Friday, October 21, 2005
A LIBERAL PRIEST, FREEMASONRY, AND MYSTICISM
In Marilyn Ferguson's 1980 bestseller, THE AQUARIAN CONSPIRACY, there is a chapter titled "Spiritual Adventure: Connection to the Source." In that chapter one can read that
Those who want direct knowledge, the mystics, have always been treated more or less as heretics, whether they were the medieval mystics within Christianity, the Sufis within the borders of Islam, or the Kabbalists within Judaism.
Now the here tics are gaining ground, doctrine is losing its authority, and knowing is superseding belief. (p. 370-371)
She goes on to describe the state of mysticism, telling us that in the mystical experience "There is no dualism, no separation of mind and body, self and others." She uses the same terminology used by G. I. Gurdjieff, "asleep" and "awake," to describe developing mystical abilities. Among the ways to achieve this ability is the use of drugs, which is a pretty good indication that the mysticism she describes is not the mysticism of the saints. Speaking of Aldous Huxley, she writes:
Huxley believed that the long-predicted religious revival in the United States would start with drugs, not evangelists. "From being an activity concerned mainly with symbols religion will be transformed into an activity concerned mainly with experience and intuition--an everyday mysticism."God is love. One of the Aquarian Conspirators said, "After many years of intellectual, left-brain pursuit of reality, I learned from LSD about alternatie realities--and suddenly all bibles made sense."
He said that he himself had been electrified by understanding fully, under the influence of mescaline, the radical meaning of the phrase
As our progressive Catholic dialoguers pursue mysticism as a unitive element in all religions, what exactly are they going to import? Even if the drug culture is locked out, mysticism can generate quite a wide variety of beliefs.
Take a look at Frederick Shade--a priest in the Liberal Catholic Church, the Worshipful Master in his lodge, and a masonic researcher.
On his Church webpage he offers an article titled "Notes on Mystical Christianity." There we can learn that he sees mysticism "as being central to the life and health of the Christian Faith and its Church." In Fr. Fred's mind "The terms pilgrim, mystic, people of the Way and contemplatives seem to be used interchangeably" in current conversations about mysticism. Quoting William Johnston, he tells us he has
...discoverd that mysticism is the exquisitely beautiful queen before whom the other branches of theology bow down in awe and reverence like lowly handmaids. I also saw clearly that this queen is the Lady Wisdom for whom all religions search and in whose presence all religions meet.
The monks of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue would tend to agree. However, Fr. Fred indicates that "instititionalised religion has placed Mysticism at the periphery."
For Fr. Fred the mystical experience amounts to the discovery "that there is one-ness underlying all things". I would assume from that, that the Liberal Catholic Church does not see in mysticism any kind of dialogue.
He mentions Medjugorje in the article, and he refers to A. E. Waite, a well known occultist. He refers to St. Augustine as well, and he gives us the "unity in diversity" argument:
This is the underlying and all-pervading principle, that mysticism is the essence, the unity, manifesting in diversity of form. And it is this essential unity within diversity which the LCC teaches, hence our respect for other religions.
I can think of at least one pope who would smile in agreement. How odd to find the words of a Pope coming from the lips of a Liberal Catholic priest. You can also find the words "meditation" and "contemplation" used frequently within this article. He explains the church to which he belongs:
The LCC is a new movement within the family of Christian churches; it is also a creature of the early 20th century. It has been given various labels owing to its several distinctive features. It has been described as being theosophical, gnostic, sacramental, occult, liturgical, and all of these are correct, up to a point. It is also a mystical church. And because of its inclusive nature and deep understanding of the spiritual aspect of man, the LCC does not see any of these features mentioned as being mutually exclusive or contradictory. Each of us will 'connect' with the Divine in our own way, and they are all valid!
He mentions Wedgwood, from whom the LCC takes their apostolic succession, indicating that Wedgwood was an active member of the Theosophical Society, like most of his colleagues in the Old Catholic Church. Wedgwood, according to Fr. Fred
...was a man of vision, of great intellect and spiritual insight....he could see a glorious future for Man and saw that the new movement, the LCC could be a bridge into the new millennium and the New Age. (The Jesuit anthropologist Teilhard de Chardin had a similar vision of the future of Man while in the trenches in France during the same period, and this experience became the basis of his later writings.)
He tells us that the LCC "was to be a theosophical church in the true meaning of that word - Divine Wisdom" and that it was to be "a church of and for "seekers for the Light" and so it must be a "church of religious and philosophic freedom." Therefore "The only qualification for admission to membership is a spirit of reverence for the sacraments and a willingness to worship together using the common form of Liturgy approved by the Bishop Founders and their successors."
According to Fr. Laurence Freeman of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue we have replaced the word "apostate" with the word "seeker" (see yesterday's blog) so the RCC must be right in tune with this LCC priest on that score.
There are other similarities. In Fr. Fred's paper "Many Faiths, One Brotherhood" we can read about "an evening of sharing among brethren of different faiths led by Wor.Bro. Shade. It reads like an interreligious dialogue event. I wonder if the Masons got it from the Catholics or we got it from them?
On the Church webpage you can read about Fr. Fred's membership in the Liturgical Development Commission, about his association for a time with the Victorian Inter-Faith Council; and you can discover that he calls his church a "faith-community" just like liberal Roman Catholics. And you can note once more that the LCC avoids "imposition of dogma." Even the altar pictured here looks a lot like a Roman Catholic altar. In fact it looks a heck of a lot better than some Roman Catholic altars!
Confirming the similarities between Freemasonry, the LCC, and interreligious dialogue in the RCC, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, in Bulletin 75 issued October 2005 tells us:
In the context of religious plurality, dialogue means "all positive and constructive interreligious relations with individuals and commuities of other faiths which are directed to mutual understanding and enrichment," in obedience to truth and respect for freedom....
The goal of dialogue is first "mutual understanding," to try to understand others as they want to be understood. Each person has to be open, ready to listen, to put aside prejudice, and learn from the other. At the same time, each must have the freedom to express their own conviction.
Anyone would be hard pressed to find a difference between the Liberal Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church on the subject of freedom of religion. It's a far, far cry from the Syllabus of Errors!
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
