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(Q): What is the New Age Movement?
(A): Actually the New Age Movement is not new at all. It has been around before Christ. New Age is the modern term for practices such as reincarnation, yoga, channeling, Ouija board, crystals, Enneagram, fortunetellers, horoscopes, tarot cards and there are many more.(Q): Why is the New Age Movement harmful to Catholics?
(A): The New Age Movement is very harmful in that it encourages its members to feel free to pursue their own type of spirituality, thus leading them away from the Catholic Church. This movement teaches its followers that everyone is their own God and that they have powers within themselves to control the supernatural. The very attractive lure of the New Age Movement is that one will see instant changes in their life. There is not a need for prayer or discipline within the New Age Movement. There is no God in this movement, it is all about self.(Q): Where did the New Age Movement start?
(A): There are traces of this movement in the Eastern religions such as Hinduism. These religions promote the idea that God is a principal or an idea-not a person. An example of such a practice is reincarnation.
(Q): What is reincarnation?
(A): Reincarnation is the belief that the soul returns back to earth after death in another body, either human, animal, plant life, etc. Reincarnation is the belief of many oriental religions. Reincarnation is contrary to the Bible and to all Christian belief in the afterlife. "It is appointed that men die once, and after death be judged" (Heb. 10:27).
(Q): What is yoga?
(A): A Catholic friend of mine told me that she was going to take yoga, thinking it was some type of physical exercise. She was shocked when I told her it was a Hindu meditation that is forbidden by the Catholic Church.Yoga, is a meditation that is thought to unite a person with the divine. Once you have acquired the correct posture (the lotus position), it is much easier to concentrate and the breathing exercises can begin. The yoga student is instructed to begin by concentrating with detail on the air flowing in and out of the nostrils. This should only be done for 10 or 15 minutes if a "guide" is not available (a mentor). Why? Because there is a danger that one may begin to hallucinate.
Here are a few excerpts from the (non-Christian) book by Eknath Easwaran,: "Please do not, in a burst of enthusiasm, increase your meditation to an hour or longer, because such a practice exposes you to dangers. ...a few [people] have an inborn capacity to plunge deeply inward. And once you break through the surface level, you are in an uncharted world. It is like a desert, but instead of sand there are latent psychological tendencies, terribly powerful forces. There you stand in that vast desert without a compass. You have tapped forces before you are prepared to handle them, and your daily life can be adversely affected by them. You may see lights, perhaps brilliant ones, or hear sounds. Entering deeper consciousness is like descending into a cave. There are bewitching experiences, and there can also be awesome, even disorienting ones. One last warning: please do not try to connect the passage to a physiological function, such as heartbeat or breathing rhythm. Such a connection may seem helpful initially, but it can cause serious problems later. Trying to synchronize your mantra with physiological processes, such as heartbeat or breathing, also divides your attention. No harm will result if this happens by itself, but do not try to make the connection. Actually, it can be quite hazardous to interfere with vital functions that are already operating smoothly without our conscious intervention. The authors of meditation guides advise exercising extreme caution unless accompanied by a "competent guide."
Why would anyone want to try this?
The Catholic is advised to use a Christian theme when saying a mantra. The mantra should consist of a single word such as: Jesus…Jesus…Jesus…Jesus…Jesus…Jesus...Jesus...Jesus Jesus…Jesus…Jesus…Jesus…Jesus…Jesus…Jesus
To the unknowing Catholic, there does not seem to be any harm repeating Jesus, but tell me, how many times can one repeat thoughtlessly any single word without recalling the command of Jesus, which forbids vain repetition (Mt. 6:7). These mindless techniques hardly have power to produce visions of God. What saints encourage the practice of yoga as a stepping stone to God? None! "So by their fruits you will know them (Mt. 7:20)"
(Q): What is Channeling?
(A): Did you ever see the movie "Ghost"? If you did, Whoopi Goldberg allowed the spirit of Patrick Swayze to enter her so that he could communicate with Demi Moore. According to Mitch Pacwa's book "Catholics and the New Age" channeling is contact between a human and a spirit, during which the spirit takes over or possesses the personality of the human. Often a different voice tone or accent will be heard.2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone. (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
(Q): What does one do with crystals?
(A): The New Ager believes that crystals have power and that they unite one with the universe. Crystals are normally a quartz type rock that one hangs around their neck, on their car mirror, etc.
2117 All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity. (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
OUIJA BOARD AND FORTUNE TELLING
(Q): The Ouija board and Fortune Telling aren't for real, are they?
