Posted on 10/02/2026 10:23:44 AM PDT by ebb tide
The bishop of Raleigh, North Carolina presided over a shamanistic “smudging” ceremony to celebrate St. Catherine “Kateri” Tekakwitha, who rejected her native Mohawk religion.
Pascua Taqui tribe member Richard Duran led the congregation of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Durham in a “smudging” ceremony in July, according to an archived page of North Carolina Catholics, a diocesan publication. Smudging is a shamanic ritual that involves burning herbs and resins to “cleanse” a space of negative energy and “brin(g) in good spirits,” according to a Native American site. The smoke is “shared with people as an act of prayer and spiritual connection,” NC Catholics reported.
“Father David Miller, who is chaplain to the Native American Catholic Community in the diocese and has ancestral ties to the Shawnee, Lenape and Cherokee tribes of his home state of Oklahoma, offered a traditional prayer in the four directions,” the report stated.
The prayer in the four directions is a pagan prayer traditionally understood to be directed to the Creator but also calls upon “spirits” associated with the North, South, East and West.
Ryan Dial of the Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina also introduced three Native traditional dances, performed by his wife, his sister, and another Native American. After lunch, Dial delivered a presentation on “colonization, false dichotomies, native religion and how to become an ally.”
Renée Fisher, African Ancestry Ministry and Evangelization Network (AAMEN) and Native American Church (NAC) administrative assistant, reflected on the meaning of the inculturation and encouraged people to embrace the whole world that surrounds them while also treating traditions with reverence and remaining attuned, for example, to both the Church and Indigenous peoples.
Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama of Raleigh earlier addressed the attendees, joking that he would dance “with his heart and not his body” during the celebration, NC Catholics said.
A flyer for the “multicultural celebration” reads “Sacred Earth, Sacred Unity: Walking Together with St. Kateri Tekakwitha,” and features an image of the saint superimposed on a cross.
Developing…
Do you state that the Investigative Judgement is NOT a seventh day Adventist belief?
That Ellen and others claimed that the door to heaven was shut in 1844? An early title the Millerites or Sabbatarian Adventists (who would become the Seventh-day Adventist Church) used for themselves was the “Sabbath and Shut Door Adventists.
Ellen White early on in her ministry supported the belief in the Shut door as most Millerites. Despite her earlier belief, beginning in November 1848, she had a vision in which she saw the Three Angels’ Messages “like streams of light... clear round the world.” As the Millerite movement had not been significantly multinational, her vision clearly showed that new converts could be made to the movement.
In an 1849 vision, White heard Christ tell her that the door that had been shut was the door to the Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary.
And please tell me if this description of your cure SDA (Seventh Day Adventist) belief in the Investigative Judgement is correct:
On October 22, 1844 (the end of the 2,300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14), Christ transitioned from the Holy Place to the Holy of Holies to begin an investigative phase.
This judgment involves an examination of the books of record in heaven. It reviews the cases of all professing believers to determine who is entitled to salvation through Christ.
Is this a correct description of your beliefs? I took it directly from the SDA websites
https://zpmadventist.org/beliefs/?hl=en-IN
The doctrine developed as an immediate theological salvage operation following a massive prophetic failure — The Great Disappointment (1843–1844): Baptist preacher William Miller calculated that Jesus Christ would return to Earth on October 22, 1844. Thousands of followers (Millerites) sold their possessions, gathered on hillsides, and waited. Christ did not return. This catastrophic failure became known as the “Great Disappointment.”
Shortly after the disappointment, a Millerite named Hiram Edson claimed to have received a vision in a cornfield. He concluded that Miller’s date was correct, but the event was wrong. Instead of Jesus coming down to Earth, Edson claimed Jesus crossed over from the Holy Place to the Holy of Holies in the heavenly temple to begin a previously unnoticed investigative work.
Ellen G. White legitimized this explanation through her visions, claiming God showed her that the 1844 date and the heavenly sanctuary shift were accurate.
https://youtu.be/WxUWqfCIs08?is=CH06WGTKjyVE8GMj
Btw Phil, this is not a Christian belief
Here is a concise list of documented false prophecies and unfulfilled statements made by Ellen G. White, complete with precise quotes and sources:
1. In a vision given in 1856, Ellen White claimed that some living members of her audience would survive until Christ’s return and be translated to heaven without dying.
