Blog

I just started reading Fr. Euteneuer’s new book, Exorcism and the Church Militant. It’s a real page-turner, written in a Q&A format, and loaded with essential facts that all of us need to know about the Enemy.

Read the rest

In a new interview appearing in Out Magazine, actress Tori Spelling claims that her former neighbor, the late Farrah Fawcett, communicated with her from the dead during a session she was having with TV psychic John Edward.

Read the rest

For those of you who have been following the controversy surrounding the orthodoxy of the wildly popular best sellerThe Shack, World Net Daily has announced the publication of a new book written by a seminary professor and former colleague/neighbor of Shack author William Paul Young who says the book wasn’t written to be a creative way of dealing with God but to teach an unorthodox philosophy.

Read the rest

For those of you who have been following the controversy surrounding the orthodoxy of the wildly popular best seller The Shack, World Net Daily has announced the publication of a new book written by a seminary professor and former colleague/neighbor of Shack author William Paul Young who says the book wasn't written to be a creative way of dealing with God but to teach an unorthodox philosophy.

Read the rest

THIS BLOG WAS REVIEWED AND UPDATED IN DECEMBER, 2019.

SL: "For fourteen years I have had hot flashes from menopause. Recently, I reached the end of my rope. In SC where I live there is a Dr. Susan Stegall on the radio.  Her practice is called Integrative Health. I went to her office last week. She is not an MD but has studied alternative medicine.  She uses a pressure method to determine where you need healing.  The protocol (as she calls it) is then worked up and consists of homeopathic and herbs.When I went to her I had no idea of the technique she uses. While talking to me I saw her eyes focus on the crucifix around my neck.  She made a point of telling me she is also a Christian.  I use the protocol with my eyes fixed on Jesus and remain close to him.  Am I in any kind of danger by seeing this doctor?"

Read the rest

MP writes: “I am shocked to have learned that most of the stretch exercises that I have done [over the years for the warm-up and cool down portion of my workout] are actually yoga! The problem is that these exercises are not listed as yoga.  . . .”

Read the rest

CR writes: "I found a retreat sponsored by a Xavarian Bro. published in our parish bulletin. I decided to look up the retreat and found it is run by a group of sisters from Adrian, Michigan. I went to their website and found many such retreats around the US similar to ours in Kingstree, SC. I looked at the diverse areas of study they offer during these retreats and found "centering prayer," tarot card readings, prayer lodges, drumming, etc. within the classes. . . .” CR continues: “Now, after a few (20) years of studying "new age" language and techniques, I knew this was not a good thing, and could lead many unsuspecting Catholics and other Christian denominations into the idea that because it is run by this Dominican group of sisters, that it is okay to practice these lines of prayer. Our parish priest questions if I am sure about what I am discerning about this group. I would appreciate you looking into this and advising me whether or not these women are Catholic in their approach or I am just being picky. They are the Adrian Dominican Sisters from Adrian Michigan with many retreats throughout the US. The retreat here is called Springbank, and their website is www.springbankspirit.org. I would really appreciate your feedback, and so would our parish priest. Thank you so much for any help you can offer me.” You are definitely not "just being picky.” It is with a heavy heart that I must confirm your concerns. There are serious problems with these sisters. Although we cannot generalize and assume all sisters affiliated with the Adrian Dominican Sisters endorse New Age and other non-Christian beliefs, it would be equally uncharitable for us to ignore the kind of activities they are promoting to the unsuspecting. Even more important, we need to pray for them that they might return to the Faith and abandon the many occult and pagan beliefs many of them seem to be promoting.  Let me begin by saying that the Adrian Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan are collaborators with many well-known dissenting groups in the Church. Perhaps the most notorious is NETWORK, who they correctly describe on their Peace and Justice Work site as a “progressive voice within the Catholic community.” This is the same organization that sent a letter to members of Congress endorsing health care reform in defiance of the bishop’s stance against this legislation. Adrian Dominican Sister Josephine Gaugier, O.P. prioress of the Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, was a signatory on this letter. They are also in collaboration with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) which is currently under investigation by the Vatican for its teachings concerning homosexuality, women’s ordination, and salvation. The 8th Day Center for Justice is another partner of the Adrian sisters Peace and Justice ministry. The Center holds the belief that “all creation is sacred and inter-related” and believes in upholding the “right to dissent against oppressive structures in church and society.” Having read all this, it came as no surprise to me that their retreat centers would reflect this “progressive” ideology with an assortment of New Age and neopagan offerings. For instance, one of their sisters, Esther Kennedy OP, is co-director of the Spirit Mountain Retreat Center in Idyllwild, California which claims as its mission the classic New Age goal of becoming “One with the Divine Consciousness.” Some of their course offerings include “Contemplation: A Portal to the Rhythms of the Universe” which offers reflective presentations to help people connect with the “life force” and “Divine Energy” that ebbs and flows through the universe and all of humankind. They celebrate the summer solstice (from the Wiccan calendar) at Spirit Mountain, a time when “the yin, the feminine principle of the Earth Goddess, is born and begins to wax strong.” In another retreat, entitled “Sacred Spaces, Sacred Faces,” retreatants are told they will “come to know the nature spirits who accompany us in this journey of transformation.” (The worship of nature spirits, known as animism, is a belief of shamans, witchdoctors, and many indigenous populations throughout the world, including Native Americans.) Spirit Mountain also features the work of the late Fr. Thomas Berry, who they refer to as “a pioneer in the field of spirituality and ecology.” For those who never heard of him, Fr. Berry, who passed away on June 1 of this year at the age of 94, is famous for his belief in a coming “Ecozoic Age” when the world will be called into a new post-denominational, even post-Christian belief system. He once told the Florida Catholic: “We must rethink our ideas about God. We should place less emphasis on Christ as a person and redeemer. We should put the Bible away for twenty years while we radically rethink our religious ideas.” Sadly, there was no mention of Christmas on the December calendar at Spirit Mountain. Instead, they promise to announce plans for a Winter Solstice celebration and offer a Woman’s New Year Retreat which will encourage women to open themselves to a “Creative life force” so they can reclaim the “soulful gifts set into our soul at birth.” But this is only one of their many retreat centers.  Their Sea of Peace Retreat Center features a New Age labyrinth while the Spring Bank Retreat Center, which you mention in your e-mail, is rife with Native American spirituality. For instance, Spring Bank offers a Native American “vision quest” where retreatants can “share the ancient wisdom of your Native sisters and brothers.” (A vision quest is typically a "rite of passage" for young Native American boys in which they travel alone into the wilderness for several days of fasting and prayer in order to receive guidance from the spirit world in the form of a dream. This guidance may come from an animal spirit or a dead relative, and will often be used by the young man to make important life choices.   Adulterated versions of these vision quests have become popular among New Agers.  ) Spring Bank also presents workshops on the Enneagram and features programs where tai chi, therapeutic touch and Kundalini Yoga are offered. I could go on and on but I think you get the point. These sisters are a perfect example of what prompted the unprecedented Visitation of U.S. religious orders by the Vatican which began in January, 2009. We need to keep these efforts in our prayers, ask God to help errant sisters find their way back, and provide the faithful with the information they need to protect themselves from being introduced to spiritually dangerous practices.   Send your New Age question to newage@womenofgrace.com For more information about Eco Spirituality, see my book on this subject in the Learn to Discern series, available by clicking on the “New Age Resources” button on the navigation bar above.  

