New Age Invasion - Is This Spirituality Replacing Catholic Faith?

The First Commandment is "I am the Lord Thy God. Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me." But, according to one local convert from the New Age, San Diego Catholics who aspire to know their God better are sometimes presented with information on strange gods instead.

Moira Noonan, a resident of Encinitas, authored Ransomed From Darkness which tells the story of her conversion from New Age spirituality to the Catholic faith. Noonan believes most Catholics are being insidiously exposed to New Age ideas in the Church.

I finished RCIA about 10 years ago. Actually, I was baptized Catholic and attended Catholic school as a little kid. New Agers are constantly searching, always looking for something new. The first true — I hate to say it — 'enlightenment' which dawned on me was that I didn't want to be reincarnated. And I thought, "How do I get off this wheel of reincarnation?" I remembered something from when I was a [Catholic] kid about 'eternal life.' Yet I was constantly being bombarded with reincarnation in the New Age. I just said, 'I don't want to come back. If there is eternal life, or if any of those Sacred Heart nuns who taught me as a kid are in eternal life now, won't you pray for me right now?' It triggered something.

Reincarnation is one of the biggest demonic heresies in the world. When you consider how much of the world's population believes in reincarnation, it's scary. All New Agers believe it. And most of the people I knew in the New Age were fallen-away Catholics.

What do people mean when they say, "I'm not religious, but I'm very spiritual?"?

"Spiritual" seems to be one of the trendy catch words coming out of the New Age movement, because New Agers never say, "I'm of this faith" or "that faith". What they say is, "I'm spiritual" because the New Age movement came from the spiritualist movement. The spiritualist movement was a big movement in America around the turn of the century, with people like Madam Blavatsky. This all came from the time when people started believing in Darwinism. We didn't need God anymore. Now people are saying that they are "spiritual." We don't need any religious truth or religious facts, because we can make up our own gods again.

Is their any link between homosexuality's ascendancy and the New Age movement?

I don't recall seeing homosexuals in the New Age movement, or at least I never met any. They seem to prefer to stay in their own community. But apparently now the lesbian movement is huge in the New Age. This is what's happened to some women's religious orders. Many of them were feminists who turned to Wicca or white witchcraft. It's much more pervasive on the East Coast and, thankfully, I was never a part of any of that. I agree with our Church['s position] that it [homosexuality] is gravely disordered.

I used to go to confession at the Cathedral downtown. One time, when I walked in, I saw a book on the Enneagram (a New Age personality type test) sitting on the priest's chair. What's wrong with the Enneagram?

First off, the Enneagram is being used in almost every Catholic spiritual direction and retreat house in America. It's now the main tool for teaching people how to do spiritual direction. Its origins are occult, not Christian. Now why is this different than using traditional Catholic spiritual direction and counseling, such as St. Ignatius of Loyola's exercises to discern God's will? The Enneagram isn't about working with God's will or understanding it, it's all about personality. It's a personality exercise, not spiritual, and it's not based on God's will. It relies on the human spirit, rather than something divine."

I really don't want to mention these sisters by name, because some of them were very helpful in my conversion a long time ago. I can tell you that they are in a beach community where they operate a retreat house. They also use the Celestine Prophecy for spiritual direction. The Celestine Prophecy was a popular New Age novel which, like the Da Vinci Code, was taken as fact but in reality slanders the Catholic Church. It enjoyed a brief vogue in the 1990s. It's all about developing psychic powers. I was a former New Ager and I sure didn't need these nuns teaching me New Age stuff after leaving the New Age movement. After that experience, thank goodness, a priest from out of state got me to go to Prince of Peace Abbey for spiritual direction. And that is the only place I would recommend anyone in San Diego to go."

For some time now, the La Providencia retreat center in Alpine has been offering Reiki. It's been said that Reiki is just a type of massage therapy. Is that correct?

I don't know anything about La Providencia, but I can tell you about Reiki. Reiki is psychic healing. It is not reconcilable in any way, shape, or form with the Catholic Church, because it uses spirit guides. Spirit guides are fallen angels — not guardian angels but deceivers. It's not Swedish massage. It's occult massage. In order to do Reiki, you have to follow a master. It's like being consecrated to a guru or master. I can say that, because I was an advanced Reiki master healer.

Some photos posted on the internet from Cardinal Mahony's latest religious education congress, show people walking around through labyrinths.

They're using labyrinths in Christian churches and New Age churches. The big difference is that in the New Age churches, they are doing it to a mantra. If it's done in a Christian setting and with a Christian mindset, then I wouldn't have any objection to it.

I can tell you that here in North County, there is a coastal parish where I just finished a basic catechist course — I really don't want to mention it by name -- that is so bad you cannot believe it. This is where they are training people to be religious education teachers in parishes. I was told by this instructor not to mention Mary, the rosary, statues, novenas or "any of that superstitious stuff." This is the director of religious education for that parish who teaches the class. It was so unbelievably awful. And, just as in the New Age, he told us that no stories in the Bible were literal events." He said that the Bible is, "nothing but stories, not an accurate account."

Me too, Ambrose.

I certainly don't remember needing to be "entertained" with these sorts of shenanigans when I was a child, and my own children don't need it, either.

Parents who take the time to teach their children that church is a reverent place will soon see that their kids are perfectly capable of paying attention during Mass without any hand-waving, tambourine-banging, or "liturgical dance."

Regards,

Hmm i wouldnt exactly call it Baal worship but it certainly seems as its heading that way...i dont see why your all so up in arms...the Catholic Church has always assimilated pagan objects unto themselves, protestant churches for that matter. well Take Egypt im sure you all consider Ancient egyptian's relgion pagan and the Obelisk which represents the male phallux. Why does the vatican have one in there very courtyard...well im sure mounting a Cross on it makes it holy...the same could be argued for this Ceremony. *rollseyes* Many more such as Holidays could be said still the list goes on. Oh and yes to the one who said That a modest Mass was not befitting of the lord of the Universe... no amount of Pomp and earthly splendor would impress the Lord of the Universe the most modest would impress him the same as a solid gold cathedral service complete with platinum pews. Jesus drank from a mere wooden cup born in a manger....carpenter..not the highest paying job in the world. Im sure if we preferred the good life he would have came as a Caesar or heck....maybe not even have came at all god can do anything....hede work something out.

No amount of Pomp and earthly splendor would impress the Lord of the Universe the most modest would impress him the same as a solid gold cathedral service complete with platinum pews.

The question is whether we better meet Christ in the Mass by soaring up to Him through the splendor of art and music, or by dragging Him down into our own pedestrian, workaday world. These New Agers and Vatican II "innovators" would replace holy intimacy with Christ with an unbecoming familiarity which discourages reverence in the face of mystery and extinguishes a sense of sacredness.

There is nothing more annoying than reading about someone who is so unsure of their own faith that they have to bash other people's beliefs.

Moira, you are a very negative person, no to mention quite a "Know- It- All." Here is a quote that I think you should carefully consider when it comes to different beliefs and life in general " A Wise Man Knows He Knows Nothing At All." Good Luck!

I like your explanation.. A LOT!

Moira, you are a very negative person, no to mention quite a "Know- It- All." Here is a quote that I think you should carefully consider when it comes to different beliefs and life in general " A Wise Man Knows He Knows Nothing At All." Good Luck!

What are your beliefs?

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