tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36217603662096282602024-03-04T20:13:08.994-08:00Renewed Faith“Thou art Petros, and upon this petra, I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”
“I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-23960491995119134002014-10-28T18:23:00.001-07:002017-07-25T21:00:55.137-07:00The Most Holy Trinity <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:ApplyBreakingRules/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if !mso]><img src="//img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" />
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;">The Most
Holy Trinity</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAScreVePsDOkLU2RpCwFEEDRJKZp14LT2iOGPPv6zUw_oDa9ZBh2n7Qj5rdh8IGhAosm3ghopBShc67heNobNJuqUXzuPGP95wfsG5H9kGPF76VpkXl-U6t4XkOh-3kA6CICwbamn7Rg-/s1600/holy_trinity-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAScreVePsDOkLU2RpCwFEEDRJKZp14LT2iOGPPv6zUw_oDa9ZBh2n7Qj5rdh8IGhAosm3ghopBShc67heNobNJuqUXzuPGP95wfsG5H9kGPF76VpkXl-U6t4XkOh-3kA6CICwbamn7Rg-/s1600/holy_trinity-1.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;">The distinctions of God the Father Son and
Holy Spirit are</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">seen within Scripture. It is reasonable
and right to see the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">distinctions between God The Father, God
The Son and God</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">The Holy Spirit because it is how Love is
shown to us.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">I most say that God does <b>NOT </b>have
separation between</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Himself, but that their is distinction
between God The Father,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">God the Son, and God The Holy Spirit.
Distinction is what</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">makes God One in nature and gives us The
Oneness of the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Distinction is not mean</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">separation.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">God the Father is not the Son and the Son
is not the Father</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">and neither are the Holy Spirit. Yet the
Father is God, the Son</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">is God and the Holy Spirit is God. There
are not three Gods</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">but one God.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">The idea of God not being Three Persons in
One nature</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">(Oneness Pentecostals and others) hurts
this point of whom</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">God is. And the other extreme of those
that believe Jesus is</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">not God or of the Trinity (J/W, Mormons
and some</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Jewish/Christian and others) also hurt the
point of whom God</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Truly is.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">We must accept that God can not be fully
understood with</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Human minds alone. He is a Mystery to us.
This is not to say</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">we can not understand who God is. Some of
the things We as</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Catholics believe in are believed by Faith
and not by sight.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">We accept them to be True because it has
already been reviled</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">to us through the Church and Her Teaching
and guided by the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Holy Spirit through the thousands of years
of its existence.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">For there are three that bear record in
heaven, the Father, the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Word (Jesus The Christ), and the Holy
Ghost: and these three</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">are one. And there are three that bear
witness in earth, the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and
these three agree in</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">one. If we receive the witness of men, the
witness of God is</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">greater: for this is the witness of God
which he hath testified</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">of his Son. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">witness in himself: he that believeth not
God hath made him a</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">liar; because he believeth not the record
that God gave of his</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Son. (1 John 5:7-10 KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">These are beautiful verses that show that
they are One and yet</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">that their is distinction in the Godhead.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">We must remember that our human mind can
not fully</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">understand the concept of God. Thus He is
a mystery to us. A</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">mystery that allows us to go deeper into
His Love for us, if we</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">are willing to and wanting to know Him
better.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Here we will look at the Persons of God.
Like I've said, God</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">is One in Nature with Three Persons, He is
God the Father,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We
must be quite</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">accurate: the three persons are distinct,
but not separate; and</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">they do not share the divine nature, but
each possesses it</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Totally.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Let me give you what is meant by nature
and person. Nature</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">says what we are, person says who we are.
Nature is the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">source of our operations, person does
them.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Our nature is Human, Gods is the Divine
Nature. Their is only</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">One Divine Nature that everything comes
from and that is</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">God's.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Let's look at Scripture and the three
distinct persons of the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Trinity.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><b><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">The Father, The Person of God the Father.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish
people and unwise? is</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">not he thy</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">father</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">that hath bought thee? hath he not made
thee,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">and established thee? (Deuteronomy 32:6
KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">That ye may be the children of your </span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Father</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">which is in</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on
the evil and on the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">good, and sendeth rain on the just and on
the unjust. (Matthew</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">5:45</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">But thou, when thou prayest, enter into
thy closet, and when</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy </span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Father</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">which is in secret;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">and thy </span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Father</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">which seeth in secret shall reward thee
openly.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">But when ye pray, use not vain
repetitions, as the heathen do:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">for they think that they shall be heard
for their much speaking.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Be not ye therefore like unto them: for
your </span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Father</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">knoweth</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">what things ye have need of, before ye ask
him. After this</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">manner therefore pray ye: Our </span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Father</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">which art in heaven,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Hallowed be thy name. (Matthew 6:6-9 KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">If ye then, being evil, know how to give
good gifts unto your</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">children, how much more shall your</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Father</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">which is in</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">heaven give good things to them that ask
him? (Matthew 7:11</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">But of that day and that hour knoweth no
man, no, not the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">angels which are in heaven, neither the
Son, but the</span> </span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">Father</span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">(Mark </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">13:32</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">For this cause I bow my knees unto the</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Father</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of our Lord</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Jesus Christ, Of whomthe whole family in
heaven and earth</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">is named, (Ephesians </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">3:14</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">, 15 KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">One God and</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Father</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of all, who is above all, and through all,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">and in you all. (Ephesians 4:6 KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">He that overcometh shall inherit all
things; and I will be his</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">God, and</span> </span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">he shall bemy son</span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">. (Revelation 21:7 KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><b><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">The Son, the Person of Jesus The Christ.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">And was there until the death of Herod:
that it might be</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by
the prophet, saying,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Out of </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Egypt</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> have I called my </span></span><b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">son</span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">. (Matthew </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">2:15</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This
is my beloved</span> </span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">Son</span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">3:17</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">And when the tempter came to him, he said,
If thou be the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Son</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of God, command that these stones be made
bread. 6.And</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">saith unto him, If thou be the</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Son </span></i></b><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of God, cast thyself down:</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">for it is written, He shall give his
angels charge concerning</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">thee: and in their hands they shall bear
thee up, lest at any</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
(Matthew 4:3, 6 KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">And, behold, they cried out, saying, What
have we to do with</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">thee, </span></span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">Jesus</span></i></b><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">, thou</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Son</span>
</span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of God? art thou come
hither to torment</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">us before the time? (Matthew </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">8:29</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">All things are delivered unto me of my
Father: and no man</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">knoweth the </span></span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">Son</span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">, but the Father; neither knoweth any man
the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">Father, save the</span> </span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">Son</span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">, and he to whomsoever the </span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Son</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">will</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">reveal him. (Matthew </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">11:27</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">The beginning of the gospel of </span></span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">Jesus Christ, the Son </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of God;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">11.And there came a voice from heaven,
saying, Thou art my</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">beloved </span></span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">Son</span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">, in whom I am well pleased. (Mark 1:1, 11
KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">And unclean spirits, when they saw him,
fell down before him,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">and cried, saying, Thou art the</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Son</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of God. (Mark </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">3:11</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">And the angel answered and said unto her,
The Holy Ghost</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">shall come upon thee, and the power of the
Highest shall</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">overshadow thee: therefore also that holy
thing which shall be</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">born of thee shall be called the</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Son</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of God. (Luke </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">1:35</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">Son</span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">have everlasting life. (John </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">3:16</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">And declared to be the</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Son</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of God with power, according to</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection
from the dead:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">(Romans 1:4 KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">For the</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Son</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of God, </span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Jesus Chris</span><span style="color: lime;">t</span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">, who was preached among</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">you by us, even by me and Silvanus and
Timotheus, was not</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">yea and nay, but in him was yea. (2
Corinthians </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">1:19</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">
KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Seeing then that we have a great high
priest, that is passed</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">into the heavens,</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: orange;">Jesus the Son</span></span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of God, let us hold fast our</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">profession. (Hebrews </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">4:14</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Whosoever shall confess that </span></span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">Jesus is the Son </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of God, God</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">dwelleth in him, and he in God. (1 John </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">4:15</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira
write; These</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">things saith the </span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: orange;">Son</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of God, who hath his eyes like unto a</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">flame of fire, and his feet are like fine
brass; (Revelation </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">2:18</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><b><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">The Holy Spirit, the Person of the Holy
Spirit.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">And I will pray the Father, and he shall
give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17.Even the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Spirit</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">of truth; whom the world cannot receive,
because it</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">seeth</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">him</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">not, neither knoweth </span></span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">him</span></i></b><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">:
but ye know</span> </span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">him</span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">; for he</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
(John </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">14:16</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">,
17 KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is
expedient for you that I</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">go away: for if I go not away, the </span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Comforter</span><span style="color: lime;"> (</span><span style="color: orange;">Holy Spirit</span><span style="color: lime;"> )</span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">will not come unto you; but if I depart, I
will send</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">him</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">unto</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">you. And when</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">he</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">is come, </span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">he</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">will reprove the world of sin,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of
sin, because they</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">believe not on me; Of righteousness,
because I go to my</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Father, and ye see me no more; Of
judgment, because the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">prince of this world is judged. I have yet
many things to say</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit when </span></span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">he</span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">, the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">Spirit of truth</span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">, is come, </span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">he</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">will guide you into all truth: for</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">he</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">shall not speak of </span></span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">himself</span></i></b><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">; but whatsoever</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">he</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">shall hear,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">that shall</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">he</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">speak: and</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">he</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">will shew you things to come. </span></span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">He</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">shall glorify me: for</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">he</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">shall receive of mine, and shall shew</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">it unto you. (John 16:7-14 KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan
filled thine heart to</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">lie to the </span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Holy Ghost</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">, and to keep back part of the price of
the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">land? 32.And we are his witnesses of these
things; and so is</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">also the</span> </span><b><i><span style="color: orange; font-size: 16pt;">Holy Ghost</span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">, whom God hath given to them that obey</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">him. (Acts 5:3, 32 KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth
what is the mind of</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">the</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Spirit</span><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">, because he maketh intercession for the saints</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">according to the will of God. (Romans </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">8:27</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth
what is the mind of</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: white;">the</span> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Spirit</span> </span></i></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">, because he maketh intercession for the saints</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">according to the will of God. (Romans </span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">8:27</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> KJV)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">So in all these verses we see Scripture is
clear of God's</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">distictions between God the Father, God
the Son, and God the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">Holy Spirit. To say their is No distiction
between Him is to</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: 16.0pt;">say God is not
Love.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-8686954207440626272011-08-07T12:14:00.000-07:002011-08-07T12:28:15.930-07:00Brothers and Sisters<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJK1V5f1PeKfkx-bhInvCH4HV-Q1-Sgs4p7lpVwZ2zhQLGk3OZ0dl5NICKkMI7OI5mNi5yVpRep9DQAnem0hiefqxIepGHRLqCevdKKqh8OA5CY8B3e3_YYAB6Xgx72VXfqv93Tj2ed3F/s1600/blessed-virgin-Mary.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJK1V5f1PeKfkx-bhInvCH4HV-Q1-Sgs4p7lpVwZ2zhQLGk3OZ0dl5NICKkMI7OI5mNi5yVpRep9DQAnem0hiefqxIepGHRLqCevdKKqh8OA5CY8B3e3_YYAB6Xgx72VXfqv93Tj2ed3F/s320/blessed-virgin-Mary.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638198025423429826" /></a><br />I have been doing other things that I have not been able to write anything here. I am getting things together so that someday I can post them here. Please pray for me and I'll pray for you. Bothers and sisters you can find me in Facebook under Matthew Trevino. With Love in Christ Matt.Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-64565105013371120672011-08-07T12:02:00.000-07:002011-08-07T12:09:19.387-07:00JESUS CHRIST THE BEARER OF THE WATER OF LIFEPONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR CULTURE<br />PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE<br /><br />JESUS CHRIST<br />THE BEARER OF THE WATER OF LIFE<br /><br />A Christian reflection<br />on the “New Age”<br /><br /> <br /><br />TABLE OF CONTENTS<br /><br />Foreword<br /><br />1. What sort of reflection<br /><br /> 1.1. Why now?<br /> 1.2. Communications<br /> 1.3. Cultural background<br /> 1.4. The New Age and Catholic faith<br /> 1.5. A positive challenge<br /><br />2. New Age spirituality: an overview <br /><br /> 2.1. What is new about New Age?<br /><br /> 2.2. What does the New Age claim to offer?<br /> 2.2.1. Enchantment: There Must be an Angel<br /> 2.2.2. Harmony and Understanding: Good Vibrations<br /> 2.2.3. Health: Golden Living<br /> 2.2.4. Wholeness: A Magical Mystery Tour<br /><br /> 2.3. The fundamental principles of New Age thinking<br /> 2.3.1. A global response in a time of crisis<br /> 2.3.2. The essential matrix of New Age thinking<br /> 2.3.3. Central themes of the New Age<br /> 2.3.4. What does New Age say about...<br /> 2.3.4.1. ...the human person?<br /> 2.3.4.2. ...God?<br /> 2.3.4.3. ...the world?<br /><br /> 2.4. “Inhabitants of myth rather than history”: New Age and culture<br /><br /> 2.5. Why has New Age grown so rapidly and spread so effectively?<br /><br />3. New Age and Christian faith<br /><br /> 3.1. New Age as spirituality<br /> 3.2. Spiritual narcissism?<br /> 3.3. The Cosmic Christ<br /> 3.4. Christian mysticism and New Age mysticism<br /> 3.5. The God within and theosis<br /><br />4. New Age and Christian faith in contrast <br /><br />5. Jesus Christ offers us the water of life <br /><br />6. Points to note <br /><br /> 6.1. Guidance and sound formation are needed<br /> 6.2. Practical steps<br /><br />7. Appendix <br /><br /> 7.1. Some brief formulations of New Age ideas<br /> 7.2. A select glossary <br /> 7.3. Key New Age places<br /><br />8. Resources <br /><br /> 8.1. Documents of the Catholic Church's Magisterium<br /> 8.2. Christian studies<br /><br />9. General bibliography <br /><br /> 9.1. Some New Age books<br /> 9.2. Historical, descriptive and analytical works <br /><br />NOTES<br /><br /> <br /><br />FOREWORD<br /><br />The present study is concerned with the complex phenomenon of “New Age” which is influencing many aspects of contemporary culture.<br /><br />The study is a provisional report. It is the fruit of the common reflection of the Working Group on New Religious Movements, composed of staff members of different dicasteries of the Holy See: the Pontifical Councils for Culture and for Interreligious Dialogue (which are the principal redactors for this project), the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.<br /><br />These reflections are offered primarily to those engaged in pastoral work so that they might be able to explain how the New Age movement differs from the Christian faith. This study invites readers to take account of the way that New Age religiosity addresses the spiritual hunger of contemporary men and women. It should be recognized that the attraction that New Age religiosity has for some Christians may be due in part to the lack of serious attention in their own communities for themes which are actually part of the Catholic synthesis such as the importance of man' spiritual dimension and its integration with the whole of life, the search for life's meaning, the link between human beings and the rest of creation, the desire for personal and social transformation, and the rejection of a rationalistic and materialistic view of humanity.<br /><br />The present publication calls attention to the need to know and understand New Age as a cultural current, as well as the need for Catholics to have an understanding of authentic Catholic doctrine and spirituality in order to properly assess New Age themes. The first two chapters present New Age as a multifaceted cultural tendency, proposing an analysis of the basic foundations of the thought conveyed in this context. From Chapter Three onwards some indications are offered for an investigation of New Age in comparison with the Christian message. Some suggestions of a pastoral nature are also made.<br /><br />Those who wish to go deeper into the study of New Age will find useful references in the appendices. It is hoped that this work will in fact provide a stimulus for further studies adapted to different cultural contexts. Its purpose is also to encourage discernment by those who are looking for sound reference points for a life of greater fulness. It is indeed our conviction that through many of our contemporaries who are searching, we can discover a true thirst for God. As Pope John Paul II said to a group of bishops from the United States: “Pastors must honestly ask whether they have paid sufficient attention to the thirst of the human heart for the true 'living water' which only Christ our Redeemer can give (cf. Jn 4:7-13)”. Like him, we want to rely “on the perennial freshness of the Gospel message and its capacity to transform and renew those who accept it” (AAS 86/4, 330).<br /><br /> <br /><br />1. WHAT SORT OF REFLECTION?<br /><br />The following reflections are meant as a guide for Catholics involved in preaching the Gospel and teaching the faith at any level within the Church. This document does not aim at providing a set of complete answers to the many questions raised by the New Age or other contemporary signs of the perennial human search for happiness, meaning and salvation. It is an invitation to understand the New Age and to engage in a genuine dialogue with those who are influenced by New Age thought. The document guides those involved in pastoral work in their understanding and response to New Age spirituality, both illustrating the points where this spirituality contrasts with the Catholic faith and refuting the positions espoused by New Age thinkers in opposition to Christian faith. What is indeed required of Christians is, first and foremost, a solid grounding in their faith. On this sound base, they can build a life which responds positively to the invitation in the first letter of Saint Peter: “always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have. But give it with courtesy and respect and a clear conscience” (1 P 3, 15 f.).<br /><br /> <br /><br />1.1. Why now?<br /><br />The beginning of the Third Millennium comes not only two thousand years after the birth of Christ, but also at a time when astrologers believe that the Age of Pisces – known to them as the Christian age – is drawing to a close. These reflections are about the New Age, which takes its name from the imminent astrological Age of Aquarius. The New Age is one of many explanations of the significance of this moment in history which are bombarding contemporary (particularly western) culture, and it is hard to see clearly what is and what is not consistent with the Christian message. So this seems to be the right moment to offer a Christian assessment of New Age thinking and the New Age movement as a whole.<br /><br />It has been said, quite correctly, that many people hover between certainty and uncertainty these days, particularly in questions relating to their identity.(1) Some say that the Christian religion is patriarchal and authoritarian, that political institutions are unable to improve the world, and that formal (allopathic) medicine simply fails to heal people effectively. The fact that what were once central elements in society are now perceived as untrustworthy or lacking in genuine authority has created a climate where people look inwards, into themselves, for meaning and strength. There is also a search for alternative institutions, which people hope will respond to their deepest needs. The unstructured or chaotic life of alternative communities of the 1970s has given way to a search for discipline and structures, which are clearly key elements in the immensely popular “mystical” movements. New Age is attractive mainly because so much of what it offers meets hungers often left unsatisfied by the established institutions.