Still Running Off at the Keyboard

RENE SCHWALLER DE LUBICZ

Since he has come up in the comments box a couple of times, I'm posting an excerpt from a paper delivered by Carol S. Matthews at the 2004 CESNUR International Conference "Religious Movements, Conflict, and Democracy: International Perspectives".

The paper is available at the CESNUR website.

From the website:

Earlier in 1973, maverick linguist, alleged CIA consultant, occultist and nouveau Egyptologist, J.J. Hurtak, according to his account, had been “lifted up” in a body of light into a region of stars called Merak and Muscida by the Master Ophanim Enoch. Enoch, answering a prayerful plea from Hurtak, had come to deliver a revelatory message outlining the purpose of life on the Earth plane, and to reveal the contours of a coming confrontation between the Children of Light and the Fallen Masters of Darkness.2 Over a period of two days (Jan 2-3) Enoch “downloaded” into Hurtak a total of 64 keys or revelations and these became The Book of Knowledge: The Keys of Enoch. The Book of Knowledge details a premillennial, post-Christian account that calls on the Children of Light to be genetically recoded for the energy transformations to come that they may be the vanguard of an ascended “Christ Race,” which will complete the evolution of the original Pre-Adamic races. Key 109, a central revelation in this regard, reads as follows: The Anti-Universe is composed of Star Field Energies revealed on the Black Cube of Mecca which shows the function and destruction of three dimensional universes. 3 ...

The Book of Knowledge constitutes Hurtak’s attempt to construct what occultist Rene Schwaller de Lubicz referred to as la Symbolique, a purported system of knowledge transmission de Lubicz considered to be primarily visual and pre-linguistic, and is secretly encoded in the shapes of various written languages, mystical buildings, such as the Great Pyramid and for Hurtak, in human DNA.8 Both de Lubicz and Hurtak understand la Symbolique as the true source of universal knowledge that was bequeathed to humanity through nine intermediary extraterrestrial beings that constituted the Heliopolis of ancient Egypt. Hurtak identifies these beings as coming from Orion and the Pleiades and he designates them in various ways: “The Masters,” “The Council of Light,” “The Great White Brotherhood,” etc. The Children of Darkness “cling to the cube” in Mecca in order to keep the Children of Light from discovering the symbolique of redemption hidden in the Kaaba. They are not entirely at fault, since they are operating at the behest of extraterrestrials from alpha Draconis/Ursa Minor. They can be saved by bringing them to the Torah Or (Light of the Torah)—which Hurtak prophetically retranslates as the Program of Israel with Gematria designation 8033-45. 9 The Family of Light, being influenced by beings from Orion and the Pleiades, have the responsibility to “save the star system intelligence from the negative entropy” engendered by the Children of Darkness and their Fallen Masters. This is accomplished by personal ascension, in which one’s princely bloodline relationship to the Family of Light is affirmed. This act of personal purification permits DNA recodings that activate an ability to receive downloads of direct spiritual information –a perfect description of de Lubicz’s Symbolique. One can then defend against or convert the Children of Darkness. This is a conflict involving, what for Hurtak, are rival extraterrestrial civilizations wielding rival mathematical, religious and genetic heritages, with human beings caught in the middle. If all else fails, the Children of Darkness must be released to their own degenerating de-evolution. 10

SINNING BY THE SEA

Dom has a blog up about the latest outrage in S.F. Plans are in the works to broadcast a gay Mass on the BBC.

FROM THE EMAILBOX


Spirit & Life
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63)
Human Life International e-Newsletter
Volume 01, Number 65 | Friday, April 27, 2007
...................................................................................

www.hli.org
Is the World Overpopulated?


((VIDEO message))

Dear HLI Friends and Family,

This third installment of the mini-series on contraception addresses the whole question of overpopulation—truly one of the most misunderstood issues of our day. My extensive international travels have taught me a thing or two about the issue and I think you will find the HLI perspective enlightening.

I also report with some regret that the City Council of Mexico City last Tuesday voted in favor of legalizing the killing of babies in a vote of 46-19. It was one of the most demonic campaigns ever waged for the soul of a nation. I will keep you posted as to the status of the issue, but for now, the world has just become even less safe for babies.

Confident and hopeful for the future, I remain

Sincerely,


Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer
President, Human Life International

APPARITIONS FEVER

Mark Waterinckx has put together a collection of Church teachings on apparitions. Seeing them together in one place gives them greater impact than seeing them in their usual venue. For that reason I'm reproducing his collection here.

Mark, in his own words, has "been a fanatical promotor of many of those 'shrines'". He has visited San Damiano-Italy 12 times, Garabandal-Spain 3 times, and Medjugorje-YU 24 times. Today he works to promote the authentic teaching of the Church on apparitions.

Here is his collection:




Table of contents
Introduction: warning of Pope John Paul II in L'Osservatore Romano'
I: warning by Jesus in the Holy Gospel
II: warning by St. Paul in his letters
III: warning from 2000 years of church-history
IV: warning by the Doctors of the Church
V: warning by the Catechism of the Catholic Church
VI: warning by the Congregation for the Faith

Introductory remarks:

In a speech by Pope John Paul II, published in L'Osservatore Romano' (English edition of September 18, 1996) the Holy Father says: Some members of the People of God are not rooted firmly enough in the faith, so that the sects with their deceptive proselytism, mislead them to separate themselves from true communion in Christ. Within the Church community the multiplication of supposed "apparitions" or "visions" is sowing confusion and reveals a certain lack of a solid basis to the faith and Christian life among her members.

