Reiki, not for Catholics. Not now, not ever.

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In March of 2009, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a document declaring the practice of Reiki (pronounced RAY kee) incompatible with Christian teaching and scientific evidence and therefore inappropriate for Catholic institutions to promote or support. The actual document can be found as a pdf here.

Scandalously, many churches, Catholic hospitals, and retreat centers continue to offer Reiki as a “healing practice” despite the Bishops’ clear condemnation. It is important to understand what Reiki is and why it is so dangerous to the practice of authentic Catholicism.

Reiki originated in Japan in the late 1800s and was invented by a man named Mikao Usui. He was a well-educated man, having traveled to both Europe and China to study. Usui was a successful businessman and was interested in arts, medicine, Buddhism, and was a member of the Rei Jyutu Ka, a metaphysical group dedicated to developing psychic abilities.

It is said that in a difficult period of his life when his business was failing and he was feeling spiritually empty, Usui was atop Mt. Kurama fasting and suddenly received a “Reiki” over his head. He was then infused with the Reiki, was healed spiritually, and acquired the Reiki cure. From whom he received this “gift” is not mentioned. After this experience, Usui took himself to Tokyo and in 1922 he opened a center for training and cures in Reiki practice.

Reiki was brought to the West by a woman named Hawayo Takata in 1937. She was raised in Hawaii by Japanese parents and on a trip to Japan became ill, eventually seeking the healing of a Reiki master and later becoming one herself. She left Japan prior to World War II and spent thirty years practicing and teaching Reiki in Hawaii.

So what is Reiki? Reiki is comprised of two words, “Rei” which means “God’s wisdom” and “Ki” which means “life force energy”. It is a practice of stress reduction and relaxation that is said to promote healing. The technique is to minister by “laying on hands” and is based upon the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what controls our physical and spiritual health.

It is interesting to note that the techniques for laying on hands are taught by Reiki Masters but the Reiki itself, the healing force, is said to be passed from teacher to student via an “attunement” which opens up a well of life force energy. People who have experienced attunement report undergoing such life altering changes as having their third eye opened, increased psychic abilities, releasing of negative feelings and energy and, oddly, a change in food preferences. Other people claim to feel absolutely nothing. It seems to be a hit and miss kind of thing.

Like many New Age practices Reiki is merely a hijacked Eastern philosophy with Pantheistic roots, some elements of Christian doctrine and a dash of self deification. The story of Mikao Usui climbing a mountain and returning with supernatural powers is designed to evoke the forty days Jesus spent in the desert before His death, or Moses’ time in the desert or Mohamed’s. Even the idea of passing the power along in a formal attunement takes liberally from the apostolic succession of the Catholic church.

In using the familiar concepts and terminology of legitimate religious traditions, the Reiki master makes people of faith comfortable with a practice that defies logic and is at a cross purpose with the practice of Christianity. This life force of which they speak can be likened to the Christian doctrine of the soul. While we, as Christians have never claimed scientific evidence to prove the existence of our souls, it is a matter of faith. We do not believe that the soul is moveable from one to another, nor is it a healing force. Our doctrine calls for healing of a soul through confession, prayer, spiritual direction, reception of the Blessed Sacrament, and the like. The soul itself does not heal. Rather it enables us to seek the healing grace provided by God through the sacraments.

From the International Center for Reiki Training’s publication, A Brief Overview:

“The knowledge that an unseen energy flows through all living things and is connected directly to the quality of health has been part of the wisdom of many cultures since ancient times. The existence of this “life force energy” has been verified by recent scientific experiments, and medical doctors are considering the role it plays in the functioning of the immune system and the healing process.”

Since the “energy force” is unseen it would really not be verifiable by any reputable medical practitioner thereby making that statement a falsehood. Any role an unverifiable force in the body could play in healing would be a figment of the patient’s imagination, or the power of self delusion,

Also from the same publication:

“Ki is the life force. It is also called the vital life force or the universal life force. This is the nonphysical energy that animates all living things. As long as something is alive, it has life force circulating through it and surrounding it; when it dies, the life force departs.”

This, again, tries to liken the Ki with the Christian concept of a soul but fails in that, as we know, all life comes from God. The life of grace that is our soul will not die but will experience everlasting life. What kind of everlasting life is up to the person in question.

Reiki masters claim that Reiki is not a religion or even spiritual, rather it’s the use of the body’s own force to heal. Since there is no scientific method of qualifying this and there is an entire culture built around Reiki, it is hard to see how it can be anything but a spiritual practice. Certainly the laying on of hands, a key component of the healing, speaks to many healing rituals in many faith traditions.

