Still Running Off at the Keyboard

WHERE ARE YOU TAKING THE CHURCH, BENEDICT ?

Apparently Levada brought URI luminaries to Rome for the Consistory when he was elevated to Cardinal. You can read about it on the URI website.

SUPPORT FATHER LEONARD BLOG

Below is the Beacon Journal Announcement that Father Leonard has been removed and replaced at Annunciation Parish.

This blog seems to be the rebuttal, and it doesn't hide the disdain for the chancery.

The blog writer believes Father Leonard is a priest who is faithful to the teachings of the Church and seems to imply that is the reason he has been removed.

BISHOP LENNON HAS REMOVED AN AKRON PRIEST

From Ohio.com:

The Rev. Edwin Leonard has been removed as pastor of Annunciation Church, and a new priest has been assigned to the parish.

In a letter to parishioners to be issued this weekend at Masses, Cleveland Catholic Diocese Bishop Richard G. Lennon ssaid that he had met with Leonard on several occasions regarding the financially troubled parish.

``In light of numerous pieces of information, I encouraged him to resign as pastor of Annunciation Parish for his own good, the good of the people of Annunciation parish and for the good of the Church,'' Lennon said in a prepared statement. ``He has chosen not to resign in response to my requests. In light of my conviction and for the spiritual and pastoral good of the people of Annunciation parish, I have removed him as their pastor.''

It is believed to be the first time in more than 30 years that a parish priest has been removed for ineffective ministry. Leonard, who has led the east Akron parish since November 2002, could not be reached for comment.

Leonard, who was ordained in 1984, is still a priest but is prohibited from being on the property at Annunciation. Diocesan officials would not specify the reasons for Leonard's removal, but said Leonard had been given a temporary place of residence in the diocese to go through a discernment process.

The Rev. Ralph Wiatrowski, diocesan chancellor, said that according to canon law, a parish priest can be removed by a diocesan bishop when his ministry becomes harmful or ineffective.

He said although there can be many reasons, canon law specifies that a priest can be removed ``especially for denying a major teaching of the church; ineptitude -- mental or physical problems; loss of good reputation among the people; neglect, which persists after a warning or poor administration, including the financial direction of a parish.''

Wiatrowski said that a priest can appeal a bishop's decision.

``The removal of a priest is not just a willful decision of the bishop,'' Wiatrowski said. ``It's meant to be a medicinal type thing -- taking care of a problem and taking care of the parish.''

In March, diocesan officials met with parish finance and pastoral committees after the announcement that Annunciation-St. John Elementary School would close at the end of the 2005-2006 school year. At that time, the school owed the diocese about $250,000 for employee benefits and the parish was $293,000 in arrears in diocesan assessments.

Continue reading...

AURUM SOLIS - COMPANIONS OF THE LIGHT

One Ogdoadic webpage gives a brief biography of several of the members of the Aurum Solis membership called Companions of the Light. A couple are noteworthy:

Vivian Godfrey - first female Grand Master of Aurum Solis and a student of Jungian psychology. She was a student of Jung's friend Toni Sussman.

Leonard Barycynski - was the head of the Aurum Solis psychic investigation team and a pupil of U Maung Maung Ji, a lecturer in Eastern philosophies, who worked with the UN Secretary-General U Thant.

Denning & Phillips - husband and wife team adepts of Aurum Solis, were consecrated Autocephalous Bishops of the Paracletian Church by Herman Adrian Spruit, the founder of the Church of Antioch.

William Stoltz - Master of Commandery of the Winged Serpent in Minneapolis, Grand Master of the Ordo Astrum Sophiae, has written an essay for the (Chic ?) Cicero's "Golden Dawn Journal: Book II"

Thomas Maughn - Homeopath and Archdruid of England from 1964 to his death in 1976

Thomas D. Worrel fellowships in elite circles!

FROM THE MAILBOX

Human Life International e-Newsletter
Volume 01, Number 44 | Friday, Dec. 01, 2006
................................................................................... www.hli.org
Standing Strong in the Face of Death

Latin America never ceases to amaze me. In particular it is Central America with tiny countries smaller than the size of most of our states which is shining a light to the rest of the world right now. Despite our own disappointments, weeks after significant pro-life defeats (such as in Missouri and SD), we can rejoice that our neighbors in Nicaragua have succeeded in outlawing abortion in all circumstances! American pro-lifers, still stinging with the pain of defeat will find encouragement, consolation and insight in the heroes of Latin America whose refusal to cave in to the anti-life agenda has earned them the admiration of the worldwide pro-life community. The little pro-life David fought off the anti-life Goliath, and now we know it can be done.

Nicaragua's action comes as the latest in a series of actions by Central American countries that astound us for their amazing feistiness. In 1999 El Salvador re-wrote its Constitution to insert protection of human life "from the moment of conception," the first country on record to ever do that. In 2005 the United Nations issued a non-binding resolution on all forms of human cloning after a three year campaign led by Costa Rica - imagine the United Nations actually doing something moral for a change! Also in 2005, another Central American country, Honduras, steadfastly rejected attempts to legalize the morning after pill there. I am proud to tell you that these efforts were spearheaded by HLI's affiliates and great pro-life friends in these countries and supported by you, our extended HLI family.