I. What does Jesus say about this in the Holy Gospel?

A. The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew:

In reply Jesus said to them: "Be on your guard, let no one deceive you. Many will come attempting to impersonate me. 'I am the Messiah!' they will claim, and they will deceive many (Mt 24, 4-5).

Indeed, you will be hated by all nations on my account. Many will falter then, betraying and hating one another. False prophets will rise in great numbers to mislead many. Because of the increase of evil, the love of most will grow cold (Mt 24, 10-12).

If anyone tells you at that time 'Look the Messiah is here', or 'He is there', do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear, performing signs and wonders so great as to mislead even the chosen if that were possible. Remember, I have told you all about it beforehand; so if they tell you, 'Look he is in the desert,' do not go out there; or 'He is in the innermost rooms,' do not believe it. As the lightning from the east flashes to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be (Mt 24, 23-27).

No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come - neither the angels in heaven nor the Son: The Father alone knows (Mt 24, 36).

Stay awake, therefore! You cannot know the day your Lord is coming (Mt 24, 42).

You must be prepared in the same way. The Son of Man is coming at the time you least expect (Mt 24, 44).

The moral is: keep your eyes open, for you know not the day of the hour (Mt 25,13).

"Be on your guard against false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but underneath are wolves on the prowl. You will know them by their deeds. Do you ever pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from prickly plants? Never! Any sound tree bears good fruit, while a decayed tree bears bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit any more than a decayed tree can bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. You can tell a tree by its fruit. None of those who cry out, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of God but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. When that day comes, many will plead with me, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? Have we not exorcised demons by its power? Did we not do many miracles in your name as well?' Then I will declare solemnly to them: 'I never knew you. Out of my sight, you evildoers!'" (Mt 7,15-23).

- B. The Holy Gospel according to Lucas:

Jesus said: "Take care not to be misled. Many will come in my name saying, 'I am he' and 'The time is at hand.' Do not follow them" (Lk 21,8).

He who hears you, hears me. He who rejects you, rejects me. And he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me (Lk 10,16).

C. The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark

Jesus began his discourse: "Be on your guard. Let no one mislead you. Any number will come attempting to impersonate me. 'I am he', they will claim, and will lead many astray (Mk 13, 5-6).

If anyone tells you at that time, 'Look, the Messiah is here!' 'Look, he is there!'-do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear performing signs and wonders to mislead, if possible, even the chosen. So be constantly on guard! I have told you about it beforehand (Mk. 13, 21-23).

As to the exact day or hour, no one knows it, neither the angels in heaven nor even the Son, but only the Father. Be constantly on watch! Stay awake! You do not know when the appointed time will come (Mk 13, 32-33).

II. What does St. Paul write in his many letters?:

A. First letter to the Thessalonians:

Do not stifle the Spirit. Do not despise prophesies. Test everything. Retain what is good. (lThes. 5,19-21)

B. Second letter to Timothy:

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is coming to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power, I charge you to preach the word, to stay with this task whether convenient or inconvenient -correcting, reproving, appealing -constantly teaching and never losing patience. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but, following their own desires, will surround themselves with teachers who tickle their ears. They will stop listening to the truth and will wander off to fables. As for you, be steady and self-possessed; put up with hardship, perform your work as an evangelist, fulfill your ministry (2Tim 4,1-5).

C. Second letter to the Thessalonians:

Let no one seduce you, no matter how. Since the mass apostasy has not yet occurred nor the man of lawlessness been revealed -that son of perdition and adversary who exalts himself above every so-called god proposed for worship, he who seats himself in God's temple and even declares himself to be God (2Thes 2, 3-4).

The lawless one will appear as part of the workings of Satan, accompanied by all the power and signs and wonders at the disposal of falsehood by every seduction the wicked can devise for those destined to ruin, because they have not opened their hearts to the truth in order to be saved. Therefore God is sending upon them a perverse spirit which leads them to give credence to falsehood, so that all who have not believed the truth but have delighted in evildoing will be condemned (2Thes 2, 9-12).

D. Second letter to the Corinthians:

Such men are false apostles. They practise deceit in their disguise as apostles of Christ. And little wonder! For even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2Cor 11,13-14).

E. Letter to the Colossians:

Let no one rob you of your prize by insisting on servility in the worship of angels. Such a one takes his stand on his own experience; he is inflated with empty pride by his human reflections (Col 2,18).

III. What do 2000 years of Church History teach us?

The number of false prophesies over the 'End Times' is innumerable. Already in the second century (+/-156) Montanus, 'inspired by the Paraclete', announced together with two exalted women -Priscilla and Maximilla, the 'New Jerusalem' and the 'Millennium' or the '1000 years of peace'. This Montanism had followers up into the sixth century!

Many faithful and bishops let themselves be deceived by this pseudo-mysticism. The early-Christian writer Tertullianus was seduced by the 'new prophecy' of Montanus. Like so many nowadays, just as in these times, out of disillusionment over the lukewarm official Church....! Such sensational false prophets are already sweeping through 2000 years of Church History. Hundreds, if not thousands of 'new prophets' speculate on fear and uncertainty in this atomic era and fling at our ears an approaching world war, all sorts of catastrophes, the Anti-Christ, the immediate return of the Messiah. And again, many good people are misled by these croakers.

Amongst these all too naive followers time and again also many priests, even bishops and cardinals. John Paul II (see preface) doesn't without reason warn against these confusing manipulations. Cardinal Lambertini, the later Pope Benedictus XIV, already warned in his book 'De servorum Dei beatificatione et Beatorum canonizatione' against false revelations, which temporarily offer something good, to totally disillusion the naive followers later on. He mentions for instance, that his predecessor Pope Gregorius XI on his deathbed warned mankind for people who allege to have 'visions'.