There are even five principles that Reiki followers are supposed to adhere to:

  1. Just for today, I will not be angry
  2. Just for today, I will not worry
  3. Just for today, I will be grateful
  4. Just for today, I will do my work honestly
  5. Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing

Rather kindergartenesque as far as creeds go, but it certainly expresses a spiritual ideology.

It is particularly strange and somewhat horrifying that Reiki is practiced in Catholic institutions all over the country. A retreat center not far from my house offers Reiki and massage at every weekend retreat. I think you need to seriously rethink your spiritual life if your idea of a Catholic religious retreat is to disrobe and have someone lay hands on you.

When meaningless and incongruous acts are performed within the context of a real religious service or ritual it is superstition. To add superstition to a Catholic retreat truly is exposing the attendees to sin. It also exposes them to forces that may try to use this spurious laying on of hands to thwart the will of God and cause serious spiritual harm.

When confronted, many Catholics who practice Reiki or receive the “treatments” claim that it can be Christianized, and invocations to the Holy Spirit and such accompany the healing ritual. This justification simply does not hold up. There is no need to take a non-Catholic spiritual practice and try to force it to be something it isn’t. Our faith provides all that we need in terms of spirituality.

Things that are good, true, and beautiful have no need for extra Christianization since the author of all that is good and true and beautiful clearly provided them. Things that are not good, true, and beautiful have no place in Catholic circles. It is for this reason that it is incumbent upon all faithful Catholics to be aware that there is no place for New Age practices of any kind in our worship, rituals, practices, or prayers. If something is added in the name of “spirituality” or “enlightenment,” be sure to question why Catholics need to import from other sources when our faith was given to us by the Source of all truth.

Catholicism is by itself a whole and complete worship with no need of spurious addends. When the faithful are well-educated and well aware of what is consistent with our faith and what is not, their radar should be well-tuned to weed out superstition and heresy.

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Christ’s Resurrection and Ours

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The closest we’ll ever come to experiencing creation, as the Creator did, is to experience the re-creation of what’s already been created in new ways… like when the writer puts words on a blank page, or the pianist improvises arpeggios at the keys, or the artist finds new interpretation for the hues on the palette.

We, in some way, participate in creative endeavor, but we don’t create as God did: creating something from nothing. Even the amazing conception of a human person, whose genesis necessitates the genetic donation of his or her biological parents, is not a creation ushered forth from nothingness… but, rather, a loving gift of Creation already set in motion by the hand of God ages ago.

On the other hand, the closest we’ll ever come to experiencing resurrection, as Jesus did, will be our very own resurrections.

I find this to be the most astounding, stunning, and extraordinary reality of the Christian faith. That the person who dies will mysteriously live again… not just resuscitated, like a person who comes back from death thanks to CPR, or like Lazarus who was called out of the tomb by Jesus. (Cf. John 11:1-44.) Even though Lazarus lived again, his old body eventually died again.  No, one day, after we die, we will be truly alive in an eternal, non-stop, supernatural, transcendent, and glorified way. Thanks to the redemption won for us by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Resurrection from the dead is a foundational truth of Christian faith—right after the idea that God could become incarnate. What a mighty God we have!

What Jesus did first, in rising from the dead with a glorified body, we, too, will do in the joy of heaven.

We find these ideas encapsulated in the Compendium, a question and answer type of catechism, which is a concise and faithful synthesis of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Question 126: What place does the Resurrection of Christ occupy in our faith?  [See CCC 631, 638.]

The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ and represents along with his cross an essential part of the Paschal Mystery.

Question 131: What is the saving meaning of the Resurrection? [See CCC 651-655, 658.]

The Resurrection is the climax of the Incarnation. It confirms the divinity of Christ and all the things which he did and taught. It fulfills all the divine promises made for us. Furthermore the risen Christ, the conqueror of sin and death, is the principle of our justification and our Resurrection. It procures for us now the grace of filial adoption which is a real share in the life of the only begotten Son. At the end of time he will raise up our bodies.

Question 204: What is the relationship between the Resurrection of Christ and our resurrection?  [See CCC 998, 1002-1003.]

Just as Christ is truly risen from the dead and now lives forever, so he himself will raise everyone on the last day with an incorruptible body: “Those who have done good will rise to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:29).

The Church gives us fifty days of Eastertide to ponder these mysteries! You might also want to consider picking up a copy of the Compendium for your shelves, as it presents a wonderful overview of the Catechism!

 

 

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MAC Round-Up

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I’m still processing the many wonderful presentations from last week’s MidAtlantic Congress in Baltimore, whose theme was Witness Hope. But I’d like to share a few highlights while they’re still fresh in my mind. Suffice it to say that overall it was an extremely positive experience.