With regard to Nicaragua, in early October HLI's Dr. Rafael Cabrera and other pro-life leaders, working with the Church, called a pro-life march demanding the removal of the one provision in their criminal code which allowed abortions for "therapeutic" reasons. This weasel word is of course a loophole in any law allowing doctors to kill babies for the flimsiest of reasons or lie about the reasons and avoid prosecution. More than two hundred thousand people came to the march! That this country of only three million people was able to muster a courageous outcry in defense of the unborn was due both to the effective organizing efforts of a few but also to their disgust with the intrusions of international agencies like UNICEF and arrogant western governments like Germany and Finland who intervened fiercely to stop the abortion ban. It's about time the smaller nations are throwing off their rich exploiters.

In the face of this kind of public display of values, Nicaraguan politicos, typical of politicians everywhere, blew with the wind - they voted 59-0 to outlaw abortion! As I have mentioned before, politics change when culture changes, and culture changes when hearts change. Would that America had the heart of our feisty little neighbors to the south!

The foundation of such a social renewal movement is found in the dynamic and powerful leadership of Church leaders who stand up to the powers that be and rebuke them. In all of these countries, the bishops have refused to be silent and instead have led their people to victory. A special mention must be made of Miguel Cardinal Obando of Managua for marching in the front of the multitude of his people like the Good Shepherd in the Gospel (cf. Jn 10:4).

Let us continue to pray for our Central American neighbors, that they maintain their strength and courage and persevere on the pro-life battle front. They have been mightily threatened with reprisals. Let us also pray for our own country, and our bishops, that we too may find the courage as they did, to stand strong in the face of death.

Sincerely Yours in Christ,

Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer
President, Human Life International

CONSTANCE CUMBEY'S BLOG

There has been a long discussion of various aspects of the New Age Movement in Constance's blog. Some of the Protestant comments about Catholics are the typical to be expected, so try to overlook them if you check it out. Other topics have been SCP Journal/Tal Brooke, and other writers who oppose the New Age. Today Benedict's activity in the Blue Mosque is being tossed around. There are currently 143 comments. The title of the blog (in case she posts another one above it) is "Texe Marrs Disinformation for the "New Age"".

MORE OGDOADIC TRADITION AND A CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL

The Tetelesmenoi Hermei website repeats the claim that the practices of the Aurum Solis "arose from a fusion of pre-Christian traditions of the Eastern Mediterrean with the mystical teachings...of the Oriental monasteries of Sinai, Carmel, and St. Sabas."

No Tridentine Mass here, but they do offer the "Mass of the Agathodaimon," along with several varieties of invocations and a "Consecration of the Daktulios." It looks to be a new website since the hit count is so low (605 at 1:55 p.m. on Dec. 1) and none of the links have been activated yet, apparently.

Nice quote from Albert Pike that rearranges cosmology in order to make the serpent sacred and a partaker in the divine nature.

What is that triangle and Hebrew letter in the center of the black and white ouroboros?

"A Brief History of the Ogdoadic Tradition" in the Astrum Sophia website calls the Knights Templar "medieval brethren". Speaking of medieval brethren, they seem to be talking about Pope Boniface VIII (1235-1303) in this passage:

"With arcane intent, for the creation of a sanctuary of power wherein supernal Light might focus upon earth, did Benedetto Gaetano, high initiate of the Glorious Star, ordain the emplacement of our symbol upon surrounding pillars of strength in Rome.

Ironic, isn't it, that we often hear crowds chanting "Benedetto" when greeting our current Pontiff.

Bonifice VIII was elected following the resignation of Celestine V and promptly set about revoking some of Celestine's decisions. His coronation was performed in unparalled splendor according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. He promptly put Celestine under arrest; he was poorly treated and died 10 months later. Bonifice VIII aimed for "universal peace and Christian coalition against the Turks" but his aims were not realized. Pertinent to this discussion is the fact that Bonifice VIII imprisoned the chief singer of the Franciscan Spirituals.

Also mentioned in the Ogdoadic website are the Ismali Order of the Faithful Ones of Love:

"Mighty was the mystical and secret Ismali Order of the Faithful Ones of Love which, in Asia Minor, comparably with the Sufis and Dervishes, followed within the Islamic world the path of inner illumination and of devotion to the spiritual elevation of humanity. Mighty was its Ogdoadic power; mighty were its planetary workings.

The website cites as antecedents the "Ogdoadic society of the Fideli d'Amore which, established in Italy at the end of the twelfth century, was a western formulation of the symbolism, mystique and practice of the Faithful Ones of Love, added to and enriched by the order of the Temple." Dante Alighieri and Marsilio Ficino were members of this order. Ficino is said to have formed the Ogdoadic society called the Careggi Circle which influenced Reuchlin and Erasmus. The Catholic Cabalist Pico della Mirandola belonged to this society as did Michelangelo. The society was dispersed through "persecution by religious fanatics". Next came the 16th century Order of the Helmet.