Read the rest

Thanks to your many wonderful and insightful questions, this blog has being growing steadily over the past four months and now contains a wealth of information on a variety of New Age topics.

In order to make it easier for you to peruse this site and access the subjects you're most interested in, we now have a "Blog Index by Subject" file which is available for your use. This file contains an alphabetical index of everything on the site, from Acupuncture to Yoga and everything in between. Live links will take you directly to the blog of your choice.

To access, just click on the button found on the navigation bar.

Enjoy! 

Read the rest

MM asks: "Have you any information about Steven Campbell, motivational speaker and author of the book Making Your Mind Magnificent: Flourishing At Any Age?  Mr. Campbell presented a seminar at our parish.  On one level, the book seems to present self-help and motivational strategies for increasing personal effectiveness, and I was planning to read it with reference to my Christian faith.  I'm wondering whether the book might present more insidious challenges to faith?  Thank you!" I have not read the book by Steven Campbell, but he has written many articles about his theories that can be found here http://thecommunityvoice.com/archives.php  Campbell, a former college instructor with a masters in Information Systems and a passion for studying how the brain works, believes that the human brain accepts whatever we tell it – which essentially means that a person can do anything that they tell themselves is possible. This theory dovetails very neatly with the basic premise of the New Age’s human potential movement which teaches a human-centered psychology based on the belief that a person is in complete control of their destiny. Other examples of books that fall into this New Age category would be The Power of Positive Thinking (Norman Vincent Peale), A Course in Miracles (Helen Schucman), The Secret (Rhonda Byrne), The New Earth (Eckhert Tolle), Silva Mind Control (Jose Silva), The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen Covey), Dianetics (L. Ron Hubbard) to name a few. These books, and a variety of seminars such as Landmark and The Turning Point, blend psychology and spirituality into a new kind of personal growth movement that is aimed at helping man to discover his own true potential (divinity). How far Campbell takes this, I can’t say without reading the book. However, he does openly profess to be Christian and distances himself from books such as The Secret. In an October, 2009 interview with Nicolas Grizzle of The Community Voice, Campbell says his concept is no secret because his message focuses more on scientific research and studies.  “I want you to get in touch with your mind, and The Secret wants you to get in touch with the universe,” he said. There are so many of these self-help books out there it would be impossible to read them all, but there are certain qualities that mark them as New Age. 1) They involve the use of mental techniques such as visualization, blanking the mind, or other method of achieving an altered state of consciousness 2) The methods are used to create a new reality, such as making yourself rich, attracting romance, etc. 3) The method claims to be a “secret” –  (remember, the meaning of the word “occult” is “secret”) 4) The method enables you to manipulate others to get them to do what you want, such as in Silva Mind Control (see /?p=85 ) 5) The method helps you to discover the “divinity within”. 6) The teachings surrounding the method contradict Scripture (i.e., Conversations with God, A Course in Miracles) 7) The method involves “tuning into”  vibrations or “energy” in the universe (i.e., Dr. Wayne Dyer, Synchronicity) 8) It relies on, or incorporates, the use of spirit guides or psychic abilities There are also specific warning signs to look for before becoming involved in any self-help or personal growth seminar (see /?p=59 ) Remember, the mind is a critical battlefield in the realm of spiritual warfare, which is why we’re taught to “be transformed by the renewing of your minds” (Rom 12:2), not so that we can become gods, but so that we “may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  True transformation of the mind comes through following God’s perfect will, not the imperfect and always ego-seeking ways of the world. Our booklet, A Course in Miracles, details one of the most dangerous of all the New Age self-help programs, and includes many tips on how to protect yourself against these and other deceptions.    Send your New Age question to newage@womenofgrace.com    

Read the rest

  L writes: "I was wondering what your thoughts are regarding the play Wicked.  It has recently come to my town and is creating quite the buzz.  I have an idea that it is probably not the best play to see (given the name Wicked and the Witch theme).  However, I have never heard a Catholic perspective of this play. "

Read the rest