<br /><br />While much of New Age is a reaction to contemporary culture, there are many ways in which it is that culture's child. The Renaissance and the Reformation have shaped the modern western individual, who is not weighed down by external burdens like merely extrinsic authority and tradition; people feel the need to “belong” to institutions less and less (and yet loneliness is very much a scourge of modern life), and are not inclined to rank “official” judgements above their own. With this cult of humanity, religion is internalised in a way which prepares the ground for a celebration of the sacredness of the self. This is why New Age shares many of the values espoused by enterprise culture and the “prosperity Gospel” (of which more will be said later: section 2.4), and also by the consumer culture, whose influence is clear from the rapidly-growing numbers of people who claim that it is possible to blend Christianity and New Age, by taking what strikes them as the best of both.(2) It is worth remembering that deviations within Christianity have also gone beyond traditional theism in accepting a unilateral turn to self, and this would encourage such a blending of approaches. The important thing to note is that God is reduced in certain New Age practices so as furthering the advancement of the individual.<br /><br />New Age appeals to people imbued with the values of modern culture. Freedom, authenticity, self-reliance and the like are all held to be sacred. It appeals to those who have problems with patriarchy. It “does not demand any more faith or belief than going to the cinema”,(3) and yet it claims to satisfy people's spiritual appetites. But here is a central question: just what is meant by spirituality in a New Age context? The answer is the key to unlocking 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. Christianity, on the other hand, is an invitation to look outwards and beyond, to the “new Advent”<br />of the God who calls us to live the dialogue of love.(4)<br /><br /> <br /><br />1.2. Communications<br /><br />The technological revolution in communications over the last few years has brought about a completely new situation. The ease and speed with which people can now communicate is one of the reasons why New Age has come to the attention of people of all ages and backgrounds, and many who follow Christ are not sure what it is all about. The Internet, in particular, has become enormously influential, especially with younger people, who find it a congenial and fascinating way of acquiring information. But it is a volatile vehicle of misinformation on so many aspects of religion: not all that is labelled “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. People need, and have a right to, reliable information on the differences between Christianity and New Age.<br /><br /> <br /><br />1.3. Cultural background<br /><br />When one examines many New Age traditions, it soon becomes clear that there is, in fact, little in the New Age that is new. The name seems to have gained currency through Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, at the time of the French and American Revolutions, but the reality it denotes is a contemporary variant of Western esotericism. This dates back to Gnostic groups which grew up in the early days of Christianity, and gained momentum at the time of the Reformation in Europe. It has grown in parallel with scientific world-views, and acquired a rational justification through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It has involved a progressive rejection of a personal God and a focus on other entities which would often figure as intermediaries between God and humanity in traditional Christianity, with more and more original adaptations of these or additional ones. A powerful trend in modern Western culture which has given space to New Age ideas is the general acceptance of Darwinist evolutionary theory; this, alongside a focus on hidden spiritual powers or forces in nature, has been the backbone of much of what is now recognised as New Age theory.<br /><br />Basically, New Age has found a remarkable level of acceptance because the world-view on which it was based was already widely accepted. The ground was well prepared by the growth and spread of relativism, along with an antipathy or indifference towards the Christian faith.<br /><br />Furthermore, there has been a lively discussion about whether and in what sense New Age can be described as a postmodern phenomenon. The existence and fervor of New Age thinking and practice bear witness to the unquenchable longing of the human spirit for transcendence and religious meaning, which is not only a contemporary cultural phenomenon, but was evident in the ancient world, both Christian and pagan.<br /><br /> <br /><br />1.4. The New Age and Catholic Faith<br /><br />Even if it can be admitted that New Age religiosity in some way responds to the legitimate spiritual longing of human nature, it must be acknowledged that its attempts to do so run counter to Christian revelation. In Western culture in particular, the appeal of “alternative” approaches to spirituality is very strong. On the one hand, new forms of psychological affirmation of the individual have be<br /><br />come very popular among Catholics, even in retreat-houses, seminaries and institutes of formation for religious. At the same time there is increasing nostalgia and curiosity for the wisdom and ritual of long ago, which is one of the reasons for the remarkable growth in the popularity of esotericism and gnosticism. Many people are particularly attracted to what is known – correctly or otherwise – as “Celtic” spirituality,(5) or to the religions of ancient peoples. Books and courses on spirituality and ancient or Eastern religions are a booming business, and they are frequently labelled “New Age” for commercial purposes. But the links with those religions are not always clear. In fact, they are often denied.<br /><br />An adequate Christian discernment of New Age thought and practice cannot fail to recognize that, like second and third century gnosticism, it represents something of a compendium of positions that the Church has identified as heterodox. John Paul II warns with regard to the “return of ancient gnostic ideas under the guise of the so-called New Age: We cannot delude ourselves that this will lead toward a renewal of religion. It is only a new way of practising gnosticism – that attitude of the spirit that, in the name of a profound knowledge of God, results in distorting His Word and replacing it with purely human words. Gnosticism never completely abandoned the realm of Christianity. Instead, it has always existed side by side with Christianity, sometimes taking the shape of a philosophical movement, but more often assuming the characteristics of a religion or a para-religion in distinct, if not declared, conflict with all that is essentially Christian”.(6) An example of this can be seen in the enneagram, the 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.<br /><br /> <br /><br />1.5. A positive challenge<br /><br />The appeal of New Age religiosity cannot be underestimated. When the understanding of the content of Christian faith is weak, some mistakenly hold that the Christian religion does not inspire a profound spirituality and so they seek elsewhere. As a matter of fact, some say the New Age is already passing us by, and refer to the “next” age.(7) They speak of a crisis that began to manifest itself in the United States of America in the early 1990s, but admit that, especially beyond the English-speaking world, such a “crisis” may come later. But bookshops and radio stations, and the plethora of self-help groups in so many Western towns and cities, all seem to tell a different story. It seems that, at least for the moment, the New Age is still very much alive and part of the current cultural scene.<br /><br />The success of New Age offers the Church a challenge. People feel the Christian religion no longer offers them – or perhaps never gave them – something they really need. The search which often leads people to the New Age is a genuine yearning: for a deeper spirituality, for something which will touch their hearts, and for a way of making sense of a confusing and often alienating world. There is a positive tone in New Age criticisms of “the materialism of daily life, of philosophy and even of medicine and psychiatry; reductionism, which refuses to take into consideration religious and supernatural experiences; the industrial culture of unrestrained individualism, which teaches egoism and pays no attention to other people, the future and the environment”.(8) Any problems there are with New Age are to be found in what it proposes as alternative answers to life's questions. If the Church is not to be accused of being deaf to people's longings, her members need to do two things: to root themselves ever more firmly in the fundamentals of their faith, and to understand the often-silent cry in people's hearts, which leads them elsewhere if they are not satisfied by the Church. There is also a call in all of this to come closer to Jesus Christ and to be ready to follow Him, since He is the real way to happiness, the truth about God and the fulness of life for every man and woman who is prepared to respond to his love.<br /><br /> <br /><br />2. NEW AGE SPIRITUALITY: AN OVERVIEW<br /><br />Christians in many Western societies, and increasingly also in other parts of the world, frequently come into contact with different aspects of the phenomenon known as New Age. Many of them feel the need to understand how they can best approach something which is at once so alluring, complex, elusive and, at times, disturbing. These reflections are an attempt to help Christians do two things:<br /><br /> – to identify elements of the developing New Age tradition;<br /> – to indicate those elements which are inconsistent with the Christian revelation.<br /><br />This is a pastoral response to a current challenge, which does not even attempt to provide an exhaustive list of New Age phenomena, since that would result in a very bulky tome, and such information is readily available elsewhere. It is essential to try to understand New Age correctly, in order to evaluate it fairly, and avoid creating a caricature. It would be unwise and untrue to say that everything connected with the New Age movement is good, or that everything about it is bad. Nevertheless, given the underlying vision of New Age religiosity, it is on the whole difficult to reconcile it with Christian doctrine and spirituality.<br /><br />New Age is not a movement in the sense normally intended in the term “New Religious Movement”, and it is not what is normally meant by the terms “cult” and “sect”. Because it is spread across cultures, in phenomena as varied as music, films, seminars, workshops, retreats, therapies, and many more activities and events, it is much more diffuse and informal, though some religious or para-religious groups consciously incorporate New Age elements, and it has been suggested that New Age has been a source of ideas for various religious and para-religious sects.(9) New Age is not a single, uniform movement, but rather a loose network of practitioners whose approach is to think globally but act locally. People who are part of the network do not necessarily know each other and rarely, if ever, meet. In an attempt to avoid the confusion which can arise from using the term “movement”, some refer to New Age as a “milieu”,(10) or an “audience cult”.(11) However, it has also been pointed out that “it is a very coherent current of thought”,(12) a deliberate challenge to modern culture. It is a syncretistic structure incorporating many diverse elements, allowing people to share interests or connections to very different degrees and on varying levels of commitment. Many trends, practices and attitudes which are in some way part of New Age are, indeed, part of a broad and readily identifiable reaction to mainstream culture, so the word “movement” is not entirely out of place. It can be applied to New Age in the same sense as it is to other broad social movements, like the Civil Rights movement or the Peace Movement; like them, it includes a bewildering array of people linked to the movement's main aims, but very diverse in the way they are involved and in their understanding of particular issues.<br /><br />The expression “New Age religion” is more controversial, so it seems best to avoid it, although New Age is often a response to people's religious questions and needs, and its appeal is to people who are trying to discover or rediscover a spiritual dimension in their life. Avoidance of the term “New Age religion” is not meant in any way to question the genuine character of people's search for meaning and sense in life; it respects the fact that many within the New Age Movement themselves distinguish carefully between “religion” and “spirituality”. Many have rejected organised religion, because in their judgement it has failed to answer their needs, and for precisely this reason they have looked elsewhere to find “spirituality”. Furthermore, at the heart of New Age is the belief that the time for particular religions is over, so to refer to it as a religion would run counter to its own self-understanding. However, it is quite accurate to place New Age in the broader context of esoteric religiousness, whose appeal continues to grow.(13)<br /><br />There is a problem built into the current text. It is an attempt to understand and evaluate something which is basically an exaltation of the richness of human experience. It is bound to draw the criticism that it can never do justice to a cultural movement whose essence is precisely to break out of what are seen as the constricting limits of rational discourse. But it is meant as an invitation to Christians to take the New Age seriously, and as such asks its readers to enter into a critical dialogue with people approaching the same world from very different perspectives.<br /><br />The pastoral effectiveness of the Church in the Third Millennium depends to a great extent on the preparation of effective communicators of the Gospel message. What follows is a response to the difficulties expressed by many in dealing with the very complex and elusive phenomenon known as New Age. It is an attempt to understand what New Age is and to recognise the questions to which it claims to offer answers and solutions. There are some excellent books and other resources which survey the whole phenomenon or explain particular aspects in great detail, and reference will be made to some of these in the appendix. However they do not always undertake the necessary discernment in the light of Christian faith. The purpose of this contribution is to help Catholics find a key to understanding the basic principles behind New Age thinking, so that they can then make a Christian evaluation of the elements of New Age they encounter. It is worth saying that many people dislike the term New Age, and some suggest that “alternative spirituality” may be more correct and less limiting. It is also true that many of the phenomena mentioned in this document will probably not bear any particular label, but it is presumed, for the sake of brevity, that readers will recognise a phenomenon or set of phenomena that can justifiably at least be linked with the general cultural movement that is often known as New Age.<br /><br /> <br /><br />2.1. What is new about New Age?<br /><br />For many people, the term New Age clearly refers to a momentous turning-point in history. According to astrologers, we live in the Age of Pisces, which has been dominated by Christianity. But the current age of Pisces is due to be replaced by the New Age of Aquarius early in the third Millennium.(14) The Age of Aquarius has such a high profile in the New Age movement largely because of the influence of theosophy, spiritualism and anthroposophy, and their esoteric antecedents. 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, in the way we relate to the world; this is particularly clear in those who stress the idea of a New Paradigm for living. It is an attractive approach since, in some of its expressions, people do not watch passively, but have an active role in changing culture and bringing about a new spiritual awareness. In other expressions, more power is ascribed to the inevitable progression of natural cycles. In any case, the Age of Aquarius is a vision, not a theory. But New Age is a broad tradition, which incorporates many ideas which have no explicit link with the change from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius. There are moderate, but quite generalised, visions of a future where there will be a planetary spirituality alongside separate religions, similar planetary political institutions to complement more local ones, global economic entities which are more participatory and democratic, greater emphasis on communication and education, a mixed approach to health combining professional medicine and self-healing, a more androgynous self-understanding and ways of integrating science, mysticism, technology and ecology. Again, this is evidence of a deep desire for a fulfilling and healthy existence for the human race and for the planet. Some of the traditions which flow into New Age are: ancient Egyptian occult practices, Cabbalism, early Christian gnosticism, Sufism, the lore of the Druids, Celtic Christianity, mediaeval alchemy, Renaissance hermeticism, Zen Buddhism, Yoga and so on.(15)<br /><br />Here is what is “new” about New Age. It is a “syncretism of esoteric and secular elements”.(16) They link into a widely-held perception that the time is ripe for a fundamental change in individuals, in society and in the world. There are various expressions of the need for a shift:<br /><br /> – from Newtonian mechanistic physics to quantum physics;<br /> – from modernity's exaltation of reason to an appreciation of feeling, emotion and experience (often described as a switch from 'left brain' rational thinking to 'right brain' intuitive thinking);<br /> – from a dominance of masculinity and patriarchy to a celebration of femininity, in individuals and in society.<br /><br />In these contexts the term “paradigm shift” is often used. In some cases it is clearly supposed that this shift is not simply desirable, but inevitable. The rejection of modernity underlying this desire for change is not new, but can be described as “a modern revival of pagan religions with a mixture of influences from both eastern religions and also from modern psychology, philosophy, science, and the counterculture that developed in the 1950s and 1960s”.(17) New Age is a witness to nothing less than a cultural revolution, a complex reaction to the dominant ideas and values in western culture, and yet its idealistic criticism is itself ironically typical of the culture it criticizes.<br /><br />A word needs to be said on the notion of paradigm shift. It was made popular by Thomas Kuhn, an American historian of science, who saw a paradigm as “the entire constellation of beliefs, values, techniques and so on shared by the members of a given community”.(18) When there is a shift from one paradigm to another, it is a question of wholesale transformation of perspective rather than one of gradual development. It really is a revolution, and Kuhn emphasised that competing paradigms are incommensurable and cannot co-exist. So the idea that a paradigm shift in the area of religion and spirituality is simply a new way of stating traditional beliefs misses the point. What is actually going on is a radical change in world- view, which puts into question not only the content but also the fundamental interpretation of the former vision. Perhaps the clearest example of this, in terms of the relationship between New Age and Christianity, is the total recasting of the life and significance of Jesus Christ. It is impossible to reconcile these two visions.(19)<br /><br />Science and technology have clearly failed to deliver all they once seemed to promise, so in their search for meaning and liberation people have turned to the spiritual realm. New Age as we now know it came from a search for something more humane and beautiful than the oppressive, alienating experience of life in Western society. Its early exponents were prepared to look far afield in their search, so it has become a very eclectic approach. It may well be one of the signs of a “return to religion”, but it is most certainly not a return to orthodox Christian doctrines and creeds. The first symbols of this “movement” to penetrate Western culture were the remarkable festival at Woodstock in New York State in 1969 and the musical Hair, which set forth the main themes of New Age in the emblematic song “Aquarius”.(20) But these were merely the tip of an iceberg whose dimensions have become clearer only relatively recently. The idealism of the 1960s and 1970s still survives in some quarters; but now, it is no longer predominantly adolescents who are involved. Links with left-wing political ideology have faded, and psychedelic drugs are by no means as prominent as they once were. So much has happened since then that all this no longer seems revolutionary; “spiritual” and “mystical” tendencies formerly restricted to the counterculture are now an established part of mainstream culture, affecting such diverse facets of life as medicine, science, art and religion. Western culture is now imbued with a more general political and ecological awareness, and this whole cultural shift has had an enormous impact on people's life-styles. It is suggested by some that the New Age “movement” is precisely this major change to what is reckoned to be “a significantly better way of life”.(21)<br /><br /> <br /><br />2.2. What does the New Age claim to offer?<br /><br />2.2.1. Enchantment: There Must be an Angel<br /><br />One of the most common elements in New Age “spirituality” is a fascination with extraordinary manifestations, and in particular with paranormal entities. People recognised as “mediums” claim that their personality is taken over by another entity during trances in a New Age phenomenon known as “channeling”, during which the medium may lose control over his or her body and faculties. Some people who have witnessed these events would willingly acknowledge that the manifestations are indeed spiritual, but are not from God, despite the language of love and light which is almost always used.... It is probably more correct to refer to this as a contemporary form of spiritualism, rather than spirituality in a strict sense. Other friends and counsellors from the spirit world are angels (which have become the centre of a new industry of books and paintings). Those who refer to angels in the New Age do so in an unsystematic way; in fact, distinctions in this area are sometimes described as unhelpful if they are too precise, since “there are many levels of guides, entities, energies, and beings in every octave of the universe... They are all there to pick and choose from in relation to your own attraction/repulsion mechanisms”.(22) These spiritual entities are often invoked 'non-religiously' to help in relaxation aimed at better decision-making and control of one's life and career. Fusion with some spirits who teach through particular people is another New Age experience claimed by people who refer to themselves as 'mystics'. Some nature spirits are described as powerful energies existing in the natural world and also on the “inner planes”: i.e. those which are accessible by the use of rituals, drugs and other techniques for reaching altered states of consciousness. It is clear that, in theory at least, the New Age often recognizes no spiritual authority higher than personal inner experience.<br /><br /> <br /><br />2.2.2. Harmony and Understanding: Good Vibrations<br /><br />Phenomena as diverse as the Findhorn garden and Feng Shui (23) represent a variety of ways which illustrate the importance of being in tune with nature or the cosmos. In New Age there is no distinction between good and evil. Human actions are the fruit of either illumination or ignorance. Hence we cannot condemn anyone, and nobody needs forgiveness. Believing in the existence of evil can create only negativity and fear. The answer to negativity is love. But it is not the sort which has to be translated into deeds; it is more a question of attitudes of mind. Love is energy, a high-frequency vibration, and the secret to happiness and health and success is being able to tune in, to find one's place in the great chain of being. New Age teachers and therapies claim to offer the key to finding the correspondences between all the elements of the universe, so that people may modulate the tone of their lives and be in absolute harmony with each other and with everything around them, although there are different theoretical backgrounds.(24)<br /><br /> <br /><br />2.2.3. Health: Golden living<br /><br />Formal (allopathic) medicine today tends to limit itself to curing particular, isolated ailments, and fails to look at the broader picture of a person's health: this has given rise to a fair amount of understandable dissatisfaction. Alternative therapies have gained enormously in popularity because they claim to look at the whole person and are about healing rather than curing. Holistic health, as it is known, concentrates on the important role that the mind plays in physical healing. The connection between the spiritual and the physical aspects of the person is said to be in the immune system or the Indian chakra system. In a New Age perspective, illness and suffering come from working against nature; when one is in tune with nature, one can expect a much healthier life, and even material prosperity; for some New Age healers, there should actually be no need for us to die. Developing our human potential will put us in touch with our inner divinity, and with those parts of our selves which have been alienated and suppressed. This is revealed above all in Altered States of Consciousness (ASCs), which are induced either by drugs or by various mind-expanding techniques, particularly in the context of “transpersonal psychology”. The shaman is often seen as the specialist of altered states of consciousness, one who is able to mediate between the transpersonal realms of spirits and gods and the world of humans.<br /><br />There is a remarkable variety of approaches for promoting holistic health, some derived from ancient cultural traditions, whether religious or esoteric, others connected with the psychological theories developed in Esalen during the years 1960-1970. Advertising connected with New Age covers a wide range of practices as acupuncture, biofeedback, chiropractic, kinesiology, homeopathy, iridology, massage and various kinds of “bodywork” (such as orgonomy, Feldenkrais, reflexology, Rolfing, polarity massage, therapeutic touch etc.), meditation and visualisation, nutritional therapies, psychic healing, various kinds of herbal medicine, healing by crystals, metals, music or colours, reincarnation therapies and, finally, twelve-step programmes and self-help groups.(25) 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.<br /><br />Inasmuch as health includes a prolongation of life, New Age offers an Eastern formula in Western terms. Originally, reincarnation was a part of Hindu cyclical thought, based on the atman or divine kernel of personality (later the concept of jiva), which moved from body to body in a cycle of suffering (samsara), determined by the law of karma, linked to behaviour in past lives. Hope lies in the possibility of being born into a better state, or ultimately in liberation from the need to be reborn. What is different in most Buddhist traditions is that what wanders from body to body is not a soul, but a continuum of consciousness. Present life is embedded in a potentially endless cosmic process which includes even the gods. In the West, since the time of Lessing, reincarnation has been understood far more optimistically as a process of learning and progressive individual fulfilment. Spiritualism, theosophy, anthroposophy and New Age all see reincarnation as participation in cosmic evolution. This post-Christian approach to eschatology is said to answer the unresolved questions of theodicy and dispenses with the notion of hell. When the soul is separated from the body individuals can look back on their whole life up to that point, and when the soul is united to its new body there is a preview of its coming phase of life. People have access to their former lives through dreams and meditation techniques.(26)<br /><br /> <br /><br />2.2.4. Wholeness: A Magical Mystery Tour<br /><br />One of the central concerns of the New Age movement is the search for “wholeness”. There is encouragement to overcome all forms of “dualism”, as such divisions are an unhealthy product of a less enlightened past. Divisions which New Age proponents claim need to be overcome include the real difference between Creator and creation, the real distinction between man and nature, or spirit and matter, which are all considered wrongly as forms of dualism. These dualistic tendencies are often assumed to be ultimately based on the Judaeo-Christian roots of western civilisation, while it would be more accurate to link them to gnosticism, in particular to Manichaeism. The scientific revolution and the spirit of modern rationalism are blamed particularly for the tendency to fragmentation, which treats organic wholes as mechanisms that can be reduced to their smallest components and then explained in terms of the latter, and the tendency to reduce spirit to matter, so that spiritual reality – including the soul – becomes merely a contingent “epiphenomenon” of essentially material processes. In all of these areas, the New Age alternatives are called “holistic”. Holism pervades the New Age movement, from its concern with holistic health to its quest for unitive consciousness, and from ecological awareness to the idea of global “networking”.<br /><br /> <br /><br />2.3. The fundamental principles of New Age thinking<br /><br />2.3.1. A global response in a time of crisis<br /><br />“Both the Christian tradition and the secular faith in an unlimited process of science had to face a severe break first manifested in the student revolutions around the year 1968”.(27) The wisdom of older generations was suddenly robbed of significance and respect, while the omnipotence of science evaporated, so that the Church now “has to face a serious breakdown in the transmission of her faith to the younger generation”.(28) A general loss of faith in these former pillars of consciousness and social cohesion has been accompanied by the unexpected return of cosmic religiosity, rituals and beliefs which many believed to have been supplanted by Christianity; but this perennial esoteric undercurrent never really went away. The surge in popularity of Asian religion at this point was something new in the Western context, established late in the nineteenth century in the theosophical movement, and it “reflects the growing awareness of a global spirituality, incorporating all existing religious traditions”.(29)<br /><br />The perennial philosophical question of the one and the many has its modern and contemporary form in the temptation to overcome not only undue division, but even real difference and distinction, and the most common expression of this is holism, an essential ingredient in New Age and one of the principal signs of the times in the last quarter of the twentieth century. An extraordinary amount of energy has gone into the effort to overcome the division into compartments characteristic of mechanistic ideology, but this has led to the sense of obligation to submit to a global network which assumes quasi-transcendental authority. Its clearest implications are a process of conscious transformation and the development of ecology.(30) The new vision which is the goal of conscious transformation has taken time to formulate, and its enactment is resisted by older forms of thought judged to be entrenched in the status quo. What has been successful is the generalisation of ecology as a fascination with nature and resacralisation of the earth, Mother Earth or Gaia, with the missionary zeal characteristic of Green politics. The Earth's executive agent is the human race as a whole, and the harmony and understanding required for responsible governance is increasingly understood to be a global government, with a global ethical framework. The warmth of Mother Earth, whose divinity pervades the whole of creation, is held to bridge the gap between creation and the transcendent Father-God of Judaism and Christianity, and removes the prospect of being judged by such a Being.<br /><br />In such a vision of a closed universe that contains “God” and other spiritual beings along with ourselves, we recognize here an implicit pantheism. This is a fundamental point which pervades all New Age thought and practice, and conditions in advance any otherwise positive assessment where we might be in favor of one or another aspect of its spirituality. As Christians, we believe on the contrary that “man is essentially a creature and remains so for all eternity, so that an absorption of the human I in the divine I will never be possible”.(31)<br /><br /> <br /><br />2.3.2. The essential matrix of New Age thinking<br /><br />The essential matrix of New Age thinking is to be found in the esoteric-theosophical tradition which was fairly widely accepted in European intellectual circles in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was particularly strong in freemasonry, spiritualism, occultism and theosophy, which shared a kind of esoteric culture. In this world-view, the visible and invisible universes are linked by a series of correspondences, analogies and influences between microcosm and macrocosm, between metals and planets, between planets and the various parts of the human body, between the visible cosmos and the invisible realms of reality. Nature is a living being, shot through with networks of sympathy and antipathy, animated by a light and a secret fire which human beings seek to control. People can contact the upper or lower worlds by means of their imagination (an organ of the soul or spirit), or by using mediators (angels, spirits, devils) or rituals.<br /><br />People can be initiated into the mysteries of the cosmos, God and the self by means of a spiritual itinerary of transformation. The eventual goal is gnosis, the highest form of knowledge, the equivalent of salvation. It involves a search for the oldest and highest tradition in philosophy (what is inappropriately called philosophia perennis) and religion (primordial theology), a secret (esoteric) doctrine which is the key to all the “exoteric” traditions which are accessible to everyone. Esoteric teachings are handed down from master to disciple in a gradual program of initiation.