Cardinal Ratzinger in 1998 wrote in a letter bearing his signature that the 'positive' words about Medjugorje which were put in his and the Pope's mouth, are freely invented! Those, who are guilty of these scandalous manipulations, are well-known people....!

IV. What do the Doctors of the Church say?

A. St. John of the Cross:

In his book 'Ascending Mount Carmel': The devil is elated when he observes, that a soul is longing for revelations and taking great pleasure in it. Then the opportunity is favourable and an excellent chance for him to hold out all sorts of hallucinations. The devil flatters the senses. To the eyes he shows images of saints in a glorious aureole. To the ears he mumbles flattering words. And also he produces delicious fragrances and feelings of heavenly joy. And that is all totally aimed at luring souls and hurling them in perdition...!

God has nothing more to reveal to us now. He has concluded all what he said in individual fragments through the prophets from the Old Testament and has given us everything in his Son Jesus Christ. Longing for visions and revelations nowadays, is not only foolish, but it insults God, because one doesn't suffice in Christ, but is looking for new things.

B. St. Theresia of Lisieux:

Extract from "J'entre dans la vie: derniers entretiens": I never longed for visions. On earth one cannot see the angels as they really are. I prefer to wait until after my death. No, I do not long to see the good God here on earth. How much I ever love him. I also love our Dear Lady and the saints. But also them, I do not wish to see now.

V. What does the official Catechism of the Catholic Church say?

Nr. 67: Through the centuries there were so-called private revelations, some of which were approved by the church. They are however NO part of the Deposit of Faith. Their task is NOT to better or to add to the definite revelations of Christ, but as an aid to experience them more fully in a certain era in history. Guided by the teaching authority of the Church the faithful will distinguish and accept what in these revelations an authentic call from Christ or from his Saints is to the Church. The Christian Faith cannot acknowledge 'revelations', which claim to 'outclass' or 'improve' the revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment. That is the case with some sects of recent dates, which base themselves on such 'revelations'.

VI. What does the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith say? (Formerly the Holy Office'):

On the occasion of the second warning against the non-supernatural 'messages' of Vassula Ryden, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published on November 29, 1996 the following notification (bulletin nr. 447): 'In connection with the circulation of texts from so-called 'private revelations' the Congregation defines:

1. The interpretation some people are given to a decision, approved by pope Paul VI on October 10, 1966 proclaimed on November 15, 1966, according to which these writings and 'messages' originate from so-called 'revelations', may freely be spread in the Church, is absolutely not valid. The above-mentioned decision does concern the abolition of the Index of forbidden books and mentioned, that since now the censure is abolished, the moral obligation still exists not to spread or read writings, that endanger faith and morals.

2. With that it is repeated, that whatever concerns the spreading of texts of so-called private revelations, the valid norm of Codex, that is canon 823, stays fully in force. It gives the right to pastors to demand that moral writings concerning faith and morals, which persons are planning to publish, are submitted to their judgement.

3. The so-called supernatural 'revelations' and writings are at the first hand submitted to the judgement of the diocesan bishop, and in certain cases to the judgement of the bishops-commission and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Conclusion:

For Medjugorje, Garabandal, San Damiano, Vassula, Naju, Marpingen, Little Pebble, Palmar de Troya, Bayside, Ladeira, Heroldsbach, Schio, Onkerzele, Dozulé, Montichiari, Necedah, Penablanca, Mère Marie-Claudine, Eisenberg, Manduria and so many others, the legal judgement of the diocesan bishop was time and again negative.

What was the consequence? Rebellion and disobedience of many deceived faithful against the local bishop. Some people even say: If the Pope does not acknowledge 'the apparitions', then I will no longer acknowledge the Pope! Sectarian fanaticism instead of Christian faith...

Satan, the father of lies (Jn 8, 44) allows with pleasure that many will 'convert' in places were false apparitions occur, if only he can disengage the faithful from the Pope and from Rome...

We have the Bible, the Credo, the Holy Mass, the Sacraments. Why chasing for sensation? Authentic visionaries are not recognized by signs, wonders, conversions, healings, prophecies, but only by their heroic virtues, primarily obedience and humbleness. Let us be humbly obedient to the teaching authority of the Church of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit shall never leave her and be with her always. (Jn 14,16 and Mt 16,18)

JEWISH PEOPLE BEAR SOME GUILT FOR ANTI-SEMITISM"

"Jewish Press" interviews Scranton University professor Marc B. Shapiro. Some of his answers are surprising. Shapiro is discussing his recent books, two of which were National Jewish Book Award finalists:

Rabbi Weinberg wrote that “perhaps we [the Jewish people] also bear some guilt” for anti-Semitism. What did he mean by that?

Rabbi Weinberg raised the possibility that perhaps the way Jews treat non-Jews contributes to anti-Semitism. He no doubt had in mind things such as how the Jew treated the Polish peasant and wondered if this didn’t have some impact on how the Poles viewed the Jews. Many Orthodox Jews thought it was okay to be less than honest in their business dealing with non-Jews.

Rabbi Weinberg argued that we must formally declare that we hold like the Meiri [13th century French sage], that all the negative things in the Talmud against non-Jews were only stated with regard to the wicked pagans of old, but didn’t apply to non-Jews as a whole.

We must relate to non-Jews just like to Jews, being absolutely honest in all monetary matters and regard them as having dignity as creations of God.

