and integrity require that we be very prudent and not turn every blade of grass into a bundle, by using labels with the greatest of ease."
Beginning this issue, The Colorado Catholic Herald will launch a multi-part series on a variety of New Age practices. Each part will provide historical information on the origins of a particular practice, first-hand accounts from practitioners and what our church teaches about it.
We will explore common questions among the laity, including: What is the difference between the various forms of "healing touch" and the Christian practice of laying on of hands? When are meditation techniques useful for Christian prayer, and when do they stray into forms of meditation that are not consistent with Catholic teaching? How sound a science is astrology, and why does one expert say our "sun signs" need to be moved back one complete sign? Is there such a thing as magic, and where do those powers come from?
NEXT ISSUE: "Divination: Consulting psychics and mediums" and a 10-question test to determine whether practices you are reading about or may be encountering are Christian or New Age.
(This article originally appeared in The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadalphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
The Catholic Standard and Times, the Philadalphia archdiocesan newspaper.)
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
What Can Brown Do For You?
A Blog From Fr. V. and Sister Mary Martha.
What can Brown do for you?
There is a wonderful blog written by "Sister Mary Martha," who if I am not mistaken, is a religious sister, commonly known as a nun. However, there is nothing common about her! She runs an extraordinary blog that I check out very often and really enjoy. She is faithful to the Lord and His Church, witty in her commentary, and a wonderful writer. (On top of all that, she is a sister, and anyone who knows me even causally knows that I love my sisters! They are an often underappreciated gift that God gives to His Church, and we should treasure them as such.)So, with her permission, I am stealing a blog of hers, "What can Brown do for you?" It is about a most important Catholic sacramental called the 'scapular'. I realize that this may get my seperated brethren in a tizzy, but I hope they read this with an open mind, learn what the Church actually teaches on sacramentals, and enjoy Sister's sterling sense of humor.I wear a scapular, and would invite every Catholic to do the same. It is a wonderful reminder of Our Lady's love for her children and our invitation to eternal happiness through everyday holiness. (One more special thanks to Sister, as I was asked to write a blog on the scapular a while ago, and haven't found the time.)God love you!************
What can Brown do for you?
(A Homey Treatise on the Scapular)
I'm glad to have the opportunity to explain more about sacramentals, which seem to drive many people around the bend. I hope those who have been driven around the bend by sacramentals and the questions about them are offering up their suffering. It IS LENT.We've had quite the discussion about the Brown Scapular.One reader wants to know:I am I to understand that as long as I wear the brown scapular (provided it doesn't fall off), I get to heaven even if I deny the Trinity, the Real Presence and Christ's Redemption by the Cross?I really have to ask a question in return. If you deny the Trinity, the Real Presence and Christ's Redemption by the Cross, why on earth would you run around in a scapular all day every day? Clearly, you have no fear of hell in the first place.But fine, for the sake of argument, let's pretend someone would do that. (We can do that while we're pretending the bones of the Jesus Family have been found and identified.)Here's how I see it. Keep in mind I am an old nun that taught Catechism to second graders.1. Our Lady made the Brown Scapular promise in direct reference to people who had devoted their lives to Christ and His Church. The Brown Scapular to which she refers is a part of their habit. So the promise already refers to the faith. She could have phrased it this way, "All you Carmelites will not see the fires of hell."2. The Pope extended the promise to the rest of us, meaning, the Church Militant...which means, we believe the same thing. He didn't extend the promise to the separated brethren or the Wiccans.3. As an old nun who taught Catechism, do I believe that you could be a Catholic believer, yet lead a sinful life and still not see the fires of hell because you wore a Brown Scapular? You bet I do! God can do anything He wants, including honoring Mary's hair-brained promises. God likes to cut people some slack whenever the opportunity arises. Perhaps Mary in her Motherly wisdom realizes that you have to look at