Sunday, October 24, 2004
"HOLIDAYS AND HOLY NIGHTS" OR WHY I NO LONGER KNOW WHO TO TRUST
Holidays and Holy Nights by Christopher Hill, a book my pastor indicated in this morning's bulletin that he is currently reading, is a good example of why I am so ill at ease with the Traditional movement. My pastor is orthodox in his beliefs. There are never any Masses at my church that would raise eyebrows unless said by a visiting priest, and that hasn't happened for years to the best of my knowledge. Today's homily touched briefly on saints, sin, the Baltimore Catechism, what was lost in religious education starting in the 70s, the fact that all religions hold some grain of truth but the Catholic faith holds the fullness of it, and the need to recapture Catholic culture. All solidly Catholic.
But then there is this book. In the bulletin he says of it, "One of the 'themes' of the book is that the Liturgical Cycle of the Year, and the celebration of the Saints' Feast Days and all the Holiday/Holyday Seasons parallel the movements of God's creation and the mystical inner core and heart of all human beings--whether they realize it or not. ...The ebb and flow of the mysteries of the heart will be soon exemplified with--yes--Halloween--the Feast of All Saints and All Souls, and Thanksgiving."
It sounds Catholic. I want to trust him about it, but the book is published by Quest Books of the Theosophical Publishing House. So there must be something in it that the Theosophists like. And Theosophy has been condemned. As the Catholic Encyclopedia indicates when it says: "They are said to transmit this truth by way of revelation. Thus theosophy appeals to tradition but not in the Christian sense."
It was because the title reminded me of one I read some time ago that I decided to look it up online. That book--The Rhythm of the Christian Year: Renewing the Religious Cycle of Festivals by Emil Bock--is published by Floris Books. Bock is a priest in the Anthroposophical church called The Christian Community. Much in that book sounds Catholic, too. But there are little shifts in meaning--and some of the shifts are not little. For instance, in a discussion of Whitsun and St. John's Tide it says: "When, in ancient times, the earth in midsummer grew beyond herself in soul, man grew along with her." (p. 133) "Jesus of Nazareth, the new earthly man, embodies the human who is small but can become great if he accepts the Christ-ego into his human ego." (p. 134) "In the Feeding of the Five-thousand, it becomes particularly evident how John the Baptist has turned into the angel who with mighty wings hovers over the nascent community." (p. 137) There are many more.
What happens when a poorly catechised 30-year-old parent reads a book that presents Christianity from a Theosophical perspective, and then passes the information on to her kids? If a lot of such people in the parish read such a book, then what happens to the parish?
Of course I haven't read my pastor's book. I should be able to trust him that it truly is solidly Catholic. But if it is, why is the Theosophical Publishing House interested in it? Since they are, and since too many of the ordained have shown me they are not worthy of trust, I am very ill at ease about my pastor's promotion of this book. That suspicion is further deepened by the Dean of Grace Cathedral Alan Jones' recommendation of the book.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