Do you find special meaning in teaching Judaism to Christian students in a Jesuit school (the University of Scranton)?

Well, first, the people I work with are chassidei umos ha’olam. I will also tell you that the two volumes of Rabbi Weinberg I published in Hebrew were published with the assistance of the university, which might be the only two seforim in history ever published with money from a Catholic university.

This isn’t 50 years ago. I asked my students the first day of the Holocaust course, “Does anyone know the expression ‘Christ killer?’ “– and more than half of them never heard the expression, something their parents and grandparents all knew from birth.

There’ve been great changes in the Catholic Church and there’s a great respect for Judaism and for Jews; many Catholic thinkers see Jews as the older brothers of Catholics. I think it behooves us to acknowledge the real changes in the Church and try to contribute to make sure these changes continue and that we treat them with the respect that they’re treating us.

Do you think it advantageous that you, an Orthodox Jew, are teaching these students rather than a Conservative or Reform Jew?

Christianity rejects Jewish law, so if you get a Reform rabbi up there whose attitude is also that the law isn’t important, they really don’t get an understanding of how Judaism differs. If you have someone who affirms the significance of Jewish law, they get a sense of what true Judaism is.

Many of these students come from small towns in Pennsylvania. They’ve never met a Jew before, they don’t know what a knish is. This is their first exposure and will last them a lifetime.

Read the entire interview...

MORE INFORMATION FROM SUSANNA

I found your post from Wednesday, February 4, 2004 and am sending it to you in case you want to reuse it. In the article is described the Martinist ties of Eliphas Levi (via Hoene- Wronski) and Towianski's ties to Martinism via Joseph Olsciewicz. It also describes the "Oevre de Dieu" organized by Mickiewicz and Towianski and the "Oevre de Misericorde" founded by Eugene Vintras and how Vintras was so impressed with Towianski's group that he hailed Towianski as "the Messiah." Apparently the "imprimatur" was reciprocal.

http://www.runningoff.blogspot.com/2004_02_01_archive.html

That particular blog is titled "Papal Influences Part II". You have to scroll down for it.

One of my greatest problems with researching occultism is trying to remember what I've already found. I've tried several filing systems to keep it straight, and none of them have proven to be effective. There is just too much data: too many names, too many conflicting details, too many cross-arguments about what is true and what is fabrication. It leaves my head spinning on more days than it doesn't. I had forgotten the details of that February blog.

Susanna continues:

Of course, it is not to be forgotten that the Polish Mariavites ( ee Msgr. Cristiani's Evidence of Satan in the Modern World pp. 187-188 ) were a successor to the Vintras cult through a branch led by the notorious Abbe Boullan. The so-called "reintegration" taught and practiced in all these Martinist-connected cults is in many ways similar if not identical to the "Elus Cohen theurgy" of Martinism as originally established by Martines de Pasqually. (Did you see the material I sent you on the "Alumbrados?")

I have not yet looked at Susanna's material on the Alumbrados, but do remember reading about them a couple of years ago. They are part of the Islamic picture which I have not yet researched, but the spelling of Kabbalah--Qabala--is Islamic.

I recently purchased the book by Craig Heimbichner entitled BLOOD ON THE ALTAR. I thought it was very informative. And while I don't necessarily buy into everything he has to say, I did observe that in his book, Mr. Heimbichner reveals an OTO strategy very similar to one I read about many years ago in RAVALETTE: THE ROSICRUCIAN STORY by Paschal Beverly Randolph with a forward by R. Swinburne Clymer.

In the book, RAVALETTE, Randolph is in Paris and enters a "trance" called the "Sleep of Sialam" and starts to prophesy. Among other things, Randolph's "prophecy" describes how a Left wing and a Right wing is to be established with the R.C. Fraternity & Co. operating out of both. While both will actually be moving in a Left-leaning direction, the designated Left wing will constantly be moving so radically to the left that the "Right wing" will be made to appear "conservative by comparison as it "crowds the Left" and occupies the ground vacated by the Left wing as it continues in its radical leftward march.

Here is what Mr. Heimbichner says:

The Left wing of the OTO was breaking the Church down in part so that the Right wing of the OTO could rebuild it, by assuming control, behind the scenes of the anticipated backlash from the Traditionalist survivors of the Left-wing purge. The OTO as described in chapter three, is shaping the Right-wing reaction by putting their agents in place within the leadership of certain priestly fraternities pledged to restore the old ways

(BLOOD ON THE ALTAR: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS SECRET SOCIETY by Carl Heimbichner c.2005 Independent History & Research Coeur d'Alene, Idaho p.106)

Finally, there is the comment of C.S. Lewis who is said to have flirted with the occult before his conversion to Christianity. Mr. Lewis once wrote:

The Devil always sends errors into the world in pairs — pairs of opposites. And he always encourages us to spend a lot of time thinking which is the worse. You see why, of course? He relies on your extra dislike of the one error to draw you gradually into the opposite one.

http://home.newadvent.org/2006/10/error_in_pairs.html

When I observe the way in which some of these occult groups are being described as "traditional" and/or "conservative," I really have to wonder. For example, Emile Hoffet, who was among the first contributors to "Regnabit" is described as having "launched the Catholic Modernist movement." It seems to me that either somebody is being untruthful or somebody is on glue!