that thing and shower with that thing and wear your prom dress with that thing every day of your life and that just maybe that will be enough of a reminder for you to dial it back and straighten up and ask for forgiveness. Like when Jimmy Cagney looks at a picture of his sainted mother while he's in the pokey and he's sorry for the sorry life he has led. So touching. These things happen.Do you have to believe this? No, you don't.4. Do I think if you wear a Brown Scapular and lead a sinful life and are not sorry ever but just run around saying, "Ha ha, I'm wearing a brown Scapular! Satan will never get me!" that you won't see the fires of hell? Not a chance. Satan already has you. The one time you take it off to shower, you'll slip on the soap and crack your head open. The bus that knocks you out of your shoes will knock you right out of your scapular. The flood waters that wash you away will wash the scapular off your neck. Your evil boyfriend will remove it while you sleep and murder you for your jewels. The paramedic will take it off to give you a shot of adrenaline that doesn't work. The nursing home worker will steal it from you. The atomic blast will vaporize the Scapular one millisecond before it vaporizes you. As you tumble, end over end, down the basement stairs with no one home to hear all the thumping, your scapular will be tossed off and land right before your eyes along with you at the foot of the stairs. As the life drains from you as you lay bleeding from your head wound, you will reach pathetically for your scapular, but the cat will grab it and run out the basement window. At some point, you are going to want to throw it in the wash. When you do, you'll drop dead.You are not going to get away with it, mark my words.From another reader:The point I am trying to make is that when catholics make claims about sacramentals without giving the whole story, non-catholics easily fall into the "Catholics aren't Christian. Catholics are idolators" and a whole bunch of other stuff. I have to frequently explain to non-catholic friends the ideas of sacramentals, praying 'to' saints, and 'worshipping' the Blessed Virgin.I have to do that all the time too. Offer it up. It's a great opportunity to set the record straight.From yet another reader, this crackpot idea ( I had to correct some spelling):Got to love how we try to secure salvation through any means possible, regardless of how puerile or ridiculous it is. How can a piece of cloth guarantee salvation? What are we, Hindu?Along these same lines of superstitious, pagan left-overs in the Church, the Eastern Orthodox have numerous nifty wearable items and prayers to guarantee just the thing you need! Sure glad the church thought of everything. 100% money back guarantee, just like Folsom Lake Ford. Except this time it'll be too late to go spend your money.The piece of cloth is a symbol of what we believe. You don't need the symbol to believe it. You can dump all your sacramentals and saint holy cards into the landfill tomorrow. No problem. You can forget about wearing a scapular. You don't have to believe in anything that came to us through private revelations: scapular, the Miraculous Medal, the St. Gertrude prayer...let it all go, no problem.I may suggest also that you rid yourself of your family album and all those videotapes of the kids when they were little and the keepsake opal ring that belonged to your Grandmother because.... who needs reminders? What are we Hindu?
What can Brown do for you?
There is a wonderful blog written by "Sister Mary Martha," who if I am not mistaken, is a religious sister, commonly known as a nun. However, there is nothing common about her! She runs an extraordinary blog that I check out very often and really enjoy. She is faithful to the Lord and His Church, witty in her commentary, and a wonderful writer. (On top of all that, she is a sister, and anyone who knows me even causally knows that I love my sisters! They are an often underappreciated gift that God gives to His Church, and we should treasure them as such.)So, with her permission, I am stealing a blog of hers, "What can Brown do for you?" It is about a most important Catholic sacramental called the 'scapular'. I realize that this may get my seperated brethren in a tizzy, but I hope they read this with an open mind, learn what the Church actually teaches on sacramentals, and enjoy Sister's sterling sense of humor.I wear a scapular, and would invite every Catholic to do the same. It is a wonderful reminder of Our Lady's love for her children and our invitation to eternal happiness through everyday holiness. (One more special thanks to Sister, as I was asked to write a blog on the scapular a while ago, and haven't found the time.)God love you!************
What can Brown do for you?