A webpage in the Mill Valley Lodge website spells out the purpose and duties of Lodge members. Tom Worrel is designated chair of of the Education committee dedicated to providing "Masonic Education programs to the Lodge members, their families and friends", and of the Fireman's Breakfast committee which aims to "showcase Freemasonry." He is a committee member of the Grand Lodge Communications/Jurisprudene and Legislation committee which concerns lodge business.

Though Worrel is not listed as a committee member, the website also indicates the Lodge has a Public Schools committee with the purpose of planning and executing

a public schools program in each April...calling attention to the members and the general public the importance of our Public Schools. Special emphasis should be placed on Public Schools Week with programs such as open houses, classroom visitations, speech contests, dinner meetings honoring school administrators and teachers, and radio and television appearances. This is another excellent opportunity for the Lodge to present itself before the public.

The Lodge also provides scholarships.

Mill Valley, located in Marin County, is a well-to-do community. This is no poor-man's lodge. Who, then, is Thomas D. Worrel? There are a couple of possibilities.

Tom Worrel (or Tom Worrell, Jr.) is a "maverick businessman, philanthropist and preservationist who is focusing his energies on El Monte Sagrado Living Resort & Spa in Taos, New Mexico. Other activities have included publishing, television broadcasting, land development, boat design, law and philanthropy. His formed Five Rings, Inc., a non-profit that helps Native Americans. He created the Dharma Foundation, set up the Milagro Center for minority children in South Florida, founded the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Agama Sanctuary in Taos, New Mexico, among other things.

He and his wife have set up Yaxche School, a non-profit dedicated to environmentalism.

The website indicates Worrell (the most frequent spelling of his name) is 60 years old.

An article in the magazine "Su Casa" indicates Worrell's middle initial is "E".

The Taos Daily Horse Fly offers a March 3, 2006 article on Worrell's activities that appears to include a picture of the man.

There is also a picture of Tom Worrel (one "l") on the website of the "Magus of Luxor". He does not look 60. This is a different person.

There is a the Tom Worrel who teaches religion classes at Bishop O'Dowd High School. The "Religious Studies Department" at Bishop O'Dowd High School lists Worrel as a faculty member. Among the Required Courses are "Christian Sexuality" and "Hebrew Scriptures".

Worrel's Winter 2006 Course Information for the class "Living and Dying" is on the web here. This is a Catholic High School located in Oakland, a suburb of San Francisco.

The "Personal Development Electives" webpage at Bishop O'Dowd explains the curriculum for this course:

Living and Dying (junior or senior year) (one semester)
This course explores the meaning of life and death personally, spiritually and culturally. Our primary focus is to become more aware of our life-plan, relationships and values as well as to reflect on our own mortality. We will explore death-related issues such as suffering, aging, broken relationships and the grief process that accompanies all loss. The wisdom of psychology and sociology is integral to our study, but a thorough investigation of God's real presence with us in loss, pain, suffering and death is our foundation.

Notice the Textbooks used in this class. LIFE AFTER LIFE by Raymond Moody. Moody's website demonstrates further what Moody believes. Among the books he has written is one titled SCRYING: THE ART OF FEMALE DIVINATION. His website includes a link to "The Psychomanteum", a divination technique that uses reflective materials such as mirrors.

Worrel's website offers URLs to "Egyptian concepts of death" (a broken link) and the TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD under "Informative Links for 'Living & Dying'". What will happen to a Catholic high school student's faith when exposed to a world of various religions and the TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD? In high school--in a Catholic high school--students should be learning about their own religion.

Worrel also teaches the Sophomore Immersion, a one-day immersion in the homelessness of the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. This is apparently what passes for a retreat at a California Catholic High School.

Given the evidence of

1) a Tridentine Mass in the occult website

2) the books chosen for Tom Worrel's class

3) the physical location of the Mill Valley Lodge being near enough to O'Dowd High School to permit commuting

4) the picture of Worrel on a website of another occultist

5) the evidence that Mill Valley Lodge is attempting to push Freemasonry in the schools

6) the Ogdoadic Tradition includes a pope and Catholic promoters of the Kabbalah in its heritage

7) the interest in Kabbalah of the occultist Tom Worrel and the evidence that the religion program at the high school include "Hebrew Scriptures"

8) the spelling of the last name and the middle initial

9) Worrel is eduction chairman in his Lodge

I am inclined to believe that the Tom Worrel of the Lodge and the Tom Worrel of the high school are one and the same Tom Worrel. However, I admit that none of this is irrefutable proof. The similarities could possibly be coincidental.

If I am correct, though, what is the future of the Church in America given that the Bishop of San Francisco appears to be either ignorant of this or approves of it?

In an article about homosexual activities in the Diocese of San Francisco, "San Francisco Faith" reported on the GLBT promotion at Bishop O'Dowd:

Local Catholic activists who attended the conference of the Bay Area Network of Gay and Lesbian Educators held at Holy Names College in 1995 report that Father Schexnayder was involved in organizing that event. A workshop at the conference about how to make Catholic schools gay-friendly held up the program at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland as a model. ...

The O'Dowd group, known as Gay and Lesbian Education and Affirmation (GLEA), is moderated by Father John Malo, a religion teacher, who also teaches the "Living and Dying" and "Christian Sexuality" classes at the school.