<br /><br />19th century esotericism is seen by some as completely secularised. Alchemy, magic, astrology and other elements of traditional esotericism had been thoroughly integrated with aspects of modern culture, including the search for causal laws, evolutionism, psychology and the study of religions. It reached its clearest form in the ideas of Helena Blavatsky, a Russian medium who founded the Theosophical Society with Henry Olcott in New York in 1875. The Society aimed to fuse elements of Eastern and Western traditions in an evolutionary type of spiritualism. It had three main aims:<br /><br /> 1. “To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, caste or colour.<br /> 2. “To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science.<br /> 3. “To investigate unexplained laws of Nature and the powers latent in man.<br /><br />“The significance of these objectives... should be clear. The first objective implicitly rejects the 'irrational bigotry' and 'sectarianism' of traditional Christianity as perceived by spiritualists and theosophists... It is not immediately obvious from the objectives themselves that, for theosophists, 'science' meant the occult sciences and philosophy the occulta philosophia, that the laws of nature were of an occult or psychic nature, and that comparative religion was expected to unveil a 'primordial tradition' ultimately modelled on a Hermeticist philosophia perennis”.(32)<br /><br />A prominent component of Mrs. Blavatsky's writings was the emancipation of women, which involved an attack on the “male” God of Judaism, of Christianity and of Islam. She urged people to return to the mother-goddess of Hinduism and to the practice of feminine virtues. This continued under the guidance of Annie Besant, who was in the vanguard of the feminist movement. Wicca and “women's spirituality” carry on this struggle against “patriarchal” Christianity today.<br /><br />Marilyn Ferguson devoted a chapter of The Aquarian Conspiracy to the precursors of the Age of Aquarius, those who had woven the threads of a transforming vision based on the expansion of consciousness and the experience of self-transcendence. Two of those she mentioned were the American psychologist William James and the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung. James defined religion as experience, not dogma, and he taught that human beings can change their mental attitudes in such a way that they are able to become architects of their own destiny. Jung emphasized the transcendent character of consciousness and introduced the idea of the collective unconscious, a kind of store for symbols and memories shared with people from various different ages and cultures. According to Wouter Hanegraaff, both of these men contributed to a “sacralisation of psychology”, something that has become an important element of New Age thought and practice. Jung, indeed, “not only psychologized esotericism but he also sacralized psychology, by filling it with the contents of esoteric speculation. The result was a body of theories which enabled people to talk about God while really meaning their own psyche, and about their own psyche while really meaning the divine. If the psyche is 'mind', and God is 'mind' as well, then to discuss one must mean to discuss the other”.(33) His response to the accusation that he had “psychologised” Christianity was that “psychology is the modern myth and only in terms of the current myth can we understand the faith”.(34) It is certainly true that Jung's psychology sheds light on many aspects of the Christian faith, particularly on the need to face the reality of evil, but his religious convictions are so different at different stages of his life that one is left with a confused image of God. A central element in his thought is the cult of the sun, where God is the vital energy (libido) within a person.(35) As he himself said, “this comparison is no mere play of words”.(36) This is “the god within” to which Jung refers, the essential divinity he believed to be in every human being. The path to the inner universe is through the unconscious. The inner world's correspondence to the outer one is in the collective unconscious.<br /><br />The tendency to interchange psychology and spirituality was firmly embedded in the Human Potential Movement as it developed towards the end of the 1960s at the Esalen Institute in California. Transpersonal psychology, strongly influenced by Eastern religions and by Jung, offers a contemplative journey where science meets mysticism. The stress laid on bodiliness, the search for ways of expanding consciousness and the cultivation of the myths of the collective unconscious were all encouragements to search for “the God within” oneself. To realise one's potential, one had to go beyond one's ego in order to become the god that one is, deep down. This could be done by choosing the appropriate therapy – meditation, parapsychological experiences, the use of hallucinogenic drugs. These were all ways of achieving “peak experiences”, “mystical” experiences of fusion with God and with the cosmos.<br /><br />The symbol of Aquarius was borrowed from astrological mythology, but later came to signify the desire for a radically new world. The two centres which were the initial power-houses of the New Age, and to a certain extent still are, were the Garden community at Findhorn in North-East Scotland, and the Centre for the development of human potential at Esalen in Big Sur, California, in the United States of America. What feeds New Age consistently is a growing global consciousness and increasing awareness of a looming ecological crisis.<br /><br /> <br /><br />2.3.3. Central themes of the New Age<br /><br />New Age is not, properly speaking, a religion, but it is interested in what is called “divine”. The essence of New Age is the loose association of the various activities, ideas and people who might validly attract the term. So there is no single articulation of anything like the doctrines of mainstream religions. Despite this, and despite the immense variety within New Age, there are some common points:<br /><br /> – the cosmos is seen as an organic whole<br /> – it is animated by an Energy, which is also identified as the divine Soul or Spirit<br /> – much credence is given to the mediation of various spiritual entities<br /> – humans are capable of ascending to invisible higher spheres, and of controlling their own lives beyond death<br /> – there is held to be a “perennial knowledge” which pre-dates and is superior to all religions and cultures<br /> – people follow enlightened masters...<br /><br /> <br /><br />2.3.4. What does New Age say about...<br /><br />2.3.4.1. ...the human person?<br /><br />New Age involves a fundamental belief in the perfectibility of the human person by means of a wide variety of techniques and therapies (as opposed to the Christian view of co-operation with divine grace). There is a general accord with Nietzsche's idea that Christianity has prevented the full manifestation of genuine humanity. Perfection, in this context, means achieving self-fulfilment, according to an order of values which we ourselves create and which we achieve by our own strength: hence one can speak of a self- creating self. On this view, there is more difference between humans as they now are and as they will be when they have fully realised their potential, than there is between humans and anthropoids.<br /><br />It is useful to distinguish between esotericism, a search for knowledge, and magic, or the occult: the latter is a means of obtaining power. Some groups are both esoteric and occult. At the centre of occultism is a will to power based on the dream of becoming divine.<br /><br />Mind-expanding techniques are meant to reveal to people their divine power; by using this power, people prepare the way for the Age of Enlightenment. This exaltation of humanity overturns the correct relationship between Creator and creature, and one of its extreme forms is Satanism. Satan becomes the symbol of a rebellion against conventions and rules, a symbol that often takes aggressive, selfish and violent forms. Some evangelical groups have expressed concern at the subliminal presence of what they claim is Satanic symbolism in some varieties of rock music, which have a powerful influence on young people. This is all far removed from the message of peace and harmony which is to be found in the New Testament; it is often one of the consequences of the exaltation of humanity when that involves the negation of a transcendent God.<br /><br />But it is not only something which affects young people; the basic themes of esoteric culture are also present in the realms of politics, education and legislation.(37) It is especially the case with ecology. Deep ecology's emphasis on bio-centrism denies the anthropological vision of the Bible, in which human beings are at the centre of the world, since they are considered to be qualitatively superior to other natural forms. It is very prominent in legislation and education today, despite the fact that it underrates humanity in this way.. The same esoteric cultural matrix can be found in the ideological theory underlying population control policies and experiments in genetic engineering, which seem to express a dream human beings have of creating themselves afresh. How do people hope to do this? By deciphering the genetic code, altering the natural rules of sexuality, defying the limits of death.<br /><br />In what might be termed a classical New Age account, people are born with a divine spark, in a sense which is reminiscent of ancient gnosticism; this links them into the unity of the Whole. So they are seen as essentially divine, although they participate in this cosmic divinity at different levels of consciousness. We are co- creators, and we create our own reality. Many New Age authors maintain that we choose the circumstances of our lives (even our own illness and health), in a vision where every individual is considered the creative source of the universe. But we need to make a journey in order fully to understand where we fit into the unity of the cosmos. The journey is psychotherapy, and the recognition of universal consciousness is salvation. There is no sin; there is only imperfect knowledge. The identity of every human being is diluted in the universal being and in the process of successive incarnations. People are subject to the determining influences of the stars, but can be opened to the divinity which lives within them, in their continual search (by means of appropriate techniques) for an ever greater harmony between the self and divine cosmic energy. There is no need for Revelation or Salvation which would come to people from outside themselves, but simply a need to experience the salvation hidden within themselves (self-salvation), by mastering psycho- physical techniques which lead to definitive enlightenment.<br /><br />Some stages on the way to self-redemption are preparatory (meditation, body harmony, releasing self-healing energies). They are the starting-point for processes of spiritualisation, perfection and enlightenment which help people to acquire further self-control and psychic concentration on “transformation” of the individual self into “cosmic consciousness”. The destiny of the human person is a series of successive reincarnations of the soul in different bodies. This is understood not as the cycle of samsara, in the sense of purification as punishment, but as a gradual ascent towards the perfect development of one's potential.<br /><br />Psychology is used to explain mind expansion as “mystical” experiences. Yoga, zen, transcendental meditation and tantric exercises lead to an experience of self-fulfilment or enlightenment. Peak-experiences (reliving one's birth, travelling to the gates of death, biofeedback, dance and even drugs – anything which can provoke an altered state of consciousness) are believed to lead to unity and enlightenment. Since there is only one Mind, some people can be channels for higher beings. Every part of this single universal being has contact with every other part. The classic approach in New Age is transpersonal psychology, whose main concepts are the Universal Mind, the Higher Self, the collective and personal unconscious and the individual ego. The Higher Self is our real identity, a bridge between God as divine Mind and humanity. Spiritual development is contact with the Higher Self, which overcomes all forms of dualism between subject and object, life and death, psyche and soma, the self and the fragmentary aspects of the self. Our limited personality is like a shadow or a dream created by the real self. The Higher Self contains the memories of earlier (re-)incarnations.<br /><br /> <br /><br />2.3.4.2. ...God?<br /><br />New Age has a marked preference for Eastern or pre-Christian religions, which are reckoned to be uncontaminated by Judaeo-Christian distorsions. Hence great respect is given to ancient agricultural rites and to fertility cults. “Gaia”, Mother Earth, is offered as an alternative to God the Father, whose image is seen to be linked to a patriarchal conception of male domination of women. There is talk of God, but it is not a personal God; the God of which New Age speaks is neither personal nor transcendent. Nor is it the Creator and sustainer of the universe, but an “impersonal energy” immanent in the world, with which it forms a “cosmic unity”: “All is one”. This unity is monistic, pantheistic or, more precisely, panentheistic. God is the “life-principle”, the “spirit or soul of the world”, the sum total of consciousness existing in the world. In a sense, everything is God. God's presence is clearest in the spiritual aspects of reality, so every mind/spirit is, in some sense, God.<br /><br />When it is consciously received by men and women, “divine energy” is often described as “Christic energy”. There is also talk of Christ, but this does not mean Jesus of Nazareth. “Christ” is a title applied to someone who has arrived at a state of consciousness where he or she perceives him- or herself to be divine and can thus claim to be a “universal Master”. Jesus of Nazareth was not the Christ, but simply one among many historical figures in whom this “Christic” nature is revealed, as is the case with Buddha and others. Every historical realisation of the Christ shows clearly that all human beings are heavenly and divine, and leads them towards this realisation.<br /><br />The innermost and most personal (“psychic”) level on which this “divine cosmic energy” is “heard” by human beings is also called “Holy Spirit”.<br /><br /> <br /><br />2.3.4.3. ...the world?<br /><br />The move from a mechanistic model of classical physics to the “holistic” one of modern atomic and sub-atomic physics, based on the concept of matter as waves or energy rather than particles, is central to much New Age thinking. The universe is an ocean of energy, which is a single whole or a network of links. The energy animating the single organism which is the universe is “spirit”. There is no alterity between God and the world. The world itself is divine and it undergoes an evolutionary process which leads from inert matter to “higher and perfect consciousness”. The world is uncreated, eternal and self-sufficient The future of the world is based on an inner dynamism which is necessarily positive and leads to the reconciled (divine) unity of all that exists. God and the world, soul and body, intelligence and feeling, heaven and earth are one immense vibration of energy.<br /><br />James Lovelock's book on the Gaia Hypothesis claims that “the entire range of living matter on earth, from whales to viruses, and from oaks to algae, could be regarded as constituting a single living entity, capable of manipulating the Earth's atmosphere to suit its overall needs and endowed with faculties and powers far beyond those of its constituent parts”.(38) To some, the Gaia hypothesis is “a strange synthesis of individualism and collectivism. It all happens as if New Age, having plucked people out of fragmentary politics, cannot wait to throw them into the great cauldron of the global mind”. The global brain needs institutions with which to rule, in other words, a world government. “To deal with today's problems New Age dreams of a spiritual aristocracy in the style of Plato's Republic, run by secret societies...”.(39) This may be an exaggerated way of stating the case, but there is much evidence that gnostic élitism and global governance coincide on many issues in international politics.<br /><br />Everything in the universe is interelated; in fact every part is in itself an image of the totality; the whole is in every thing and every thing is in the whole. In the “great chain of being”, all beings are intimately linked and form one family with different grades of evolution. Every human person is a hologram, an image of the whole of creation, in which every thing vibrates on its own frequency. Every human being is a neurone in earth's central nervous system, and all individual entities are in a relationship of complementarity with others. In fact, there is an inner complementarity or androgyny in the whole of creation.(40)<br /><br />One of the recurring themes in New Age writings and thought is the “new paradigm” which contemporary science has opened up. “Science has given us insights into wholes and systems, stress and transformation. We are learning to read tendencies, to recognise the early signs of another, more promising, paradigm. We create alternative scenarios of the future. We communicate about the failures of old systems, forcing new frameworks for problem-solving in every area”.(41) Thus far, the “paradigm shift” is a radical change of perspective, but nothing more. The question is whether thought and real change are commensurate, and how effective in the external world an inner transformation can be proved to be. One is forced to ask, even without expressing a negative judgement, how scientific a thought-process can be when it involves affirmations like this: “War is unthinkable in a society of autonomous people who have discovered the connectedness of all humanity, who are unafraid of alien ideas and alien cultures, who know that all revolutions begin within and that you cannot impose your brand of enlightenment on anyone else”.(42) It is illogical to conclude from the fact that something is unthinkable that it cannot happen. Such reasoning is really gnostic, in the sense of giving too much power to knowledge and consciousness. This is not to deny the fundamental and crucial role of developing consciousness in scientific discovery and creative development, but simply to caution against imposing upon external reality what is as yet still only in the mind.<br /><br /> <br /><br />2.4. “Inhabitants of myth rather than history”(43)?: New Age and culture<br /><br />“Basically, the appeal of the New Age has to do with the culturally stimulated interest in the self, its value, capacities and problems. Whereas traditionalised religiosity, with its hierarchical organization, is well-suited for the community, detraditionalized spirituality is well-suited for the individual. The New Age is 'of' the self in that it facilitates celebration of what it is to be and to become; and 'for' the self in that by differing from much of the mainstream, it is positioned to handle identity problems generated by conventional forms of life”.(44)<br /><br />The rejection of tradition in the form of patriarchal, hierarchical social or ecclesial organisation implies the search for an alternative form of society, one that is clearly inspired by the modern notion of the self. Many New Age writings argue that one can do nothing (directly) to change the world, but everything to change oneself; changing individual consciousness is understood to be the (indirect) way to change the world. The most important instrument for social change is personal example. Worldwide recognition of these personal examples will steadily lead to the transformation of the collective mind and such a transformation will be the major achievement of our time. This is clearly part of the holistic paradigm, and a re-statement of the classical philosophical question of the one and the many. It is also linked to Jung's espousal of the theory of correspondence and his rejection of causality. Individuals are fragmentary representations of the planetary hologram; by looking within one not only knows the universe, but also changes it. But the more one looks within, the smaller the political arena becomes. Does this really fit in with the rhetoric of democratic participation in a new planetary order, or is it an unconscious and subtle disempowerment of people, which could leave them open to manipulation? Does the current preoccupation with planetary problems (ecological issues, depletion of resources, over-population, the economic gap between north and south, the huge nuclear arsenal and political instability) enable or disable engagement in other, equally real, political and social questions? The old adage that “charity begins at home” can give a healthy balance to one's approach to these issues. Some observers of New Age detect a sinister authoritarianism behind apparent indifference to politics. David Spangler himself points out that one of the shadows of the New Age is “a subtle surrender to powerlessness and irresponsibility in the name of waiting for the New Age to come rather than being an active creator of wholeness in one's own life”.(45)<br /><br />Even though it would hardly be correct to suggest that quietism is universal in New Age attitudes, one of the chief criticisms of the New Age Movement is that its privatistic quest for self-fulfilment may actually work against the possibility of a sound religious culture. Three points bring this into focus:<br /><br />– it is questionable whether New Age demonstrates the intellectual cogency to provide a complete picture of the cosmos in a world view which claims to integrate nature and spiritual reality. The Western universe is seen as a divided one based on monotheism, transcendence, alterity and separateness. A fundamental dualism is detected in such divisions as those between real and ideal, relative and absolute, finite and infinite, human and divine, sacred and profane, past and present, all redolent of Hegel's “unhappy consciousness”. This is portrayed as something tragic. The response from New Age is unity through fusion: it claims to reconcile soul and body, female and male, spirit and matter, human and divine, earth and cosmos, transcendent and immanent, religion and science, differences between religions, Yin and Yang. There is, thus, no more alterity; what is left in human terms is transpersonality. The New Age world is unproblematic: there is nothing left to achieve. But the metaphysical question of the one and the many remains unanswered, perhaps even unasked, in that there is a great deal of regret at the effects of disunity and division, but the response is a description of how things would appear in another vision.<br /><br />– New Age imports Eastern religious practices piecemeal and re- interprets them to suit Westerners; this involves a rejection of the language of sin and salvation, replacing it with the morally neutral language of addiction and recovery. References to extra-European influences are sometimes merely a “pseudo-Orientalisation” of Western culture. Furthermore, it is hardly a genuine dialogue; in a context where Graeco-Roman and Judaeo-Christian influences are suspect, oriental influences are used precisely because they are alternatives to Western culture. Traditional science and medicine are felt to be inferior to holistic approaches, as are patriarchal and particular structures in politics and religion. All of these will be obstacles to the coming of the Age of Aquarius; once again, it is clear that what is implied when people opt for New Age alternatives is a complete break with the tradition that formed them. Is this as mature and liberated as it is often thought or presumed to be?<br /><br />– Authentic religious traditions encourage discipline with the eventual goal of acquiring wisdom, equanimity and compassion. New Age echoes society's deep, ineradicable yearning for an integral religious culture, and for something more generic and enlightened than what politicians generally offer, but it is not clear whether the benefits of a vision based on the ever-expanding self are for individuals or for societies. New Age training courses (what used to be known as “Erhard seminar trainings” [EST] etc.) marry counter-cultural values with the mainstream need to succeed, inner satisfaction with outer success; Findhorn's “Spirit of Business” retreat transforms the experience of work while increasing productivity; some New Age devotees are involved not only to become more authentic and spontaneous, but also in order to become more prosperous (through magic etc.). “What makes things even more appealing to the enterprise-minded businessperson is that New Age trainings also resonate with somewhat more humanistic ideas abroad in the world of business. The ideas have to do with the workplace as a 'learning environment', 'bringing life back to work', 'humanizing work', 'fulfilling the manager', 'people come first' or 'unlocking potential'. Presented by New Age trainers, they are likely to appeal to those businesspeople who have already been involved with more (secular) humanistic trainings and who want to take things further: at one and the same time for the sake of personal growth, happiness and enthusiasm, as well as for commercial productivity”.(46) So it is clear that people involved do seek wisdom and equanimity for their own benefit, but how much do the activities in which they are involved enable them to work for the common good? Apart from the question of motivation, all of these phenomena need to be judged by their fruits, and the question to ask is whether they promote self or solidarity, not only with whales, trees or like-minded people, but with the whole of creation – including the whole of humanity. The most pernicious consequences of any philosophy of egoism which is embraced by institutions or by large numbers of people are identified by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as a set of “strategies to reduce the number of those who will eat at humanity's table”.(47) This is a key standard by which to evaluate the impact of any philosophy or theory. Christianity always seeks to measure human endeavours by their openness to the Creator and to all other creatures, a respect based firmly on love.<br /><br /> <br /><br />2.5. Why has New Age grown so rapidly and spread so effectively?<br /><br />Whatever questions and criticisms it may attract, New Age is an attempt by people who experience the world as harsh and heartless to bring warmth to that world. As a reaction to modernity, it operates more often than not on the level of feelings, instincts and emotions. Anxiety about an apocalyptic future of economic instability, political uncertainty and climatic change plays a large part in causing people to look for an alternative, resolutely optimistic relationship to the cosmos. There is a search for wholeness and happiness, often on an explicitly spiritual level. But it is significant that New Age has enjoyed enormous success in an era which can be characterised by the almost universal exaltation of diversity. Western culture has taken a step beyond tolerance – in the sense of grudging acceptance or putting up with the idiosyncrasies of a person or a minority group – to a conscious erosion of respect for normality. Normality is presented as a morally loaded concept, linked necessarily with absolute norms. For a growing number of people, absolute beliefs or norms indicate nothing but an inability to tolerate other people's views and convictions. In this atmosphere alternative life-styles and theories have really taken off: it is not only acceptable but positively good to be diverse.(48)<br /><br />It is essential to bear in mind that people are involved with New Age in very different ways and on many levels. In most cases it is not really a question of “belonging” to a group or movement; nor is there much conscious awareness of the principles on which New Age is built. It seems that, for the most part, people are attracted to particular therapies or practices, without going into their background, and others are simply occasional consumers of products which are labelled “New Age”. People who use aromatherapy or listen to “New Age” music, for example, are usually interested in the effect they have on their health or well-being; it is only a minority who go further into the subject, and try to understand its theoretical (or “mystical”) significance. This fits perfectly into the patterns of consumption in societies where amusement and leisure play such an important part. The “movement” has adapted well to the laws of the market, and it is partly because it is such an attractive economic proposition that New Age has become so widespread. New Age has been seen, in some cultures at least, as the label for a product created by the application of marketing principles to a religious phenomenon.(49) There is always going to be a way of profiting from people's perceived spiritual needs. Like many other things in contemporary economics, New Age is a global phenomenon held together and fed with information by the mass media. It is arguable that this global community was created by means of the mass media, and it is quite clear that popular literature and mass communications ensure that the common notions held by “believers” and sympathisers spread almost everywhere very rapidly. However, there is no way of proving that such a rapid spread of ideas is either by chance or by design, since this is a very loose form of “community”. Like the cybercommunities created by the Internet, it is a domain where relationships between people can be either very impersonal or interpersonal in only a very selective sense.<br /><br />New Age has become immensely popular as a loose set of beliefs, therapies and practices, which are often selected and combined at will, irrespective of the incompatibilities and inconsistencies this may imply. But this is obviously to be expected in a world- view self-consciously based on “right-brain” intuitive thinking. And that is precisely why it is important to discover and recognise the fundamental characteristics of New Age ideas. What is offered is often described as simply “spiritual”, rather than belonging to any religion, but there are much closer links to particular Eastern religions than many “consumers” realise. This is obviously important in “prayer”-groups to which people choose to belong, but it is also a real question for management in a growing number of companies, whose employees are required to practise meditation and adopt mind-expanding techniques as part of their life at work.(50)<br /><br />It is worth saying a brief word about concerted promotion of New Age as an ideology, but this is a very complex issue. Some groups have reacted to New Age with sweeping accusations about conspiracies, but the answer would generally be that we are witnessing a spontaneous cultural change whose course is fairly determined by influences beyond human control. However, it is enough to point out that New Age shares with a number of internationally influential groups the goal of superseding or transcending particular religions in order to create space for a universal religion which could unite humanity. Closely related to this is a very concerted effort on the part of many institutions to invent a Global Ethic, an ethical framework which would reflect the global nature of contemporary culture, economics and politics. Further, the politicisation of ecological questions certainly colours the whole question of the Gaia hypothesis or worship of mother earth.<br /><br /> <br /><br />3 NEW AGE AND CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY<br /><br />3.1. New Age as spirituality<br /><br />New Age is often referred to by those who promote it as a “new spirituality”. It seems ironic to call it “new” when so many of its ideas have been taken from ancient religions and cultures. But what really is new is that New Age is a conscious search for an alternative to Western culture and its Judaeo-Christian religious roots. “Spirituality” in this way refers to the inner experience of harmony and unity with the whole of reality, which heals each human person's feelings of imperfection and finiteness. People discover their profound connectedness with the sacred universal force or energy which is the nucleus of all life. When they have made this discovery, men and women can set out on a path to perfection, which will enable them to sort out their personal lives and their relationship to the world, and to take their place in the universal process of becoming and in the New Genesis of a world in constant evolution. The result is a cosmic mysticism (51) based on people's awareness of a universe burgeoning with dynamic energies. Thus cosmic energy, vibration, light, God, love – even the supreme Self – all refer to one and the same reality, the primal source present in every being.<br /><br />This spirituality consists of two distinct elements, one metaphysical, the other psychological. The metaphysical component comes from New Age's esoteric and theosophical roots, and is basically a new form of gnosis. Access to the divine is by knowledge of hidden mysteries, in each individual's search for “the real behind what is only apparent, the origin beyond time, the transcendent beyond what is merely fleeting, the primordial tradition behind merely ephemeral tradition, the other behind the self, the cosmic divinity beyond the incarnate individual”. Esoteric spirituality “is an investigation of Being beyond the separateness of beings, a sort of nostalgia for lost unity”.(52)<br /><br />“Here one can see the gnostic matrix of esoteric spirituality. It is evident when the children of Aquarius search for the Transcendent Unity of religions. They tend to pick out of the historical religions only the esoteric nucleus, whose guardians they claim to be. They somehow deny history and will not accept that spirituality can be rooted in time or in any institution. Jesus of Nazareth is not God, but one of the many historical manifestations of the cosmic and universal Christ”.