Gnostic Anglican "Priestess", Supporter of Homosexual Unions to Lead Prayer at Minneapolis RC Chuch

Faithfulrebel ^ | July 13, 2008

[NYer]

Thanks to a reader for the tip.

As you may recall, some months ago in Minneapolis, St. Paul Archdiocese, A Faithful Rebel exposed the proposed lecture of Carol Curoe, an active lesbian who was scheduled to speak at a Catholic parish in Minneapolis.

Now, as if the radicals hadn't learned the lesson then, when the Archdiocese had to very wisely intervene and suggest that the venue be moved, now they are aiming at stirring up a little more scandal. They have invited a female Anglican "priestess" and supporter of homosexual unions to lead Catholics in "Centering prayer and inner awakening", again at a Minneapolis Catholic Church. One wonders why they cannot seem to grasp the serious and scandalous nature of such activities being held in Catholic parishes, by people who actively contradict the Church's teachings.

Here is the notice on the web site for St. Olaf parish in Minneapolis:

Centering Prayer & Inner Awakening

Let by nationally-acclaimed
author Cynthia Bourgeault
A day of teaching based upon her book

Saturday, July 19
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
St. Olaf Catholic Church, Fleming Hall

Bring a bag lunch (beverages and snacks provided)
Free will offering ($25 suggested)
Now you may ask, and I wouldn't blame you for asking, "what's wrong with a little 'centering prayer?' " Well let's look a little closer at the teachings of this Ms. Bourgeault and see whether she is to be trusted in leading Catholics in any sort of prayer:

The following, according to the tip I received by email, is from An informative introduction into a gnostic understanding of Jesus Christ, April 4, 2006 by Midwest Book Review in Oregon, WI. After reading it, you will need no further explanation, and I urge you to immediately contact the Archdiocese of Minneapolis St. Paul at the number at the end of this post to prevent this from taking place.

Encountering The Wisdom Jesus: Quickening The Kingdom Of Heaven Within (Sounds True Audio Learning Course-6 CDs) by Cynthia Bourgeault (Principal Teacher and Advisor to the Contemplative Society in Victoria, British Columbia and founding director of the Aspen Wisdom School in Aspen, Colorado) provides an informed and informative introduction into a gnostic understanding of Jesus Christ, the man who was foremost seeking to radically alter the consciousness of those who would follow Him. Teaching the reader of Christ's many variable concepts, and how to retain an enlightened perception of Him, Encountering The Wisdom Jesus progressively educates listener with an intuitive enlightenment into what Christ's true teachings were intended to convey, and a sound knowledge of early Christianity and the evolution of the Church. Encountering The Wisdom Jesus is very highly recommended for all who are seeking a greater and more complete understanding of their Savior and Lord, and a more informed perspective of the Christian religion. (6 CDs, 6 hours and 45 minutes)

____________

Cynthia has a definite love of Christianity and is able to pass that love on through her words and ideas. These cds are a pleasure to listen to, and Cynthia lets her love and knowledge shine through. She does incorporate the Gnostic gospels, but do not be afraid that is all- she does not exclude the canonical Gospels, but weaves them all together in a seamless fashion.

Guest Preacher: Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault

January 25, 2004

Sermon based upon 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

THE FIELD

I have some things to say about the gospel today as we begin our symposium later this afternoon. But for this sermon time I want to 'take on' the epistle. There are no accidents I believe, and it is astonishing how St. Paul's beautiful metaphor of the many members, one body, should come up again just now in the three year lectionary cycle, just at the time when the Episcopal Church and in fact the whole Anglican community is so rent with dissention and with threatened schism and with anguish, and with good people not able to understand where the others are coming from. So within this context, I think it is really important for us as a Christian community to see if we can listen to these words of wisdom of Paul with fresh ears.

So how do cells differentiate within a body, and yet stay together? What tells a head to become a head, a leg to become a leg, or a hair follicle, a sperm cell, a liver cell? What keeps them working together yet allows them to differentiate? This is a question that has fascinated scientists for years and is particularly at the forefront for scientists today.

This summer, a very fascinating book came across my desk. I think it was actually on the best-seller list. It's called, "The Field." And is by a British Investigative journalist by the name of Lynn McTaggart and what she did in this quite fascinating piece of research was she started with a cross section of about five or six different scientific disciplines such as quantum physics, nuclear biology, neurobiology, astronomical engineering. And she showed how starting from these different points of a circle, scientists were beginning to converge on a similar understanding. Namely that there has to be a uniting something, which the Particle Physics folks call the zero-point field, and she called it just The Field. Or in other words, what it means is that matter and even energy are both embedded in a matrix or something more subtle which you could only call consciousness or coherent purpose. The blueprint lies there. A very interesting study! And she says, in this field, this matrix, it's property is coherent purposive consciousness, which essentially allows all the parts to be instantaneously, simultaneously in connection with each other and know how to go within the whole. So this is very fascinating. What it's coming back to is the old metaphysical notion that consciousness precedes form. We used to say, back a hundred years ago, "I have a body, therefore I'm conscious!" Now more and more science is coming around to what metaphysics has said all along. "I am conscious, therefore I have a body."