This may not be directly related to the occult activites of this teacher, but it is no secret that the upper degrees in the O.T.O., another occult group operating out of Mill Valley Lodge, are homosexual.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

SUNSHINE--I NEED SUNSHINE !

After a week in California, this Northeast Ohio weather is hard to take.

It's raining here. Again. I can't remember when the sun last came out.

OOPS...A LITTLE TOO MUCH MAKING NICE ?

A reader sent in a link to Sergei's blog on Benedict in Turkey. I've copied this story from over there and hope Sergei won't mind:

The Pope makes a mistake


In Ankara, the Pope began his trip with a visit to the hilltop mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Flanked by an escort of ceremonial guards, he laid a wreath of red and white flowers.

Ugh.

An Orthodox writes:

...perhaps one ought to suggest that the lowest point of the Holy Father's pontificate (pace Fr Boyce) was his laying a wreath yesterday at the shrine of Ataturk: a man who created more Christian martyrs...
The man who brought you the rape of Smyrna; persecution of Greek Christians in Asia Minor continues to this day.

Not exactly the best way to start dialogue with the Orthodox but then again the Patriarch of Constantinople (who is not the head of the Orthodox Church) is essentially a prisoner of the Turkish government and can’t do anything about it.

MILL VALLEY LODGE AND THE AURUM SOLIS

Finally, in the late 20th century, Mill Valley Masons Thomas D. Worrel, P.M., and Edward M. King established two new Lodges in Mill Valley. Bro. Worrel established the Commandry of the Green Lion, Order of the Aurum Solis in 2000; Bro. King established Mons Abiegnus Camp, Order Templi Orientis (OTO) in c. 1998.

That is the closing paragraph in the history of Mill Valley Masonic Lodge in Marin County, California. The Lodge website also contains a paper titled "Magical Fraternities in Marin." According to this paper:

The major American fraternal groups of the 19th-century experienced an explosion of interest in organizations with a Near Eastern theme, most of which were deemed "playgrounds" for the membership of the principal bodies. Freemasonry appears to have started the race to create Near Eastern "playground" orders: The ritual for the Ancient Arabic Nobles of the Mystic Shrine was written in c.1870 by a group of Masons...

One of those Masons, Albert L. Rawson, was involved with the Theosophical Society, an associate of H. P. Blavatsky.

The article indicates that modern ceremonial magick is divorced from the traditional religious framework. This is considered to be a "dry path" which is prone to inflate the individual ego. Traditional, primordial magic, on the other hand, seeks to transcend the ego "in order to channel divine forces and powers."

The Aurum Solis is one of three magical fraternities in Marin County. It was founded originally by George Stanton and Charles Kingold in 1897 as a practical school of ceremonial magic within the "Western esoteric tradition." It ceased operation during both World Wars, was resurrected in 1949, and continues to this day. It is based on the Basilidean heresy and has been influenced by the FOURTH BOOK OF CORNELIUS AGRIPPA.

Aurum Solis is heavily influenced by Qabalah, but claims to use different traditions and lineage than that used by the Golden Dawn. Thomas D. Worrel's Circle of the Green Lion is part of this tradition:

In 2000, the Circle of the Green Lion, Aurum Solis (a Commandery in formation) was formed. It began as an official Aurum Solis study and practice group as a daughter temple of the Commandery of the Winged Serpent: In 2001 it became a Commandery. The Green Lion Commandry is now the only initiatory body of the fraternity west of the Rockies for all western states. The Director is an initiate of the Outer Order of Aurum Solis. The Aurum Solis conducts pathworkings, planetary sphereworkings and study sessions at the Mill Valley Masonic Center.

According to Wikipedia, Aurum Solid practices the Ogdoadic Tradition:

As defined in the Aurum Solis Constitution of June 1999, "The Ogdoadic Tradition is an initiatory system which arose from a fusion of pre-Christian traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean with the mystical teachings, to which no date of origin can be assigned, of the Oriental monasteries: Sinai, Carmel, St. Sabas.

"It appears in the traditions of the Hesychasts (around the twelfth century) and in the symbolism of Byzantine art.

Wikipedia lists its two best known leaders as Vivian Godfrey (deceased) and Leon Barcynski, known by their pseudonyms Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips, who have written books on ceremonial magical practices of astral projection and creative visualization.

Another Aurum Solis website indicates that the philosophic viewpoints of the Aurum Solis derive in part from the viewpoints of Marsilio Ficino, and amount to a sort of "evolved neoplatonism".

A timeline of the modern Ogdoadic Tradition can be found here, showing Thomas D. Worrel's Commandery of the Green Lion was established on April 17, 2001, and the joining of the fraternity with the Ordo Astrum Sophiae as a full and autonomous commandery on January 23, 2005. Other commanderies are listed as well.

Ordo Astrum Sophiae initiates operate as members of the Grand Commandery of the Winged Serpent according to this website. It's not entirely clear to me how all of these membership bodies interact with each other. "Winged serpents" certainly raises some dark associations.