(53)<br /><br />The psychological component of this kind of spirituality comes from the encounter between esoteric culture and psychology (cf. 2.32). New Age thus becomes an experience of personal psycho- spiritual transformation, seen as analogous to religious experience. For some people this transformation takes the form of a deep mystical experience, after a personal crisis or a lengthy spiritual search. For others it comes from the use of meditation or some sort of therapy, or from paranormal experiences which alter states of consciousness and provide insight into the unity of reality.(54)<br /><br /> <br /><br />3.2. Spiritual narcissism?<br /><br />Several authors see New Age spirituality as a kind of spiritual narcissism or pseudo-mysticism. It is interesting to note that this criticism was put forward even by an important exponent of New Age, David Spangler, who, in his later works, distanced himself from the more esoteric aspects of this current of thought.<br /><br />He wrote that, in the more popular forms of New Age, “individuals and groups are living out their own fantasies of adventure and power, usually of an occult or millenarian form.... The principal characteristic of this level is attachment to a private world of ego-fulfilment and a consequent (though not always apparent) withdrawal from the world. On this level, the New Age has become populated with strange and exotic beings, masters, adepts, extraterrestrials; it is a place of psychic powers and occult mysteries, of conspiracies and hidden teachings”.(55)<br /><br />In a later work, David Spangler lists what he sees as the negative elements or “shadows” of the New Age: “alienation from the past in the name of the future; attachment to novelty for its own sake...; indiscriminateness and lack of discernment in the name of wholeness and communion, hence the failure to understand or respect the role of boundaries...; confusion of psychic phenomena with wisdom, of channeling with spirituality, of the New Age perspective with ultimate truth”.(56) But, in the end, Spangler is convinced that selfish, irrational narcissism is limited to just a few new-agers. The positive aspects he stresses are the function of New Age as an image of change and as an incarnation of the sacred, a movement in which most people are “very serious seekers after truth”, working in the interest of life and inner growth.<br /><br />The commercial aspect of many products and therapies which bear the New Age label is brought out by David Toolan, an American Jesuit who spent several years in the New Age milieu. He observes that new-agers have discovered the inner life and are fascinated by the prospect of being responsible for the world, but that they are also easily overcome by a tendency to individualism and to viewing everything as an object of consumption. In this sense, while it is not Christian, New Age spirituality is not Buddhist either, inasmuch as it does not involve self-denial. The dream of mystical union seems to lead, in practice, to a merely virtual union, which, in the end, leaves people more alone and unsatisfied.<br /><br /> <br /><br />3.3. The Cosmic Christ<br /><br />In the early days of Christianity, believers in Jesus Christ were forced to face up to the gnostic religions. They did not ignore them, but took the challenge positively and applied the terms used of cosmic deities to Christ himself. The clearest example of this is in the famous hymn to Christ in Saint Paul's letter to the Christians at Colossae:<br /><br /> “He is the image of the unseen God and the first-born of all creation,<br /> for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth:<br /> everything visible and everything invisible,<br /> Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers–<br /> all things were created through him and for him.<br /> Before anything was created, he existed, and he holds all things in unity.<br /> Now the Church is his body, he is its head.<br /> As he is the Beginning, he was first to be born from the dead,<br /> so that he should be first in every way;<br /> because God wanted all perfection to be found in him<br /> and all things to be reconciled through him and for him,<br /> everything in heaven and everything on earth,<br /> when he made peace by his death on the cross” (Col 1: 15-20).<br /><br />For these early Christians, there was no new cosmic age to come; what they were celebrating with this hymn was the Fulfilment of all things which had begun in Christ. “Time is indeed fulfilled by the very fact that God, in the Incarnation, came down into human history. Eternity entered into time: what 'fulfilment' could be greater than this? What other 'fulfilment' would be possible?” (57) Gnostic belief in cosmic powers and some obscure kind of destiny withdraws the possibility of a relationship to a personal God revealed in Christ. For Christians, the real cosmic Christ is the one who is present actively in the various members of his body, which is the Church. They do not look to impersonal cosmic powers, but to the loving care of a personal God; for them cosmic bio-centrism has to be transposed into a set of social relationships (in the Church); and they are not locked into a cyclical pattern of cosmic events, but focus on the historical Jesus, in particular on his crucifixion and resurrection. We find in the Letter to the Colossians and in the New Testament a doctrine of God different from that implicit in New Age thought: the Christian conception of God is one of a Trinity of Persons who has created the human race out of a desire to share the communion of Trinitarian life with creaturely persons. Properly understood, this means that authentic spirituality is not so much our search for God but God's search for us.<br /><br />Another, completely different, view of the cosmic significance of Christ has become current in New Age circles. “The Cosmic Christ is the divine pattern that connects in the person of Jesus Christ (but by no means is limited to that person). The divine pattern of connectivity was made flesh and set up its tent among us (John 1:14).... The Cosmic Christ... leads a new exodus from the bondage and pessimistic views of a Newtonian, mechanistic universe so ripe with competition, winners and losers, dualisms, anthropocentrism, and the boredom that comes when our exciting universe is pictured as a machine bereft of mystery and mysticism. The Cosmic Christ is local and historical, indeed intimate to human history. The Cosmic Christ might be living next door or even inside one's deepest and truest self”.(58) Although this statement may not satisfy everyone involved in New Age, it does catch the tone very well, and it shows with absolute clarity where the differences between these two views of Christ lie. For New Age the Cosmic Christ is seen as a pattern which can be repeated in many people, places and times; it is the bearer of an enormous paradigm shift; it is ultimately a potential within us.<br /><br />According to Christian belief, Jesus Christ is not a pattern, but a divine person whose human-divine figure reveals the mystery of the Father's love for every person throughout history (Jn 3:16); he lives in us because he shares his life with us, but it is neither imposed nor automatic. All men and women are invited to share his life, to live “in Christ”.<br /><br /> <br /><br />3.4. Christian mysticism and New Age mysticism<br /><br />For Christians, the spiritual life is a relationship with God which gradually through his grace becomes deeper, and in the process also sheds light on our relationship with our fellow men and women, and with the universe. Spirituality in New Age terms means experiencing states of consciousness dominated by a sense of harmony and fusion with the Whole. So “mysticism” refers not to meeting the transcendent God in the fullness of love, but to the experience engendered by turning in on oneself, an exhilarating sense of being at one with the universe, a sense of letting one's individuality sink into the great ocean of Being.(59)<br /><br />This fundamental distinction is evident at all levels of comparison between Christian mysticism and New Age mysticism. The New Age way of purification is based on awareness of unease or alienation, which is to be overcome by immersion into the Whole. In order to be converted, a person needs to make use of techniques which lead to the experience of illumination. This transforms a person's consciousness and opens him or her to contact with the divinity, which is understood as the deepest essence of reality.<br /><br />The techniques and methods offered in this immanentist religious system, which has no concept of God as person, proceed 'from below'. Although they involve a descent into the depths of one's own heart or soul, they constitute an essentially human enterprise on the part of a person who seeks to rise towards divinity by his or her own efforts. It is often an “ascent” on the level of consciousness to what is understood to be a liberating awareness of “the god within”. Not everyone has access to these techniques, whose benefits are restricted to a privileged spiritual 'aristocracy'.<br /><br />The essential element in Christian faith, however, is God's descent towards his creatures, particularly towards the humblest, those who are weakest and least gifted according to the values of the “world”. There are spiritual techniques which it is useful to learn, but God is able to by-pass them or do without them. A Christian's “method of getting closer to God is not based on any technique in the strict sense of the word. That would contradict the spirit of childhood called for by the Gospel. The heart of genuine Christian mysticism is not technique: it is always a gift of God; and the one who benefits from it knows himself to be unworthy”.(60)<br /><br />For Christians, conversion is turning back to the Father, through the Son, in docility to the power of the Holy Spirit. The more people progress in their relationship with God – which is always and in every way a free gift – the more acute is the need to be converted from sin, spiritual myopia and self-infatuation, all of which obstruct a trusting self-abandonment to God and openness to other men and women.<br /><br />All meditation techniques need to be purged of presumption and pretentiousness. Christian prayer is not an exercise in self-contemplation, stillness and self-emptying, but a dialogue of love, one which “implies an attitude of conversion, a flight from 'self' to the 'You' of God”.(61) It leads to an increasingly complete surrender to God's will, whereby we are invited to a deep, genuine solidarity with our brothers and sisters.(62)<br /><br /> <br /><br />3.5. The “god within“ and “theosis”<br /><br />Here is a key point of contrast between New Age and Christianity. So much New Age literature is shot through with the conviction that there is no divine being “out there”, or in any real way distinct from the rest of reality. From Jung's time onwards there has been a stream of people professing belief in “the god within”. Our problem, in a New Age perspective, is our inability to recognise our own divinity, an inability which can be overcome with the help of guidance and the use of a whole variety of techniques for unlocking our hidden (divine) potential. The fundamental idea is that 'God' is deep within ourselves. We are gods, and we discover the unlimited power within us by peeling off layers of inauthenticity.(63) The more this potential is recognised, the more it is realised, and in this sense the New Age has its own idea of theosis, becoming divine or, more precisely, recognising and accepting that we are divine. We are said by some to be living in “an age in which our understanding of God has to be interiorised: from the Almighty God out there to God the dynamic, creative power within the very centre of all being: God as Spirit”.(64)<br /><br />In the Preface to Book V of Adversus Haereses, Saint Irenaeus refers to “Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself”. Here theosis, the Christian understanding of divinisation, comes about not through our own efforts alone, but with the assistance of God's grace working in and through us. It inevitably involves an initial awareness of incompleteness and even sinfulness, in no way an exaltation of the self. Furthermore, it unfolds as an introduction into the life of the Trinity, a perfect case of distinction at the heart of unity; it is synergy rather than fusion. This all comes about as the result of a personal encounter, an offer of a new kind of life. Life in Christ is not something so personal and private that it is restricted to the realm of consciousness. Nor is it merely a new level of awareness. It involves being transformed in our soul and in our body by participation in the sacramental life of the Church.<br /><br /> <br /><br />4 NEW AGE AND CHRISTIAN FAITH IN CONTRAST<br /><br />It is difficult to separate the individual elements of New Age religiosity – innocent though they may appear – from the overarching framework which permeates the whole thought-world on the New Age movement. The gnostic nature of this movement calls us to judge it in its entirety. From the point of view of Christian faith, it is not possible to isolate some elements of New Age religiosity as acceptable to Christians, while rejecting others. Since the New Age movement makes much of a communication with nature, of cosmic knowledge of a universal good – thereby negating the revealed contents of Christian faith – it cannot be viewed as positive or innocuous. In a cultural environment, marked by religious relativism, it is necessary to signal a warning against the attempt to place New Age religiosity on the same level as Christian faith, making the difference between faith and belief seem relative, thus creating greater confusion for the unwary. In this regard, it is useful to remember the exhortation of St. Paul “to instruct certain people not to teach false doctrine or to concern themselves with myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the plan of God that is to be received by faith” (1 Tim 1:3-4). Some practices are incorrectly labeled as New Age simply as a marketing strategy to make them sell better, but are not truly associated with its worldview. This only adds to the confusion. It is therefore necessary to accurately identify those elements which belong to the New Age movement, and which cannot be accepted by those who are faithful to Christ and his Church.<br /><br />The following questions may be the easiest key to evaluating some of the central elements of New Age thought and practice from a Christian standpoint. “New Age” refers to the ideas which circulate about God, the human being and the world, the people with whom Christians may have conversations on religious matters, the publicity material for meditation groups, therapies and the like, explicit statements on religion and so on. Some of these questions applied to people and ideas not explicitly labelled New Age would reveal further unnamed or unacknowledged links with the whole New Age atmosphere.<br /><br /> <br /><br />* Is God a being with whom we have a relationship or something to be used or a force to be harnessed?<br /><br />The New Age concept of God is rather diffuse, whereas the Christian concept is a very clear one. The New Age god is an impersonal energy, really a particular extension or component of the cosmos; god in this sense is the life-force or soul of the world. Divinity is to be found in every being, in a gradation “from the lowest crystal of the mineral world up to and beyond the Galactic God himself, about Whom we can say nothing at all. This is not a man but a Great Consciousness”.(65) In some “classic” New Age writings, it is clear that human beings are meant to think of themselves as gods: this is more fully developed in some people than in others. God is no longer to be sought beyond the world, but deep within myself.(66) Even when “God” is something outside myself, it is there to be manipulated.<br /><br />This is very different from the Christian understanding of God as the maker of heaven and earth and the source of all personal life. 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. “God, who 'dwells in unapprochable light', wants to communicate his own divine life to the men he freely created, in order to adopt them as his sons in his only-begotten Son. By revealing himself God wishes to make them capable of responding to him, and of knowing him, and of loving him far beyond their own natural capacity”.(67)God is not identified with the Life-principle understood as the “Spirit” or “basic energy” of the cosmos, but is that love which is absolutely different from the world, and yet creatively present in everything, and leading human beings to salvation.<br /><br />* Is there just one Jesus Christ, or are there thousands of Christs?<br /><br />Jesus Christ is often presented in New Age literature as one among many wise men, or initiates, or avatars, whereas in Christian tradition He is the Son of God. Here are some common points in New Age approaches:<br /><br />– the personal and individual historical Jesus is distinct from the eternal, impersonal universal Christ;<br /><br />– Jesus is not considered to be the only Christ;<br /><br />– the death of Jesus on the cross is either denied or re-interpreted to exclude the idea that He, as Christ, could have suffered;<br /><br />– extra-biblical documents (like the neo-gnostic gospels) are considered authentic sources for the knowledge of aspects of the life of Jesus which are not to be found in the canon of Scripture. Other revelations about Jesus, made available by entities, spirit guides and ascended masters, or even through the Akasha Chronicles, are basic for New Age christology; <br /><br />– a kind of esoteric exegesis is applied to biblical texts to purify Christianity of the formal religion which inhibits access to its esoteric essence.(68) <br /><br />In the Christian Tradition Jesus Christ is the Jesus of Nazareth about which the gospels speak, the son of Mary and the only Son of God, true man and true God, the full revelation of divine truth, unique Saviour of the world: “for our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father”.(69) <br /><br />* The human being: is there one universal being or are there many individuals? <br /><br />“The point of New Age techniques is to reproduce mystical states at will, as if it were a matter of laboratory material. Rebirth, biofeedback, sensory isolation, holotropic breathing, hypnosis, mantras, fasting, sleep deprivation and transcendental meditation are attempts to control these states and to experience them continuously”.(70) These practices all create an atmosphere of psychic weakness (and vulnerability). When the object of the exercise is that we should re-invent our selves, there is a real question of who “I” am. “God within us” and holistic union with the whole cosmos underline this question. Isolated individual personalities would be pathological in terms of New Age (in particular transpersonal psychology). But “the real danger is the holistic paradigm. New Age is thinking based on totalitarian unity and that is why it is a danger...”.(71) More moderately: “We are authentic when we 'take charge of' ourselves, when our choice and reactions flow spontaneously from our deepest needs, when our behaviour and expressed feelings reflect our personal wholeness”.(72) The Human Potential Movement is the clearest example of the conviction that humans are divine, or contain a divine spark within themselves. <br /><br />The Christian approach grows out of the Scriptural teachings about human nature; men and women are created in God's image and likeness (Gen 1.27) and God takes great consideration of them, much to the relieved surprise of the Psalmist (cf. Ps 8). The human person is a mystery fully revealed only in Jesus Christ (cf. GS 22),and in fact becomes authentically human properly in his relationship with Christ through the gift of the Spirit.(73)This is far from the caricature of anthropocentrism ascribed to Christianity and rejected by many New Age authors and practitioners. <br /><br />* Do we save ourselves or is salvation a free gift from God? <br /><br />The key is to discover by what or by whom we believe we are saved. 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? Key words are self-fulfilment and self-realisation, self-redemption. New Age is essentially Pelagian in its understanding of about human nature.(74) <br /><br />For Christians, salvation depends on a 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 only be rectified by God's action: sin is an offense against God, and only God can reconcile us to himself. In the divine plan of salvation, human beings have been saved by Jesus Christ who, as God and man, is the one mediator of redemption. In Christianity salvation is not an experience of self, a meditative and intuitive dwelling within oneself, but much more the forgiveness of sin, being lifted out of profound ambivalences in oneself and the calming of nature by the gift of communion with a loving God. The way to salvation is not found simply in a self-induced transformation of consciousness, but in a liberation from sin and its consequences which then leads us to struggle against sin in ourselves and in the society around us. It necessarily moves us toward loving solidarity with our neighbour in need. <br /><br />* Do we invent truth or do we embrace it? <br /><br />New Age truth is about good vibrations, cosmic correspondences, harmony and ecstasy, in general pleasant experiences. It is a matter of finding one's own truth in accordance with the feel- good factor. Evaluating religion and ethical questions is obviously relative to one's own feelings and experiences. <br /><br />Jesus Christ is presented in Christian teaching as “The Way, the Truth and the Life” (Jn 14.6). His followers are asked to open their whole lives to him and to his values, in other words to an objective set of requirements which are part of an objective reality ultimately knowable by all. <br /><br />* Prayer and meditation: are we talking to ourselves or to God? <br /><br />The tendency to confuse psychology and spirituality makes it hard not to insist that many of the meditation techniques now used are not prayer. 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. The experiences involved are genuinely intense, but to remain at this level is to remain alone, not yet in the presence of the other. The achievement of silence can confront us with emptiness, rather than the silence of contemplating the beloved. It is also true that techniques for going deeper into one's own soul are ultimately an appeal to one's own ability to reach the divine, or even to become divine: if they forget God's search for the human heart they are still not Christian prayer. Even when it is seen as a link with the Universal Energy, “such an easy 'relationship' with God, where God's function is seen as supplying all our needs, shows the selfishness at the heart of this New Age”.(75) <br /><br />New Age practices are not really prayer, in that they are generally a question of introspection or fusion with cosmic energy, as opposed to the double orientation of Christian prayer, 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”.(76)“The Christian, even when he is alone and prays in secret, he is conscious that he always prays for the good of the Church in union with Christ, in the Holy Spirit and together with all the saints”.(77) <br /><br />* Are we tempted to deny sin or do we accept that there is such a thing? <br /><br />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. Those who take part in New Age activities will not be told what to believe, what to do or what not to do, but: “There are a thousand ways of exploring inner reality. Go where your intelligence and intuition lead you. Trust yourself”.(78) Authority has shifted from a theistic location to within the self. The most serious problem perceived in New Age thinking is alienation from the whole cosmos, rather than personal failure or sin. The remedy is to become more and more immersed in the whole of being. In some New Age writings and practices, it is clear that one life is not enough, so there have to be reincarnations to allow people to realise their full potential. <br /><br />In the Christian perspective “only the light of divine Revelation clarifies the reality of sin and particularly of the sin committed at mankind's origins. Without the knowledge Revelation gives of God we cannot recognize sin clearly and are tempted to explain it as merely a development flaw, a psychological weakness, a mistake, or the necessary consequence of an inadequate social structure, etc. Only in the knowledge of God's plan for man can we grasp that sin is an abuse of freedom that God gives to created persons so that they are capable of loving him and loving one another”.(79)Sin is an offense against reason, truth and right conscience; it is a failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity...(80)Sin is an offense against God... sin sets itself against God's love for us and turns our hearts away from it... Sin is thus 'love of oneself even to contempt of God'”.(81) <br /><br />* Are we encouraged to reject or accept suffering and death? <br /><br />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. Others concentrate on methods of achieving success and wealth (e.g. Deepak Chopra, José Silva et al.). In New Age, reincarnation is often seen as a necessary element in spiritual growth, a stage in progressive spiritual evolution which began before we were born and will continue after we die. In our present lives the experience of the death of other people provokes a healthy crisis. <br /><br />Both cosmic unity and reincarnation are 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: this understanding of the person puts into question both responsibility and freedom. Christians know that “in the cross of Christ not only is the redemption accomplished through suffering, but also human suffering itself has been redeemed. Christ – without any fault of his own – took on himself 'the total evil of sin'. The experience of this evil determined the incomparable extent of Christ's suffering, which became the price of the redemption... The Redeemer suffered in place of man and for man. Every man has his own share in the redemption, Each one is also called to share in that suffering through which the redemption was accomplished. He 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. Thus each man in his suffering can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ”.(82) <br /><br />* Is social commitment something shirked or positively sought after? <br /><br />Much in New Age is unashamedly self-promotion, but some leading figures in the movement claim that it is unfair to judge the whole movement by a minority of selfish, irrational and narcissistic people, or to allow oneself to be dazzled by some of their more bizarre practices, which are a block to seeing in New Age a genuine spiritual search and spirituality.(83) The fusion of individuals into the cosmic self, the relativisation or abolition of difference and opposition in a cosmic harmony, is unacceptable to Christianity. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />* Is our future in the stars or do we help to construct it? <br /><br />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. <br /><br />Christians are in a constant state of vigilance, ready for the last days when Christ will come again; their New Age began 2000 years ago, with Christ, who is none other than “Jesus of Nazareth; he is the Word of God made man for the salvation of all”. His Holy Spirit is present and active in the hearts of individuals, in “society and history, peoples, cultures and religions”. In fact, “the Spirit of the Father, bestowed abundantly by the Son, is the animator of all”.(84)We live in the last times. <br /><br />On the one hand, it is clear that many New Age practices seem to those involved in them not to raise doctrinal questions; but, at the same time, it is undeniable that these practices themselves communicate, even if only indirectly, a mentality which can influence thinking and inspire a very particular vision of reality. Certainly New Age creates its own atmosphere, and it can be hard to distinguish between things which are innocuous and those which really need to be questioned. However, it is well to be aware that the doctrine of the Christ spread in New Age circles is inspired by the theosophical teachings of Helena Blavatsky, Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophy and Alice Bailey's “Arcane School”. Their contemporary followers are not only promoting their ideas now, but also working with New Agers to develop a completely new understanding of reality, a doctrine known by some observers as “New Age truth”.(85)<br /><br /> <br /><br />5 JESUS CHRIST OFFERS US THE WATER OF LIFE<br /><br />The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord. He is at the heart of every Christian action, and every Christian message. So the Church constantly returns to meet her Lord. The Gospels tell of many meetings with Jesus, from the shepherds in Bethlehem to the two thieves crucified with him, from the wise elders who listened to him in the Temple to the disciples walking miserably towards Emmaus. But one episode that speaks really clearly about what he offers us is the story of his encounter with the Samaritan woman by Jacob's well in the fourth chapter of John's Gospel; it has even been described as “a paradigm for our engagement with truth”.(86) The experience of meeting the stranger who offers us the water of life is a key to the way Christians can and should engage in dialogue with anyone who does not know Jesus. <br /><br />One of the attractive elements of John's account of this meeting is that it takes the woman a while even to glimpse what Jesus means by the water 'of life', or 'living' water (verse 11). Even so, she is fascinated – not only by the stranger himself, but also by his message – and this makes her listen. After her initial shock at realising what Jesus knew about her (“You are right in saying 'I have no husband': for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly”, verses 17- 18), she was quite open to his word: “I see you are a prophet, Sir” (verse 19). The dialogue about the adoration of God begins: “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews” (verse 22). Jesus touched her heart and so prepared her to listen to what He had to say about Himself as the Messiah: “I who am speaking to you – I am he” (verse 26), prepared her to open her heart to the true adoration in Spirit and the self-revelation of Jesus as God's Anointed. <br /><br />1Helen Bergin o.p., “Living One's Truth”, in The Furrow, January 2000, p. 12. <br /><br />The woman “put down her water jar and hurried back to the town to tell the people” all about the man (verse 28). The remarkable effect on the woman of her encounter with the stranger made them so curious that they, too, “started walking towards him” (verse 30). They soon accepted the truth of his identity: “Now we no longer believe because of what you told us; we have heard him ourselves and we know that he really is the saviour of the world” (verse 42). They move from hearing about Jesus to knowing him personally, then understanding the universal significance of his identity. This all happens because their minds, their hearts and more are engaged. <br /><br />The fact that the story takes place by a well is significant. Jesus offers the woman “a spring... welling up to eternal life” (verse 14). The gracious way in which Jesus deals with the woman is a model for pastoral effectiveness, helping others to be truthful without suffering in the challenging process of self-recognition (“he told me every thing I have done“, verse 39). This approach could yield a rich harvest in terms of people who may have been attracted to the water-carrier (Aquarius) but who are genuinely still seeking the truth. They should be invited to listen to Jesus, who offers us not simply something that will quench our thirst today, but the hidden spiritual depths of “living water”. It is important to acknowledge the sincerity of people searching for the truth; there is no question of deceit or of self-deception. It is also important to be patient, as any good educator knows. A person embraced by the truth is suddenly energised by a completely new sense of freedom, especially from past failures and fears, and “the one who strives for self-knowledge, like the woman at the well, will affect others with a desire to know the truth that can free them too”.(87) <br /><br />An invitation to meet Jesus Christ, the bearer of the water of life, will carry more weight if it is made by someone who has clearly been profoundly affected by his or her own encounter with Jesus, because it is made not by someone who has simply heard about him, but by someone who can be sure “that he really is the saviour of the world” (verse 42). It is a matter of letting people react in their own way, at their own pace, and letting God do the rest. <br /><br /> <br /><br />6 POINTS TO NOTE<br /><br />6.1. Guidance and sound formation are needed <br /><br />Christ or Aquarius? New Age is almost always linked with “alternatives”, either an alternative vision of reality or an alternative way of improving one's current situation (magic).(88) Alternatives offer people not two possibilities, but only the possibility of choosing one thing in preference to another: in terms of religion, New Age offers an alternative to the Judaeo-Christian heritage. The Age of Aquarius is conceived as one which will replace the predominantly Christian Age of Pisces. New Age thinkers are acutely aware of this; some of them are convinced that the coming change is inevitable, while others are actively committed to assisting its arrival. People who wonder if it is possible to believe in both Christ and Aquarius can only benefit from knowing that this is very much an “either-or” situation. “No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn” (Lk 16.13). Christians have only to think of the difference between the wise men from the East and King Herod to recognise the powerful effects of choice for or against Christ. It must never be forgotten that many of the movements which have fed the New Age are explicitly anti-Christian. Their stance towards Christianity is not neutral, but neutralising: despite what is often said about openness to all religious standpoints, traditional Christianity is not sincerely regarded as an acceptable alternative. In fact, it is occasionally made abundantly clear that “there is no tolerable place for true Christianity”, and there are even arguments justifying anti-Christian behaviour.