GM writes: "My mother and I got into a discussion about idolatry a few weeks ago. She seems to think that having pagan artwork in the home isn't idolatry, and I can't help but feel like it is, although the extent of it is a rendering of a buddha by my sister, and a couple buddha statues in opposite alcoves in our entryway. What is Church teaching regarding this?"
AK wrote about being given a crystal by a friend who said she should use it to find "clarity, atonement, and peace." Certain that the object was given to her out of love and kindness, she now asks what she should do with it. "Do I just look at it as a pretty geode? Do I return it? I'm not interested in giving my friends the impression that I promote or believe in the power of crystals.”
I was at a conference recently and one of the attendees said she kept the prayer of Jabez affixed to her bathroom mirror and wanted to know if this prayer is okay.
LR writes: "I heard that burying a statue of St. Joseph upside down in yard to sell a house is superstitious. What about putting St. Benedict medals in corners of a home for protection and blessing. Is this superstitious?"
SO writes: “I saw this doll advertised on a local channel. The webpage for it is scary. The ‘Warning’" are unsettling. Are they just scary fun? Or should we avoid bringing this into the house?”
The field of health care has a lot of new players these days – and many of them have little or nothing to do with conventional medicine. There’s complementary medicine, alternative medicine, whole medical systems, mind-body medicine, integrative medicine, etc. These fields are inundated with New Age practitioners, so it’s a good idea to learn what they are and what to watch out for.
Alleged revelations from Our Lady to a Costa Rican woman that call for the use of essential oils to prevent infection by the coronavirus have gone viral on the Internet. What should Catholics make of revelations such as these?
JB asks: “Is wishing on a shooting star new age or occulty? I personally don't but should we avoid brands that show their characters wishing on stars?”
LM writes: “Are Church Grims a real thing? Are they of demonic origin? There are some that are considered benevolent (like the one at Boston College). Is it possible that some of these are of God?”
GM writes: "My mother and I got into a discussion about idolatry a few weeks ago. She seems to think that having pagan artwork in the home isn't idolatry, and I can't help but feel like it is, although the extent of it is a rendering of a buddha by my sister, and a couple buddha statues in opposite alcoves in our entryway. What is Church teaching regarding this?"