In any case, the website indicates "race, creed or sexual orientation will not constitute a barrier" to membership, however no one under the age of 21 will be admitted. William Stoltz, the Grand Master of the Ordo Astrum Sophiae, was made an associate member of the Aurum Solis College of Thrones in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1984. I wonder if the parish of St. Joan of Arc up there has had him in for a lecture series yet? In any case Stoltz earned his Master's Degree in Psychology and Human Development from St. Mary's University in Minnesota.

A listing of "Affiliated Bodies of the Ordo Astrum Sophiae includes:

* The Grand Commandery of the Winged Serpent - Minneapolis, MN
* The House of Mithras - Brussels Belgium
* The House of Abraxas - Seattle, WA
* Societas Rotae Fulgentis - ??
* The Commandery of the Green Lion - Thomas D. Worrel's Mill Valley order

These affiliated bodies intend to launch an online journal in late 2006 or early 2007 according to the "Order News & Events" webpage.

Take a look at the Ogdoadic Notes Ritual Techniques webpage. Do you see it down there on the bottom of the webpage? Yup. That's a link to the Tridentine Rite (Roman Catholic Mass). Hmmmm. Very curious.

A CATALOGUE OF SPIRITUAL ABUSE

Michael Brown at Spirit Daily has posted a long article dedicated to the zany, confused, and very likely heretical religious practices that have been taken up by Roman Catholic nuns. I got the impression from reading it that he didn't know about this stuff. It's been going on for way past too long. Brown notes that Cleveland seems to be "eaten up with this stuff". I can't disagree with him. Now why would that be, I wonder? In any case, I've lost all respect for Catholic women religious. If they want to be occultists, they should stop calling themselves Roman Catholic.

Bishop Lennon, can we look to you to clean this up?

Thanks to a reader for the heads up.

REVIVAL CATHOLIC ARCHITECTURE

Take a look at the new mega-church in Austin. It actually looks Catholic and it's a nice improvement on what it has replaced!

Hat tip to Bettnet for the link.

CONVERSATION ON TALK RADIO

here today concerns the radio personality's 9-year-old son who told his parents recently that his class had practiced "lockdown" so they would be prepared in case somebody came to school to "slit their throats."

What are we teaching our children with our sexual abuse protection programs in the Catholic school and lockdowns in the public schools? That the world is out to get them?

Lord have mercy!

MARY'S HOUSE

Benedict has celebrated a Mass outside the house where the Blessed Virgin is said to have lived. Catholic World News gives the detailed history of this shrine.

FREEMASONRY AND THE KABBALAH

In the post below this one I've shown that a relationship exists between York Rite Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism, and quoted a passage from the Canadian SRIC website that speaks about the Kabbalah.

In searching for more information about Kabbalah from Masonic websites I came upon the Lewis Masonic publishing house and their publication KABBALAH: TRADITIONS OF HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE. They have more books that look interesting at the "esoteric" link, including books on alchemy, magic, meditation, astrology, hermetics, evocation, and another about Kabbalah. It looks as though the Lodge has decided to stop claiming there is nothing occult in their practices.

There is a book about the Knights Templar on the publisher's website, written by Alan Butler and Stephen Dafoe, and titled THE WARRIORS AND THE BANKERS: A HISTORY OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR FROM 1307 TO THE PRESENT. Dafoe is editor of "Masonic Magazine." At the magazine's website he reviews another book by Alan Butler titled THE VIRGIN AND THE PENTACLE in which he writes:

A first glance at the subtitle of this book–The Freemasonic Plot to Destroy the Church–and the would be reader might get the impression that the book is another anti-Masonic shot at the Craft and how it is out to destroy and or infiltrate Christianity. However, such is not the case. Although he is not a Mason, Alan Butler has always had a respect for the Masonic institution.

The Virgin and the Pentacle is the story of the battle between Freemasonry and Orthodox Christianity over the years, but particularly in the early to mid 19th Century.

In the book, the author discusses the problems and conflicts between the Catholic Church and Freemasonry. It is Butler’s belief that this tension is largely due to a matriarchal and patriarchal take on the godhead.

He also takes note of the fact that Butler is not a Mason, and that Masonic Lodges exclude women from their meetings, making Butler's argument a bit odd. If the objective is to spread confusion, I'd give them an A+.

Returning to the Lewis Masonic website, I found that perhaps the most interesting title of all is the webpage for the book THE ROSSLYN HOAX ?, which asks the question "Is it true that Rosslyn Chapel has been changed to make it Masonic?" Since the chapel had fallen into a state of disrepair, Restoration was begun in 1736, 19 years after the Masonic Grand Lodge of London was formed in 1717.

The year 1717 is the official year of the beginning of Freemasonry as we know it today. Kilwinning Lodge in Scotland was formed prior to 1717, however, in that transitional period from operative lodges to speculative lodges, which makes Scotland the birthplace of Freemasonry in the eyes of many Masons. But I'm getting sidetracked from my quest for information about Kabbalah in Freemasonry.