(89) This opposition initially was confined to the rarefied realms of those who go beyond a superficial attachment to New Age, but has begun more recently to permeate all levels of the “alternative” culture which has an extraordinarily powerful appeal, above all in sophisticated Western societies. <br /><br />Fusion or confusion? New Age traditions consciously and deliberately blur real differences: between creator and creation, between humanity and nature, between religion and psychology, between subjective and objective reality. The idealistic intention is always to overcome the scandal of division, but in New Age theory it is a question of the systematic fusion of elements which have generally been clearly distinguished in Western culture. Is it, perhaps, fair to call it “confusion”? It is not playing with words to say that New Age thrives on confusion. The Christian tradition has always valued the role of reason in justifying faith and in understanding God, the world and the human person.(90) New Age has caught the mood of many in rejecting cold, calculating, inhuman reason. While this is a positive insight, recalling the need for a balance involving all our faculties, it does not justify sidelining a faculty which is essential for a fully human life. Rationality has the advantage of universality: it is freely available to everyone, quite unlike the mysterious and fascinating character of esoteric or gnostic “mystical” religion. Anything which promotes conceptual confusion or secrecy needs to be very carefully scrutinised. It hides rather than reveals the ultimate nature of reality. It corresponds to the post-modern loss of confidence in the bold certainties of former times, which often involves taking refuge in irrationality. The challenge is to show how a healthy partnership between faith and reason enhances human life and encourages respect for creation. <br /><br />Create your own reality. The widespread New Age conviction that one creates one's own reality is appealing, but illusory. It is crystallised in Jung's theory that the human being is a gateway from the outer world into an inner world of infinite dimensions, where each person is Abraxas, who gives birth to his own world or devours it. The star that shines in this infinite inner world is man's God and goal. The most poignant and problematic consequence of the acceptance of the idea that people create their own reality is the question of suffering and death: people with severe handicaps or incurable diseases feel cheated and demeaned when confronted by the suggestion that they have brought their misfortune upon themselves, or that their inability to change things points to a weakness in their approach to life. This is far from being a purely academic issue: it has profound implications in the Church's pastoral approach to the difficult existential questions everyone faces. Our limitations are a fact of life, and part of being a creature. Death and bereavement present a challenge and an opportunity, because the temptation to take refuge in a westernised reworking of the notion of reincarnation is clear proof of people's fear of death and their desire to live forever. Do we make the most of our opportunities to recall what is promised by God in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? How real is the faith in the resurrection of the body, which Christians proclaim every Sunday in the creed? The New Age idea that we are in some sense also gods is one which is very much in question here. The whole question depends, of course, on one's definition of reality. A sound approach to epistemology and psychology needs to be reinforced – in the appropriate way – at every level of Catholic education, formation and preaching. It is important constantly to focus on effective ways of speaking of transcendence. The fundamental difficulty of all New Age thought is that this transcendence is strictly a self-transcendeence to be achieved within a closed universe. <br /><br />Pastoral resources. In Chapter 8 an indication is given regarding the principal documents of the Catholic Church in which can be found an evaluation of the ideas of New Age. In the first place comes the address of Pope John Paul II which was quoted in the Foreword. The Pope recognizes in this cultural trend some positive aspects, such as “the search for new meaning in life, a new ecological sensivity and the desire to go beyond a cold, rationalistic religiosity”. But he also calls the attention of the faithful to certain ambiguous elements which are incompatible with the Christian faith: these movements “pay little heed to Revelation”, “they tend to relativize religious doctrine in favor of a vague worldview”, “they often propose a pantheistic concept of God”, “they replace personal responsibility to God for our actions with a sense of duty to the cosmos, thus overturning the true concept of sin and the need for redemption through Christ”.(91)<br /><br /> <br /><br />6.2. Practical steps <br /><br />First of all, it is worth saying once again that not everyone or everything in the broad sweep of New Age is linked to the theories of the movement in the same ways. Likewise, the label itself is often misapplied or extended to phenomena which can be categorised in other ways. The term New Age has even been abused to demonise people and practices. It is essential to see whether phenomena linked to this movement, however loosely, reflect or conflict with a Christian vision of God, the human person and the world. The mere use of the term New Age in itself means little, if anything. The relationship of the person, group, practice or commodity to the central tenets of Christianity is what counts. <br /><br />*The Catholic Church has its own very effective networks, which could be better used. For example, there is a large number of pastoral centres, cultural centres and centres of spirituality. Ideally, these could also be used to address the confusion about New Age religiosity in a variety of creative ways, such as providing a forum for discussion and study. It must unfortunately be admitted that there are too many cases where Catholic centres of spirituality are actively involved in diffusing New Age religiosity in the Church. This would of course have to be corrected, not only to stop the spread of confusion and error, but also so that they might be effective in promoting true Christian spirituality. Catholic cultural centres, in particular, are not only teaching institutions but spaces for honest dialogue.(92) Some excellent specialist institutions deal with all these questions. These are precious resources, which ought to be shared generously in areas that are less well provided for. <br /><br />*Quite a few New Age groups welcome every opportunity to explain their philosophy and activities to others. Encounters with these groups should be approached with care, and should always involve persons who are capable of both explaining Catholic faith and spirituality, and of reflecting critically on New Age thought and practice. It is extremely important to check the credentials of people, groups and institutions claiming to offer guidance and information on New Age. In some cases what has started out as impartial investigation has later become active promotion of, or advocacy on behalf of, “alternative religions”. Some international institutions are actively pursuing campaigns which promote respect for “religious diversity”, and claim religious status for some questionable organisations. This fits in with the New Age vision of moving into an age where the limited character of particular religions gives way to the universality of a new religion or spirituality. Genuine dialogue, on the other hand, will always respect diversity from the outset, and will never seek to blur distinctions in a fusion of all religious traditions. <br /><br />*Some local New Age groups refer to their meetings as “prayer groups”. Those people who are invited to such groups need to look for the marks of genuine Christian spirituality, and to be wary if there is any sort of initiation ceremony. Such groups take advantage of a person's lack of theological or spiritual formation to lure them gradually into what may in fact be a form of false worship. Christians must be taught about the true object and content of prayer – in the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ, to the Father – in order to judge rightly the intention of a “prayer group”. Christian prayer and the God of Jesus Christ will easily be recognised.(93) Many people are convinced that there is no harm in 'borrowing' from the wisdom of the East, but the example of Transcendental Meditation (TM) should make Christians cautious about the prospect of committing themselves unknowingly to another religion (in this case, Hinduism), despite what TM's promoters claim about its religious neutrality. There is no problem with learning how to meditate, but the object or content of the exercise clearly determines whether it relates to the God revealed by Jesus Christ, to some other revelation, or simply to the hidden depths of the self. <br /><br />*Christian groups which promote care for the earth as God's creation also need to be given due recognition. The question of respect for creation is one which could also be approached creatively in Catholic schools. A great deal of what is proposed by the more radical elements of the ecological movement is difficult to reconcile with Catholic faith. Care for the environment in general terms is a timely sign of a fresh concern for what God has given us, perhaps a necessary mark of Christian stewardship of creation, but “deep ecology” is often based on pantheistic and occasionally gnostic principles.(94) <br /><br />*The beginning of the Third Millennium offers a real kairos for evangelisation. People's minds and hearts are already unusually open to reliable information on the Christian understanding of time and salvation history. Emphasising what is lacking in other approaches should not be the main priority. It is more a question of constantly revisiting the sources of our own faith, so that we can offer a good, sound presentation of the Christian message. We can be proud of what we have been given on trust, so we need to resist the pressures of the dominant culture to bury these gifts (cf. Mt 25.24-30). One of the most useful tools available is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. There is also an immense heritage of ways to holiness in the lives of Christian men and women past and present. Where Christianity's rich symbolism, and its artistic, aesthetical and musical traditions are unknown or have been forgotten, there is much work to be done for Christians themselves, and ultimately also for anyone searching for an experience or a greater awareness of God's presence. Dialogue between Christians and people attracted to the New Age will be more successful if it takes into account the appeal of what touches the emotions and symbolic language. If our task is to know, love and serve Jesus Christ, it is of paramount importance to start with a good knowledge of the Scriptures. But, most of all, coming to meet the Lord Jesus in prayer and in the sacraments, which are precisely the moments when our ordinary life is hallowed, is the surest way of making sense of the whole Christian message. <br /><br />*Perhaps the simplest, the most obvious and the most urgent measure to be taken, which might also be the most effective, would be to make the most of the riches of the Christian spiritual heritage. The great religious orders have strong traditions of meditation and spirituality, which could be made more available through courses or periods in which their houses might welcome genuine seekers. This is already being done, but more is needed. Helping people in their spiritual search by offering them proven techniques and experiences of real prayer could open a dialogue with them which would reveal the riches of Christian tradition, and perhaps clarify a great deal about New Age in the process. <br /><br />In a vivid and useful image, one of the New Age movement's own exponents has compared traditional religions to cathedrals, and New Age to a worldwide fair. The New Age Movement is seen as an invitation to Christians to bring the message of the cathedrals to the fair which now covers the whole world. This image offers Christians a positive challenge, since it is always time to take the message of the cathedrals to the people in the fair. Christians need not, indeed, must not wait for an invitation to bring the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who are looking for the answers to their questions, for spiritual food that satisfies, for living water. Following the image proposed, Christians must issue forth from the cathedral, nourished by word and sacrament, to bring the Gospel into every aspect of everyday life – “Go! The Mass is ended!” In Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte the Holy Father remarks on the great interest in spirituality found in the secular world of today, and how other religions are responding to this demand in appealing ways. He goes on to issue a challenge to Christians in this regard: “But we who have received the grace of believing in Christ, the revealer of the Father and the Savior of the world, have a duty to show to what depths the relationship with Christ can lead” (n. 33). To those shopping around in the world's fair of religious proposals, the appeal of Christianity will be felt first of all in the witness of the members of the Church, in their trust, calm, patience and cheerfulness, and in their concrete love of neighbour, all the fruit of their faith nourished in authentic personal prayer.<br /><br /> <br /><br />7 APPENDIX<br /><br />7.1. Some brief formulations of New Age ideas <br /><br />William Bloom's 1992 formulation of New Age quoted in Heelas, p. 225f.: <br /><br />*All life – all existence – is the manifestation of Spirit, of the Unknowable, of that supreme consciousness known by many different names in many different cultures. <br /><br />*The purpose and dynamic of all existence is to bring Love, Wisdom, Enlightenment... into full manifestation. <br /><br />*All religions are the expression of this same inner reality. <br /><br />*All life, as we perceive it with the five human senses or with scientific instruments, is only the outer veil of an invisible, inner and causal reality. <br /><br />*Similarly, human beings are twofold creatures – with: (i) an outer temporary personality; and (ii) a multi-dimensional inner being (soul or higher self). <br /><br />*The outer personality is limited and tends towards love. <br /><br />*The purpose of the incarnation of the inner being is to bring the vibrations of the outer personality into a resonance of love. <br /><br />*All souls in incarnation are free to choose their own spiritual path. <br /><br />*Our spiritual teachers are those whose souls are liberated from the need to incarnate and who express unconditional love, wisdom and enlightenment. Some of these great beings are well- known and have inspired the world religions. Some are unknown and work invisibly. <br /><br />*All life, in its different forms and states, is interconnected energy – and this includes our deeds, feelings and thoughts. We, therefore, work with Spirit and these energies in co-creating our reality. <br /><br />*Although held in the dynamic of cosmic love, we are jointly responsible for the state of our selves, of our environment and of all life. <br /><br />*During this period of time, the evolution of the planet and of humanity has reached a point when we are undergoing a fundamental spiritual change in our individual and mass consciousness. This is why we talk of a New Age. This new consciousness is the result of the increasingly successful incarnation of what some people call the energies of cosmic love. This new consciousness demonstrates itself in an instinctive understanding of the sacredness and, in particular, the interconnectedness of all existence. <br /><br />*This new consciousness and this new understanding of the dynamic interdependence of all life mean that we are currently in the process of volving a completely new planetary culture. <br /><br />Heelas (p. 226) Jeremy Tarcher's “complementary formulation”. <br /><br />1. The world, including the human race, constitutes an expression of a higher, more comprehensive divine nature. <br /><br />2. Hidden within each human being is a higher divine self, which is a manifestation of the higher, more comprehensive divine nature. <br /><br />3. This higher nature can be awakened and can become the center of the individual's everyday life. <br /><br />4. This awakening is the reason for the existence of each individual life. <br /><br />David Spangler is quoted in Actualité des religions nº 8, septembre 1999, p. 43, on the principal characteristics of the New Age vision, which is: <br /><br />*holistic (globalising, because there is one single reality-energy); <br /><br />*ecological (earth-Gaia is our mother; each of us is a neurone of earth's central nervous system); <br /><br />*androgynous (rainbow and Yin/Yang are both NA symbols, to do with the complementarity of contraries, esp. masculine and feminine); <br /><br />*mystical (finding the sacred in every thing, the most ordinary things); <br /><br />*planetary (people must be at one and the same time anchored in their own culture and open to a universal dimension, capable of promoting love, compassion, peace and even the establishment of world government). <br /><br /> <br /><br />7.2. A Select Glossary <br /><br />Age of Aquarius: each astrological age of about 2146 years is named according to one of the signs of the zodiac, but the “great days” go in reverse order, so the current Age of Pisces is about to end, and the Age of Aquarius will be ushered in. Each Age has its own cosmic energies; the energy in Pisces has made it an era of wars and conflicts. But Aquarius is set to be an era of harmony, justice, peace, unity etc. In this aspect, New Age accepts historical inevitability. Some reckon the age of Aries was the time of the Jewish religion, the age of Pisces that of Christianity, Aquarius the age of a universal religion. <br /><br />Androgyny: is not hermaphroditism, i.e. existence with the physical characteristics of both sexes, but an awareness of the presence in every person of male and female elements; it is said to be a state of balanced inner harmony of the animus and anima. In New Age, it is a state resulting from a new awareness of this double mode of being and existing that is characteristic of every man and every woman. The more it spreads, the more it will assist in the transformation of interpersonal conduct. <br /><br />Anthroposophy: a theosophical doctrine originally popularised by the Croat Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), who left the Theosophical Society after being leader of its German branch from 1902 to 1913. It is an esoteric doctrine meant to initiate people into “objective knowledge” in the spiritual-divine sphere. Steiner believed it had helped him explore the laws of evolution of the cosmos and of humanity. Every physical being has a corresponding spiritual being, and earthly life is influenced by astral energies and spiritual essences. The Akasha Chronicle is said to be a “cosmic memory” available to initiates.(95)<br /><br />Channeling: psychic mediums claim to act as channels for information from other selves, usually disembodied entities living on a higher plane. It links beings as diverse as ascended masters, angels, gods, group entities, nature spirits and the Higher Self. <br /><br />Christ: in New Age the historical figure of Jesus is but one incarnation of an idea or an energy or set of vibrations. For Alice Bailey, a great day of supplication is needed, when all believers will create such a concentration of spiritual energy that there will be a further incarnation, which will reveal how people can save themselves.... For many people, Jesus is nothing more than a spiritual master who, like Buddha, Moses and Mohammed, amongst others, has been penetrated by the cosmic Christ. The cosmic Christ is also known as christic energy at the basis of each being and the whole of being. Individuals need to be initiated gradually into awareness of this christic characteristic they are all said to have. Christ – in New Age terms – represents the highest state of perfection of the self.(96) <br /><br />Crystals: are reckoned to vibrate at significant frequencies. Hence they are useful in self-transformation. They are used in various therapies and in meditation, visualisation, 'astral travel' or as lucky charms. From the outside looking in, they have no intrinsic power, but are simply beautiful. <br /><br />Depth Psychology: the school of psychology founded by C.G. Jung, a former disciple of Freud. Jung recognised that religion and spiritual matters were important for wholeness and health. The interpretation of dreams and the analysis of archetypes were key elements in his method. Archetypes are forms which belong to the inherited structure of the human psyche; they appear in the recurrent motifs or images in dreams, fantasies, myths and fairy tales. <br /><br />Enneagram: (from the Greek ennéa = nine + gramma = sign) the name refers to a diagram composed of a circle with nine points on its circumference, connected within the circle by a triangle and a hexangle. It was originally used for divination, but has become known as the symbol for a system of personality typology consisting of nine standard character types. It became popular after the publication of Helen Palmer's book The Enneagram,(97) but she recognises her indebtedness to the Russian esoteric thinker and practitioner G.I. Gurdjieff, the Chilean psychologist Claudio Naranjo and author Oscar Ichazo, founder of Arica. The origin of the enneagram remains shrouded in mystery, but some maintain that it comes from Sufi mysticism. <br /><br />Esotericism: (from the Greek esotéros = that which is within) it generally refers to an ancient and hidden body of knowledge available only to initiated groups, who portray themselves as guardians of the truths hidden from the majority of humankind. The initiation process takes people from a merely external, superficial, knowledge of reality to the inner truth and, in the process, awakens their consciousness at a deeper level. People are invited to undertake this “inner journey” to discover the “divine spark” within them. Salvation, in this context, coincides with a discovery of the Self. <br /><br />Evolution: in New Age it is much more than a question of living beings evolving towards superior life forms; the physical model is projected on to the spiritual realm, so that an immanent power within human beings would propel them towards superior spiritual life forms. Human beings are said not to have full control over this power, but their good or bad actions can accelerate or retard their progress. The whole of creation, including humanity, is seen to be moving inexorably towards a fusion with the divine. Reincarnation clearly has an important place in this view of a progressive spiritual evolution which is said to begin before birth and continue after death.(98) <br /><br />Expansion of consciousness: if the cosmos is seen as one continuous chain of being, all levels of existence – mineral, vegetable, animal, human, cosmic and divine beings – are interdependent. Human beings are said to become aware of their place in this holistic vision of global reality by expanding their consciousness well beyond its normal limits. The New Age offers a huge variety of techniques to help people reach a higher level of perceiving reality, a way of overcoming the separation between subjects and between subjects and objects in the knowing process, concluding in total fusion of what normal, inferior, awareness sees as separate or distinct realities. <br /><br />Feng-shui: a form of geomancy, in this case an occult Chinese method of deciphering the hidden presence of positive and negative currents in buildings and other places, on the basis of a knowledge of earthly and atmospheric forces. “Just like the human body or the cosmos, sites are places criss-crossed by influxes whose correct balance is the source of health and life”.(99) <br /><br />Gnosis: in a generic sense, it is a form of knowledge that is not intellectual, but visionary or mystical, thought to be revealed and capable of joining the human being to the divine mystery. In the first centuries of Christianity, the Fathers of the Church struggled against gnosticism, inasmuch as it was at odds with faith. Some see a reborth of gnostic ideas in much New Age thinking, and some authors connected with New Age actually quote early gnosticism. However, the greater emphasis in New Age on monism and even pantheism or panentheism encourages some to use the term neo-gnosticism to distinguish New Age gnosis from ancient gnosticism. <br /><br />Great White Brotherhood: Mrs. Blavatsky claimed to have contact with the mahatmas, or masters, exalted beings who together constitute the Great White Brotherhood. She saw them as guiding the evolution of the human race and directing the work of the Theosophical Society. <br /><br />Hermeticism: philosophical and religious practices and speculations linked to the writings in the Corpus Hermeticum, and the Alexandrian texts attributed to the mythical Hermes Trismegistos. When they first became known during the Renaissance, they were thought to reveal pre-Christian doctrines, but later studies showed they dated from the first century of the christian era.(100) Alexandrian hermeticism is a major resource for modern esotericism, and the two have much in common: eclecticism, a refutation of ontological dualism, an affirmation of the positive and symbolic character of the universe, the idea of the fall and later restoration of mankind. Hermetic speculation has strengthened belief in an ancient fundamental tradition or a so-called philosophia perennis falsely considered as common to all religious traditions. The high and ceremonial forms of magic developed from Renaissance Hermeticism. <br /><br />Holism: a key concept in the “new paradigm”, claiming to provide a theoretical frame integrating the entire worldview of modern man. In contrast with an experience of increasing fragmentation in science and everyday life, “wholeness” is put forward as a central methodological and ontological concept. Humanity fits into the universe as part of a single living organism, a harmonious network of dynamic relationships. The classic distinction between subject and object, for which Descartes and Newton are typically blamed, is challenged by various scientists who offer a bridge between science and religion. Humanity is part of a universal network (eco-system, family) of nature and world, and must seek harmony with every element of this quasi-transcendent authority. When one understands one's place in nature, in the cosmos which is also divine, one also understands that “wholeness” and “holiness” are one and the same thing. The clearest articulation of the concept of holism is in the “Gaia” hypothesis.(101) <br /><br />Human Potential Movement: since its beginnings (Esalen, California, in the 1960s), this has grown into a network of groups promoting the release of the innate human capacity for creativity through self-realisation. Various techniques of personal transformation are used more and more by companies in management training programmes, ultimately for very normal economic reasons. Transpersonal Technologies, the Movement for Inner Spiritual Awareness, Organisational Development and Organisational Transformation are all put forward as non-religious, but in reality company employees can find themselves being submitted to an alien 'spirituality' in a situation which raises questions about personal freedom. There are clear links between Eastern spirituality and psychotherapy, while Jungian psychology and the Human Potential Movement have been very influential on Shamanism and “reconstructed” forms of Paganism like Druidry and Wicca. In a general sense, “personal growth” can be understood as the shape “religious salvation” takes in the New Age movement: it is affirmed that deliverance from human suffering and weakness will be reached by developing our human potential, which results in our increasingly getting in touch with our inner divinity.(102)<br /><br />Initiation: in religious ethnology it is the cognitive and/or experiential journey whereby a person is admitted, either alone or as part of a group, by means of particular rituals to membership of a religious community, a secret society (e.g. Freemasonry) or a mystery association (magical, esoteric-occult, gnostic, theosophical etc.). <br /><br />Karma: (from the Sanskrit root Kri = action, deed) a key notion in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, but one whose meaning has not always been the same. In the ancient Vedic period it referred to the ritual action, especially sacrifice, by means of which a person gained access to the happiness or blessedness of the afterlife. When Jainism and Buddhism appeared (about 6 centuries before Christ), Karma lost its salvific meaning: the way to liberation was knowledge of the Atman or “self”. In the doctrine of samsara, it was understood as the incessant cycle of human birth and death (Huinduism) or of rebirth (Buddhism).(103) In New Age contexts, the “law of karma” is often seen as the moral equivalent of cosmic evolution. It is no longer to do with evil or suffering – illusions to be experienced as part of a “cosmic game” – but is the universal law of cause and effect, part of the tendency of the interconnected universe towards moral balance.(104)<br /><br />Monism: the metaphysical belief that differences between beings are illusory. There is only one universal being, of which every thing and every person is a part. Inasmuch as New Age monism includes the idea that reality is fundamentally spiritual, it is a contemporary form of pantheism (sometimes explicitly a rejection of materialism, particularly Marxism). Its claim to resolve all dualism leaves no room for a transcendent God, so everything is God. A further problem arises for Christianity when the question of the origin of evil is raised. C.G. Jung saw evil as the “shadow side” of the God who, in classical theism, is all goodness. <br /><br />Mysticism: New Age mysticism is turning inwards on oneself rather than communion with God who is “totally other”. It is fusion with the universe, an ultimate annihilation of the individual in the unity of the whole. Experience of Self is taken to be experience of divinity, so one looks within to discover authentic wisdom, creativity and power. <br /><br />Neopaganism: a title often rejected by many to whom it is applied, it refers to a current that runs parallel to New Age and often interacts with it. In the great wave of reaction against traditional religions, specifically the Judaeo-Christian heritage of the West, many have revisited ancient indigenous, traditional, pagan religions. Whatever preceded Christianity is reckoned to be more genuine to the spirit of the land or the nation, an uncontaminated form of natural religion, in touch with the powers of nature, often matriarchal, magical or Shamanic. Humanity will, it is said, be healthier if it returns to the natural cycle of (agricultural) festivals and to a general affirmation of life. Some “neo-pagan” religions are recent reconstructions whose authentic relationship to original forms can be questioned, particularly in cases where they are dominated by modern ideological components like ecology, feminism or, in a few cases, myths of racial purity.