Thursday, January 27, 2005
ROSICRUCIAN CHRISTIANITY
"Indigo" is being promoted by The Beloved Community of James Twyman, and is being shown in Unity Churches. "The Beloved Community" has a central focus on peace and has posted peace prayers on their website...prayers taken from several faiths.
The movie is being screened (Click the calendar link on the left to see their parish calendar.) at St. Joan of Arc Catholic parish in Minneapolis (Click the "Directions" link on the left to see their address.), on the 29th. St. Joan of Arc parish, too, has many varities of peace prayers (Click the link under liturgy on the left.) on their website, the first of which is a "Unity" prayer which mentions "The Beloved Community." Where both websites are using the prayer of the same faith, the prayers are identical.
Lex Orandi, lex credendi--as you pray, so you believe. Yet James Twyman openly admits his Beloved Community pursues the Catharist heresy. What then, does this say about St. Joan of Arc? Their website indicates these prayers are being spoken during Sunday Masses.
Their Spiritual Ministries page is interesting. There are no Catholic images on this webpage. What faith do these drawings represent? The "perennial philosophy" is transmitted in symbols rather than words. Doctrine is anathema, and interpretation of symbols is subject to the whim of the interpreter.
There are a lot of ministries at St. Joan. I thought it would be interesting to see what jargon is being used. Is it Catholic? I've plugged into the "find" window a few choice words representing Catholicism and The Beloved Community/Unity faith, and counted the number of times they appear.
God - 14 (God is used in both The Beloved Community and Catholicism.)
Jesus - 0
Holy Spirit - 1
Blessed Virgin - 0
Mary - 1 (Refers to a parishioner not Christ's mother)
Saint - 1 (Refers to the College of St. Catherine)
Grace - 0
Sacrament - 0
Humility - 0
Good Works - 0
Mercy - 0
Sin - 0
Those are some of the Catholic words I would expect to see on a website about Catholic spirituality. Now for the Rosicrucian terminology:
Energy - 45
Chakras - 1 (mispelled)
Balancing - 3
Healing Touch - 10
Power/Empowerment/Empowering - 10
Reiki - 11
Holistic - 4
Spirit/Spirituality/Spiritual - 134 (Arguably some of these are appropriate to both Catholicism and Rosicrucian Christianity. The absence of other Catholic terms must be taken into consideration, however.)
The parish claims to be Catholic. Its terminology is not Catholic.
There are 29 entries under the "Spiritual Ministries" category. I did not see a single man's name. One of the ministries concerns "Coaching and guiding people into the world of skating as a means of spiritual-life enrichment." This is a "Catholic" parish?? Excuse me!???
It is unlikely that the parish pays all of these ministers. What is more likely is that they charge a rate per hour, which means that the parish is advertising a counseling service, not providing a religious outreach. In fact some of them list their rate per hour. It is not unusual to see a money-making business of one sort or another attached to websites that promote this new spirituality. I'm always reminded when I do that you can't serve God and Mammon.
I submit that this parish is not Catholic. This parish is openly practicing heresy and advertising it. Apparently with the approval of the bishop who does not seem to be objecting, or the parish would not be so bold in their presentation of what they have to offer. Where is their bishop?
Here he is.
MINNEAPOLIS- ST. PAUL, December 20, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - While Bishop Harry Flynn's welcoming of militant homosexual activists into his cathedral continues to embarrass the Catholic Church, the Archbishop of Minneapolis-St. Paul has gone one step further and issued a letter banning priests faithful to the teaching of the Church from working in the archdiocese.
In a letter to parishes, Flynn banned the activities of the Legionaries of Christ, a group of priests with full Vatican approval, dedicated to implementing Pope John Paul II's call for a 'new evangelization'. Flynn wrote, "The Legionaries of Christ are not to be active in any way in the diocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul."
What was most interesting in the LifeSite report, however, was the closing paragraph:
In Flynn's letter to Fr. Bannon, he said, "I feel very strongly that any group that ministers within this local Church needs to do so in a way that promotes unity and cooperation. Rather than experiencing such a spirit, our pastors continue to sense that 'a parallel Church' is being encouraged."
I read that to mean that the bishop considers Catholicism to be a "parallel church." So what is the main church that Catholicism is parallel to? Judging by the above look at St. Joan of Arc, it is the same "The Beloved Community" of the Cathars that James Twyman sponsors.
Here is what his website says about his community:
The Beloved Community is an extension of and claims its lineage from the first century group known as “The Community of the Beloved Disciple,” founded by St. John the Apostle shortly after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. This ancient community has its roots in many other groups throughout history, including the Cathars (Also called the “Church of Love”), and the Knights Templar, as well as several other modern manifestations. Our goal is to fulfill the commission Jesus gave to St. John, asking him to reunite the feminine and masculine aspects of the Christ. Special emphasis is given to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene. The Community of the Beloved Disciple has always believed that Divine Revelation is a personal experience that occurs between the individual and God, and is not contingent upon an intermediary priesthood or church. The Beloved Community, though it has its roots in esoteric Christianity, strives to honor all paths to God, especially as they relate to inner and world peace.
Our priesthood is being destroyed before our very eyes. Those who dissent are in the vanguard of this destruction. They have supporters within the hierarchy, such as Bishop Flynn. St. Joan of Arc is the kind of parish Bishop Flynn apparently approves.
If the word "Community" is attached to the name of a parish, enter the church doors with caution! Catharism lives!
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