The Quote: ‘I was shown the company present at the Conference. Said the angel: ‘Some food for worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus.” (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 1, p. 131-132).
The Problem is that EVERY single person who was alive in 1856 has long since passed away, meaning this absolute prediction failed. (The official Ellen G. White Estate attempts to address this discrepancy by arguing the prophecy was “conditional”).
2. The “Shut Door” Prophecy (Probation Closed in 1844)
Following the Great Disappointment of October 22, 1844, White claimed through visions that the door of mercy was permanently shut and that no more sinners could be converted.
The Exact Quote: “My accompanying angel bade me look for the travail of soul for sinners as used to be. I looked, but could not see it; for the time for their salvation is past.” (The Present Truth, August 1, 1849).
When conversions continued years later, the cult was forced to abandon this doctrine. White later tried to distance herself from the phrasing, though historical primary sources like Selected Messages, Book 1, p. 74 record her admission: “With my brethren and sisters, after the time passed in forty-four, I did believe no more sinners would be converted.”
3. The 1850 Imminent End Prediction
White taught that the end of time and the final sealing were occurring almost immediately during the early years of the movement.
“I saw that the time for Jesus to be in the Most Holy Place was nearly finished, and that time cannot last but a very little longer...” (September 1850 manuscript, later recorded in Early Writings, p. 58).
Over 175 years have passed, demonstrating that the timeline proclaimed through her “visions” did not correspond to reality.
Now 3 failed prophecies identifies her as a failed prophet and the non-Christian religion she founded is false
Prove it, Cronos.
The prayer in the four directions is a pagan prayer traditionally understood to be directed to the Creator but also calls upon “spirits” associated with the North, South, East and West.
Catholics profess the Nicene creed at every Sunday Mass. I'm trying to find this paganism and satanism you purport in the creed, but can't seem to find it. /s
The Nicene Creed is: "I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, [At the words that follow, up to and including “and became man,” all bow.] and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. - Amen."
If smudging involves talking to or inviting spirits as part of the ceremony I would call it dangerous. Can you truly say their actions are “neutral”?
St. Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us.
Sacred Earth, Sacred Unity: Walking Together with St. Kateri Tekakwitha.
"Sacred Earth, Sacred Unity" - That could very well be the war cry of the synodal pachamama popes who want "unity" of "humanity" over all other things while protecting "Mother Earth".
——>I’m trying to find this paganism and satanism you purport in the creed, but can’t seem to find it. /s
Then you’re not serious about finding the truth. I specifically stated that Catholics profess Christ (through the Nicene creed or whatever). That’s not the point. However, the point is that the Catholic Church comes straight from Paganism and in their Catholic practices they are UNKNOWINGLY (or in some cases knowingly) worshiping Satan.
ANYONE can look it up on the internet, even you. Here’s a start....he’s a former Catholic and educator/teacher who found the truth...Walter Veith.
https://youtu.be/h8yZNmmlXKE
Walter Veith The Wine of Babylon and the Catholic Church
And by the way, literally every Protestant Reformer identified the Catholic Church as the Antichrist power, FROM THE BIBLE. It is well documented.
What are the Saints made of, and why do Catholics ‘talk’ to them?
Chronos doesn’t know Christian theology. Hasn’t gotten around to being wrong on Paganism yet
Chronos doesn’t know Christian theology. Hasn’t gotten around to being wrong on Paganism yet
My employee’s ex-wife was overheard to say that Baptists are horrible people, at her son’s wedding. It’s not just Catholics Adventists despise.
At least it wasn’t Latin.>s
Well, SDA may just despise Trinitarians
Prove it? Read what the native american saint said
And the Seventh day Adventists don’t profess the Nicene creed as you believe Jesus is the angel Michael, right Philsworld?
That looks very edifying!/s
If we look into what exactly happened we read that the smudging ceremony conducted at Holy Cross Church was explicitly adapted for a Christian setting honoring St. Kateri Tekakwitha. The burning of sage was used as a physical symbol of purification and prayers rising to the Trinity—the exact same theological purpose as burning frankincense in a Traditional Latin Mass (Psalm 141:2: "Let my prayer be counted as incense before thee").
No Spirit Invocation took place
Catholic Indigenous events led or sanctioned by a bishop do not invoke spirits. The physical element (burning herbs) was retained as a cultural expression, while any non-Christian spiritual intent was replaced entirely with prayer directed solely to the One True God. St. Kateri Tekakwitha
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