(105) <br /><br />New Age Music: this is a booming industry. The music concerned is very often packaged as a means of achieving harmony with oneself or the world, and some of it is “Celtic” or druidic. Some New Age composers claim their music is meant to build bridges between the conscious and the unconscious, but this is probably more so when, besides melodies, there is meditative and rhythmic repetition of key phrases. As with many elements of the New Age phenomenon, some music is meant to bring people further into the New Age Movement, but most is simply commercial or artistic. <br /><br />New Thought: a 19th century religious movement founded in the United States of America. Its origins were in idealism, of which it was a popularised form. God was said to be totally good, and evil merely an illusion; the basic reality was the mind. Since one's mind is what causes the events in one's life, one has to take ultimate responsibility for every aspect of one's situation. <br /><br />Occultism: occult (hidden) knowledge, and the hidden forces of the mind and of nature, are at the basis of beliefs and practices linked to a presumed secret “perennial philosophy” derived from ancient Greek magic and alchemy, on the one hand, and Jewish mysticism, on the other. They are kept hidden by a code of secrecy imposed on those initiated into the groups and societies that guard the knowledge and techniques involved. In the 19th century, spiritualism and the Theosophical Society introduced new forms of occultism which have, in turn, influenced various currents in the New Age. <br /><br />Pantheism: (Greek pan = everything and theos = God) the belief that everything is God or, sometimes, that everything is in God and God is in everything (panentheism). Every element of the universe is divine, and the divinity is equally present in everything. There is no space in this view for God as a distinct being in the sense of classical theism. <br /><br />Parapsychology: treats of such things as extrasensory perception, mental telepathy, telekinesis, psychic healing and communication with spirits via mediums or channeling. Despite fierce criticism from scientists, parapsychology has gone from strength to strength, and fits neatly into the view popular in some areas of the New Age that human beings have extraordinary psychic abilities, but often only in an undeveloped state. <br /><br />Planetary Consciousness: this world-view developed in the 1980s to foster loyalty to the community of humanity rather than to nations, tribes or other established social groups. It can be seen as the heir to movements in the early 20th century that promoted a world government. The consciousness of the unity of humanity sits well with the Gaia hypothesis. <br /><br />Positive Thinking: the conviction that people can change physical reality or external circumstances by altering their mental attitude, by thinking positively and constructively. Sometimes it is a matter of becoming consciously aware of unconsciously held beliefs that determine our life-situation. Positive thinkers are promised health and wholeness, often prosperity and even immortality. <br /><br />Rebirthing: In the early 1970s Leonard Orr described rebirthing as a process by which a person can identify and isolate aoreas in his or her consciousness that are unresolved and at the source of present problems. <br /><br />Reincarnation: in a New Age context, reincarnation is linked to the concept of ascendant evolution towards becoming divine. As opposed to Indian religions or those derived from them, New Age views reincarnation as progression of the individual soul towards a more perfect state. What is reincarnated is essentially something immaterial or spiritual; more precisely, it is consciousness, that spark of energy in the person that shares in cosmic or “christic” energy. Death is nothing but the passage of the soul from one body to another. <br /><br />Rosicrucians: these are Western occult groups involved in alchemy, astrology, Theosophy and kabbalistic interpretations of scripture. The Rosicrucian Fellowship contributed to the revival of astrology in the 20th century, and the Ancient and Mystical Order of the Rosae Crucis (AMORC) linked success with a presumed ability to materialise mental images of health, riches and happiness. <br /><br />Shamanism: practices and beliefs linked to communication with the spirits of nature and the spirits of dead people through ritualised possession (by the spirits) of a shaman, who serves as a medium. It has been attractive in New Age circles because it stresses harmony with the forces of nature and healing. There is also a romanticised image of indigenous religions and their closeness to the earth and to nature. <br /><br />Spiritualism: While there have always been attempts to contact the spirits of the dead, 19th century spiritualism is reckoned to be one of the currents that flow into the New Age. It developed against the background of the ideas of Swedenborg and Mesmer, and became a new kind of religion. Madame Blavatsky was a medium, and so spiritualism had a great influence on the Theosophical Society, although there the emphasis was on contact with entities from the distant past rather than people who had died only recently. Allan Kardec was influential in the spread of spiritualism in Afro-Brasilian religions. There are also spiritualist elements in some New Religious Movements in Japan. <br /><br />Theosophy: an ancient term, which originally referred to a kind of mysticism. It has been linked to Greek Gnostics and Neoplatonists, to Meister Eckhart, Nicholas of Cusa and Jakob Boehme. The name was given new emphasis by the Theosophical Society, founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. Theosophical mysticism tends to be monistic, stressing the essential unity of the spiritual and material components of the universe. It also looks for the hidden forces that cause matter and spirit to interact, in such a way that human and divine minds eventually meet. Here is where theosophy offers mystical redemption or enlightenment. <br /><br />Transcendentalism: This was a 19th century movement of writers and thinkers in New England, who shared an idealistic set of beliefs in the essential unity of creation, the innate goodness of the human person, and the superiority of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths. The chief figure is Ralph Waldo Emerson, who moved away from orthodox Christianity, through Unitarianism to a new natural mysticism which integrated concepts from Hinduism with popular American ones like individualism, personal responsibility and the need to succeed. <br /><br />Wicca: an old English term for witches that has been given to a neo-pagan revival of some elements of ritual magic. It was invented in England in 1939 by Gerald Gardner, who based it on some scholarly texts, according to which medieval European witchcraft was an ancient nature religion persecuted by Christians. Called “the Craft”, it grew rapidly in the 1960s in the United States, where it encountered “women's spirituality”. <br /><br /> <br /><br />7.3. Key New Age places <br /><br />Esalen: a community founded in Big Sur, California, in 1962 by Michael Murphy and Richard Price, whose main aim was to arrive at a self-realisation of being through nudism and visions, as well as “bland medicines”. It has become one of the most important centres of the Human Potential Movement, and has spread ideas about holistic medicine in the worlds of education, politics and economics. This has been done through courses in comparative religion, mythology, mysticism, meditation, psychotherapy, expansion of consciousness and so on. Along with Findhorn, it is seen as a key place in the growth of Aquarian consciousness. The Esalen Soviet-American Institute co-operated with Soviet officials on the Health Promotion Project. <br /><br />Findhorn: this holistic farming community started by Peter and Eileen Caddy achieved the growth of enormous plants by unorthodox methods. The founding of the Findhorn community in Scotland in 1965 was an important milestone in the movement which bears the label of the 'New Age'. In fact, Findhorn 'was seen as embodying its principal ideals of transformation'. The quest for a universal consciousness, the goal of harmony with nature, the vision of a transformed world, and the practice of channeling, all of which have become hallmarks of the New Age Movement, were present at Findhorn from its foundation. The success of this community led to its becoming a model for, and/or an inspiration to, other groups, such as Alternatives in London, Esalen in Big Sur, California, and the Open Center and Omega Institute in New York”.(106) <br /><br />Monte Verità: a utopian community near Ascona in Switzerland. Since the end of the 19th century it was a meeting point for European and American exponents of the counter-culture in the fields of politics, psychology, art and ecology. The Eranos conferences have been held there every year since 1933, gathering some of the great luminaries of the New Age. The yearbooks make clear the intention to create an integrated world religion.(107) It is fascinating to see the list of those who have gathered over the years at Monte Verità. <br /><br /> <br /><br />8 RESOURCES<br /><br />Documents of the Catholic Church's magisterium <br /><br />John Paul II, Address to the United States Bishops of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska on their “Ad Limina” visit, 28 May 1993. <br /><br />Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter to Bishops on Certain Aspects of Christian Meditation (Orationis Formas), Vatican City (Vatican Polyglot Press) 1989. <br /><br />International Theological Commission, Some Current Questions Concerning Eschatology, 1992, Nos. 9-10 (on reincarnation). <br /><br />International Theological Commission, Some Questions on the Theology of Redemption, 1995, I/29 and II/35-36. <br /><br />Argentine Bishops' Conference Committee for Culture, Frente a una Nueva Era. Desafio a la pastoral en el horizonte de la Nueva Evangelización, 1993. <br /><br />Irish Theological Commission, A New Age of the Spirit? A Catholic Response to the New Age Phenomenon, Dublin 1994. <br /><br />Godfried Danneels, Au-delà de la mort: réincarnation et resurrection, Pastoral Letter, Easter 1991. <br /><br />Godfried Danneels, Christ or Aquarius? Pastoral Letter, Christmas 1990 (Veritas, Dublin). <br /><br />Carlo Maccari, “La 'mistica cosmica' del New Age”, in Religioni e Sette nel Mondo 1996/2. <br /><br />Carlo Maccari, La New Age di fronte alla fede cristiana, Turin (LDC) 1994. <br /><br />Edward Anthony McCarthy, The New Age Movement, Pastoral Instruction, 1992. <br /><br />Paul Poupard, Felicità e fede cristiana, Casale Monferrato (Ed. Piemme) 1992. <br /><br />Joseph Ratzinger, La fede e la teologia ai nostri giorni, Guadalajara, May 1996, in L'Osservatore Romano 27 October 1996. <br /><br />Norberto Rivera Carrera, Instrucción Pastoral sobre el New Age, 7 January 1996. <br /><br />Christoph von Schönborn, Risurrezione e reincarnazione, (Italian translation) Casale Monferrato (Piemme) 1990. <br /><br />J. Francis Stafford, Il movimento “New Age”, in L'Osservatore Romano, 30 October 1992. <br /><br />Working Group on New Religious Movements (ed.), Vatican City, Sects and New Religious Movements. An Anthology of Texts From the Catholic Church, Washington (USCC) 1995. <br /><br /> <br /><br />Christian studies <br /><br />Raúl Berzosa Martinez, Nueva Era y Cristianismo. Entre el diálogo y la ruptura, Madrid (BAC) 1995. <br /><br />André Fortin, Les Galeries du Nouvel Age: un chrétien s'y promène, Ottawa (Novalis) 1993. <br /><br />Claude Labrecque, Une religion américaine. Pistes de discernement chrétien sur les courants populaires du “Nouvel Age”, Montréal (Médiaspaul) 1994. <br /><br />The Methodist Faith and Order Committee, The New Age Movement Report to Conference 1994. <br /><br />Aidan Nichols, “The New Age Movement”, in The Month, March 1992, pp. 84-89. <br /><br />Alessandro Olivieri Pennesi, Il Cristo del New Age. Indagine critica, Vatican City (Libreria Editrice Vaticana) 1999. <br /><br />Ökumenische Arbeitsgruppe “Neue Religiöse Bewegungen in der Schweiz”, New Age – aus christlicher Sicht, Freiburg (Paulusverlag) 1987. <br /><br />Mitch Pacwa s.j., Catholics and the New Age. How Good People are being drawn into Jungian Psychology, the Enneagram and the New Age of Aquarius, Ann Arbor MI (Servant) 1992. <br /><br />John Saliba, Christian Responses to the New Age Movement. A Critical Assessment, London (Chapman) 1999. <br /><br />Josef Südbrack, SJ, Neue Religiosität - Herausforderung für die Christen, Mainz (Matthias-Grünewald-Verlag) 1987 = La nuova religiosità: una sfida per i cristiani, Brescia (Queriniana) 1988. <br /><br />“Theologie für Laien” secretariat, Faszination Esoterik, Zürich (Theologie für Laien) 1996. <br /><br />David Toolan, Facing West from California's Shores. A Jesuit's Journey into New Age Consciousness, New York (Crossroad) 1987. <br /><br />Juan Carlos Urrea Viera, “New Age”. Visión Histórico-Doctrinal y Principales Desafíos, Santafé de Bogotá (CELAM) 1996. <br /><br />Jean Vernette, “L'avventura spirituale dei figli dell'Acquario”, in Religioni e Sette nel Mondo 1996/2. <br /><br />Jean Vernette, Jésus dans la nouvelle religiosité, Paris (Desclée) 1987. <br /><br />Jean Vernette, Le New Age, Paris (P.U.F.) 1992. <br /><br /> <br /><br />9 GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY<br /><br />9.1. Some New Age books <br /><br />William Bloom, The New Age. An Anthology of Essential Writings, London (Rider) 1991. <br /><br />Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism, Berkeley (Shambhala) 1975. <br /><br />Fritjof Capra, The Turning Point: Science, Society and the Rising Culture,<br />Toronto (Bantam) 1983. <br /><br />Benjamin Creme, The Reappearance of Christ and the Masters of Wisdom,<br />London (Tara Press) 1979. <br /><br />Marilyn Ferguson, The Aquarian Conspiracy. Personal and Social Transformation in Our Time, Los Angeles (Tarcher) 1980. <br /><br />Chris Griscom, Ecstasy is a New Frequency: Teachings of the Light Institute, New York (Simon & Schuster) 1987. <br /><br />Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Chicago (University of Chicago Press) 1970. <br /><br />David Spangler, The New Age Vision, Forres (Findhorn Publications) 1980. <br /><br />David Spangler, Revelation: The Birth of a New Age, San Francisco (Rainbow Bridge) 1976. <br /><br />David Spangler, Towards a Planetary Vision, Forres (Findhorn Publications) 1977. <br /><br />David Spangler, The New Age, Issaquah (The Morningtown Press) 1988. <br /><br />David Spangler, The Rebirth of the Sacred, London (Gateway Books) 1988. <br /><br /> <br /><br />9.2. Historical, descriptive and analytical works <br /><br />Christoph Bochinger, “New Age” und moderne Religion: Religionswissenschaftliche Untersuchungen, Gütersloh (Kaiser) 1994. <br /><br />Bernard Franck, Lexique du Nouvel-Age, Limoges (Droguet-Ardant) 1993. <br /><br />Hans Gasper, Joachim Müller and Friederike Valentin, Lexikon der Sekten, Sondergruppen und Weltanschauungen. Fakten, Hintergründe, Klärungen, updated edition, Freiburg-Basel-Vienna (Herder) 2000. See, inter alia, the article “New Age” by Christoph Schorsch, Karl R. Essmann and Medard Kehl, and “Reinkarnation” by Reinhard Hümmel. <br /><br />Manabu Haga and Robert J. Kisala (eds.), “The New Age in Japan”, in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Fall 1995, vol. 22, numbers 3 & 4. <br /><br />Wouter Hanegraaff, New Age Religion and Western Culture. Esotericism in the Mirror of Nature, Leiden-New York-Köln (Brill) 1996. This book has an extensive bibliography. <br /><br />Paul Heelas, The New Age Movement. The Celebration of the Self and the Sacralization of Modernity, Oxford (Blackwell) 1996. <br /><br />Massimo Introvigne, New Age & Next Age, Casale Monferrato (Piemme) 2000. <br /><br />Michel Lacroix, L'Ideologia della New Age, Milano (Il Saggiatore) 1998. <br /><br />J. Gordon Melton, New Age Encyclopedia, Detroit (Gale Research Inc) 1990. <br /><br />Elliot Miller, A Crash Course in the New Age, Eastbourne (Monarch) 1989. <br /><br />Georges Minois, Histoire de l'athéisme, Paris (Fayard) 1998. <br /><br />Arild Romarheim, The Aquarian Christ. Jesus Christ as Portrayed by New Religious Movements, Hong Kong (Good Tiding) 1992. <br /><br />Hans-Jürgen Ruppert, Durchbruch zur Innenwelt. Spirituelle Impulse aus New Age und Esoterik in kritischer Beleuchtung, Stuttgart (Quell Verlag) 1988. <br /><br />Edwin Schur, The Awareness Trap. Self-Absorption instead of Social Change, New York (McGraw Hill) 1977. <br /><br />Rodney Stark and William Sims Bainbridge, The Future of Religion. Secularisation, Revival and Cult Formation, Berkeley (University of California Press) 1985. <br /><br />Steven Sutcliffe and Marion Bowman (eds.), Beyond the New Age. Exploring Alternative Spirituality, Edinburgh (Edinburgh University Press), 2000. <br /><br />Charles Taylor, Sources of the Self. The Making of the Modern Identity, Cambridge (Cambridge University Press) 1989. <br /><br />Charles Taylor, The Ethics of Authenticity, London (Harvard University Press) 1991 <br /><br />Edênio Valle s.v.d., “Psicologia e energias da mente: teorias alternativas”, in A Igreja Católica diante do pluralismo religioso do Brasil (III). Estudos da CNBB n. 71, São Paulo (paulus) 1994. <br /><br />World Commission on Culture and Development, Our Creative Diversity. Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development, Paris<br />(UNESCO) 1995. <br /><br />M. York, “The New Age Movement in Great Britain”, in Syzygy. Journal of Alternative Religion and Culture, 1:2-3 (1992) Stanford CA. <br /><br />NOTES<br /><br />(1)Paul Heelas, The New Age Movement. The Celebration of the Self and the Sacralization of Modernity, Oxford (Blackwell) 1996, p. 137. <br /><br />(2)Cf. P. Heelas, op. cit., p. 164f. <br /><br />(3)Cf. P. Heelas, op. cit., p. 173. <br /><br />(4)Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Dominum et vivificantem (18 May 1986), 53. <br /><br />(5)Cf. Gilbert Markus o.p., “Celtic Schmeltic”, (1) in Spirituality, vol. 4, November-December 1998, No 21, pp. 379-383 and (2) in Spirituality, vol. 5, January-February 1999, No. 22, pp. 57-61. <br /><br />(6)John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, (Knopf) 1994, 90. <br /><br />(7)Cf. particularly Massimo Introvigne, New Age & Next Age, Casale Monferrato (Piemme) 2000. <br /><br />(8)M. Introvigne, op. cit., p. 267. <br /><br />(9)Cf. Michel Lacroix, L'Ideologia della New Age, Milano (il Saggiatore) 1998, p. 86. The word “sect” is used here not in any pejorative sense, but rather to denote a sociological phenomenon. <br /><br />(10)Cf. Wouter J. Hanegraaff, New Age Religion and Western Culture. Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought, Leiden-New York-Köln (Brill) 1996, p. 377 and elsewhere. <br /><br />(11)Cf. Rodney Stark and William Sims Bainbridge, The Future of Religion. Secularisation, Revival and Cult Formation, Berkeley (University of California Press) 1985. <br /><br />(12)Cf. M. Lacroix, op. cit., p. 8. <br /><br />(13)The Swiss “Theologie für Laien” course entitled Faszination Esoterik puts this clearly. Cf. “Kursmappe 1 – New Age und Esoterik”, text to accompany slides, p. 9. <br /><br />(14)The term was already in use in the title of The New Age Magazine, which was being published by the Ancient Accepted Scottish Masonic Rite in the southern jurisdiction of the United States of America as early as 1900 Cf. M. York, “The New Age Movement in Great Britain”, in Syzygy. Journal of Alternative Religion and Culture, 1: 2-3 (1992), Stanford CA, p. 156, note 6. The exact timing and nature of the change to the New Age are interpreted variously by different authors; estimates of timing range from 1967 to 2376. <br /><br />(15)In late 1977, Marilyn Ferguson sent a questionnaire to 210 “persons engaged in social transformation”, whom she also calls “Aquarian Conspirators”. The following is interesting: “When respondents were asked to name individuals whose ideas had influenced them, either through personal contact or through their writings, those most often named, in order of frequency, were Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, C.G. Jung, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Aldous Huxley, Robert Assagioli, and J. Krishnamurti. “Others frequently mentioned: Paul Tillich, Hermann Hesse, Alfred North Whitehead, Martin Buber, Ruth Benedict, Margaret Mead, Gregory Bateson, Tarthang Tulku, Alan Watts, Sri Aurobindo, Swami Muktananda, D.T. Suzuki, Thomas Merton, Willis Harman, Kenneth Boulding, Elise Boulding, Erich Fromm, Marshall McLuhan, Buckminster Fuller, Frederic Spiegelberg, Alfred Korzybski, Heinz von Foerster, John Lilly, Werner Erhard, Oscar Ichazo, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Joseph Chilton Pearce, Karl Pribram, Gardner Murphy, and Albert Einstein”: The Aquarian Conspiracy. Personal and Social Transformation in Our Time, Los Angeles (Tarcher) 1980, p. 50 (note 1) and p. 434. <br /><br />(16)W.J. Hanegraaff, op. cit., p. 520. <br /><br />(17)Irish Theological Commission, A New Age of the Spirit? A Catholic Response to the New Age Phenomenon, Dublin 1994, chapter 3. <br /><br />(18)Cf. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Chicago (University of Chicago Press), 1970, p. 175. <br /><br />(19)Cf. Alessandro Olivieri Pennesi, Il Cristo del New Age. Indagine critica, Vatican City (Libreria Editrice Vaticana) 1999, passim, but especially pp. 11-34. See Also section 4 below. <br /><br />(20)It is worth recalling the lyrics of this song, which quickly imprinted themselves on to the minds of a whole generation in North America and Western Europe: “When the Moon is in the Seventh House, and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then Peace will guide the Planets, and Love will steer the Stars. This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius... Harmony and understanding, ympathy and trust abounding; no more falsehoods or derision - golden living, dreams of visions, mystic crystal revelation, and the mind's true liberation. Aquarius...”. <br /><br />(21)P. Heelas, op. cit., p. 1f. The August 1978 journal of the Berkeley Christian Coalition puts it this way: “Just ten years ago the funky drug-based spirituality of the hippies and the mysticism of the Western yogi were restricted to the counterculture. Today, both have found their way into the mainstream of our cultural mentality. Science, the health professions, and the arts, not to mention psychology and religion, are all engaged in a fundamental reconstruction of their basic premises”. Quoted in Marilyn Ferguson, op. cit., p. 370f. <br /><br />(22)Cf. Chris Griscom, Ecstasy is a New Frequency: Teachings of the Light Institute, New York (Simon & Schuster) 1987, p. 82. <br /><br />(23)See the Glossary of New Age terms, §7.2 above.<br /><br />(24)Cf. W.J. Hanegraaff, op. cit., chapter 15 (“The Mirror of Secular Thought”). The system of correspondences is clearly inherited from traditional esotericism, but it has a new meaning for those who (consciously or not) follow Swedenborg. While every natural element in traditional esoteric doctrine had the divine life within it, for Swedenborg nature is a dead reflection of the living spiritual world. This idea is very much at the heart of the post-modern vision of a disenchanted world and various attempts to “re-enchant” it. Blavatsky rejected correspondences, and Jung emphatically relativised causality in favour of the esoteric world-view of correspondences. <br /><br />(25)W.J. Hanegraaff, op. cit., pp. 54-55. <br /><br />(26)Cf. Reinhard Hümmel, “Reinkarnation”, in Hans Gasper, Joachim Müller, Friederike Valentin (eds.), Lexikon der Sekten, Sondergruppen und Weltanschauungen. Fakten, Hintergründe, Klärungen, Freiburg-Basel-Wien (Herder) 2000, 886-893. <br /><br />(27)Michael Fuss, “New Age and Europe – A Challenge for Theology”, in Mission Studies Vol. VIII-2, 16, 1991, p. 192. <br /><br />(28)Ibid., loc. cit. <br /><br />(29)Ibid.,p. 193. <br /><br />(30)Ibid.,p. 199. <br /><br />(31)Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation (Orationis Formas), 1989, 14.<br />Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 19; Fides et Ratio, 22. <br /><br />(32)W.J. Hanegraaff, op. cit., p. 448f. The objectives are quoted from the final (1896) version, earlier versions of which stressed the irrationality of “bigotry” and the urgency of promoting non-sectarian education. Hanegraaff quotes J. Gordon Melton's description of New Age religion as rooted in the “occult-metaphysical” tradition (ibid., p. 455). <br /><br />(33)W.J. Hanegraaff, op. cit., p. 513. <br /><br />(34)Thomas M. King s.j., “Jung and Catholic Spirituality”, in America, 3 April 1999, p. 14. The author points out that New Age devotees “quote passages dealing with the I Ching, astrology and Zen, while Catholics quote passages dealing with Christian mystics, the liturgy and the psychological value of the sacrament of reconciliation” (p. 12). He also lists Catholic personalities and spiritual institutions clearly inspired and guided by Jung's psychology. <br /><br />(35)Cf. W.J. Hanegraaff, op. cit., p. 501f. <br /><br />(36)Carl Gustav Jung, Wandlungen und Symbole der Libido, quoted in Hanegraaff, op. cit., p. 503. <br /><br />(37)On this point cf. Michel Schooyans, L'Évangile face au désordre mondial, with a preface by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Paris (Fayard) 1997. <br /><br />(38)Quoted in the Maranatha Community's The True and the False New Age. Introductory Ecumenical Notes, Manchester (Maranatha) 1993, 8.10 – the original page numbering is not specified. <br /><br />(39)Michel Lacroix, L'Ideologia della New Age, Milano (il Saggiatore) 1998, p. 84f. <br /><br />(40)Cf. the section on David Spangler's ideas in Actualité des religions nº 8, septembre 1999, p. 43. <br /><br />(41)M. Ferguson, op. cit., p. 407. <br /><br />(42)Ibid.,p. 411. <br /><br />(43)“To be an American... is precisely to imagine a destiny rather than inherit one. We have always been inhabitants of myth rather than history”: Leslie Fiedler, quoted in M. Ferguson, op. cit., p. 142. <br /><br />(44)Cf. P. Heelas, op. cit., p. 173f. <br /><br />(45)David Spangler, The New Age, Issaquah (Mornington Press) 1988, p. 14. <br /><br />(46)P. Heelas, op. cit., p. 168. <br /><br />(47)See the Preface to Michel Schooyans, L'Évangile face au désordre mondial,<br />op. cit. This quotation is translated from the Italian, Il nuovo disordine mondiale, Cinisello Balsamo (San Paolo) 2000, p. 6. <br /><br />(48)Cf. Our Creative Diversity. Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development, Paris (UNESCO) 1995, which illustrates the importance given to celebrating and promoting diversity. <br /><br />(49)Cf. Christoph Bochinger, “New Age” und moderne Religion: Religionswissenschaftliche Untersuchungen, Gütersloh (Kaiser) 1994, especially chapter 3. <br /><br />(50)The shortcomings of techniques which are not yet prayer are discussed below in § 3.4, “Christian mysticism and New Age mysticism”. <br /><br />(51)Cf. Carlo Maccari, “La 'mistica cosmica' del New Age”, in Religioni e Sette nel Mondo 1996/2. <br /><br />(52)Jean Vernette, “L'avventura spirituale dei figli dell'Acquario”, in Religioni e Sette nel Mondo 1996/2, p. 42f. <br /><br />(53)J. Vernette, loc. cit. <br /><br />(54)Cf. J. Gordon Melton, New Age Encyclopedia, Detroit (Gale Research) 1990, pp. xiii-xiv. <br /><br />(55)David Spangler, The Rebirth of the Sacred, London (Gateway Books) 1984, p. 78f. <br /><br />(56)David Spangler, The New Age, op. cit., p. 13f. <br /><br />(57)John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente (10 November 1994), 9. <br /><br />(58)Matthew Fox, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ. The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance, San Francisco (Harper & Row) 1988, p. 135. <br /><br />(59)Cf. the document issued by the Argentine Bishops' Conference Committee for Culture: Frente a una Nueva Era. Desafío a la pastoral en el horizonte de la Nueva Evangelización, 1993. <br /><br />(60)Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Orationis Formas, 23. <br /><br />(61)Ibid.,3. See the sections on meditation and contemplative prayer in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§. 2705-2719. <br /><br />(62)Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Orationis Formas, 13. <br /><br />(63)Cf. Brendan Pelphrey, “I said, You are Gods. Orthodox Christian Theosis and Deification in the New Religious Movements” in Spirituality East and West, Easter 2000 (No. 13). <br /><br />(64)Adrian Smith, God and the Aquarian Age. The new era of the Kingdom, Great Wakering (McCrimmons) 1990, p. 49. <br /><br />(65)Cf. Benjamin Creme, The Reappearance of Christ and the Masters of Wisdom, London (Tara Press) 1979, p. 116. <br /><br />(66)Cf. Jean Vernette, Le New Age, Paris (P.U.F.) 1992 (Collection Encyclopédique Que sais-je?), p. 14. <br /><br />(67)Catechism of the Catholic Church, 52. <br /><br />(68)Cf. Alessandro Olivieri Pennesi, Il Cristo del New Age. Indagine Critica, Vatican City (Libreria Editrice Vaticana) 1999, especially pages 13-34. The list of common points is on p. 33. <br /><br />(69)The Nicene Creed. <br /><br />(70)Michel Lacroix, L'Ideologia della New Age, Milano (Il Saggiatore) 1998, p. 74. <br /><br />(71)Ibid., p. 68. <br /><br />(72)Edwin Schur, The Awareness Trap. Self-Absorption instead of Social Change, New York (McGraw Hill) 1977, p. 68. <br /><br />(73)Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§ 355-383. <br /><br />(74)Cf. Paul Heelas, The New Age Movement. The Celebration of the Self and the Sacralization of Modernity, Oxford (Blackwell) 1996, p. 161. <br /><br />(75)A Catholic Response to the New Age Phenomenon, Irish Theological Commission 1994, chapter 3. <br /><br />(76)Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Orationis Formas, 3. <br /><br />(77)Ibid.,7. <br /><br />(78)William Bloom, The New Age. An Anthology of Essential Writings, London (Rider) 1991, p. xvi. <br /><br />(79)Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 387. <br /><br />(80)Ibid., § 1849. <br /><br />(81)Ibid., § 1850. <br /><br />(82)John Paul II, Apostolic Letter on human suffering “Salvifici doloris” (11 February 1984), 19. <br /><br />(83)Cf. David Spangler, The New Age, op. cit., p. 28. <br /><br />(84)Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Missio (7 December 1990), 6, 28, and the Declaration Dominus Jesus (6 August 2000) by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 12. <br /><br />(85)Cf. R. Rhodes, The Counterfeit Christ of the New Age Movement, Grand Rapids (Baker) 1990, p. 129. <br /><br />(86)Helen Bergin o.p., “Living One's Truth”, in The Furrow, January 2000, p. 12. <br /><br />(87)Ibid.,p. 15. <br /><br />(88)Cf. P. Heelas, op. cit., p. 138. <br /><br />(89)Elliot Miller, A Crash Course in the New Age, Eastbourne (Monarch) 1989, p. 122. For documentation on the vehemently anti-Christian stance of spiritualism, cf. R. Laurence Moore, “Spiritualism”, in Edwin S. Gaustad (ed.), The Rise of Adventism: Religion and Society in Mid-Nineteenth-Century America, New York 1974, pp. 79-103, and also R. Laurence Moore, In Search of White Crows: Spiritualism, Parapsychology, and American Culture, New York (Oxford University Press) 1977. <br /><br />(90)Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical letter Fides et Ratio (14 September 1998), 36-48. <br /><br />(91)Cf. John Paul II, Address to the United States Bishops of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska on their “Ad Limina” visit, 28 May 1993. <br /><br />(92)Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa (14 September 1995), 103. The Pontifical Council for Culture has published a handbook listing these centres throughout the world: Catholic Cultural Centres (3rd edition, Vatican City, 2001). <br /><br />(93)Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Orationis Formas, and § 3 above. <br /><br />(94)This is one area where lack of information can allow those responsible for education to be misled by groups whose real agenda is inimical to the Gospel message. It is particularly the case in schools, where a captive curious young audience is an ideal target for ideological merchandising. Cf. the caveat in Massimo Introvigne, New Age & Next Age, Casale Monferrato (Piemme) 2000, p. 277f. <br /><br />(95)Cf. J. Badewien, Antroposofia, in H. Waldenfels (ed.) Nuovo Dizionario delle Religioni, Cinisello Balsamo (San Paolo) 1993, 41. <br /><br />(96)Cf. Raúl Berzosa Martinez, Nueva Era y Cristianismo, Madrid (BAC) 1995, 214. <br /><br />(97)Helen Palmer, The Enneagram, New York (Harper-Row) 1989. <br /><br />(98)Cf. document of the Argentine Episcopal Committee for Culture, op. cit. <br /><br />(99)J. Gernet, in J.-P. Vernant et al., Divination et Rationalité, Paris (Seuil) 1974, p. 55. <br /><br />(100)Cf. Susan Greenwood, “Gender and Power in Magical Practices”, in Steven Sutcliffe and Marion Bowman (eds.), Beyond New Age. Exploring Alternative Spirituality, Edinburgh (Edinburgh University Press) 2000, p. 139. <br /><br />(101)Cf. M. Fuss, op. cit., 198-199. <br /><br />(102)For a brief but clear treatment of the Human Potential Movement, see Elizabeth Puttick, “Personal Development: the Spiritualisation and Secularisation of the Human Potential Movement”, in: Steven Sutcliffe and Marion Bowman (eds.), Beyond New Age. Exploring Alternative Spirituality, Edinburgh (Edinburgh University Press) 2000, pp. 201-219. <br /><br />(103)Cf. C. Maccari, La “New Age” di fronte alla fede cristiana, Leumann-Torino (LDC) 1994, 168. <br /><br />(104)Cf. W.J. Hanegraaff, op. cit., 283-290. <br /><br />(105)On this last, very delicate, point, see Eckhard Türk's article “Neonazismus” in Hans Gasper, Joachim Müller, Friederike Valentin (eds.), Lexikon der Sekten, Sondergruppen und Weltanschauungen. Fakten, Hintergründe, Klärungen, Freiburg- Basel-Wien (Herder) 2000, p. 726. <br /><br />(106)Cf. John Saliba, Christian Responses to the New Age Movement. A Critical Assessment, London, (Geoffrey Chapman) 1999, p.1. <br /><br />(107)Cf. M. Fuss, op. cit., 195-196.Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-26010212290031736412010-07-23T15:14:00.001-07:002010-07-23T15:30:50.557-07:00Mary and the Saints<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aT9fitjJuRCF_vC0QcCRltrhJt8oKTVbCuVTPfNxVjNwL9hD3jGDLXxGqko24H_TvLTEgifQQ3xnlxhBzm8IcskrV9PS9rSZ67uUqud3QvKDriYTtX0ULtu-NBK2GjVJLGxH5reNbEwS/s1600/VirginMary-FlowersoftheFairest.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 208px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aT9fitjJuRCF_vC0QcCRltrhJt8oKTVbCuVTPfNxVjNwL9hD3jGDLXxGqko24H_TvLTEgifQQ3xnlxhBzm8IcskrV9PS9rSZ67uUqud3QvKDriYTtX0ULtu-NBK2GjVJLGxH5reNbEwS/s320/VirginMary-FlowersoftheFairest.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497229408644277682" /></a><br /><br />Heavenly Father allow thy Spirit come upon us today to help us understand your Word. <br />First of all Brothers and sisters in Christ, God expects us to pray for one another. We see this in both the Old and New Testaments.<br />O.T.<br />In a dream, God commanded King Abimelech to ask Abraham to intercede for him: "For [Abraham] is a prophet and he will pray for you, so you shall live" (Gen. 20:7). When the Lord is angry with Job's friends because they did not speak rightly about God, he tells them, "Let my servant Job pray for you because I will accept his [prayer], lest I make a terror on you" (Job 42:8). Very to the point don't you think?<br />N.T.<br />Paul wrote to the Romans: "I exhort you, brothers, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to strive with me in prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the disobedient in Judaea and that my ministry may be acceptable to the saints in Jerusalem, so that in the joy coming to you through the will of God I may rest with you" (Rom. 15:30-32).<br />And also in 1 Tim 2:1-7 Paul say we all must be there for one another. <br /><br />James says: "Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects" (James 5:16-17). Thus, according to Scripture, God wants us to pray for one another. This must mean that prayer for one another cannot detract from the role of Jesus Christ as our one mediator with God.<br /><br />Second, the reason that Christians have the power to pray for one another is that each person who is baptized is made a member of the Body of Christ by virtue of the Holy Spirit's action in baptism (1 Cor. 12:11-13). It is because the Christian belongs to Jesus Christ and is a member of his Body, the Church, that we can make effective prayer. <br />Yes, brothers and sisters A MEMBER of His Church.