It was a very diverse congress, which I appreciated, because I went there with the full, active intent of sampling the variations of viewpoints within the Church, and getting a clearer sense of my Catholic family’s current state of being. I did hear a lot of ideas, and found much of value to take home with me.

As you know from last week’s column, I’m trying not to be so judgmental toward my fellow Catholics but yes, I had some criticisms, especially the assertion by the last plenary presenter that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church is a “boy’s club.” I feel very strongly that we Catholics should be setting an example of respectful disagreement, as we do in our homes. I know it’s hard. I absolutely struggle with this, myself. But it’s important to keep trying.

That said, the conference was an overwhelmingly positive experience. On the first day, Dr. Michael Carotta, an expert in adolescent spirituality, gave a truly superb workshop that was sponsored by Our Sunday Visitor and called, “Reclaiming Religious Education.”

He identified several critical skills to be mastered by the religious educator:

1) naming the adaptive challenge (the goal);

2) regulating the “heat” of the discussion (some topics need gentle handling, some need more intensity);

3) protecting all the voices in the room (giving everyone a chance to be heard respectfully);

and my favorite,

4) using powerful questions.

I’ve always wondered how really great teachers get everybody in the room buzzing and really moving the discussion deeper. Dr. Carotta does that so naturally that you almost feel like you’re helping him teach the class, you’re so engaged. For Dr. Carotta, one way is to ask powerful questions, like: “What have you learned by heart?”

Once the question is asked, Dr. Carotta advises, don’t leap in to fill the silence. Ask a powerful question and then shut up. If you are quiet after asking a question, it pulls a response from the listener. “Let silence do the heavy lifting,” he says.

And if someone gives a powerful, emotional response to your question, follow it up with some respectful silence. He explains, “Some insights and emotions can only find you in silence. The stronger the emotion, the more silence is deserved.” Protect the person and the response by not allowing anyone to jump in too quickly with another comment.

He shared a Native American quote that I really liked, because it is so apt for our culture:

“Where in your life did you become uncomfortable with the sweet territory of silence?”

(I’d like to pause to recommend a resource for all of us who are inundated with noise, especially electronic distractions like social media, cell phones, and email. Matt Swaim, producer of the Son Rise Morning Show with Brian Patrick, wrote a terrific book, Prayer in the Digital Age, which goes into depth on the question of our spiritual need for silence.)

Just quickly, a few other highlights:

One of my favorite catechists, Dr. Joseph White (who I interviewed last month here at Patheos), shared a study that shows the percentage of content typically retained when taught in various ways. Mull over how you can enhance your lesson planning using this as a guide:

Lecture: 5%
Reading: 10%
Audiovisual: 20%
Demonstration: 30%
Discussion group: 50%
Practice by doing: 75%
Teach other, immediate use: 90%

Interesting, isn’t it? Dr. White also reviewed the use of Multiple Intelligences for teaching in effective, fun, creative ways, and recommended his “Teach It” series, for lots more great ideas.

Tom McGrath, author and Vice President of Product Development for Loyola Press, was also excellent, as he spoke on a topic near and dear to my heart: “Parents Aren’t the Problem, They’re the Solution: Practical Ways to Engage Parents in the Faith Formation of their Children.”

He told wonderful stories demonstrating how parents really are the best and most important teachers of their children, capable of inspiring faith through the example of their lives. He likes to get parents talking about their goals for their children in the context of religious training. It’s kind of a sneaky trick, but the good kind.

For instance, according to the consensus of our group, typically parents want their children to:

1) celebrate the sacraments
2) understand their faith
3) have a belief system to turn to in times of trouble.

Once you’ve got parents expressing these goals, you’ve implicitly made a contract with them that makes them more active participants in the process! Clever fellow.

And after he’d gotten us all talking to each other and thinking about some interesting issues, he said something that I really liked: “Once you’re talking to each other, it’s a sacred place.” I think that makes a lot of sense. It’s one thing to passively listen and be inspired in the solitude of your own mind, but another to open to another person’s reactions and share your own. It creates a sort of community that amplifies the value of the discussion, because it becomes more personal.

I also want to recommend the CDs of a Catholic singer/composer who performed at the MAC’s beautiful Way of the Cross on Friday evening, Danielle Rose. Her “Agony in the Garden” was truly haunting and intimate. I just had to run over to the Exhibit Hall and buy a couple of her albums: Mysteries, which features all the mysteries of the Rosary in poetic expressions from various points of view, and Defining Beauty, her first album, with more Catholic faith songs. Take a look at her site. Her bio is very interesting.

There’s so much more, I can’t possibly fit everything I learned into one column. I loved Cecilia Regan’s presentation on whole-community catechesis. A DRE for more than twenty years before taking on the position of Director of Catechesis for the Diocese of Metuchen, Regan made the spiritual formation of her catechists her first priority. She created a spiritual “community” among them, out of which flowed well-informed and inspiring teaching. So wonderful!