Here are a couple of more links relating to today's discussion.


http://www.sociologyesoscience.com/altconsc.html


http://altreligion.about.com/library/texts/bl_waitemartinism5.htm

LOOKS LIKE MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL IS GOING TO GET SHAKEN UP

Spirit Daily links an article about the newly appointed Bishop John Nienstedt, said to be a theological conservative. He sounds like just what Minneapolis-St. Paul needs to wipe out the antics of places like St. Joan of Arc. But he will be controversial:

"I expect disaster there. I don't think those priests are going to accept him," said Irrgang, who now lives in St. Cloud. "He's a micromanager. He has to control everything. He hews the line from the Vatican without any question whatsoever. He's not a very good people person."

But the Rev. Philip M. Schotzko of the Church of St. Peter in St. Peter, Minn., praised Nienstedt's abilities.

"Bishop Nienstedt is a consummate man of the church," said Schotzko. "He thinks with, prays with and loves the church with everything he's got. He just follows very carefully the teachings and all aspects of church theology and moral teachings. You'll get a very committed man in that way."

Hold onto your faith, Minneapolis-St. Paul, because it sounds as though a strong breath of life is about to be blown into it!

Read the entire article...

THE ROLE OF THE KABBALAH

Susanna wrote:

If I were to venture an opinion about when I think the occult "entered" the Church, I would have to say that it appears to have been with the advent of Martines de Pasqually and his Order of Elus Cohens which smacks of Kabbalism. In Wikipedia, interestingly enough, Martinism is defined as A FORM OF MYSTICAL OR ESOTERIC CHRISTIANITY. What's up with that?
Source: Martinism

According to my Encyclopedia of the Occult Pasqually was a "Portuguese Jew" from Spain. He was a Mason who claimed to be in possession of masonic patents for masonry associated with the deposed Stuart monarchs of Great Britain.

Louis Claude de St. Martin was Catholic, but was nevertheless initiated by Pasqually into his "Elus Cohen" rites.


Sources:

de Pasqually

Order of Elect Cohens

Initiation


Vintras was associated with Martinism through Towianski. Eliphas Levi was associated with Martinism through Josef Maria Hoene Wronski.

Guenon who was connected with the Hieron du Val'd'Or's propaganda publication "Regnabit" was a Gnostic bishop with ties to Papus who established a Martinist order in France reviving the Elus Cohen Rite. Papus was initiated into the O.T.O. by Theodore Reuss. In turn, Papus assisted Reuss in the formation of the O.T.O. Gnostic Catholic Church. Then, of course, there was Blavatsky and her association with Max Theon.

I can't see how anyone who has studied the history of the occult can validly claim that the Kabbalah (or counterfeit Kabbalah ) was not a major influence in the occult revival in modern times.

I agree with her assessment. The Kabbalah is central to occultism/New Age, though I can't say exactly why yet.

In any case, I'm not sure if I've posted this previously and I don't have time to look right now, but it applies here as well, so I'll post it here. The interest of Karol Wojtyla in the writings of the Polish poet Mickiewicz makes Mickiewicz's interest in the Kabbalah noteworthy. Susanna wrote:

Looks like Mickiewicz was [a Martinist] as well vis a vis Oleszkiewick.

Mickiewicz, Martinist Mason

In effect, the relations with Towianski were also of an occult type, or rather Masonic. Was Mickewicz a Mason? From the beginning, in 1817, we see that he founded the secret society, the Philomaths (Towarzystwo filomatow). In 1820, he joined another secret society, the Philarethes, which he speaks of in the third part of his 1833 book, Dziady (Ancestors). Alas, I don’t know if the Philarethes have something to do with the Masonic lodges called the Philalethes. (21) Whatever the case may be, these Polish secret societies were the replica (and often the ally) of the Russian secret societies---a type of Slavic Carbonarism---which would give rise to the 1825 Decembrist revolt, the Tzarist government had recognized the hand of Masonry, and it is precisely because of this situation, that it was made illegal in Russia. (22) To support the suspicion that the secret societies to which the young Mickiewicz belonged were not Masonic, a meeting will lead him to Martinism: the meeting with Oleszkiewick. "No one would have as strong an influence on him as the Pole, Josef Oleszkiewick, painter, mystic, disciple of Saint-Martin, and who would be the first to initiate Mickiewicz to the most profound religious experiences of his life." (23) So it is that the Voltarian, Mickiewicz, became a Martinist, from rationalist to "mystic;" in 1836, he published Zdania I uwagi (Feelings and observations), a collection of quotes from the works of Böhme.(24), Silesius and Saint-Martin. (25) With Saint-Martin, we are amid fullblown Masonry, and even full blown Jewish Cabalism! It is in this esoteric environment, well established before the his affiliation with Towianski’s movement, that Mickiewicz’ thought becomes bogged down in the mud, "Strongly touched in his youth by the mystique of the secret societies---de Lubac must admit ---by Böhme with whom he fell in love in Dresden in 1832 (26), by the visions of Frederick Wanner, by Swedenborg, (27)by Baader and by Saint-Martin whom he had read in Paris in 1833, but also by Catherine Emmerich…and by the great mystics of the Christian tradition, above all Denys (who he tried to translate into Polish), he resembled Joseph de Maistre, who would be closer to the sources of popular inspiration, and to Lammenais who would remain faithful." (p. 245) Surely, the more Lubac tries to excuse Mickiewicz, the worse it involuntarily becomes, so much so that he makes clear the place occupied by Mickiewicz among the most dangerous thinkers of "Masonic-Christian" esotericism.