I found a paper by Thomas D. Worrel titled "A Brief Look At The Kabbalah", which was presented to the Allied Masonic Degrees Britannia Lodge #303 on March 3, 1996. Here you will find a brief description of Jewish mysticism as it developed into the Kabbalah teachings, and as Freemasonry has adopted them. Worrel asks is "the influence of Christian Cabala really the same as an influence of Rosicrucianism, a movement possibly connected with secret societies and particularly with Freemasonry?" He also speaks of the close association of Tarot with Kabbalah.

Worrel's website is linked at tracingboard.com, the website of "The Trestleboard--The Cutting Edge of Freemasonry"--a publication of the Rite of the Rose Cross of Gold. Who might Thomas D. Worrel be?

His name turns up at the Mill Valley Lodge in Marin County, north of San Francisco. Worrel was Grand Master of the Lodge in 1999. A number of his papers are reproduced in the website, including the paper on Kabbalah. According to the history page in the Lodge website. At the bottom of the history page is this curious entry:

Finally, in the late 20th century, Mill Valley Masons Thomas D. Worrel, P.M., and Edward M. King established two new Lodges in Mill Valley. Bro. Worrel established the Commandry of the Green Lion, Order of the Aurum Solis in 2000; Bro. King established Mons Abiegnus Camp, Order Templi Orientis (OTO) in c. 1998. [emphasis mine - ct]

Aurum Solis and the Commandry of the Green Lion? Stay tuned.

THE WHITE BUFFALO

Some of you may know the story of the white buffalo being a symbol of peace to the Lakota and other Indians.

A group of school children in Austin made a tapestry of white buffaloes as they learned about the Native American legend.

A white buffalo was born last August on a Wisconsin ranch. You can see a picture of it here.

Alas, this was an unlucky white buffalo. The Daily News reports:

A white buffalo calf born in August was among five buffalo killed by lightning at a farm near Janesville, farmer Dave Heider said Monday.

Heider said he went to check on the animals Monday morning before going to work, and the mother of the white buffalo calf was walking around, grunting, so Heider followed her up a hill to where he found the dead animals with burn marks, near a tree.

He said the lightning during a thunderstorm Sunday night apparently hit the tree and all five buffalo.

I guess that being dead is peaceful.

MASONIC SOCIETAS ROSICRUCIANA IN CIVITATIBUS FOEDERATIS

"This Organization is an Invitational Masonic Body." So states Thurman Cleveland Pace, Jr., Supreme Magus of the organization, on a York Rite website dedicated to the Masonic Societas Rosicruciana In Civitatibus Foederatis (MSRICF).

York Rite is an appendant "body" to the Blue Lodge, according to the Unity Lodge website.

I have often written about Rosicrucianism, but all of the lodges mentioned to date have been assumed to be "irregular" Masonic Lodges. MSRICF, however, unapologetically aligns itself with regular, York Rite Freemasonry, using the familiar Rosicrucian cross as a link for the MSRICF on the Unity Lodge website.

At the York Rite website, a paper titled "Masonic Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis - An Introduction to Masonic Rosicrucianism" provides the history and the structure of this organization. MSRICF was founded in the late 1800s in England, Scotland and the United States. According to the paper, "The Society is in amity with the only other similar societies in the world--Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (England) and Societas Rosicruciana in Scotia (Scotland)." Membership is by invitation and requires Christian affiliation.

Secrecy is a concern of MSRICF. The paper states "The Masonic qualification assures the membership that the neophyte has given proof of that fidelity and privacy which characterizes a member of that Fraternity."

The paper describes the governing structure: High Council, composed of "Fraters of the Third Order (IX and VIII), are the governing body, with jurisdiction over the individual lodges called "Colleges". In reading that I was struck by the use of "Third Order" because I've seen it so often used online in Catholic websites which refer to secular orders attached to religious orders, something unheard of prior to Vatican II. The MSRICF Third Order consists of a "Magister" and a "Magus". Jewel for the Magus is a mitre. MSRICF Colleges are located in 37 states and Washington, D.C., the College at large.

The Alchemy website lists MSRICF among other modern Rosicrucian groups and indicates that "the present SRICF [Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis] is ritualistic and initiatic...existing under its new name 'Masonic Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis' (MSRICF)", though the explanation does not indicate a date for the name change.

Links to the websites of some of the various state colleges are provided at the sric-canada.org website. A link there to the "High Council" will take you here where you can read:

Aims and Objectives of the Society


“The aim of the Society is to afford mutual aid and encouragement in working out the great problems of Life, and in discovering the Secrets of Nature; to facilitate the study of the system of Philosophy founded upon the Kabbalah and the doctrines of Hermes Trismegistus, which was inculcated by the original Fratres Rosae Crucis of Germany, A.D. 1450; and to investigate the meaning and symbolism of all that now remains of the wisdom, art and literature of the Ancient World.”

Notice that at this High Council website it is noted that "Each College is presided over by a Celebrant and his officers..." "Celebrant"--the word that has replaced "priest" when discussing the Mass--in Roman Catholicism.

Notice also the poem attributed to Henry Adamson that includes a reference to "second sight" and foretelling correctly the things to come.