All in all, the Mac was a very instructive and enjoyable event. I’d like to thank the organizers once again, for inviting me to cover the congress as a media representative. Thank you so much, Therese Brown, Fr. John Hurley, CSP, and Paul Hendersen. Thank you to Father James Martin, S.J., Dr. Joseph White, and to Michael Ruzicki, for their wonderful pre-event interviews.

And many thanks to Elizabeth Scalia and Dan Welch, here at Patheos, for all their support. It was exciting being able to quickly blog about the MAC at Summa This, Summa That. If readers would like more details on some of the other MAC presentations, check out the blog for concise summaries.

Thanks! God bless you!

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Here Comes MAC! Baltimore’s Brave New Conference

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If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. (John Quincy Adams)

I am psyched. I’m heading to Baltimore in March for a major new Catholic conference that seeks to bring hope to the Church by developing leaders in all areas of Catholic life and ministry.

The MidAtlantic Congress for Pastoral Leadership launches its first annual event March 8-10 at the new Baltimore Hilton (only a few blocks from the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary), with the bracing theme, “Witness Hope!”

A joint effort of the Association of Catholic Publishers and the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the “MAC,” as its visionaries call it, seeks to:

  • Bring the best of Catholic pastoral ministry, religious education/catechesis, and theology to parish leadership
  • Provide an opportunity for parish and school leaders to network with each other and meet in peer groups for support and enrichment with possibility of these meetings continuing through informal groups and emerging social media following the conference
  • Provide an opportunity for parish and school leaders to dialogue with the publishing community to discuss ministry resources and develop best practices
  • Provide an opportunity for skills development
  • Celebrate our faith through prayer and worship
  • Finally, for ACP members, it is hoped that this congress will provide a tangible benefit to its catechetical, liturgical, trade and music publishing members and support for the ACP. (Courtesy of Paul Henderson, MAC co-chair, and Director of Operations and Project Management, USCCB Communications)

Recalling the now-defunct East Coast Conference for Religious Education, ACP’s Executive Director, Therese Brown, who is also MAC’s General Coordinator, explains that in recent years the types of leaders in dioceses, parishes, and Catholic schools has noticeably shifted. “For decades, most ministry leaders were full-time staff, often religious, with master’s degrees.” But in recent years lay ministers are more likely to be part-time staff. Many are volunteers. “They have different needs,” she says.

“Without the ECC,” explains conference co-chair, and Baltimore’s Executive Director of the Department of Evangelization, Fr. John Hurley, CSP, “there was no catechetical conference on the east coast to provide for those needs.” So when the ACP approached the Archdiocese of Baltimore about creating something unique, Archbishop Edwin O’Brien gave his full support.

The location made good sense for several reasons, says Fr. Hurley. “When the ACP came to us, they needed a location that would be accessible to large numbers of people. At that time, many dioceses had begun to restrict travel,” he says, so it was unlikely that east coast parishes would be sending their staffs to events in Los Angeles or Dallas.

“With the economy faltering, attendance numbers at all such conferences are down,” he says, “and hotel prices north of Philadelphia are too high for an event like this to be feasible.” So giving the MAC a permanent home in the more reasonably-priced and centrally-located city of Baltimore made good sense for attendees.

And it’s good for Catholic publishing, too. Fr. Hurley explains. “Conferences like this help publishers get their resources out to their markets, but it also helps them to find new authors. We wanted to do this conference in a new way. We didn’t want to have the same people keynoting, just recycled from other events. We have a mix of headliners and new authors and theologians.”

As inspiration for the new congress, Brown cites the USCCB’s Lay Ecclesial Ministry Project (2005) and its signature document.

“Coworkers in the Vineyard of the Lord”  is the bishops’ pastoral statement on lay ecclesial ministry. It was the outgrowth of a longer process of observation and reflection on the part of the bishops that started many years ago, on the reality of the leadership of the laity in the parish. The MAC builds on the call of the bishops to form lay leaders for their roles in the life of the Church. All of our presentations will come from a leadership perspective,” she says. “Hopefully, one of the outcomes is that attendees will feel more strongly and passionately about their call to ministry.”

The event has an impressive schedule. Building in a dynamic diversity of people, languages, and topics, the 90+ presenters will give 39 master classes and 4 rounds of break-out sessions (75 breakouts total) that will cover such widely varied topics as catechesis for kids and whole communities, RCIA, youth ministry, liturgy, music, multi-cultural issues, social justice, Catholic schools, media, evangelization, and much more. ASL interpretation is available at all major events, and many Spanish-language presentations are offered.