Source: www.angelfire.com/journal2/post/john-paul.html

Here is something else interesting about Towianski:

Closer in spirit to Mickiewicz was the curious figure of Andrzej Towianski, a mystagogue and defrocked priest, who played a disproportionately large role in the spiritual life of the Polish Great Emigration in Paris in the 1840s. Towianski had his own ideas about the Jews and Polish-Jewish relations, and like Mickiewicz also thought in idealized terms. In Towianski's view, the long history of coexistence of Poles and Jews meant that the fate of the two peoples was intertwined. Each could nurture and fulfill the other for the greater future glory of Poland. But unlike Mickiewicz, Towianski posited the symbiosis of Poles and Jews on the Jew's acceptance of Christianity. This desideratum, however, is advanced by Towiasnki in the idiom of mystical enlightenment. It is sincere, fervent, and never strident or contemptuous.

Source: www.ruf.rice.edu/~sarmatia/102/221sege.html



It is reported in this article that Mickiewicz's mother may have been a descendant of a Frankist family.

Source: info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/mickiewicz/grol.html

OUR LADY OF LIGHT - APPARITION FEVER

Matt Abbott has a column up at Renew America that discusses modern visionaries in general and lists specific concerns about the visionary events in the Cincinnati area associated with Our Lady of Light.

IS MARTINISM A FORM OF CATHOLICISM, OR A FORM OF JUDAISM, OR A MELDING OF BOTH ?

Guy Patton has a paper online titled "Sauniere and the Occult". Sauniere, a Catholic priest whose parish at Rennes-le-Chateau figures in the Priory of Sion mystery, is said in this paper to have been a Martinist associated with both the Sacred Heart movement and the Synarchist movement. According to Patton there is a record of Sauniere's attendance at three meetings of a Martinist lodge in Lyons.

Here we are told of Martinez de Pasqually's book TRAITE DE LA REINTEGRATION, or the theory of Reintegration, the

central belief being that Man can return to the divine state that he was assumed to have possessed before the 'Fall'; that is, he can become closer to God. The system of ritual designed to achieve Reintegration employed a specific style of magic called "theurgy". Theurgy was the merging of personal Will with God's Will and was called in authentic Martinism "the Inner Way" or the "the Way of the Heart." It was believed that the creative power of Man was a gift from God, the ultimate Creator; and that Man can acquire the ability to will something to happen or to manifest. But as a Theurgist, the initiate would invoke God's Will to bring about a manifestation or happening. Thus Man becomes an agent of God's Will.

Saint-Martin rejected some of Pasqually's magical rites, which employed the intercession of spirit beings..."

We are told that the Martinism of Pasqually and Louis Claude de Saint Martin "underwent a major revival in the form of the new Ordre Martiniste" with a "Grand Council based in Paris [that] included such notable occultists as, Papus (Gerard Encausse), Stanislas de Guaita, Sedir, Maurice Barres, Georges Montieres and Josephin Peladan." And we are told that "Encausse spent a great deal of time...studying the Qabalah, the Tarot, the sciences of magic and alchemy, and the writings of Eliphas Levi."

We are told of the spiritual seances in which these men engaged, of the penetration into the Russian court, of the Protocals of the Elders of Zion and how they came to be associated with Judaism, and of de Guaita's world of Black Magicians, including the Abbe Boullan. We are told that "Peladan considered himself to be more Catholic than the apparently liberal voices in the Vatican" and that Peladan's patron...was the Count Antoine de la Rochefoucauld, who had been intimately linked with the appearance of a Sacred Heart vision" and subsequently "set up a review and appointed a known Satanist, Jules Bois, as editor" of his review.

Patton claims that

despite his reputation for sexual and other bizarre practices, Boullan is best known for his "Law of Sacred Regeneration", which is more or less identical to the theory of Reintegration found at the heart of Martinism. ...at their heart, Martinism, the Gnostic Church and the Luciferian tradition share common beliefs: beliefs that may not necessarily be in conflict with a loose interpretation of Catholic dogma...The conflict arose not in the teachings but in the methods.

Crossovers abound.

First of all, among the monks practicing interreligious dialogue is a fondness for heart doctrine. Is this the Martinist concept? Is this statement by Fr. Thomas Keating a Martinist concept?

Given that Kabbalah and Martinism go hand in hand, the Jewish mystical concept of "repairing the world", which is called "Tikkun" is similar to the Martinist concept of Reintegration. You can read kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria's concept of Tikkun here. It concerns man's obligation to save himself and his world.

The worldview of Kabbalah is not compatible with the worldview of Roman Catholicism, though it is apparently compatible with Gnostic Catholicism.

Leon Cristiani speaks of the Abbe Boullan in his book EVIDENCE OF SATAN IN THE MODERN WORLD. He writes:

This chapter will be devoted to some recent examples of Luciferianism, of which the first example is provided by the Abbe Boullan.

Jean-Antoine Boullan was born on 18th February 1824 at Saint Porchaire (Charente-Maritime), and died at Lyons on 4th January 1893. Little is known about his career, except that he was ordained priest round about 1848. He frequented occult writers and spent his life in circles composed, as he himself said in his 'Confession', of 'women who were either mad or demonic, according to whichever way you look at it.' One of these women was, incidentally, epileptic. In the same Confession he himself admits that he 'had no aptitude' for the spiritual direction of women.

It seems much more likely that he was directed by them. He was, however, intelligent. But he was governed by a curiosity verging on morbidity, and a sensuality bordering on obsession. He explined his feelings in the following way: 'My sins,' he writes, 'had a threefold source and origin and foundation: in the first placer, the weakness and fragility of my corrupt nature; the illusions of the Devil, all too effective in deceiving and leading me astray; and finally, my own form of understanding which led me into many things deserving of blame and reproof.'

Such a confession has all the hall-marks of sincerity....