The sric-canada.org website also links the Bnei Baruch World Center For Kabbalah Studies website of Rev. Michael Laitman, PhD., where a wealth of material on the Kabbalah can be found. The Kabbalah Center International is also linked. Additionally there are links to several Hermetic Kabbalah websites.

WAITING WITH BAITED BREATH

Catholic news seems to be focused on only one thing today as we wait for Benedict to make his historic trip. With prayers, with concern for his safety, with the desire that a better understanding with Islam can result, with longing for peace in the world, and with hope that we can move closer to unity with Orthodoxy, all eyes are focused on Benedict XVI.

Dr. Robert Moynihan's "Inside the Vatican Newsflash" sent in email in part sums up the longing as Moynihan reflects on his arrival in Istanbul:

Here Constantine, recognizing the strategic "lynch-pin" of his empire, which encircled the Mediterranean Sea, set up the city he wished to be called by his name, Constantinople, laying the cornerstone on May 30 in 330 AD, and titling the city "New Rome," much in the manner of "New York." And just as "New York" surpassed York, so "New Rome" in time surpassed Rome, attracting to itself the riches of the east, and developing into "Byzantium." This is the city that the Irish poet, William Butler Yeats, contended had reached the highest possible level of human culture, art and artifice, becoming for him a metaphor for all human striving to represent reality in art, for all attempts to shape this sometimes shapeless natural world. In his poem "Sailing to Byzantium" it was the golden nightingale of the emperor which typified the artifice and art of the Byzantines - a nightingale made by a goldsmith, and somehow endowed with the mechanical ability to sing before the lords and ladies of Byzantium.

Thus did this city come to sum up all that the classical world strove to produce in human culture, in architecture, in religion, in art, in mosaics, in legal codes, and even in government, as the Byzantine Empire extended in time from 330 until 1453.

And then, the city fell.

To the Turks.

Who had embraced the Muslim faith.

So ended the glory that was Byzantium, after eleven and a half centuries, and twenty-two centuries after the founding of Rome itself, on the Tiber, in 753 BC.

What the World Needs to Hear

Five hundred and thirty-three years have passed since Byzantium's fall, and on this November in the Year of Our Lord 2006, the Pope of Rome, Benedict XVI, with the eyes of all the world turned upon him, is about to make the most significant journey of his pontificate. He will arrive in Istanbul in two days.

The bishop of old Rome will come to what once was called "new Rome" and here seek to cement the ties of friendship and understanding which have been growing for half a century between the Orthodox and the Catholic world. He is invited here by Patriarch Bartholomew, to celebrate with him the Feast of St. Andrew, the brother of St. Peter, who is believed to have come to this city in the first century, to evangelize Byzantium before it was Byzantium. The feast falls on November 30. Since Patriarch Bartholomew has visited Rome on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, which falls on June 29 each year, the pope has decided it is appropriate to return the gesture, and visit Bartholomew on the Feast of St. Andrew. Christian relations, internal Christian matters, are one chief motivation of this trip: the healing of the "Great Schism" which has divided the Orthodox - the Eastern Christians - from the Roman Catholics since 1054, now 952 years.

But there is another focus of this trip, which destiny, or history, or personal choice - it is impossible to say which - has imposed. And that is the dialogue, and confrontation, with Islam.

For this trip falls 77 days after Pope Benedict's speech at Regensburg, Germany, where he spoke of Islam, and cited a Byzantine emperor's accusation that Islam was spread by coercion, by force. He spoke also of the West's own form of "violence" and "irrationality" in its denial of the transcendent. Indeed, his comments were more directed toward the West and the danger of its renunciation of the transcendent than they were toward Islam and its alleged embrace of coercion in matters of religion.

But his words fell like sparks on dry tinder and enflamed outrage throughout the world. Many Muslims felt the pope had insulted their faith. (Many secularists said he had done precisely that, though it is difficult to see what standing they have to make comments in this matter.) In any case, following the Regensburg talk, which occurred precisely five years and one day after 9/11 and the fall of the Twin Towers in New York City, the prospects and significance of this papal trip to Istanbul altered. Instead of concentrating on Christian questions, on relations with the Orthodox, the trip was transformed into an opportunity to attempt to grasp and clarify the issues that now increasingly divide the Muslim world from the post-Christian West.

These coming days in Istanbul promise to set the pope within a spotlight of attention to his every word, his every nuance of phrase, to discern whether he, as the "moral authority of the West" - though the West itself no longer recognizes his moral authority, but rejects and often mocks it - has something of importance to say to the entire world at this current moment of apparent impasse.

As the war in Iraq burns on; as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians remains unresolved; as the direction of European culture seems to hang in the balance with the decision of whether to permit Turkey to enter the European Union; as the problems of world energy supplies seem to grow more acute, making the Middle East ever more central to the world's economic future - as all these elements come together in November 2006 in Istanbul, the pope is preparing his words carefully. What will he say?

What, indeed, will he say? And what will be the world's reactions?

May God protect him and grant him wisdom. May he speak with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. May he find the words that the world needs to hear.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for Benedict.

FOLLOW THE POPE IN TURKEY

A separate mini-site has been established at Spero to cover the Pope's visit. There are already several articles posted.