One of the highlights of the congress will prayerfully embrace the season of Lent. A very special Way of the Cross will take place on Friday evening, March 9th, written and directed by Michael Ruzicki, Coordinator of Adult and Sacramental Formation for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. With beautiful banners created by Liturgical Press, this focal point for the congress is hoped to be a memorable and uplifting experience for attendees.

Fr. Hurley says, “We wanted to acknowledge that it was a Friday in Lent, but go beyond lamenting and recognize that the Pascal mystery gained us something! We need to celebrate that faith and enrich it.”

The congress will close on Saturday with something called “Parishioner Day,” which provides special attention to catechists, other parish volunteers, and those who serve on their parish boards.

“We need to be messengers of hope,” says Fr. Hurley. “All of us in leadership positions have challenges. These are the signs of the times. But our ‘young’ Church is full of energy and hopefulness. We have to meet it head on, meet them where they’re at with social communications. They need engagement. People don’t just want to be members, they want to be welcomed, to become a part of the mission.”

Plans are well on their way for the next MAC congress, says Fr. Hurley. “2013 will incorporate the 50th Anniversary of Vatican II, the 20th Anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the Year of Faith. We’ll focus more on young leaders next time, school boards, and more tracks in English and Spanish.”

The organizers are offering a special group registration deal for staff members or teams attending together from dioceses, parishes, and schools. “For every four people who register they get one admission free. So, five for the price of four!” says Fr. Hurley.

I hope to see many of you there. I’ll be tweeting (@lisamladinich #macongress) and blogging all three days, live, from the conference, at Patheos via the “Summa This, Summa That” blog.

In the next few weeks, I’ll be interviewing some of the MAC presenters, so stay tuned, and spread the word!

God bless you!

I led them with cords of human kindness, with leading strings of love, and I became for them as one who eases the yoke upon their neck and stoops down to feed them. (Hosea11:4)

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The Sword of February

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

“Hey it’s February. I notice there’s more daylight now when y’all get dropped off, why is that? The days are getting longer? Yes, the Sun is up more. It’ll be Spring soon, and the days…lengthen [on the board]. English-speakers once called this time of the year the “lengthen season.” Now watch the Magic Finger (I erase letters in lengthen so it says len-t-en); what does the Church call this season? Umm…Lent? Yes, why? Because the days lengthen! Yes, so Lent is short for…Lenten, yes, which is short for…lengthen! Yes. Y’all are too smart. Sometimes we say Lent, sometimes we say Lenten season. ¿Quién aquí habla Español? Me! Honorary son, what’s Spanish for Lent? Cuaresma [on the board]. How many days is Lent, Cuaresma? Forty. How do you know? Because cuaresma is like the word for forty. Which is? Cuarenta [on the board]. Yes; y’all can see how Spanish tells us Lent is 40 days long. Class, what’s up with 40; why not 38 days, or 43 days? Because Jesus was in the desert for 40 days! Yes, and the Israelites…were in the desert for 40 years! Yes, good. Forty is an important number in the Bible; there are more 40s in the Bible than we have time for. Now, if you’re in the desert like Jesus or the Israelites, are you having fun? I don’t think so. Right, being in the desert involves discomfort, suffering.

In most cases the number 40 signifies a time of penance and preparation. So what are we preparing for during Lent? Easter! Yes. What word does Easter have in it? Umm….east? Yes, and where does the sun rise? In the East. Yes. Like Lent, the word Easter also refers to Springtime. It’s an old pagan word, but now we use it for a Christian holy day…we baptized it so it’s a Christian word now. You can’t baptize a word! You’re right, I don’t mean it literally. But the Church can give old pagan things a new Christian significance.

So…is Lent a fun time? No you’re supposed to give stuff up. Yes, such as? Candy! TV! Fighting with my sister! Saying mean stuff! Yes, we deny ourselves those things in imitation of Jesus. What’s something the Church wants us to not eat during Lent? Meat! Yes, let’s look at meat for a minute.

When Adam & Eve were in Eden, could bad stuff happen? No!  How about the animals in Eden: would a lion eat a lamb? No!  Right again…and what was was the only stuff that could be eaten in Eden? They didn’t need to eat!  Well, that’s a good guess; listen to this bit from Genesis & try again: “God said, Behold, I have given you every plant-yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for meat.”  Plants! They could only eat plants and apples ‘n’ stuff. Yes, but how about the animals? Listen again: “And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for meat.” Animals had to eat plants too?  Yes. There was no eating each other in Eden; just good things could happen: 24/7 pizza buffet, no going to bed early, beer for the grownups….anyway, life was perfect just being with God in Eden. But then Adam & Eve ate the apple and were thrown out of Eden.