<br /><br />The reason we pray to the saints is that they are still members of the Body of Christ. Remember, the life which Christ gives is eternal life; therefore, every Christian who has died in Christ is forever a member of the Body of Christ. This is the doctrine which we call the Communion of the Saints. Everyone in Christ, whether living or dead, belongs to the Body of Christ. From this it follows that a saint in heaven may intercede for other people because he still is a member of the Body of Christ. Because of this membership in Christ, under his headship, the intercession of the saints cannot be a rival to Christ's mediation; it is one with the mediation of Christ, to whom and in whom the saints form one body. So then Yes, there is just One mediator between God and men but when baptize we are in Christ just like we share his Love. We share this gifts when in heaven and here on earth. This is why we can ask His people in heaven for help. God is divine, Jesus is divine and the Holy spirit is divine.<br />Read 2 Peter 1:4. We all share in his divine nature. Because, We are All Christians when we all are In Christ. Yes we all share the bond with our Lord God. <br />The Catholic Church has always believed that Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and man. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus alone by which people are saved.<br /><br />Catholic doctrine absolutely rejects the worship of anyone but God and rejects all worship of statues, whether of Christ or the saints. What the Church does allow is praying to the saints in order to ask for their intercession with the one true God. The Church also allows one to make statues to remind a person of Christ or the saint:<br />When the Catholic Church encourages devotion and prayer to the saints, in no way does it intend for its members to practice some form of superstition. Never does the Church instruct the faithful to conjure the spirits of the saints to carry on some two-way communication. There are no seances that try to make them appear, speak messages, tap tables, or anything of the sort.<br />Because they are alive, we believe that we can go to them to intercede for us with God. We do not need to see apparitions or hear their voices in order to believe they will pray for us in heaven. We trust that the saints will accept our requests for help and will present them to Christ for us.<br /><br />Some Christians--most Protestants, in fact--deny that the Bible gives support for devotion to the saints, but they are incorrect. The Bible encourages Christians to approach the saints in heaven, just as they approach God the Father and Jesus Christ the Lord: "But you have approached Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and myriads of angels, and the assembly and church of the firstborn who have been enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and spirits of righteous ones who have been made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood which speaks better than that of Abel" (Heb. 12:22-24).<br />So then does the Bible say we should approach the saints with our prayers? Yes, in two places. In Revelation 5:8 John saw the Lamb, Christ Jesus, on a throne in the midst of four beasts and 24 elders. When the Lamb took the book with the seven seals, the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb in worship, "each one having a harp and golden bowls of incenses, which are the prayers of the saints."<br />Similarly, in Revelation 8:3-4 we are told that something similar happened when the Lamb opened the seventh seal of the book: "Another angel came and stood on the altar, having a golden censer, and many incenses were given to him, in order that he will give it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne. And the smoke of the incenses went up with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God."<br />Brother Christian, these prayers the angles and the elders have are our prays that are given to God on our behalf. This is the beauty of the Catholic Church my dear brother. <br />Now in saying all this we go to our Blessed Mother. Yes, we do Venerate her. We look upon her with feelings of deep respect because of all that she did for us. When we read all the verses of Mary the Mother of the Lord we see that none of them speak of our Blesses Mother as the mother of James or anyone else but Jesus alone. Ex. When our Lord Jesus at the age of twelve was lost and found in the temple. There is no mention there of their being any other child but Jesus (Luke 2:41-51). Let me let you know this verse is the last mention of St. Joseph and Mary being together. Wouldn't you think they would have mentioned other children here? As Jesus grew up in Nazareth, the people there referred to Jesus as “the son of Mary” (Mark 6:3). they did not say “this is a son of Mary.” I'll go further and say that others in the Gospels and throughout the New Testament are never referred to as Mary's sons, not even when they are called Jesus's “brethren”. In the New Testament Blessed Mary appears only as the mother of Jesus and of Jesus alone.<br />Mother Mary is Immaculate, because God made her perfectly clean without a flaw or error pure of heart and innocent and yes brother sinless. She is the Only human other then Jesus Christ without sin. We will get more into this next time. She is Blessed because she is Holy, sacred clean fortunate because she is baring God in her womb. Her Holiness is because she was dedicated to her religious life and in bring up her Son to the man we know as Jesus Christ. Which makes her sacred spiritually, pure, sinless deserving of our most deepest respect. And last but not least she was a Righteous women, because she was acting in a just, upright manner, virtuous. Hope in God you understand this because everything the Catholic Church teaches is Biblical. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8iX0in1v-QKXr1hyphenhyphenskFPsUaLPFrsKm-ZW0rKjlRjvn1076oX78XsFGdcBF4pNpVIySYS6e439urk0sMT33TRQQBnmx5nORLpFjEwkxLNDuMxajQQ0YZrqUTdPYgGuAZ-SbA1QRcJ-Fpg/s1600/st.+augustine.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8iX0in1v-QKXr1hyphenhyphenskFPsUaLPFrsKm-ZW0rKjlRjvn1076oX78XsFGdcBF4pNpVIySYS6e439urk0sMT33TRQQBnmx5nORLpFjEwkxLNDuMxajQQ0YZrqUTdPYgGuAZ-SbA1QRcJ-Fpg/s320/st.+augustine.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497230346494608274" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Bo00pSOmI9KxDDtlNhDgS_1lnpQ_1uSoZLMEN5bnOG8uMU4FOycnB39Ix_4XytwO_5u1rBrWtkjrzb6TIW3jHWN3AUqS5V_3Uxcz_EAfPKDtVAuV-oHlJUd1wVgyVtgdF0-xRPNwYhyphenhyphenq/s1600/franciscrosssm+St.+Bonaventure.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Bo00pSOmI9KxDDtlNhDgS_1lnpQ_1uSoZLMEN5bnOG8uMU4FOycnB39Ix_4XytwO_5u1rBrWtkjrzb6TIW3jHWN3AUqS5V_3Uxcz_EAfPKDtVAuV-oHlJUd1wVgyVtgdF0-xRPNwYhyphenhyphenq/s320/franciscrosssm+St.+Bonaventure.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497230340750376162" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzRa3rz9dIQOYFF0ZRwCahq8j6hCRuqYK64stTmkghxnCIVS2S2CHLJbiW-OucF2NO-wILL2t-aPMaSiRk1O_z-_ue_lo6I7MQ_QZYeuUg406vq_rUz7_hY3cTebAuTrBaOgO_Qpq-qqxP/s1600/300px-Saint_James_the_Just.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 227px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzRa3rz9dIQOYFF0ZRwCahq8j6hCRuqYK64stTmkghxnCIVS2S2CHLJbiW-OucF2NO-wILL2t-aPMaSiRk1O_z-_ue_lo6I7MQ_QZYeuUg406vq_rUz7_hY3cTebAuTrBaOgO_Qpq-qqxP/s320/300px-Saint_James_the_Just.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497230330682823010" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFhwPrEjVk4muatPkqiyGR6ikYlI44LkkSVShVpWUn0HK6wKYBN2qSfhm4xbwR9hkpheAmoru5DJ_iQwnFZObwSbkGonakiclsGYnhuPsi4QH-ypAIvDVvB_VjosB4iFs3D-9PWlYDF5T/s1600/StTherese.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 228px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFhwPrEjVk4muatPkqiyGR6ikYlI44LkkSVShVpWUn0HK6wKYBN2qSfhm4xbwR9hkpheAmoru5DJ_iQwnFZObwSbkGonakiclsGYnhuPsi4QH-ypAIvDVvB_VjosB4iFs3D-9PWlYDF5T/s320/StTherese.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497230353755001634" /></a><br /><br />With love in Christ <br />MattMatt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-50383326032561783552010-05-24T21:46:00.000-07:002012-03-01T20:34:22.141-08:00The one Triune God<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiJCT7CG9iL85hcAtgqyim3-8G7_cC45TVDUVGjbGGuAqNCj6QQ6E7Wx_3rDxr2Ij8cAJ7uOPmePez63TzIyAkjEVtcKrWpKcccfkeiPON1Zyxa5ajZPWqnV8Gs3rLG9QHuglU7hnb4Vxo/s1600/trinity.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiJCT7CG9iL85hcAtgqyim3-8G7_cC45TVDUVGjbGGuAqNCj6QQ6E7Wx_3rDxr2Ij8cAJ7uOPmePez63TzIyAkjEVtcKrWpKcccfkeiPON1Zyxa5ajZPWqnV8Gs3rLG9QHuglU7hnb4Vxo/s320/trinity.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475065422414216274" /></a><br />
<br />
Jesus our Lord and God, is the one Triune God that never lets us down. Jesus has been with God from day one (John 1:1-5), “In the beginning was the Word(How is the Word you might ask? The Word is Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anythings made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and darkness has not overcome it.” <br />
Jesus Christ has been with us in spirit. In the Old Testament he is known to the people as Wisdom (Prv. 8). All this in Proverbs is a foreshadowing of the wisdom in Jesus the incarnate Word of God. We must remember that God has no gender. We are all in the image of God(Gn.1:26), in body and soul All humans have a body and soul as our Father does. Jesus is His flash The Holy Spirit is His soul and God is Love, who puts all three together in one person. As we end our prayers we end them in the name of the Father, Son and, the Holy Spirit (We do not say in the names but in the name). Three divine persons and only one Nature. As St. Patrick teaches us with a three leaf clover and in his teaching on the Holy Trinity. God created the universe, send the Word down for the redemption of mankind, and gave us sanctification through His Son the perfect sacrifice.<br />
<br />
St. Thomas, is one that proclaimed Jesus as God. When we read (John 20:24-29) we read, “Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So The other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Jesus did not correct Thomas, instead Jesus said “Blessed are those who... This here strong evidence that Jesus is God and not a god.<br />
<br />
God's word became flesh for us to follow Him in his own foot step. What “god” or king would do that for his own people? As God spoke to Mary's heart He spoke Jesus into her heart. God, His spoken Word that became flesh for humanity to know Him, who is God. His Spirit came down and dwelt in her heart and in her womb, and through men He became a man and dwelt through the world preaching the Word to men. So that men can hear the Word through a man who is our Lord and savior Jesus Christ who is true man and true God.<br />
<br />
-Matthew E. Trevino<br />
<br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5g2sTHcHZV9ihmItl4AQTVUmxmfkFXOI8kKA-8Onf6z1f31v6Lumq9gRyzYuFpDYEah-lP_ACZgi_9OpIr25iIoOAMmTrGOqMB6p074ds2GCAbf3U155TJIBQPQUzFfNcfsRcY1ZVFvwj/s1600/trinity-calv.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 206px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5g2sTHcHZV9ihmItl4AQTVUmxmfkFXOI8kKA-8Onf6z1f31v6Lumq9gRyzYuFpDYEah-lP_ACZgi_9OpIr25iIoOAMmTrGOqMB6p074ds2GCAbf3U155TJIBQPQUzFfNcfsRcY1ZVFvwj/s320/trinity-calv.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475065200122754002" /></a><br />
<br />
Early Church Fathers<br />
Ignatius of Antioch<br />
"Ignatius, also called Theophorus, to the Church at Ephesus in Asia . . . predestined from eternity for a glory that is lasting and unchanging, united and chosen through true suffering by the will of the Father in Jesus Christ our God" (Letter to the Ephesians 1 [A.D. 110]).<br />
<br />
"For our God, Jesus Christ, was conceived by Mary in accord with God’s plan: of the seed of David, it is true, but also of the Holy Spirit" (ibid., 18:2).<br />
<br />
"[T]o the Church beloved and enlightened after the love of Jesus Christ, our God, by the will of him that has willed everything which is" (Letter to the Romans 1 [A.D. 110]).<br />
<br />
Aristides<br />
"[Christians] are they who, above every people of the earth, have found the truth, for they acknowledge God, the Creator and maker of all things, in the only-begotten Son and in the Holy Spirit" (Apology 16 [A.D. 140]).<br />
<br />
Tatian the Syrian<br />
"We are not playing the fool, you Greeks, nor do we talk nonsense, when we report that God was born in the form of a man" (Address to the Greeks 21 [A.D. 170]).<br />
<br />
Irenaeus<br />
"For the Church, although dispersed throughout the whole world even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and from their disciples the faith in one God, Father Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them; and in one Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who became flesh for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who announced through the prophets the dispensations and the comings, and the birth from a Virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the bodily ascension into heaven of the beloved Christ Jesus our Lord, and his coming from heaven in the glory of the Father to reestablish all things; and the raising up again of all flesh of all humanity, in order that to Jesus Christ our Lord and God and Savior and King, in accord with the approval of the invisible Father, every knee shall bend of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth . . . " (Against Heresies 1:10:1 [A.D. 189]).<br />
"Nevertheless, what cannot be said of anyone else who ever lived, that he is himself in his own right God and Lord . . . may be seen by all who have attained to even a small portion of the truth" (ibid., 3:19:1).<br />
<br />
Bible<br />
In John 8:58, when quizzed about how he has special knowledge of Abraham, Jesus replies, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am"—invoking and applying to himself the personal name of God—"I Am" (Ex. 3:14). His audience understood exactly what he was claiming about himself. "So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple" (John 8:59).<br />
<br />
In John 20:28, Thomas falls at Jesus’ feet, exclaiming, "My Lord and my God!" (Greek: Ho Kurios mou kai ho Theos mou—literally, "The Lord of me and the God of me!")<br />
<br />
In Philippians 2:6, Paul tells us that Christ Jesus "[w]ho, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be g.asped" (New International Version). So Jesus chose to be born in humble, human form though he could have simply remained in equal glory with the Father for he was "in very nature God."<br />
<br />
Also significant are passages that apply the title "the First and the Last" to Jesus. This is one of the Old Testament titles of Yahweh: "Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of armies: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; besides me there is no god’" (Is. 44:6; cf. 41:4, 48:12).<br />
<br />
This title is directly applied to Jesus three times in the book of Revelation: "When I saw him [Christ], I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the First and the Last’" (Rev. 1:17). "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the First and the Last, who died and came to life’" (Rev. 2:8). "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the beginning and the end" (Rev. 22:12–13).<br />
<br />
This last quote is especially significant since it applies to Jesus the parallel title "the Alpha and the Omega," which Revelation earlier applied to the Lord God: "‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" (Rev. 1:8).Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-86282640520144042722010-05-23T23:15:00.000-07:002010-05-23T23:24:11.142-07:00The Faith of the Church<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4650_ir7lD0gZfh8yPWAXzCxfz6Is__wr_KvVB1Tl6vzudlLE4syjpiKZtx-_kitty3gxVTNBa6iEvvnsbxUa3IISNeoRWmB6DMqK9qflQUGMUemmu8e9Y8Fr_EqnNU9hWRtsQnXa3tx/s1600/Holy+Spirit.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4650_ir7lD0gZfh8yPWAXzCxfz6Is__wr_KvVB1Tl6vzudlLE4syjpiKZtx-_kitty3gxVTNBa6iEvvnsbxUa3IISNeoRWmB6DMqK9qflQUGMUemmu8e9Y8Fr_EqnNU9hWRtsQnXa3tx/s320/Holy+Spirit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474716700658954258" border="0" /></a><br />Christ works through the Holy Spirit in our world. Through the Spirit he arouses in human hearts the desire for the age to come. Christ purifies and strengthens the noble longings of the human family to perfect all of creation and to render all people more responsive to compassion and goodness (Cf. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World 38)<br /><br />Thanks to God for sending the Holy Spirit down to the Church. We must remember that it is the Holy Spirit that keeps us together, united under the one Family of God. Jesus came down to tear families apart meaning that those who wish to walk away for not believing in His teachings can do so at their own will. Then God sent down the Holy Spirit to fill us with the truth, and uniting all minds and thoughts together under ONE Family. When we trust in the Holy Spirit and allow Him to work with us, we will be all under the same Spirit therefore with his help we will all come to the same conclusion.<br /><br />There is one thing that we must all do first and that is to believe before we try to understand. If one does not believe one can never see the TRUTH." I believe because it's true then I understand because I believe."-I'm trying to remember who wrote this quotation.<br /><br />"We believe then we understand" St. Augustine<br /><br />"Faith no more perverts reason than a telescope perverts the unnatural unaided eye, faith takes you further places but It's never contradistinction to definings in the basis of reason" Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen<br /><br />So we must open our hearts to the Holy Spirit to allow us to believe in ALL the teachings of the Church which is Jesus Christ our Lord. I do not worry about anything that the Church teaches because of what happened to the Church on the day of Pentecost and he who hears the apostles and his successors hear Jesus Christ, therefore I believe first then come to knowledge.<br /><br />Matthew E. Trevino<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnEe8z9KBY_cDdaAy0r7WZ5xnL1EvGrpCTYX_xkCboF7xvmxYeiw5l2kBre-zDJN74vgAD913-BK9H2qg0n0N_hEpTYLrkXX5lyZnwkohpgIoDjqF6cNwNWdfJfpHUlXUq-ApyhXshCwfe/s1600/2009-05-pentecost.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnEe8z9KBY_cDdaAy0r7WZ5xnL1EvGrpCTYX_xkCboF7xvmxYeiw5l2kBre-zDJN74vgAD913-BK9H2qg0n0N_hEpTYLrkXX5lyZnwkohpgIoDjqF6cNwNWdfJfpHUlXUq-ApyhXshCwfe/s320/2009-05-pentecost.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474718107272911650" border="0" /></a><br />The day the Holy Spirit came upon the Church. Pentecost.<br /><br /><br /><br />Happy Birthday to Mother Church!!! The is the day the Church began WITH FIRE! We must feel this way every day!!! We must all feel this Fire run through our veins AND PROCLAIM the Word of God with OUT fear!!! Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of those in the Church. Let us be the Light God wants us to be. Let us shine on the highest mountain, just as Jesus willed this for us. It is His will not my own. It is not I who speaks but Christ who speaks through me! I will walk with Jesus and Mary and believe in all that the Holy Catholic Church (who is Christ) has taught us!- Matthew E. TrevinoMatt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-33651517388729081862010-04-22T20:05:00.000-07:002010-04-22T20:08:52.360-07:00What is evangelization and what does it mean now that you are Catholics?Evangelization<br /><br />What is evangelization and what does it mean now that you are Catholics?<br /><br /> Evangelization is to make Jesus visible to the world, it is a duty and part of Christianity to proclaim the Good News which Jesus Christ taught us to do. Evangelization is not only a job for priest,<br />bishops, and deacons. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez states it like this, “Evagelization begins in the heart that has been evangelized (which is all of you in this room right now),the heart that has known God's mercy and love. We cannot be silent about what we have seen, heard and felt. We cannot help but to proclaim and testify to the great difference that Jesus Christ has made in our lives.” (Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, S.T.D. In; You will be my witnesses)<br /><br /> As Catholics we have a bigger mission and greater responsibility than our brothers and sisters in Christ have. Why you might ask? Just as Jesus was hated so is the Catholic Church. Acknowledging this should strengthen you to work harder at evangelizing. We must stand firm and proclaim the truth. Yes, the truth is something that a lot people don't like to hear at times. This is why Jesus was hated, because he was the truth.<br /><br /> There are three points that influences people to become Catholics.<br />The first is the person has a world view of Christianity.<br />The person has felt at least a minimal need for spiritual life.<br />The person has a bond with someone in the Church that provides a facilitating relationship for entry into the Church.<br />We as new Catholics can provide this assistance to those around you, now that you all have witnessed the truth. You all are in the Church that Jesus Christ has established. It is your duty now to go make relationships with those outside of the Church and plant your seeds into the culture of today. You all will make a crucial difference in today's society. Now there are five steps we should know about evangelization;<br /><br />1. Witness Christ;<br /> We witness Christ by loving, caring and forgiving those around you, we witness him with the way we represent him, with showing love and forgiveness to others. People tend to listen to those that not only preach but lead by example. Be positive about anything you do in life. Remember we have our God on our side. We must be good listeners and not be to critical of those who are unaware of the word of God. We as Catholics must be loving, caring and forgiving in order to bring more people to the truth. <br /><br />A perfect example of living your life like Christ, is St. Francis of Assisi. He had a famous saying that states; “It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.” And there are all the other saints as well who walked as beacons of light.<br />2. Share your faith;<br /> Sharing your faith is something pretty simple to do yet it is hard at the same time because it depends on who you are talking to. This is why we must listen and understand before we speak and share the Good News. We must be able to explain the teachings of Christ in terms of what it means to be Catholic. <br /><br />When we have the knowledge of Jesus' teachings, being silent is not an option. <br />We must know that sharing that knowledge is very important to help our brothers and sisters around the world to understand and know the word of God.<br /><br /> One can start by sharing this good news with your loved ones and those nearest to us. To set them free with the truth that will bring such love and joy to their lives. We want to share this truth with the world so that everyone can know Jesus Christ and of the gift of salvation. Anyone who has heard the good news and who has been converted is expected to BEAR witness to God.<br /><br />3. Offer the option for Love;<br /> As Pope John Paul II told America's youth, “I offer you the option for love, the option for Christ.” <br /> <br /> Giving the option of love is being at the service of all your friends, family, neighbors and yes, even you enemies, it is wanting to share your source of happiness with those you love. When we do this we offer the greatest service because, we are showing them Jesus' love and mercy though our actions. <br />We must pray and ask God to whom you should reach out to: if it be a neighbor, a co-worker, a friend or a family member. When we ask God for these opportunities to share our faith, we receive the courage to do so. The Holy Spirit will not let you down. We are now walking with Jesus Christ and his Church.<br /> There are people out there that are inactive Catholics who would come back home if only someone like you and me would invite them to come along with us to Church, or simply by spending some time with them. Take your time to know this person that God brings to you. Look to see where they lay with their spiritual life and give them a hand where they need it. Show them what Christ has done for you. Be there for them when they need you. Invite them to come to mass with you some day, begin a Bible study group, invite them on a mission or on spiritual renewal programs at you parish or if you hear of one anywhere else. In order to offer this option of Love we ourselves must be active and not inactive. Do not be afraid or shy about it because God is holding us in his hand and our blessed Mother in her heart. What else do we need?<br /><br />4. Challenge today's culture<br /> Us as Catholics should be able to challenge the Culture of today now that is very necessary, especially when it comes to the culture of death. This is a perfect example of when we have to contradict the “modern” culture. We should not allow the culture of death to silence and overpower us!<br /><br /> Evangelization sometimes involves “upsetting values, lines of thought, and models of life that contradict the Word of God and the plan of salvation.” No one ever said it was going to be pleasant and easy, for good reason we call the path to heaven the narrow road. Remember some people do not want to hear the truth. “Only dead people go with the flow, living people go against the flow.” God told us to be firm in our faith. Don't let the culture of death bulldoze you down!<br /><br /> Listen to how Jesus challenged the hypocrisy in his time. (Matt 23:23)<br />“How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practice, without neglecting the others.<br /><br />An example of how brave we should be is in (Acts 4:24-30;5:40-42). It shows us the boldness of St. Peter and St. John after being told not to speak of Jesus ever again. St. Peter shows his courage and loyalty in the first evangelical sermon after Pentecost. So then we have to be fearless and truthful when it come to evangelization and proclaim the word of God.<br /><br />There are other Christian churches out there that are not shy about asking people to join them. Well we as Catholics should start doing these things as well. In oder to be able to open the worlds' eyes to the truth. For example right now we have about 100 Anglican parishes that will God willing be part of the Catholic Church. Thanks to both John Paul II and Benedict XVI. We should not lay behind the line but in the front line to get us some action for Christ. Evangelizing is opening the door to all our brothers and sisters and letting them into the fullness of truth.<br /><br /><br />5. Making the good better.<br /> Everything in our life that is good, we must make it better. You should polish your goods to make them shine brighter then they ever did. How, is one to see you if you are not a beacon of light. God wants us to be set up high in a mountain and let the world know you walk with Him who is Love. With all the technology we have today, we should use it all for goodness. The internet, television, and radio are modern devices we should use for evangelization now more then ever. There are more evil things being aired on them then good. I now if the apostles were still here with us they'd be all over the net, and the air waves of the world to proclaim God's good news. Health care is good but not at the cost of the unborn<br /> We all as Catholics must rise our voices and stand firm together to resist and overcome the hypocrites who teach heresy in our nation and all around the world and open the eyes and the hearts of our now blinded brothers and sisters. It is a part of Christianity for all to evangelize. There are many beautiful ways of evangelization. Remember we must stand strong in our new or renewed faith and be ready to defend it when necessary. We must not separate our spiritual beliefs from everyday life. To live a Godly life we must merge the two together. We must speak up and go against anything morally wrong that is imposed by todays society. Prayer is a powerful tool to use, but we also need to be proactive to overcome the injustices of the world. All Christians must stand together an go against anything morally wrong and have faith that we will succeed because like I've said before we are on God's side and he is in ours.<br />We must must never give in to a society that supports evil and immoral practices, simply because it's easier not to resist and go with the flow. Like I said before, “No one ever said life was going to be easy, and with good reason we call the path to heaven the narrow road.” Many people will say, “ Well the immoral injustices of society or the world don't affect me because I don't support it, so I don't think I should get involved.”<br />The truth is that it does affect everyone of us, if not now it will affect us in the near future. By not being proactive we are teaching our children we should not care about anybody else and only worry about ones self. This way of thinking does not help those who believe this or the rest of us trying to make a difference and lead by example. Our Church is our strength and the reason our church is strong is because of our unity. If we work together and oppose all that is immoral we are more likely to succeed. <br /><br />It has been proven that when people are truly evangelized and keep the word of God in their heart, they are more likely to evangelize other people and are more likely to participate in the Church and stand firm against all the immorality we have to face daily as a society and valiantly defend our faith. <br />“Anyone who has discovered Christ must lead others to him. A great joy cannot be kept to oneself, it has to be passed on.” -Pope Benedict XVI (2005 World Youth Day)<br /><br />Written by Matthew E. Trevino<br /><br />Email: Dragonkinght6912@yahoo.com<br /><br />Good sources to help you evangelize: 89.7Fm radio and www.Catholic.comMatt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-12045225612711517142010-04-02T23:08:00.000-07:002017-07-25T21:00:35.519-07:00A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD6ISa_yfdtWJmuuMcndLaKNykm6a0yJDRU_YVdF6a_7gPp2pvdDPiYuPyuo1khcWg-uw-sDlJhhK0TjSewON5yRYPPFXQYXQco50CqktLXMvzXqSh7NkTU6OoIVGE9O80Qy5qXBn-VkOE/s1600/Saint+Peter+handed+keys.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455789676694905666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD6ISa_yfdtWJmuuMcndLaKNykm6a0yJDRU_YVdF6a_7gPp2pvdDPiYuPyuo1khcWg-uw-sDlJhhK0TjSewON5yRYPPFXQYXQco50CqktLXMvzXqSh7NkTU6OoIVGE9O80Qy5qXBn-VkOE/s320/Saint+Peter+handed+keys.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 180px;" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When one goes to Church we go to worship the Lord our God not to party or to get entertained. Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered for 40 days in isolation out in the desert and at the hands of those who did not believe in Him, and a lot of people claim church is boring. How sad it is that people can't even give our God at least one hour, once a week to really worship in His house. We must also understand that the church is the pillar and the bulwark of truth (1 Tim 3:15). We must remember the church is one body and in this body it has many members (1 Cor.6:15; 12:12-27, Eph 5:30, Rom 12:4-5), and i am not speaking of an invisible body but very visible body of the Church which is Jesus Christ. Jesus said if we have an unresolved grievance we should "tell it to the church" (Matt. 18: 17). How’s that possible if the church is "invisible" for some of you? St. Paul never speaks of the Church ever being in the spirit alone but always both spirit and in the flesh, because Jesus our God was both flesh and Spirit. God's Church is made of sinners and saints, and when He came down and gathered the twelve men He did not gather twelve individuals but a body of men. There is only one Church that I know of, that has been doing this for 2010 years. We are known as the first Christians and the one True Church. It's been known as the Catholic Church since the year 110A.D.. It has a strong back bone founded by our Lord Jesus Christ. He set the first foundation which is St. Peter, the rock of the Church. Yes the Church is built on St. Peter and it's also built on 11 other apostles. Christ founded a visible structure and unified doctrine. So for 2010 years this Church has been worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ every Sunday and every day of the week when we go to Church. Therefore, anyone who is satisfied with the notion of the Church being merely a disjointed spiritual union of believers is settling for something less than the Church divinely instituted and ordered by Christ. Jesus tells his followers, who make us the Church on earth, that they are "the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all in the house" (Matt. 5:14-15; see also Luke 8:16,11:33).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Matthew Trevino</span>Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-75965182243997126152010-03-22T01:32:00.000-07:002010-03-22T01:35:09.679-07:00God's rainGod's rain of LOVE pours from the heavens...<br /> Blessing the grounds we walk with much needed rain,<br /> His love comes down over this land that was dry.<br />Rains from heaven cool my anger, wet my lips with your love, my LORD God. Let it cool my heart so that it may open more to your love. Let it cool my thirst for seeking you out. For your love is like no other. It's all that i need. Let this much needed rain keep falling, to fill my heart with the ocean of your divine mercy. To get me out of this desert I'm in. I give you thanks for all you've done for me. Let your love keep raining in my heart and soul.<br />Matthew E. Trevino<br />09-07-09Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-50005512141703017402010-03-22T01:31:00.001-07:002010-03-22T01:31:52.676-07:00I Honor Mary as God honors herI Honor Mary as God honors her<br /><br />Blessed Mother of Jesus with all my Love I have for your Son, I praise the<br />LORD our God because of you.<br />I'm glad that God has chosen you to bear His Word in you womb.<br />You are honored by God and because of this we honor you as well.<br />You are most blessed among women. And your heart is sacred like a garden sanctuary,<br />Where ones soul can rest and grow in faith for your Son.<br />With that one, Yes!<br />You gave all of mankind a reason to live and to be free through your son Jesus Christ our LORD.<br />Your heart holds those in sorrow.<br />You with the grace of God gave us Wisdom and the fountain of divine life through Jesus Christ our LORD.<br />Your heart holds all the sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.<br />Then you turn to your Son and offer them to our LORD.