GOD WILL SEE YOU NOW

There is a danger in extremes. One place where we readily see the damaging results is in religious education. One danger is in learning so much ABOUT God and faith that a person fails to be in a relationship WITH God. The other extreme is to focus so much on relationship WITH God that we fail to impart KNOWING God in any meaningful way.

One of the struggles we face today is resulting from the general tendency over the past few decades of emphasizing God’s love of us at the expense of teaching what that love entails. As a result we have adults passing on faith to children that is largely therapeutic. According to information from the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, in the National Study of Youth and Religion, Teenagers “tend to espouse a religious outlook that is distinct from the traditional faith commitments of most U.S. religious traditions – at outlook that can be described as ‘Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.’”

Here are the basic beliefs and traits of such a view of God:
1. God exists.
2. God wants people to be good and fair to each other.
3. The central goal in life is to be happy and feel good about oneself.
4. God doesn’t need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when He is needed to solve a problem.
5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

As a list it is anemic, nebulous, as well as having some poor theology. It is poor in theology as far as having a “Santa Clause” idea of God. When we want something we call on Him. There is no idea of being in a relationship with Him (or the idea of sacrifice) and as we know true relationships involve much more than banging on the door when you need something. It is nebulous as to what exactly it means that God exists for example or that we are to be “good” to each other.

Parishes, parish schools, CCD programs, adult education, sacramental preparations, and programs in general are not designed to hand on the faith. They give help give some direction, knowledge, and inspiration in the faith, but the primary place faith is passed on is in the home. The Church recognizes this from an infant’s first moments in the faith. Right after the baby’s baptism the parents are blessed with the acknowledgement and prayer that they will be the first teachers of their children in the ways of the faith; may they also be the best of teachers by what they say and do.

What can you do? Of course, first model the faith. Pray. Pray with your family. God to Mass together. Do service hours together. Talk about the faith. Look at the above. You know that some things are missing. You may not know every detail about a certain sacrament, you may not know the difference between the first and second judgment, you may not know how many books exactly there are in the Bible, but you know far more than these five weak points and that’s a place to start. And if your kids or spouse ask you something you do not know look it up! That way you both learn something.

We have an uphill battle to not lose another generation the a therapeutic idea of God. But it is not an impossible one. And it need not happen in your home at all.

SPINNING WHEELS GAIN NO DISTANCE

Here is a picture of my new invention. It will revolutionize everything you do. It will work wonders for making your cars go, your wagons haul, and your skateboards glide. Oh, I know what you are thinking, “It’s a wheel. We have that already.” But I needed to experience and discover it for myself. That way it means something. You see it rolls thereby overcoming a lot of friction allowing you to save on work! This is exciting stuff!

This is how I felt yesterday sitting in a coffee house near a local University reading a publication on mind, body and soul; a guide to holistic enlightenment. There were such articles in it such as God is not really a male with a long beard but that image helps us to relate to Him. God can be found in all human beings. Even in painful situations we can find God working well in our lives if we pay attention. There was the realization, in so many words, that there is only one God. With each of these epiphanies there were what we would consider erroneous conclusions, but in their earnest search for God they rediscovered what has been around for centuries.

A couple of years ago I went to a seminar that was called something like the World Parliament of Religions on Peace in Barcelona. It was huge. There were leaders and people of religions from all over the world. Thousands and thousands of people and hundreds of religions. There were all kinds of events that took place. I sat in on all of the discussions I heard people around me being struck right and left with inspiration from the speakers. After a couple of lectures I shut my notebook, never to open it again. The person I was with asked me why I was no longer taking notes. I responded, “This is Catholic 101. Maybe even pre-Catholic 101.”

In a decent article in the paper not to long ago a communist made some suggestions to inner city churches to help the city. They suggested such things as having services during the week. Having opportunities to come into the church to pray. Having meeting rooms open for scouting and AA and other community events. Have educational opportunities. (I was waiting for the call to have BINGO, but it didn’t go that far.)

Is it that we as Catholics do not make our teachings accessible enough? Have we lost too much credibility? Perhaps we just don’t live it well. Whatever it is perhaps if we live our faith well society can stop reinventing the wheel and culture and civilization can move forward to a bright new day for humanity.

REIKI TICKY TAFFY

There is a guest blogger today. In a conversation over coffee "C" brought up the topic of reiki and I realized my ignorance on the topic from what she told me about it and thought you might like to hear more about it. It is one thing to know that it is something we should avoid, it is another to know why. So without further adieu, here is C's post on reiki.

Just about every Catholic has been exposed in one way or another to New Age Spirituality. Parishes, retreat houses, hospitals, even exercise classes and spas throughout the country are offering New Age practices in the form of yoga, centering prayer, enneagrams, labyrinth walks, and crystals just to name a few.

One popular and widespread New Age practice is the healing technique called “reiki”. Reiki was created early in the 20th century by a Buddhist monk, Mikao Usui, who claimed to have received healing power after a long period of fast and meditation. The name reiki is a combination of the Chinese words “rei”, meaning “spirit” or “ghost”, and “ki”, meaning “life force energy”. Reiki is passed from master to student through a series of “attunements” that open the student’s energy channels and empower him to heal. In a Reiki session, the patient lies down and the Reiki practitioner moves his hands over different parts of the patient’s body in order to channel healing energy, sometimes invoking to help of “spirit guides”. The treatment is said to relieve “blockages” in the patient’s energy channels that inhibit the flow of healing energy. (Amusingly, Mr. Usui later decided that there should be an “energy exchange” in return for Reiki treatment in the form of a cash payment.)

Most Christians do not realize that practices such as Reiki, Yoga, Tai Chi, Feng Shui, acupuncture, and reflexology all invoke the universal life energy “ki” and are considered occult practices that are not compatible with Catholic teaching. The Vatican document Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life explains that the New Age regards God, not as a person with whom we can relate, but a force to be harnessed. Pope John Paul II called the New Age movement a “return to ancient Gnostic ideas” in which salvation is gained, not through Jesus Christ, but through secret knowledge reserved for a few special people (like Reiki practitioners, for example).

New Age practices are questionable on many fronts. Some patients will forgo legitimate treatment and put their hope in the power of Reiki. Some also question the ethics of asking for money for a “spiritual” treatment. But for a Christian, New Age practices pose a real spiritual danger, tapping into the supernatural evil of the occult. While the Catholic Church accepts all that is good and true in other religions, “energy modalities” like Reiki simply cannot be made compatible with the Christian faith.

This is just my own two cents:I can understand the appeal of New Age practices. They require no catechesis and no commitment. They are perceived as being religiously neutral. No one has to make any uncomfortable moral judgments. Reiki is instant, bland, and inoffensive, but then so are grits (yuck!). The Church and its sacraments have much better to offer.“Christians United for the Faith” has a great article for further reading:

http://www.cuf.org/faithfacts/details_view.asp?ffID=200

Thank you C! This was very informative!