PAPAL SIGHTSEEING

On Wednesday the Pope plans to visit Ephesus where there is a shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary--the house where she is said to have lived after the Ascension. Benedict will celebrate Mass there. India Catholic Reports:

The following day, Benedict XVI will travel to Smyrna, the country's third-largest city, known as "The Pearl of the Aegean," from where he will go to Ephesus, the city where the Apostle Paul lived and was captive, and where, according to tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist also lived.

In Ephesus, Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass at the Meryem Ana Evi (House of Mary) Shrine and deliver a homily. It was in this city that a Council in the year 431 proclaimed the Virgin Mary "Theotokos," of Mother of God.

What will be the impact of this event on the claims of the Templars who believe that Mary Magdalene and the Blessed Virgin lived in France? Graham Phillips claims:

What became of the Virgin Mary after the Crucifixion is one of the greatest mysteries of the Bible. The New Testament tells us almost nothing: not where she lived, nor where or how she died. The Marian Conspiracy is Graham Phillips’ personal quest to solve this fascinating enigma.

You know what's coming--the evil Catholic Church once again arranged a cover-up:

Following the turmoil of World War II, the Vatican instigated a project to investigate the authenticity of the two rival tombs. Although no historical evidence was found to verify the case for either of these two sites, the Vatican archaeologist Giovanni Benedetti claimed to have found persuasive evidence for a third and completely forgotten tomb. In 1950 he was about to publish his findings when Pope Pius XII declared, for the first time, that belief in the Assumption was dogma - official Church teaching. As all Roman Catholics were now required to accept Mary’s bodily ascension into heaven, it followed that there could be no tomb of the Virgin Mary anywhere in the world. Benedetti was summoned to the Vatican and told to keep quiet about what he had discovered.

The Masonic stronghold Rosslyn Chapel offers Phillips book for sale on their website.

Note the publisher--Bear & Co., part of Inner Traditions. Bear & Co. was Matthew Fox's publishing house founded by a channeler and her husband, Barbara Hand and Gerry Clow according to this brief bio.

Will the Templars simply ignore Benedict's Mass? Or will they try to spin it in a way that preserves their theory?

EMAIL FROM LEE PENN

According to the National Catholic Register, B16 has asked Henry Kissinger to give him political advice. The Register (which is a neocon Catholic paper, closely tied to the Legionaries of Christ) notes that the report is from the Italian press, which is not well-known for checking facts before publishing. (If any of you find evidence that the Register's story is NOT TRUE, please send it along, and I will circulate the new information to the 6 people who are getting this note.)

Kissinger to Serve As Papal Adviser?
http://ncregister.com/site/article/kissinger_to_serve_as_papal_adviser

Here is the whole story. Bold type is added by me, and I put a few comments in square brackets/blue type in the story:

[In the interests of avoiding copyright infringement, I have included ONLY the portions Lee has bolded and/or highlighted in red. To read the entire story, go to the Register website. - Carrie]

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According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, Pope Benedict XVI has invited the 83-year-old former adviser to Richard Nixon to be a political consultant, and Kissinger has accepted.

Quoting an "authoritative" diplomatic source at the Holy See, the paper reported Nov. 4 that the Nobel laureate was asked at a recent private audience with the Holy Father to form part of a papal "advisory board" on foreign and political affairs.

As the Register went to press, Kissinger's office was unable to confirm or deny the report. La Stampa stood by its story, although the Italian press is less rigorous in its authentication of stories as is the United States Press.

...in view of the Muslim hostility to Benedict's recent Regensburg speech, Kissinger might provide advice on dealing with an increasingly fractious Islamic world.

...Kissinger has analyzed the challenges of globalization and might provide advice in this area as well. ...


Pope John Paul II was close friends with Zbigniew Brzezinski...

[Brzezinski is a New World Order supporter, and he advised Jimmy Carter to provoke the Russians into invading Afghanistan ... and then to support the Muslim rebels there.]

In recent years, other figures invited to share their expertise with the Holy See have included Paul Wolfowitz, a former President Bush adviser and now president of the World Bank; Michel Camdessus, the former director of the International Monetary Fund; American economist Jeffrey Sachs and Hans Tietmeyer, former governor of Germany's central bank.

[Wolfowitz is a neocon warmonger; Camdessus appears to have been a Gorby-style NWO guy; Jeffrey Sachs led the Harvard economic team whose shock-privatization advice ruined the Russian economy after the fall of the USSR - and Sachs has been on the board of advisers of the Wittenberg Center, a New Age interfaith seminary.

(Here's the Wittenberg Center's list of their Board of Advisers:

Who we are
http://www.wittenbergcenter.org/id16.html .

Sachs is there, along with a representative from the United Religions Initiative.)

/sarcasm on/ With a cast of advisers like this, how could the Vatican go wrong? /sarcasm off/]

'Different Voices'

...like Pope John Paul II, Benedict XVI is winning recognition for his intellectual ability and his capacity to discuss international issues with a diverse spectrum of world figures, ranging from the Dalai Lama to the late atheist polemicist Oriana Fallaci and to Mustapha Cherif, an Algerian Muslim philosopher whom he met this month.

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Lee