(A): Yes, they are both real. Do you want to become possessed fast? Use the Ouija board! The Ouija board is one of the easiest and quickest ways to become possessed. When the Ouija board is used, a supernatural question is expected--a question obviously not from God. (NOTE: When the prayers of exorcism are pronounced over the Ouija board it will not work again.).Involvement in such practices indicates that an individual does not trust God for answers and thus is sinning against God. God gives us answers in many ways, through the Bible, signs, wonders, and by people we know and people we do not know. The most significant way to find answers is in God's gift of the Holy Spirit--our guide. We must trust in what God has planned for us. He knows what is best for our souls. Fortune telling is on the same lines as the Ouija board in that we are not trusting in God and what he has planned for our soul.
Fortune telling is a form of divination and God forbids it! There are many people who claim to have the psychic gift of knowing the future. Some even claim to be devout Catholics. The question is, if psychic abilities do come from God, as most psychics' claim, why does God forbid their use? Let us look at Lev. 19:31 "Do not go to mediums or consult fortunetellers, for you will be defiled by them. I the Lord am your God."
(Q): How can horoscopes be harmful?
(A): Horoscopes are harmful because people seek them to know the future (how their day will turn out, etc.).The Catechism teaches us the following:
2117 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
(Q): What is a tarot card? What does it do?
(A): According to Mictch Pacawa' book "Catholics and the New Age", the card is a deck containing seventy-eight cards and is used to divine information about someone's personality and future. The person picks out cards from the deck and the "reader" interprets their meaning.
Catholics who practice the enneagram are very misled. They are told that the enneagram is an ancient Sulfi system of personality types prior to the time of Christ. The truth is the origin of the enneagram that is used today as a personality typing, is traced to two men, George Ilych Gurdjieff and Oscar Ichazo, who were both very active in the occult, spiritism, channeling, yoga, drugs, devil worship, and a study of Middle Eastern religions.
According to Fr. Mitch Pacwa (Catholics and the New Age) Gurdjieff is responsible for the symbol of the enneagram. He discovered it while traveling through central Asia. The enneagram was used for numerology divination (numerology is a method of divining hidden knowledge by understanding the secret meaning of numbers and letters) by searching for the mystical and spiritual meaning of the decimals. Oscar Ichazo comes into the picture when he builds on Gurdjieff's symbol and adds personality traits.
Fr. Pacwa states "There is no evidence that the enneagram of personality types goes back any father than Ichazo in the 1960s. Neither Gurdjieff nor his disciples write about it. It was Ichazo who wrote short descriptions of the nine types, employed animal symbols or "totems' for each type, and placed the personality types on the enneagram symbol." Pacwa goes on to say that Ichazo's disciple Claudio Naranjo, added psychological concepts, like the Feud's defense mechanisms.
Gurnieff made millions selling the enneagram idea promoting the fact that it would help people know the future. People sought after Gurnieff so as to learn this new spiritual tool, which he claimed to date back 4,500 years and just recently was given to him in his travels, never before being told to anyone.
Sadly enough, Fr. Pacwa states that in the 1960's the enneagram showed up in religious communities all over the country as the "new rage." He was once a follower of the enneagram, until he saw many contrary and disturbing facts and decided to investigate to learn the truth.
(Q): What is the enneagram?
(A): It is a system that finds the hidden motivation behind each personality type. That seems harmless enough, correct? Well, not exactly. The harm begins like all New Age practices; the Enneagram is rooted in self-not God.
(Q): What exactly is the problem with the enneagram?
(A): Fr. Pacwa explained that he noticed that people would assign numbers to people assuming that they were a certain personality finding that they were way off track. Fr. Pacwa admitted that he once misidentified friends. There was one incident when a student was cast typed by fellow students, each one of them giving him a different number!The enneagram is based on the occult. Devotees are encouraged to take control of their lives in order to save themselves. Drugs are recommended to help reach the higher altered states of consciousness.
Moral theologian, Msgr. William B. Smith, wrote in the March, 1993 issue of Homiletic and Pastoral Review warning Catholics about the enneagram. He stated, "It resembles a college-educated horoscope; and is not compatible with Catholic doctrine or practice. As a tool for spiritual direction, it seems to me most deficient, even dangerous. It is contradiction of Gospel teaching." Msgr. Smith continued, "Pope John Paul II said on November 1, 1982, that any method of prayer is valid insofar as it is inspired by Christ and leads to Christ who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). The enneagram is NOT the Way, not is it the Truth, and on those basis not truly compatible with, much less essential to the life of Christ." (cf. Origins, V. 12/28/89)
In my own view, the enneagram tempts others with a sense of power over someone else because of "what they know". Why not go to a fortuneteller! Should we really type cast others? Why would any Catholic believe in the enneagram? Especially since it comes from an "ancient" Islamic practice! Our Catholic faith is far "richer" in religious exercises. At least we know that practices such as the Exercises of St. Ignatius has been proven to lead many down the path of sainthood by eliminating sin and personal quarks--the Catholic way. How many saints has the enneagram produced? "So by their fruits you will know them (Mt. 7:20)"