He was summoned to appear before an ecclesiastical court in Rome, and was held in the prisons of the Holy Office, from which he was delivered by the Piedmontese invasion in 1870.

The Abbe Boullan condemned all who had attacked him, to the pains of Hell, either eternally or temporarily, to imprisonment in the Tower of Babel, and to the payment of his own debts. His conduct became so outrageous that even the followers of Vintras excluded him from their circle.

The story of this unfortunate, wayward priest, the victim of occultism and eroticism, would be merely one of fairly banal misfortune if he had not been part of a specific trend, and if there had been no aftermath.

His share in this trend sheds a distressing light on a whole world of sinister manifestations and intrigues. The occultism of Eliphas Levi, the 'illuminism' of Vintras, that reincarnation of Elijah, the Theosophy of Mme Blavatsky, the creations of Guaita, then of Sar Peladan, under the name of Rosicrucianism. Perhaps it even includes on a still larger scale, the mysterious rites of 'catholic' freemasonry--set up in opposition to the atheism of the French Grand Orient. But these are only a few of the esoteric doctrines and practices which ferment beneath the surface of modern society, and which can reasonably be said to be one of the forms of present-day satanism. (pp. l85-l87)

THE HIERON DU VAL D'OR

Catholic or Masonic? Is this a crossover organization that permitted occultism to seep into Catholic doctrine?

Susanna wrote in email:

Perhaps you need to look no further than the "Hieron du Val d'Or." When I first read "Holy Blood Holy Grail", I thought it might have been bogus, but as it turns out there was such an organization. It is connected with the "Perennial Philosophy" you have previously discussed.

This is where the so-called "Catholic Freemasonry" came into play during the nineteenth century. I am just going to present some material here with links. This is one of several sites that discusses the true history of the Hieron du Val d'Or.

I will just quickly say that although the Hieron du Val d'Or claimed to be "Traditional' and "Catholic" it was anything but. People were deceived because it tried to hijack the Sacred Heart devotions and equate it with pagan symbols. There was also a related group called "Regnabit" in which Rene Guenon was involved. I think he was kicked out on account of his unorthodox "Catholic" views after Regnabit was order to clean up its act. I have to recheck my data.

A Catholic Monsignor named Monsignor Leon Cristiani, is said to have written at least one article for Regnabit. He is the author of Evidence of Satan in the Modern World. According to Msgr. Cristiani this so-called "Catholic Freemasonry" along with the inventions of Eliphas Levi, Peladan, Vintras, etc. are all examples of "modern forms of satanism." You can't get much more explicit than that.



The Hieron du Val d'Or:

The Force Behind the "Priory of Sion"
In 1873, the very curious organization called Hiéron de Val d'Or was founded. It made its base near the Catholic shrine at Paray-le-Monial. Here, two centuries earlier, the mystic St. Marguerite-Marie Alacoque beheld visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, beginning the Catholic devotion to the Sacred Heart. Paray-le-Monial had a long history within the Catholic Church. The first of several monastery facilities, a Benedictine abbey, was established there as early as 973. Later, the area seemed to foster Protestants, and in 1618 the Jesuits were called upon to save the faithful from the usurpers. The Jesuits had remained at Paray-le-Monial ever since and the Sacred Heart became the paramount devotional symbol for the Jesuit Order, which was consecrated to the Sacred Heart in 1872. (2) Paray-le-Monial was an important point on the Jesuit compass and at least one member of the Society of Jesus would become a key founder of the Hiéron du Val d'Or. At Paray-le-Monial the Hiéron du Val d'Or built a museum and research center in 1877 and housed itself in a pentagonal building reflecting the Hiéron's interest in geometry and sacred architecture. Long established as a Catholic pilgrimage site, from 1873 onwards Paray-le-Monial began to attract more visitors. Thousands Catholics from all walks of life journeyed to Paray-le-Monial in devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, hoping to stem the changes of the times. The Hiéron du Val d'Or deliberately targeted these pilgrims as its potential recruits.

Victor Drevon, a Jesuit priest, and a nobleman from Spain, the Baron Alexis Sarachaga, were the two key founders of the Hiéron. In 1854, Drevon, then 34 years old, established the Association of the Communion of Reparation in the ancient monastery and Jesuit base at Paray-le-Monial with the purpose of atonement, or reconciliation, of man and God through the mediation of Jesus. For his part, the wealthy Baron Sarachaga was a devoted but esoterically oriented Catholic. His family linage claimed the famed mystic, St. Teresa of Avila, and he was a personal friend of the besieged Pope Pius IX and his successor Leo XIII. Drevon brought the focus and discipline of the Jesuits to the Hiéron, and Sarachaga brought his wealth, his influential Vatican and social connections, and his odd Catholic/esoteric orientation, which the Hiéron proclaimed as esoteric Christianity, or Christian Hermeticism. As the spiritual head of the Hiéron and titular head of its church approved school, the Insititut des Fastes ("Fastes" refers to Roman calendar church feast days), Sarachaga would dedicate the last forty years of his life to the Hiéron, until his death in 1918. It would be become a forge in which the shock troops of the anti-Masonic and anti-occultist Catholic Ultra-Traditionalists would be molded and it would reflect Sarachaga's eclectic ideas..................

Susanna's source is the Alpheus website. It contains much more on this odd organization that is responsible for the promotion of the doctrine of the Sacred Heart.

Additional material can be found in the Cesnur website where the "Notes on an unpublished correspondence between Rene Guenon and Louis Charbonneau-Lassay" discusses Rene Guenon's contributions to Regnabit, a magazine associated with Catholic esotericism, including the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Divine Paraclete, and the teaching of the sacred name of Aor-Agni - Light-Fire, along with the doctrine of Christ the King.