Many generations later there was a guy with a boat. Noah! Yes, tell it. He put all the animals in the Ark and after the flood they all got back out and were ok. Yes..how long did it rain? 40 days! Yes, smarties, another 40! And after the Flood, God told Noah, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” That’s nice, that’s also what God told…Adam and Eve! Yes. But then God says, “The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be meat for you; and as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.”  Sounds awful doesn’t it? All the animals will be in fear of Noah. Why? Because Noah can eat them now? Yes, he and his descendants can now kill and eat animals. Why’s that ok? Because they haven’t planted any food yet? Well, maybe. Tell me this: why is it that there are any animals at all, that they all didn’t drown? Because Noah put them in the Ark!  Yes, they didn’t do anything themselves, it was all Noah’s work. So if not for Noah, they’d all be…dead!  Yes. So the animals owe Noah…what do they owe him? Their lives?  Yes, so God is acknowledging that since the animals and all their descendants owe Noah their lives, God won’t forbid people from killing and eating them. Now just because God no longer forbids eating animals, does that mean he approves of it? No. Right. So apparently God tolerates some things after the Fall that would never have been acceptable in the Garden; which is hardly the same as saying they are good, or blessed. God didn’t say, “Kill and eat a bunch of animals, Noah and I’ll bless you extra!” But sin has made the world a mean and scary place.

¿Quién aquí habla Español? Who speaks Spanish? Me! OK m’ija, digame, cómo se llama “carne” en Inglés? Meat!  Yes, C-A-R-N-E means meat, flesh. How about ‘voracious,’ do y’all know that word? No…no…no. No worries, sometimes 6th graders surprise me. How about ‘devour’? To eat real fast? Yes, like a possum? No, like a lion! Yes, like a predator. If we put the Latin roots of carne and devour together we get carnivorous; anyone know that word? Yes, it means to eat meat!  Yes, ever since Noah we’ve been carnivores, like lions. Animals are afraid of us, even the predators.

So tell me: is it better to be in Eden or in the world of sin? Eden!  Yes, where nobody would kill or eat animals; and so they weren’t afraid of people. Well, during Lent, the Church encourages us to think about living as though we were in Eden, at least as far as animals are concerned. I like eating meat, but I admit that if I have a hamburger, someone killed a cow. In fact my eldest son has been a vegetarian for years because of this, and he’s perfectly healthy eating veggies. I admire that, even if I don’t follow his example. Yes? What are you giving up? Well, I don’t know yet; usually we do extra things during Lent instead of giving things up: go to Vespers and Stations of the Cross; go to confession, that sort of thing. But I tell you what, we gave up watching TV for Lent more than 15 years ago, and still don’t watch it. Really? Yep. You won’t watch the Super Bowl? Nope. Look, I thought I was gonna die the first week or so without TV, but we got used to it, and we like the house being quiet. What about your kids? They’re fine with it too- and we can watch DVDs if we want to. I think part of the point of giving something up is that you find out you don’t really need it or want it as much as you thought.

Hey, besides Lent, what else happens in February? No guesses? Let me ask the girls in particular: daughters, what special day comes in February? Valentine’s day! Yes, Saint Valentine’s feast day on the 14th. It’s Catholic. You boys ever heard of Valentine’s Day? Yes. Isn’t it exciting? No. Uh-huh; you’ll change that tune soon enough. No we won’t! Uh-huh. So what happens on Valentine’s? People get candy and cards and stuff. Yes, it’s very romantic, right boys? Boys…?

Speaking of Valentine’s Day, tell me about those fat winged babies [I draw] on the cards. Aren’t they angels? Sort of. How about the one with the arrows? He’s Cupid! Yes who is a…Roman god! Yes, make-believe, of course. You might say he’s been baptized into Valentine’s Day. The proper word for those flying chubbies is “putti.” Pooty!? Ha, pooty! Not pooty: put-ti, it’s Italian. But no American wants to think, “hey, look at the pooty all over that Valentine’s day card.” So we use another word….anyone know it? No? That’s ok.

 Happy Valentine’s Day!

Who knows what a cherub is? They’re the little baby Valentine angels! Yes, you got it, they’re cuddly and silly. But a real cherub is not cuddly and silly. Somebody tell me about Adam & Eve after the apple. God made them leave Eden! Yes. Genesis says, “He drove out the man; and at the east of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherub[im], with a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” What language do you suppose “cherub” is if I’m reading from Genesis? Umm…Hebrew? Yes, genius! In Hebrew it’s spelled like this [on the board]: K-E-R-U-B, kerub. Kerub means “near one,” an angel who is close to God. When the President goes out in public there are usually some tough guys who stay near him all the time, why’s that? They keep people from bothering him. Yes, what do you call those guys? Bodyguards? Yes. The kerubs, the cherubim, are like God’s bodyguards, and they are as serious as cancer. On Valentine’s Day I’m my wife’s Kerub-with-a-K. Don’ make me git my flamin’ sword out! Keep away! Hey, did y’all know we have two kerubs in our church? We do? Where? Mmm, I’m not telling tonight, but we’ll find out later this year.

