“My people perish for want of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6)

Never has there been a time when we have had so much knowledge at our disposal, and yet, our people “perish for want of knowledge.” There has been an explosion of false teaching and many Catholics have lost their faith and are on a road to destruction. As members of the “body of Christ,” it is very crucial that we become more knowledgeable about our Catholic faith; we need discernment in order to distinguish between true and false teaching.

Some false teaching is recognized immediately, and the Church speaks out boldly—though not always reaching the ears of the ordinary lay Catholic. However, most of the false teaching in our present day are from “Angels of light”—old heresies in new dress. In these cases, the Church never makes hasty or snap judgments. Discernment takes a long time. It doesn’t take very long, however, for the faithful to become infected and contaminated by these false teachings. Paganism is rampant, as never before.

When the Church does speak out, many of her more intellectual children, with a lot of secular knowledge, question her on every point. It is like a mother who is trying to teach her child the difference between right and wrong—good and evil. She knows intuitively that something is not good, but she can’t put it into words. Her child asks: “Why can’t I?” She is forced to use her authority and respond: “Because I said so.” If her child does not have a spirit of obedience and trust, they will rebel against her. The Church often has to use her authority and respond: “Because I said so.” She has to hope that her children will have a spirit of obedience and trust, as well, and not rebel. But, her children are now coming of age, and think of her as a human mother who often changes her values, rules, and regulations as she grows in wisdom and maturity. Many of the faithful do not understand the difference between Divine Law and Church Law. The Church is a Divine Institution, as well as a human one. This same problem is what led the Church to formulate the “Creed”—so that all the faithful would share a common belief in union with the Apostles—a creed that professed all the basic and necessary beliefs necessary to be a true believer. The problem, today, is that even though Catholics profess the same “Creed,” most do not understand what it means, or they have interpreted it according to their own understanding and that of the false teaching they have absorbed.

Most Catholics, today, see themselves as faithful Catholics, believing what the Church teaches. They are not in dissent from the Church or in rebellion, they simply do not know what the Church teaches, or they have a false understanding of what she teaches. They have become attached to false teachers who they believe are true prophets of the Church. These Catholics are living in sin, and not in union with the Church, but they do not know it. Because they are victims of deceit, they may not be culpable, but they are still in bondage, and they can’t even repent because they do not know they are in bondage—that they are living in sin. Only the Truth—who is a person—Jesus Christ, can set them free. Added to this is the fact that there are many, outside the Church and within, who are in total rebellion and dissent from Church teaching. They hate the Church and intentionally want to destroy her and remake her according to their own designs. Who will deliver us! Come, Lord, Jesus!

The New Age Movement has spread like fire throughout our Church, educational system, sciences, medicine, culture, and the whole world. This has resulted in the establishment of hundreds of cults and sects that are anti-Christ and anti-Catholic.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I want to encourage you to take every opportunity to study the Scriptures and the Teachings of the Church. Make use of the Internet and research what the Church is saying; become informed about what is true and what is false teaching.

Our present situation brings to mind several scriptures:

The Spirit has explicitly said that during the last times there will be some who will desert the faith and choose to listen to deceitful spirits and doctrines that come from the devils; and the cause of this is the lies told by hypocrites whose consciences are branded as though with a re-hot iron. 1Tim. 4:1-2

The time is sure to come when, far from being content with sound teaching, people will be avid for the latest novelty and collect themselves a whole series of teachers according to their own tastes; and then, instead of listening to the truth, they will turn to myths. Be careful always to choose the right course; be brave under trials; make the preaching of the Good News your life’s work. 2Tim. 4:3-5

Anyone who teaches anything different and does not keep to the sound teaching which is that of our Lord Jesus Christ, the doctrine which is in accordance with true religion, is simply ignorant and must be full of self-conceit—with a craze for questioning everything and arguing about words. 1Tim. 6:3-4

I am astonished at the promptness with which you have turned away from the one who called you and have decided to follow a different version of the Good News. Not that there can be more than one Good News; it is merely that some troublemakers among you want to change the Good News of Christ; and let me warn you that if anyone preaches a version of the Good News different from the one we have already preached to you, whether it be ourselves or an angel from heaven he is to be condemned. Gal. 1:6-8

You must live your whole life according to the Christ you have received—Jesus the Lord; you must be rooted in him and built on him and held firm by the faith you have been taught, and full of thanksgiving….Make sure that no one traps you and deprives you of your freedom by some secondhand, empty, rational philosophy based on the principles of this world instead of on Christ. Col. 2:6-8

I have discovered that the Internet is a wonderful resource to help us become informed. If you have access to the Internet, please take time to investigate these web sites. There are numerous articles put out by the Church, covering every aspect of the New Age Movement. These articles can help us to understand why the Church warns us to stay away from them, instead of just telling us to stay away. The Lord has called us to evangelize. We have a responsibility to know our faith and to pass it on, especially for the sake of our children and grandchildren:

Pentecost Today: http://www.nsc-chariscenter.org/pentecost.htm

Catholic Culture: Library: Reincarnation Western-Style

http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?recunum=547

Catholic Pages Directory: >>Prayers>>Spirituality

http://www.catholic-pages.com/dir/spirituality.asp

Catholic Pages: >>Controversies>>New Age & Cults

http://www.catholic-pages.com/dir/newage.asp

Jesus Christ The Bearer of the Water of Life, A Christian Reflection on the “New Age,” Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, Pauline Books & Media

Catholics and the New Age, by Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J., Servant Books, 1992

The New Age Counterfeit, by Johnnette Benkovic, Queenship Publishing Co., Living His Life Abundantly

The Church has warned Catholics to stay away from the following practices, so you may want to do some research on them to better understand the Church’s position:

New Age & Cults

Eastern Oriental Philosophy: Hinduism and Buddhism

Transcendental Meditation

Some forms of Centering Prayer & Mysticism

Gnosticism and Occultism

Neo-Paganism and Creation Spirituality

Wicca and Catholic Feminism

Occult Practices

Jungian Psychology & Dream Analysis

Satanism

The Human Potential Movement

Yoga

Enneagram

Christian Zen

Magic

Reiki

Reincarnation

Pseudo Science

Syncretism - Cults & Sects

A Course in Miracles

Spiritism and Spiritualism

I would like to close with these words of St. Paul, making them my own, as my prayer for all brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus:

“My prayer is that your love for each other may increase more and more and never stop improving your knowledge and deepening your perception so that you can always recognize what is best. This will help you to become pure and blameless, and prepare you for the Day of Christ, when you will reach the perfect goodness which Jesus Christ produces in us for the glory and praise of God.” (Phil. 1:9-11)