Lastly there is a brief mention of Baron Alexis de Sarachaga, director of the Institute for Eucharistic studies at Para-le-Monial (an effort of the Hieron) in a chapter of an online book titled VISIONARIES. Here this effort is labeled "devout integrism."

LAST RITES

or the healing of the sick were administered after Mass this morning. Nearly everyone in the church took part. I guess there were nearly no healthy people Mass this morning. It took the priest all of about 15 seconds to administer the sacrament to each person in the line, including the children, although those under seven were merely given a blessing. We walked away with oil on our foreheads and hands, and supposedly healing in our hearts, after having been assured by Father that this ritual forgives our sins and brings us spiritual as well as physical healing.

I'm still waiting.

What a perfunctory rite this has become. It bears little resemblance to the ritual conducted in years gone by when the dying person was visited by the parish priest, confessed, anointed, and given the Eucharist. That old ritual invariably produced observable results. The dying patient became physically improved even if just for a short time. It was predictable. We could see with our own eyes that the ritual had real meaning. We could note the difference in the condition of the patient before and after the ritual. It brought us increased awareness of God and His action in the life of mankind.

This thing today was another thing entirely. Just another going through the motions with little actual effect on real life. How did our sacrament become reduced to such paltry insignificance?

SLEEPLESS IN OHIO

It's never enjoyable to be unavoidably wide awake when the rest of the world is sleeping. Invariably thoughts tend to wander to sad subjects and self-pity...at least they tend to do that for me in the middle of the night. Tonight I got to thinking about Fresno Bishop John Steinbock's prediction that soon the sheep in his diocese would have no one to follow but fellow sheep.

I had reason, some years ago, to spend many days in the yard next to a sheep pasture. We were exhibiting at the Waterford Craft Fair, and our exhibit space was a few feet from living sheep. They were quite an education. Sheep do follow other sheep when there is no shepherd. They run from this corner of the pasture to that corner to that tree over there, in a pack, behind a single sheep. Their progress is aimless, but they put everything they have into making that "progress." They are so confused and so purposeless and so committed to every move they make as though their very life depended upon it. They don't walk, they run. Always. It's sad to watch them dash about foolishly. They will even run away from offered food. An apple suddenly becomes the most terrifying object on earth. But when the shepherd appears, they are a different creature. They know where to go and what to do and who to trust. When the shepherd appears their life takes on meaning for a short time. Food is no longer frightening. They stop following other sheep. The shepherd is all-consuming. Being abandoned to follow fellow sheep is just about the biggest curse that I can imagine.

Martinist priesthood reminds me of this sad state of sheep without a shepherd. At the Martinist Temple of the Holy Grail website we are given this description of the practice of priesthood:

After Ordination, Priests and Priestesses operate their own independent ministries in compliance with the Home Temple Code of Ethics. They are licensed under a Home Temple Bishop of their choice, and they may apply for a legal Church Charter by the Home Temple. They are empowered to use any liturgy, theology, vestments, or other orientation that seems best to them--Christian, Buddhist, Wiccan, Jewish, Hindu, Taoist, Theosophical, etc. Their only obligation is to keep the Code of Ethics. They pay no dues or other fees to the Home Temple or their Bishops, but are expected to keep in collegial contact and link their web site or e-mail address to the list of churches in the Home Temple online and other published directories. Those who develop effective ministries will be nominated by their Bishops and formally invited for advancement into the Independent Episcopate.

That sounds very much like what I saw next to the sheep pasture: sheep running here and there to no purpose, with no favorable outcome, merely wasting units of energy. A tree or the corner of the pasture fence could just as well be a "Christian, Buddhist, Wiccan, Jewish, Hindu, Taoist, Theosophical, etc." liturgy. It has no real meaning. Yet this same state of affairs is what Bishop Steinbock is telling us is the future of the faithful in his diocese.

Oh sure, he was talking about training the leading sheep. We have seen over the course of 40 years where that training leads. Most of us have heard heretical doctrine preached by the lay leaders of various church programs, even sacramental preparation programs. I personally remember the baptism program leader who was trying to convince us that baptism was the process by which we join the church, as though the church were one big social club. She didn't want to hear about original sin. That belonged to the old church, and we were in the new church. The church of the "New Wine" that Bishop Steinbock is proposing, I guess.

Given this state of affairs, it did my heart little good to run across a quote from Fr. Joseph Ratzinger in the website of Tradition in Action recently. Look at what he proposed in Fe e Futuro, [Faith and Future] Petropolis: Vozes, 1971, pp. 76-78:

"From today’s crisis, a Church will emerge tomorrow that will have lost a great deal. She will be small and, to a large extent, will have to start from the beginning. She will no longer be able to fill many of the buildings created in her period of great splendor. Because of the smaller number of her followers, she will lose many of her privileges in society. Contrary to what has happened until now, she will present herself much more as a community of volunteers ....

"As a small community, she will demand much more from the initiative of each of her members and she will certainly also acknowledge new forms of ministry and will raise up to the priesthood proven Christians who have other jobs. In many smaller communities, respectively in social groups with some affinity, the normal care of souls will take place in this way"
(Fe e Futuro, [Faith and Future] Petropolis: Vozes, 1971, pp. 76-78).

This non-professional priesthood of ministers who have other jobs, who minister in small communities is described in Dr. Lewis Keizer's book PRIESTHOOD IN THE NEW AGE. Of course as Dr. Keizer describes it, it is not Catholic. How odd that they are both saying much the same thing.