Well, there was a particularly poignant fascinating section to me in this book. It had to do with ground breaking research in cancer. Now the conventional wisdom is that cancer is a disease that originates at the cellular level as a deficiency in the immune system that lets invading cells get in. But some of the new data that's being turned up against the backdrop of this hypothesis of the field, is that cancer may in fact be a disequilibria, something scrambled in the field that prevents or that blocks the signal and keeps the various parts from knowing how to differentiate. It posits that there is a fundamental harmonic of health peculiar to each person but still a fundamental harmonic that allows everything to tune in, to hear simultaneously, and instantaneously do its part. Cancer in some sense, scrambles the signal, like a low level rock station scrambles your beloved classical music station and so in that circumstance when the basic harmonic of health can no longer be heard, what's left is proliferating undifferentiated mitosis.

Well, now this is a very fascinating metaphor. A simple, and new way of looking at things. And I want to set that on the shelf for just a minute. I'm going to come back to it.

But first I want to read to you a very very beautiful poem that was written by a fellow who lived exactly a thousand years ago. A Greek theologian, an abbot, a mystic named Simeon The New Theologian. And one day he apparently had a very profound vision. An experience of what it means personally to be a cell in Christ's body. And this is what he wrote about this vision that he had:

We awaken in Christ's body

As Christ awakens our bodies and my poor hand is Christ

He enters my foot and is infinitely me

I move my hand and wonderfully see, my hand becomes Christ, becomes all of him,

For God is indivisibly whole, seamless in his Godhood

I move my foot and at once he appears in a flash of lightning

Do my words seem blasphemous?

Then open your heart to him and let yourself receive the one who is opening to you, so deeply

For if we genuinely love him we wake up inside Christ's body

Where all our body, all over, every most hidden part of it is realized in joy, as him

And he makes us utterly real

And everything that is hurt,

Everything that seemed to us dark, harsh, shameful, maimed, ugly,

irreparably damaged

Is in him transformed and recognized as whole, as lovely and radiant in his light

We awaken as the beloved in every last part of our body

Isn't that extraordinary? To feel in that the completely permeable boundary between Christ, your participation as a member of the mystical body of Christ, and Christ as interpenetrating and inhabiting your very being. I think this is a wonderful mystical take on the zero point field, if we could see in some sense from our position of faith, of Christ the mystical body as that point field in which all the parts are coherently simultaneously in connection with each other

So what would the healing harmonic be? I think the fundamental harmonic of the body of Christ is healing love. It is the signature of Christ. Everything that is dark, harsh, shameful, maimed, ugly, irreparably damaged, in him is transformed and recognized as whole. That is the healing harmonic of Christ. It is what holds the body of Christ together. So what can we infer from this in terms of our dilemma today? First of all, I think we are forced to conclude that differentiation is good. No one every said the parts had to have the same function or see things the same way. In fact this passage from Paul seems to imply the opposite. Over the centuries our Western Church has made a fundamental confusion of oneness with uniformity. And we have to keep coming back to this passage that says that oneness is really differentiation held together by a higher unity. And I think we need to trust that and realize as we go about the Anglican Church there are going to be people in different life situations, different communities, different ethnic backgrounds, different sexual orientations, seeing things and living things from different parts of the body. But what holds them together is not a uniformity that makes all one, but rather keeps them marching to that fundamental harmonic of love. I speak very personally here and so I wouldn't want to lay this on anybody, but I believe it is an extraordinary blessing to be in places where God blesses faithful committed heterosexual unions and I also find it an honor to be in places where God blesses faithful committed homosexual unions as all proceed in sincerity, in love to unfold the blueprint which finally belongs to Christ.

And in conclusion I would simply say I have also come to believe that although the past is a guide, what keeps us together is not what was, but that fundamental harmonic of what is. And what is – is the healing love. We can find it simply, here and now. If we don't find it here and now, there's no point in coming to the altar. But as we find it and connect with it, it will be the guide that allows us as cells to walk our part in love. Distinctly, uniquely, but with the whole, which can live with greater flexibility because the oneness at the center is so strong. May that oneness be lived in our lives and in the life of our church. AMEN.

I strongly urge concerned Catholics to contact the Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul and humbly request that they not permit this activity to take place at a Catholic Church. The people who organized this should be reminded that Catholic Church's DO NOT belong to a particular group of people at the parish. They are a part of the universal Catholic Church, as administered through the Diocese, and they are dedicated and sacredly consecrated to the worship of God.

