Friday, January 07, 2005
CROSSROADS AND CROSSOVERS
Mysticism as a spiritual path holds within itself the danger inherent in any exploration of foreign territory done without a map. Mysticism is antinomian. It rejects outright the influence of any established religious system as too restrictive.
Sufism's claimed enthusiasm for traditional religions and the recommendation that a single traditional path be chosen is contradicted repeatedly in the writing of Rene Guenon and of Charles Upton who both use a variety of concepts gleaned from all of the traditions represented, while constantly seeking in one tradition after another what they have great difficulty finding, namely God. It's a cafeteria of beliefs when the Traditionalist writers get through with it, just as spirituality within the Masonic lodge is also an all-inclusive arrangement reduced to specifics by the particular proclivities of any one brotherhood.
Crossovers are inevitable. Exploration of Sophia/Divine Feminine has provided a good example of such a crossover, the best evidence of which is the title of the house organ of both a group of Traditionalists and a group of Anthroposophists, namely "Sophia." At the same time the Traditionalists are quick to point out that they reject such paths as Theosophy, from which Anthroposophy is derived, suggesting that it is a path of dissolution and pseudo-initiation. There is no foundation on which Traditionalists can draw that line between themselves and the Anthroposophists. Both systems rely on occult information, and in so doing arrive at "Sophia" independently. Esotericism is a mine field unless it is firmly grounded in an exoteric belief system that defines the entities contacted.
In my opinion, Catholicism provides the only system that draws boundary lines around the experience. Within the cosmology of Catholicism there is an explanation for everything encountered in the occult world. Within Catholicism there is a roadmap. If this roadmap is followed--if the checks and balances put in place by the Church are welcomed and adhered to--spiritual experiences can be fruitful, as so many of our saints have shown. They can lead to greater holiness and sanctity, which is their only legitimacy. When spiritual practices are engaged outside of Catholicism the potential for moral corruption is overwhelming. This comes as no surprise to anyone who believes in a devil.
The Pope has indicated Catholicism extends not just to Roman or Latin Catholicism, but equally to the Eastern Churches and Orthodoxy in that all believe in the same Truth. Orthodoxy is more familiar with mysticism and the inherent pitfalls and may be able to show Roman Catholics how to go about grappling with it as we recover our legitimate mystical traditions which have been ignored in recent years.
John Paul II issues constant reminders to the Charismatic Movement that it must be subject to the hierarchy if it is to stay on the straight path. This advice is the best hope of the movement to remain constantly within the Catholic fold. There is no phenomena within this movement that is not duplicated in spiritual realms where a Catholic must not tread. If the movement departs from this wisdom, it will one day wake up and find itself no longer Christian. The Charismatics are clearly flirting with danger, particularly in the current climate that prevails in Roman Catholicism where bishop opposes bishop and priest opposes priest. A reliance on the Holy Spirit for guidance is only as reliable as the interpretation of His message, and false interpretations are as common as weeds in the grass, as the Sophiologists demonstrate.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