(A Homey Treatise on the Scapular)
I'm glad to have the opportunity to explain more about sacramentals, which seem to drive many people around the bend. I hope those who have been driven around the bend by sacramentals and the questions about them are offering up their suffering. It IS LENT.We've had quite the discussion about the Brown Scapular.One reader wants to know:I am I to understand that as long as I wear the brown scapular (provided it doesn't fall off), I get to heaven even if I deny the Trinity, the Real Presence and Christ's Redemption by the Cross?I really have to ask a question in return. If you deny the Trinity, the Real Presence and Christ's Redemption by the Cross, why on earth would you run around in a scapular all day every day? Clearly, you have no fear of hell in the first place.But fine, for the sake of argument, let's pretend someone would do that. (We can do that while we're pretending the bones of the Jesus Family have been found and identified.)Here's how I see it. Keep in mind I am an old nun that taught Catechism to second graders.1. Our Lady made the Brown Scapular promise in direct reference to people who had devoted their lives to Christ and His Church. The Brown Scapular to which she refers is a part of their habit. So the promise already refers to the faith. She could have phrased it this way, "All you Carmelites will not see the fires of hell."2. The Pope extended the promise to the rest of us, meaning, the Church Militant...which means, we believe the same thing. He didn't extend the promise to the separated brethren or the Wiccans.3. As an old nun who taught Catechism, do I believe that you could be a Catholic believer, yet lead a sinful life and still not see the fires of hell because you wore a Brown Scapular? You bet I do! God can do anything He wants, including honoring Mary's hair-brained promises. God likes to cut people some slack whenever the opportunity arises. Perhaps Mary in her Motherly wisdom realizes that you have to look at that thing and shower with that thing and wear your prom dress with that thing every day of your life and that just maybe that will be enough of a reminder for you to dial it back and straighten up and ask for forgiveness. Like when Jimmy Cagney looks at a picture of his sainted mother while he's in the pokey and he's sorry for the sorry life he has led. So touching. These things happen.Do you have to believe this? No, you don't.4. Do I think if you wear a Brown Scapular and lead a sinful life and are not sorry ever but just run around saying, "Ha ha, I'm wearing a brown Scapular! Satan will never get me!" that you won't see the fires of hell? Not a chance. Satan already has you. The one time you take it off to shower, you'll slip on the soap and crack your head open. The bus that knocks you out of your shoes will knock you right out of your scapular. The flood waters that wash you away will wash the scapular off your neck. Your evil boyfriend will remove it while you sleep and murder you for your jewels. The paramedic will take it off to give you a shot of adrenaline that doesn't work. The nursing home worker will steal it from you. The atomic blast will vaporize the Scapular one millisecond before it vaporizes you. As you tumble, end over end, down the basement stairs with no one home to hear all the thumping, your scapular will be tossed off and land right before your eyes along with you at the foot of the stairs. As the life drains from you as you lay bleeding from your head wound, you will reach pathetically for your scapular, but the cat will grab it and run out the basement window. At some point, you are going to want to throw it in the wash. When you do, you'll drop dead.You are not going to get away with it, mark my words.From another reader:The point I am trying to make is that when catholics make claims about sacramentals without giving the whole story, non-catholics easily fall into the "Catholics aren't Christian. Catholics are idolators" and a whole bunch of other stuff. I have to frequently explain to non-catholic friends the ideas of sacramentals, praying 'to' saints, and 'worshipping' the Blessed Virgin.I have to do that all the time too. Offer it up. It's a great opportunity to set the record straight.From yet another reader, this crackpot idea ( I had to correct some spelling):Got to love how we try to secure salvation through any means possible, regardless of how puerile or ridiculous it is. How can a piece of cloth guarantee salvation? What are we, Hindu?Along these same lines of superstitious, pagan left-overs in the Church, the Eastern Orthodox have numerous nifty wearable items and prayers to guarantee just the thing you need! Sure glad the church thought of everything. 100% money back guarantee, just like Folsom Lake Ford. Except this time it'll be too late to go spend your money.The piece of cloth is a symbol of what we believe. You don't need the symbol to believe it. You can dump all your sacramentals and saint holy cards into the landfill tomorrow. No problem. You can forget about wearing a scapular. You don't have to believe in anything that came to us through private revelations: scapular, the Miraculous Medal, the St. Gertrude prayer...let it all go, no problem.I may suggest also that you rid yourself of your family album and all those videotapes of the kids when they were little and the keepsake opal ring that belonged to your Grandmother because.... who needs reminders? What are we Hindu?
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