<br />Hail Mary, full of grace; the LORD is with you!<br />The angel Gabriel greeted you with honor.<br />Pope John Paul II honor you as well.<br />All the saints also honor thee.<br />Hail Mary, full of grace; the LORD is with thee!<br />With a crown of twelve stars and clothed with the sun you<br />serve the LORD with great respect and honor, and for this<br />I honor you as God honors you.<br />Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God<br />That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.<br /><br />By Matthew E. Trevino<br />08-12-09Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-43840787244616756732010-03-22T01:28:00.001-07:002010-03-22T01:41:54.888-07:00whispers of the unbornwhispers of the unborn<br /><br />Lonely souls lay in dark alleys waiting to be found. Only whispers in the breeze where only God speaks. Voices only God can hear.<br />Lonely souls lay in dark alleys with silent cries, no one can hear them.<br />Are proper burials too much to ask?<br />Many of God's children are being separated from the divine plan God our LORD has.<br />Yes!<br />All happens for reason unknown to men.<br />But because of our selfishness, we hurt the divine plan<br />for our salvation.<br />God's Love grows more for us at times like this.<br />Lonely souls lay in dark alleys waiting to be found and some never to be found again...<br />Their cries are carried by the breeze, where the LORD'S voice soothes them<br />to eternal life.<br />God have mercy on those who not only murders them<br />but also to those who abandon them in these dark and lonely alleys.<br /><br />By. Matthew E. Trevino<br />8-4-09Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-58890039304956910892010-03-22T01:24:00.000-07:002010-03-22T01:25:33.707-07:00God's hopeGod's hope<br /><br /><br />Hope is not to rely on a person.<br /><br />Hope is to rely on God's Grace for us.<br /><br />A human can promise things but, he will not do any of it.<br /><br />God promises everything and he will do it all for us and more.<br /><br />God is our hope, not man that speaks through his teeth. And all he speaks are empty words.<br /><br />God's words are full of life.<br /><br />Have him in you mind and soul.<br /><br />He is the light of our souls.<br /><br />God's hope it is the true reality not a fantasy.<br /><br /><br />Matthew E. Trevino<br />06-06-09Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-11782129420817844972010-03-22T01:22:00.000-07:002010-03-22T01:24:02.329-07:00HypocrisyHypocrisy<br /><br />A smile with no meaning...<br />A prayer with no meaning...<br />Love with no meaning...<br /><br />Empty words spill from their mouths giving their cold shoulders to the issues at hand. As their souls wounder endlessly like mindless robots that have no feeling . They pray and their words are meaningless, when they break their faces with a smile it has no feeling, and when they love you with their "warmth" it's with a cold heart.<br /><br />Why even smile...<br />Why even pray...<br />Why even love...<br /><br />By, Matthew E. Trevino<br />10/13/08Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-19149409816945131552010-03-22T01:17:00.000-07:002010-03-22T01:22:11.230-07:00SighSigh<br /><br />Rain pours out of his eyes but, yet it is a desert<br /><br />Melancholy, peaceful nights<br /><br />A dim of hope flourishes, lit in the soul of a man that has passion, but is too weak.<br /><br />Tranquility in his mind is needed to be at ease.<br /><br />Sanctuary from everything that is bad,<br /><br />His mind was once that sanctuary<br /><br />Now everything flows uncontrollable<br /><br />His mind must be at ease.<br /><br />Melancholy, undisturbed nights.<br /><br /> A dim of bliss flourishes, to warm the soul of this man<br /><br />that has affection.<br /><br />Calmness flows his way to put him at ease.<br /><br />A touch of sincerity caress his soul…<br /><br />A touch of innocence caress his soul…<br /><br />Sanctuary comes to this man with the love of two.<br /><br />By Matthew E. Trevino<br /><br />2/3/8Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-43148778020893361572010-03-22T01:15:00.000-07:002010-03-22T01:17:15.237-07:00Why i need my wife and daughter?Why i need my wife and daughter?<br /><br />I need them because, I love them!<br />They are the ones that believe in me.<br />They are the ones the only ones that love me with such pure love.<br /><br />Their enchanting wings of pearl embrace me, holding me ever closer to their burning heart.<br /> hearts that illuminate my life...<br /> the beacons of my life!<br /><br />I need them because, I love them!<br />They are that hidden treasure that know one knows of and I was the LUCKY man that found them.<br /> love that is pure...<br /> true..<br /> ancient...<br /> love of a family...<br /> love that rarely exist else where.<br />They are my hidden treasure and no jewel is as precious as what is in this hidden treasure.<br /><br />They are why, I wake in the mornings. They are my strength and my will to keep working. They have opened my eyes to what true love really is, and are showing me how beautiful it is.<br /><br />Yes this is why I love them both because I NEED THEM!<br /><br />I NEED THEM BECAUSE, I LOVE THEM!!!<br /><br /> by, Matthew E. TrevinoMatt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-70573166449978273252010-03-22T01:12:00.000-07:002010-03-22T01:14:50.586-07:00The weathering of the field of innocenceThe weathering of the field of innocence<br /><br />The world of the youth is growing up. Dumb and stupid with no morals at all! What is to become of us in the future? No boundary!!! They say. With this kind of attitude the future does not look good. What may lie in our futures with such attitude of this kind? Maybe a dark one! Where will be, is up to us the parents.<br /><br />Field of innocence is weathering<br /><br />The world of innocence is slowly vanishing. Life like we know it is changing and with it our children. Where is our youth going to? God's hands are opened to us. One is to ask and he'd be there for you. No questions asked.<br /><br />He is the way, the only way!<br /><br />The innocent are vanishing…<br /><br />Blame who want to blame but, he with no rules, knows no boundaries!<br /><br />Us as the parent's are the wall that guide the innocent though life.<br /><br />With no boundary their innocence vanishes…<br /><br />Field of innocence is just a handful of our youth.<br /><br />Morals, Love and, Compassion<br /><br />Things our children are now lacking.<br /><br /> Children want to grow up so fast with no boundaries. That they forget what play is. Children's imaginations change with no compassion given to them. They themselves dirty their minds with things of bad nature. And without guidance from us they know not what to do. <br /><br /> Love is not the same anymore. Love is shown from us parents and grandparents. And if we lack that our children will lack it to.<br /><br />Children's minds are ripening too fast. Field of innocence whether a way! All that is left is a lost young adult. And is this what the world wants, a future with an adult that has no morals, love and, compassion for other?<br /><br />We must take our children by their hands and show them what God has given us.<br /><br />The power of will was given to us to do with it what we please. And our children need to understand the morals and values of what has been given to us, this great thing that God has treasured us with. Guidance of morals, love and, compassion is the wall! Without this the field of innocence will whether a way.<br /><br />By Matthew E. Trevino <br /><br />6-10-08Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-8103163385163816962010-03-22T01:11:00.000-07:002010-03-22T01:12:35.087-07:00Life's precious giftLife's precious gift<br /><br />The hands of father Time wakes us in the morning, with the raise of the sun. There is word that God has a precious gift.<br /><br />Mother Nature is at work blooming flowers and making the scent of spring surround the air. Life flourishes all around us.<br /><br />We take in a breath of fresh air and father Time takes us back. Dreams that in the past were born and now exists, we searched the heavenly stars no more.<br /><br />We dreamt of flowers blooming in the morning sun with the winds of change. Spring blows in with its fresh air, rain and, sunshine giving life to all the wildflowers in the field, where Diana and I danced amongst them.<br /><br />Now it all makes sense.<br /><br />God is giving us a precious gift. Mother Nature has worked her magic and now it's up to father Time to make his magic come through. Life is filled with many precious things, not one is like giving life to a new born baby.<br /><br /> <br /><br />By Matthew E. Trevino<br /><br />5 - 5 - 05Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-90076029570217816082010-03-17T14:22:00.000-07:002010-03-18T11:28:52.398-07:00St. Patrick<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1oAOlr7rR-OShKpPWgaTCKOgecNM0G7clv6nllCXrYC0eWr82pzsGuJdY8zPH8khotZ_AuH-JYRPRRbEmIwrMPgy6ntAp2ooecxlMbHQAE08vJOaPQEAUHN3XWqVI6F4E6ZgX5zG5QbWv/s1600-h/st-patrick.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1oAOlr7rR-OShKpPWgaTCKOgecNM0G7clv6nllCXrYC0eWr82pzsGuJdY8zPH8khotZ_AuH-JYRPRRbEmIwrMPgy6ntAp2ooecxlMbHQAE08vJOaPQEAUHN3XWqVI6F4E6ZgX5zG5QbWv/s320/st-patrick.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449717726580278946" /></a><br />Patrick was born in Bannaventa, in southwestern Britain, sometime around 389.He became bishop of Ireland after Palladius died around 432. He eventually resigned as bishop, retiring to Dalaradia, where he died in 461. The influence of St. Patrick continued, for he had converted pagan kingdoms and organized Christianity throughout Ireland, making it part of Christendom. This is why he is known as the patron Saint of Ireland. St.Patrick is a great defender of the Trinity. He sees the three acts of God's love: the first is the creation of the universe, the second in sending the word (Jesus) becoming the flash to redeem the world. And the third in giving the Holy Spirit to bring light and life to humankind. <br />This here is one of the writings on the Trinity,<br /> "There is no other God, nor ever was nor will be in future days, other than God who is unbegotten Father, without beginning, yet from whom is all beginning...and his Son Jesus Christ whom together with his Father, we bear witness, has most surely always existed even before time began, begotten spiritually and present with the Father in a manner beyond any human words; before all time began. And through him have all things, seen unseen, been made, that he himself was made man, and once death had been overcome, he was received into the heavens with his Father... And "he has poured out abundantly his Holy Spirit upon us," given as his pledge of our immortality. Which Holy Spirit makes us both believers, obedient "children of God and equal heirs with Christ": whom we confess and adore, one God the most holy named Trinity." Confession 4<br />The three leaf clover was used by St.Patrick to teach the Holy Trinity. It represented the Oneness of God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. <br />The is a prayer of his,<br />Christ, be with me, Christ before me,<br /> Christ behind me.<br /> Christ in me, Christ beneath me, <br />Christ above me,<br /> Christ on my right, Christ on my left,<br /> Christ where I lie,<br /> Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise,<br /> Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,<br /> Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, <br />Christ in every eye that sees me,<br /> Christ in every ear that hears me.<br /> Salvation is of the Lord.<br /> Salvation is of the Lord. <br />Salvation is of the Christ.<br /> May Your salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-62561234261733360342010-01-26T22:10:00.000-08:002010-01-29T01:18:29.503-08:00Hell the eternal deathHell the eternal death<br /><br />Death is something not to fear unless you have<br />fallen away from God, then fear it because that death is forever.<br /><br />The eternal death is the eternal sadness of one's life. <br />Your loved ones no longer around you. <br />All the happy times are gone, all that is left is but a memory, <br />you wish you can get it all back but, there is no hope there.<br />Tormented... extinguished... isolated...<br />yelling out for someone to hear you, <br />yet no one hears you because they themselves<br />are to themselves.<br /><br />You yell for love and love does not come, <br />all because you turned your back on him who is love.<br />He gave you chance after chance and<br />you walked away.<br /><br />Hell the eternal death is separation of God.<br />The road to it is wide, and only dead people walk<br />that road.<br /><br />No one is predestined to hell; for this, is a willful turning<br />away from God.<br /><br />Which one will you chose?<br />Eternal shadows, everlasting silence, and loneliness<br />or<br />Everlasting Love, Joy, and happiness.<br /><br />By, Matthew E. Trevino<br />01-26-10Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-2730915862938980152010-01-12T19:35:00.000-08:002010-02-05T11:48:52.509-08:00Our Blessed Mother ever virginVenerate: To look upon with feelings of deep respect <br />Immaculate: Perfectly clean without a flaw or error pure: innocent: sinless <br />Blessed: Holy; sacred; clean; fortunate; blissful; beatified <br />Holy: Dedicated to religious use; sacred, spiritually pure; sinless, deserving deep respect <br />Righteous: Acting in a just, upright manner, virtuous, morally right or justifiable <br /><br /> All these words describe our Blessed Mother. We worship God, our Lord, Jesus; and, we venerate our Blessed Mother. The words Immaculate Conception are not in the Bible, and neither is the word Trinity, but yet, we all believe in the Holy Trinity. Let me ask you all a question, could God have made Mary without sin? See again how not everything is in the Bible itself. As I've stated before in the first letter, as Catholics we go with Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition which as the Bible says is important. There are no false traditions that work with the Holy Spirit. “I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions, just as I handed them on to you.” (1 Cor. 11:2) But the word of the LORD remains forever… This is the word that has been proclaimed to you” (1 Peter 1:25). The Holy Spirit is at work with every teaching of the Catholic Church through the unity with the will of the Father through our LORD Jesus Christ. Now with saying this, I can say that Mary being immaculate is not going against Sacred Scripture. Let’s start with (Luke 1: 6, 15, 28, 37, 48) <br />6: Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the LORD blamelessly. (Zechariah & Elizabeth) <br />15: for he will be great in the sight of [the] LORD. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb, (John) <br />28: And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The LORD is with you. (Mary) <br />37: For nothing will be impossible for God.” <br />48: For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. <br />And in (Gen 3:15) they are talking about Mary mother of God. <br />I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring's heel.” <br />Adam and Eve were also sinless before Eve ate out of the forbidden tree. If they can be sinless why can't Mary be immaculate? I ask because it would be befitting her to be so as she is the God Barer. Immaculate, Blessed, Holy and, Righteous are all perfect words to describe our Mother in heaven. She is a spiritual Mother for all Christians. She is there guiding us straight to our LORD Jesus Christ. Her Immaculate Heart is the garden in which ones faith can grow with the her guardianship of a mother loving her child. <br />Perpetual Virginity, <br />Okay, the first thing I'd like to say here is that In Aramaric (which is the language our LORD Jesus spoke.) there is no translation for, uncle, aunt, cousin, nice or nephew. All they had was brother and sister. [Oh, and I would just like to put this in which has nothing to do with any of this. But I found it cool. In the native American language they too called their aunt, uncle, cousin, nice, and nephew by brother and sister. I just thought this was a cool thing to now.] Okay back to the issue, second thing at the death of our LORD Jesus looking down at his mother he said to her “Woman behold, your son. Then he looked at the disciple how he loved and sad, behold, your mother.”(John 19: 26-27). At this time, if Jesus had any brothers or sisters he would have handed over guardianship of his mother to them, but he did not, he entrusted her to John. If you were in the alleged brother’s stead before the cross, and you heard Jesus entrusting your mother to the care of non-family member, how would you feel? Insulted? <br />Here let’s look at what the founding fathers of Protestantism said concerning our Blessed Mother: <br />Luther: “It is an article of faith that Mary is mother of the LORD and still a virgin... Christ we believe,, came forth from a womb left perfectly intact.” (work of Luther, vol. II, 319-320;vol.6,510) <br />Calvin: “There have been certain folk who have wished to suggest from this passage [Matt. 1:25] that the Virgin Mary had other children that the Son of God, and that Joseph had then dwelt with her later; but what folly this is! For the gospel writer did not wish to record what happened after wards; he simply wished to make clear Joseph's obedience and to show also that Joseph had been well and truly assured that it was God who had sent His angel to Mary. He had therefore never dwelt with her nor had he shared her company... and besides this our LORD Jesus Christ is called the first-born. This is not because there was a second or third, but because the gospel writer is paying regard to the precedence. Scripture speaks thus of naming the first-born whether or no there was any question of the second.”(Sermon on Matthew 1:22-25,published 1562) <br />Zwingli: I firmly believe that Mary, according to the words of the gospel as a pure Virgin brought forth for us the us the Son of God and in childbirth and after childbirth forever remained a pure, intact Virgin.”(Zwingli Opera, Vol. I,424.) <br />These are the fathers of Protestantism speaking on our Blessed Mother's everlasting Virginity. I think of our Blessed Mother as one of God's most prefect creatures on earth and in heaven. A masterpiece of God's work--clean from sin not a taint of sin so that Satan will not be able to possess her. <br />As we can read in Gen. 3:15, “I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and your will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring's heel.” Our blessed Mother was preserved from original sin at her conception. Our Lady was immaculately conceived, hence the Title “Immaculate Conception.” Protestants always confuse the issue of conception. We use the words “conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit” to try and give understanding to the Incarnation, but Christ was not conceived in the literally manner as in man and woman having relations. Christ was begotten, Mary was conceived. Now specifically speaking, we are talking about the point when the soul is infused into the body. At that moment, God Our Father preserved her from the stain of Original Sin in order that she might bear Our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Mary clean of heart and soul bared a son that would and still rules over men. She is the ark of the new Covenant. These here are parallel verses that are very interesting. It looks like Mary almost took the same path as the Ark of the Covenant did in the Old Testament. You can find this in a book called Catholics for a risen by Tim Gray. Will be looking at (2 Samuel 6 and Luke 1). <br /><br />(2 Sam 6:2) <br />and led them to Baalah in Judah, in order to bring from there God's Covenant Box, bearing the name of the LORD Almighty, whose throne is above the winged creatures. <br />(Luke 1:39) <br />Soon afterward Mary got ready and hurried off to a town in the hill county of Judea. <br />(2 Sam 6:9) <br />Then David was afraid of the LORD and said, “How can I take the Covenant Box with me now? <br />(Luke 1:43) <br />Why should this great thing happen to me, that my LORD's mother comes to visit me? <br />(2 Sam 6:10) <br />So he decided not to take it with him to Jerusalem; instead, he turned off the read and took it to the house of Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath. <br />(Luke 1:40) <br />She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. <br />(2 Sam 6:11) <br />It stayed there three months, and the LORD blessed Obed Edom and his family. <br />(Luke 1:56) <br />Mary stayed about three months with Elizabeth and then went back home. <br />(2 Sam 6:2) <br />and led them to Baalah in Judah, in order to bring from there God's Ark of the Covenant, bearing the name of the LORD almighty, whose throne is above the winged creatures. <br />(Luke 1:47) <br />My soul is glad because of God my Savior, <br />(2 Sam 6:15) <br />And so he and all the Israelites took the Covenant Box up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy and sounds of trumpets. <br />(Luke 1:42) <br />and said in a loud voice, “You are the most blessed of all women and blessed is the child you will bear! <br />(2 Sam 6:16) <br />As the Ark was being brought into the city, and saw King David dancing and jumping around in the scared dance, and she was disgusted with him. <br />(Luke 1:41) <br />When Elizabeth hard Mary's greeting, the baby moved within her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit <br />Well I think that this here was very interesting. Like I've before, it looks like the Mary took the same path as the Ark of the Covenant does. Just something to think about and pray over. Now lets look at the Queen of heaven and earth, where do we get this idea from? Okay I think most of you all know that when reading Revelation it's open to time. So we cant read past , present, and future in these books. <br />Here for example in book 12 we are looking at the verses 1,5,9,13. These here are past tense. <br />(Revelation 12:1) <br />Then a great and mysterious sight appeared in the sky. There was a woman, whose dress was the sun and who had the moon under her feet and a crow of twelve stars on her head. <br />(Revelation 12:5) <br />Then she gave birth to a son, who will rule over all nation with an iron rod. But the child was snatched away and taken to Gog and his throne <br />(Revelation 12:9) <br />The huge dragon was thrown out-that ancient serpent, named the devil, or satan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him. <br />(Revelation 12:13) <br />When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he began to pursue the woman who had given birth to the boy. <br />Now lets look at a little part in Genesis 3:15. Here we are looking at the future : “I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring's heel.” <br />Who is the person who they might be talking about here in Genesis 3:15? It's about Mary and Jesus her only son. And so by the power of the Holy Spirit in Unity with God the Father, And so by Grace of her divine Motherhood, Our Lady, is Queen of Heaven and Earth. Our hearts belong to God the Father himself and because of His Grace we as one in His one body we all share this bound to help, pray, and love one and other. Thomas Howard put it beautifully this way: <br />What King surrounds himself with warped, dwarfish, worthless creatures? The more glorious the king, the more glorious are the titles and honors he bestows. The plumes, cockades, coronets, diadems, mantles, and rosettes that deck his retinue testify to one thing alone: his own majesty and munificence. He is a very great king, to have figures of such immense in his train, or even better, to have raised them to such dignity. These great lords and ladies, mantled and crowned with the highest possible honor and rank, are precisely his vassals. This glittering array is his court! All glory to him and, in him, glory and honor to these others. Thomas Howard, Evangelical is Not Enough (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson, 1984), 87. <br />We worship the King our LORD God, and because of his grace we venerate our Blessed Mother who is of great importance to all of mankind. She gave birth to Jesus not just in her womb, but in her heart too. Mary was the first disciple of God, Mary accepted God in mind, heart, and soul, and because of this honor God gave Mary, we as Catholic honor her as well.Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3621760366209628260.post-73781846868614842302010-01-12T18:34:00.000-08:002010-02-04T23:41:25.341-08:00The Eucharist (Carpus Christs)The Eucharist (Corpus Christi) <br /> <br />What happens to those that don't believe that the Eucharist becomes the Body and Blood of Christ? I was asked this question given to me by one of you, and well before I answer you I'd like to being by showing you what I have learned thus far. With God's help, I hope that we partake in the Joy I feel in sharing this with you. <br /> <br /><br />Lets start with (John 6:53-56) which is exactly one year before the last supper, right before the passover, Jesus said: <br />John 6:53 <br /> “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” <br />This passage is not merely a metaphor that asks us to put our faith in Him. If it were only so, Jesus would not be a very good teacher. Everyone listening to Him understood this literally: <br /><br />John 6:52 <br /> “how can this man give us his flesh to eat?” <br /> <br />When Jesus speaks of himself as being the “door” or the “vine” no one asked Him “How can this man be a door made out of wood?” or “How can this man claim to be a plant?” Furthermore, in these verses of the “door” and the “vine,” it is very clear from their context that He was using metaphors. However, we can see that in John 6 Jesus is speaking literal terms. Lets look at <br /><br />John 6:41 and 6:52<br /> “The Jews then murmured at him because he said, 'I am the bread which came down from heaven.”[...and then...] “the Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'” <br /><br />Why is it that they Jews understood it literally and you can't? You, like them can't handle this Truth. If Jesus were speaking metaphorically, He would have taken the time to elaborate this point to make it clear, but instead, He goes on to make His literal point several more times in even stronger terms. After verse 53, Jesus stops using the normal Greek word phago (which just means “eat”, and can sometimes have a symbolic meaning). and he started using trogo, (which is a very vivid word meaning “munch” or “gnaw” and which is never anything but literal in the Greek bible and literature).<br /> <br /> <br />Yes in verse 63 Jesus says “the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” Now, when and where in the bible do they ever use spirit as a symbol? Spirit is the life soul of everything that God created. This to me is why God is present in the Eucharist. Even more so with Jesus saying this verse. (John 4:24) says; God is spirit-. You sure don't think he is speaking symbolically here do you? When you do a study on the word Jesus uses for “flesh” here, you'll find that there's nowhere in the Gospels where it is used symbolically either. <br /> <br />This is the only place in the bible where followers of Jesus abandon him for theological reasons. Verse 60 they say, “this is a hard teaching, who can listen to it.” Then in (John 6:66) it goes to say; “After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him.” Weird and interesting that the only verse in the bible with the numbers 666 is where people reject Jesus because of his teaching about the Eucharist. Think and pray about it. Anyhow, here we have people leaving Jesus because of this hard teaching. Some people think this was the biggest crowd that Jesus ever preached to, which would make this his single biggest public relations blunder. He could have cleared things up and stopped everyone from leaving just by saying “no,no, listen you guys, it was just a symbol, I don't really mean my literal body and blood.” Okay then verses 67-68: Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave.?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go to? You have the words of eternal life. <br />Here lets look ahead and look at (Mark 4:34) “Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his disciples he explained everything in private.” Okay if he had some mysterious symbolic meaning in John 6, he didn't explain it to his disciples, which is another reason to think he was being literal. And there are other places in the Gospels where Jesus just repeats a true but unpopular teaching like in (Matthew 9:2-8) where he talks about his power to forgive sins, and people don't believe him, and he insists on it. John 8:58 goes on to say “Before Abraham was born, I am!” Once again I say to you is Jesus speaking symbolically here? This passage about the Eucharist is just like these I've just showed you. Plus, there’re heaps of places where Jesus says something, the disciples get it wrong, and Jesus explains it to them. <br />Eating flash and drinking blood does actually have a metaphorical meaning in the Old Testament, (Psalm 27:2) When evildoers come at me to devour my flesh, These my enemies and foes themselves stumble and fall. So if Jesus was speaking symbolically, he would have been saying that people must slander him in order to have eternal life. I don't think so. <br />Now we also have the teaching of St. Paul in (1Corinthians 10:16-17) <br />The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. See communion is a participation in the body of Christ. He presence is really there. <br />Then we also have (1 Corinthians 11:27-29) <br /> “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the LORD unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the LORD. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eat and drinks judgment on himself.” <br />It sounds like St. Paul's talking about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. You wouldn't be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the LORD if it was just a symbol. And, did you know that the Greek phrase for being “guilty of someone's body and blood” is a technical way of saying “guilty of murder?” It's very serious. So, if one is taking grape juice and crackers it would not be a big deal. But, if one fools around with it knowing Jesus is really present, then to receive communion unworthily would be a big deal, which is why we take St. Paul very seriously, and why we take the Eucharist vary seriously as well. In the last supper, Jesus didn't say “this represents my body,” did he? He said “This is my body.” and we just take him at his word. <br />A little history. <br />The teaching of the Eucharist is nothing new. Transubstantiation is a technical term that describes what happens, and the only reason it wasn't widely used until the 11th century was because that was the first time on record that anyone significant denied the real presence. So the Catholic Church used Transubstantiation (which just means “change of substance”) to define things very clearly in a single word. <br />The Eastern Church had been using the Greek word metaousiosis, which means the same thing for hundreds of years before that. You do believe in the Trinity? I'm pretty sure you do. Well the word Trinity wasn't officially used until the council of Nicaea in AD325, but that doesn't mean that no-one believed in the Trinity until then. And as for the Real Presence in the early Church, heed this, this is a quote from St. Ignatius of Antioch who was martyred in AD110 and was a disciple of of both Peter and John: “They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist to be the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, Flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His goodness, raised up again. ”(Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6,2; William A. Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical press, 1970), Vol. 1,#64). He also wrote this “I desire the Bread of God, which is the Flesh of Jesus Christ... and for drink I desire His Blood, which is love incorruptible.” (Letter to the Romans 7,3; Jurgens,#54a.) J.N.D. Kelly, a well respected historian, who's not a Catholic, and summaries what the Early Church believed about the Eucharist: “Eucharistic teaching, it should be understood at out set, was in general unquestioningly realist, i. e., the consecrated bread and wine were taken to be, and were treated and designated as, the Savior's body and blood.” (J.N.D. Kelly, early Christian Doctrines, pg.440). <br />In (Mathew 16:5-12) Jesus speaks of the bread. <br />In coming to the other side of the sea, the disciples had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus said to them, “Look out, and beware of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” The concluded among themselves, saying, “it is because we have brought no bread,” When Jesus became aware of this he said, “You of little faith, why do you conclude among your selves that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand, and do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many wicker baskets you took up? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? How do you not comprehend that I was not speaking to you about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he was telling them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Saddusees. <br />In (John 4:31-34) <br />Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” So the disciples said to one another, “could someone have brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who send me and to finish his work. <br /> <br />I leave you with this brothers and sisters in Christ, Bethlehem means: House of Bread and Manger means: a place for food... Think and pray for the knowledge and ability to believe the Word of God, and to accept what he has done; that you might understand the unity of His Kingdom here on earth and the fullness of His body which is the Church, the visible and invisible. <br />The answer to the question is, one will not enter heaven without believing in the fullness of God's teachings. Remember we must BELIEVE in all that was set before us, not to understand it but to BELIEVE in it. How can someone come to an understanding if one does not believe in it first?Matt.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09913338815925074759noreply@blogger.com0