In the meantime keep your eyes open in church. If you find ‘em on your own, tell us.

Class over!

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Healthy Habits for the New Year Include NFP

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The beginning of a new year often prompts the making of resolutions regarding lifestyle. Some will decide to exercise more or to eat better.

Nowadays healthier lifestyle choices are encouraged: a diet rich in whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, low in saturated fat. Unhealthy habits are discouraged: poor diet, inactivity, smoking, excessive drinking.

An important part of a healthy lifestyle also includes making good choices regarding birth regulation.

Moral considerations aside, Natural Family Planning, or NFP, is very healthy. It is a highly effective method of birth regulation, and it also poses no physical side effects. In my experience, NFP fosters a greater understanding and appreciation of the couple’s combined natural gift of fertility. There are no pills or chemicals to harm a woman’s delicate system. There are no devices or operations for either man or woman.

Other methods, however, are not so health-inducing.

Each prescription for chemical contraception (Pill, patch, vaginal ring, injectables) includes an extensive insert outlining the numerous possible physical side effects: an increased risk of weight gain, mood swings, headaches, breast cancer, heart attack, stroke and blood clots. Vasectomy comes with an increased risk of prostate cancer and dementia. Women who undergo a tubal ligation have a higher risk of chronic pain and hysterectomy.

For those who are especially concerned with the health of the environment, chemical contraception is a likely culprit in contributing to the feminization of male fish. Although chemical contraception isn’t the only cause, the following link includes more detail on chemical contraception’s effect on fish:

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/86/8608cover.html

A new year can be an opportune time to adopt healthier lifestyle choices. It’s also a great time to learn NFP.

My husband, James, and I are certified NFP teachers and we even teach NFP online. For more information on NFP, check out my previous column entitled, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About NFP, But Were Afraid to Ask” or email me at info(at)fullquiverpublishing.com.

Text Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach
Photo purchased on iStock

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Merry Christmas, Everyone!

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Dear Friends,

On behalf of everyone at Amazing Catechists, I’d like to wish you a most blessed and Merry Christmas!

You are all in our thoughts and prayers as we hustle and bustle to prepare our hearts and homes to celebrate the incarnation of Our Lord, to welcome him into the empty mangers of our souls, where He warms and fills us with graces and gifts without measure.

To you, our friends and colleagues, we extend our heartfelt prayers and best wishes for you and yours in the Advent and Christmas seasons, and beyond. We know that like us, you carry many crosses, so please know that we are praying for your peace and healing, the encouragement we all need so badly, and that miracles of grace will make themselves known to you through your prayer and sacramental life in our beloved Church.

Thank you so much for making the re-launch of this site such a beautiful success, for joining us in conversation, and especially to those of you who registered at the site and “liked” us at our fan page on Facebook. We love being able to communicate with you, to give you updates and invite you to participate in new giveaways and educational programs as we develop them down the road. We’ve got so many hopes for the future of this apostolate, and we beg your prayers for us and our families as we offer our gifts to God.

Thanks in a big way to all our columnists, our guests, and those who donated books for our Advent Giveaway. I truly can’t express how much your kindness and generosity mean to me, and to all of us.

God bless you and keep you in the protection of His Sacred Heart, and may Our Lady enfold you in her motherly love and unfailing intercession!

In the love of the Christ Child,

Lisa Mladinich
Founder
Amazing Catechists TM

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FREE BOOKS! Ten Amazing Days of Advent Giveaways!

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: All Winners are announced at our Facebook Fan Page! Please stop by and “like” the page for updates! Winners are also notified privately by email. We’ve also had a late-breaking donation from Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle of three of her books published by Our Sunday Visitor. Donna-Marie will be guest-posting soon! Thank you so much, Donna-Marie! We’ll be giving her books away on December 15th. After the giveaway wraps up on the 15th, I’ll post all the winners at once.

Greetings, Dear Friends in Christ!

To thank our loyal readers and new fans, and help you celebrate with anticipation and joy the holy and beautiful season of Advent, we will be giving away FREE BOOKS!

Win a FREE BOOK in one of our daily random drawings from December 6th (Saint Nicholas Day!) through December 15th!

Enter to win by leaving a comment at ANY OF OUR COLUMNS, ANY TIME from NOW until December 15th!

All comments dated from December 1st on will be eligible until the last prize is given away on the 15th.

PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD by using some of our social sharing options! And do subscribe to the site for updates.

Here are some of the great resources that we’ll be mailing to our winners in plenty of time for Christmas:

Two books by Lisa Hendey, best-selling author and owner of CatholicMom.com:
“A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms: 52 Companions for Your Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul” and*

“The Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul”

Sarah Reinhard’s “Welcome Baby Jesus”!

See Ellen Gable Hrkach’s review and my review!

This lovely volume is sure to enchant readers of all ages.

Four books by Ellen Gable, award-winning Catholic novelist and AC columnist:
“Emily’s Hope,” “In Name Only,” “Stealing Jenny,” “Come My Beloved” (Read my RAVE review of “In Name Only”)

Plus Kindle editions!

But WAIT! There’s MORE!

One each of Mary Lou Rosien’s books:

“Catholic Family Boot Camp,” and

“Managing Stress with the Help of Your Catholic Faith”

PLUS:

Three copies of Alexander J. Basile’s, “A Christmas with Christ: Finding Joy Each December”

One copy each of Cay Gibson’s three books, “A Picture Perfect Childhood,” “Christmas Mosaic,” and “Catholic Mosaic”

*Two copies of Leticia Velasquez’s extraordinary collection, “A Special Mother is Born”

One copy of Michele Elena Bondi’s “God Moments II: Recognizing the Fruits of the Holy Spirit” (donated by Christine Capolino)

Three sets of both my catechetical booklets, “Be an Amazing Catechist: Inspire the Faith of Children,” and “Be an Amazing Catechist: Sacramental Prep”

* (Two of these books were donated by Mary Ellen Barrett)

So leave a comment at one of our columns between December 1st and December 15th and enter to win!

A very blessed and happy Advent to you!

In Christ through Mary,

Lisa

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Giving Thanks in Our New Digs!

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Hi Everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving — a little early!

Welcome to our new and improved site. We are so grateful for the creativity, smarts, and good humor of our superb web designer, Dorian Speed. She’s just the greatest, and we appreciate her so much.

I’d also like to thank one of our columnists, Ellen Gable Hrkach, who did several hours’ work helping us move columns over from the old site, and who is always, always there to help whenever I need her, often before I think to ask.

Columnist Marc Cardaronella also graciously pitched in (in the eleventh hour when decent people were sleeping), and moved a substantial load of columns as well.

Thanks so much, dear friends. I can’t imagine doing this alone. Poor Dorian would have been comforting a woman in nervous collapse.

A special tip of the hat to our wonderful donors, who generously contributed and got this project off the ground! My fondest thanks to: Christian LeBlanc, Mary Lou Rosien, Janet Olesen, and Marc Cardaronella. Thank you so much! We could not have gotten here without your help!

MAJOR UPDATES!

  1. Our beloved Evangelization columnist, Steve McVey, has offered to become a major sponsor of this site, taking on our full, monthly hosting package costs! In exchange, we will permanently feature a link to the Lighthouse CD-of-the-month website! Steve, you’re truly a life-saver and a God-send. And I personally endorse Lighthouse CD’s. They are excellent and a bargain. We’ll have that link up on the home page when Dorian returns from her holiday travels.
  2. We are very proud and excited to welcome two new columnists, as well. Please stop back at the home page and enjoy first postings by author and blogger, Sarah Reinhard, and blogger and web-designer, Dorian Speed, both wonderful human beings and sparkling catechists. Ladies, we are thrilled to have you aboard. Thank you for your generosity. We are so happy to have you join our efforts! I’m just grinning ear-to-ear.

Well, it’s coming together! So, here we go. Off to the races!

We’ll be having a lot of fun in the coming weeks, with giveaways and guest posts, so for those of you visiting our new digs for the first time, please subscribe to the site for updates. If you’re already a registered user from the old site, we’ll have your email addresses uploaded soon, but you should still “follow” us via RSS or email feed, to stay posted on all the exciting news as things develop. If you stop by and leave comments at our giveaway posts, you’ll have chances to win wonderful books by some of our columnists and friends. More details on that very soon.

There will be a few minor technical issues for the coming week while Dorian is away for Thanksgiving, doing what we should all be doing – spending important time with her loved ones. Please pray for her safe trip. We will be holding you all in prayer and thanking God for your friendship and loyalty to our site. Thank you for your contributions to our mission to do God’s will and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.

I’d like to close for now, by sharing a snippet of scripture that really touched my heart as I was contemplating writing this post. As we plan our Thanksgiving feasts, lets plan on feasting Jesus-style, with God at the center of everything.

God bless you all!

Lisa

“My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” John 4:34-38 (Catholic RSV, Ignatius)

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