Many will defend this as an ecumenical activity. Remember that true ecumenism recognizes what is true in each "tradition," (to use the language of the moderns themselves), and so they must recognize the scandalous nature, in Catholic practice, of having someone lead Catholics in prayer who proclaims herself a priest in contradiction to Catholic teaching and openly "preaches" against the Catholic teaching on homosexual unions and other matters.

The Archdiocese of Minneapolis St. Paul may be reached by calling 651-291-4400.

[NYer]

St. Olaf Catholic Church

[x_plus_one]

She looks like a witch...

[wideawake]

Paul Z. Myers will be serving as altarperson, I understand.

[Unam Sanctam]

From the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas:

114 Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life."

2 Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. 3For every female who makes herself male will enter the domain of Heaven."

I guess she just wants to be a man...

[AnAmericanMother]

Birds of a feather . . . .

The "Centering Prayer Group" at St. Olaf is led by one "Sr. Joan Tuberty, St. Olaf staff person, teacher, spiritual counselor, and coordinator". Need I say more?

[NaughtiusMaximus]

I wish Pacelli was still Pope.

[Radl]

You just insulted witches.

[DieHard the Hunter]

It would be indeed disturbing to see the Catholic Church tolerating this nonsense for more than, say, the short amount of time it takes to complete this posting.

[sockmonkey]

I wish these types would just get the Heck out of the Catholic Church. In the only Catholic Church in my town (I drive sixty miles to avoid this local parish)they recently hosted as one of their CAFE (Catholic Adult Faith Enrichment) a program extolling the virtue of some Muslim Poet/prophet ..Apparently his poetry is the latest trendy thing.

In the bulletin it described him as a Prophet from another Faith Tradition. Not mentioned was his advocating killing enemies and infidels. I almost puked at the stuff some try to foist on unsuspecting Catholics these days.

[WorkingClassFilth]

I read this post thinking this must be another apostate hijink coming from St. Joan of Arc. But no, there are more parishes just as whacked-out. The Pope should have come to America with a shotgun, mop and broom to clean house. Papal instructions don’t seem to be enough.

[trisham]

One wonders why they cannot seem to grasp the serious and scandalous nature of such activities being held in Catholic parishes, by people who actively contradict the Church's teachings.

******************

One certainly does.

[Dr. Sivana]

Minneapolic/St. Paul has a new bishop, and they are trying to force either a misstep or wear him down to “tame” him. They pulled this (I’m afraid successfully) with Cardinal George in Chicago.

The event must be cancelled, and an “assistant” pastor who will report openly and honestly to the bishop should be placed, if there is some reason that the bishop thinks removing the pastor is ill-advised.

[AnAmericanMother]

Well, as long as we're wishing . . .

[DogwoodSouth]

From this Sunday’s (July 13th) bulletin:

Centering Prayer
& Inner Awakening

Led by nationally-acclaimed
author Cynthia Bourgeault

A day of teaching based upon her book

Saturday, July 19
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Fleming Hall at St. Olaf

Bring a bag lunch (beverages and snacks provided)
Free will offering ($25 suggested)
To register, call the St. Olaf office, 612-332-7471 or online at
www.SaintOlaf.org/events.htm

Free parking in the Energy Ramp (between 8th and 9th Streets); entrances on 3rd and 4th Avenue. Handicap parking only in the church parking lot.

This event is sponsored by the
St. Olaf Centering Prayer Group and Minnesota Contemplative Outreach.

- END -

My observation: terribly scandalous to the faithful.

[Manfred the Wonder Dawg]

On this we can heartily agree - the none sense this woman is promoting is dangerous. Press on and warn many RCs about the attending dangers of occult practices such as centering prayer.

In depth information on such on this site: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/index.html

[marshmallow]

St. Joan of Arc parish? No!!! St. Olaf's! Another name to add to the Minneapolis "lunacy log".

The insanity appears to be contagious!

[Dick Vomer]

2 Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. 3For every female who makes herself male will enter the domain of Heaven."

[ChurtleDawg]

Gnostic? How does one go about becoming a Gnostic these days?

I have the book of the Nag Hammadi translations, and I will tell you there is some gnostic stuff that makes no sense at all.

[ChurtleDawg]

that website is nonsense. It is condemning even spiritual monastic practices used by many great Christians of the past. It seems to be saying that meditation is “occult” and “unbiblical”.

what a bunch of reformed garbage!

direct quote:

“Those who use these methods put themselves into a trance state outside of God’s sanction or protection and thus engage in an extremely dangerous approach. Besides, nowhere in the Bible are such mystical practices prescribed.”

[iowamark]

If you have a strong stomach:

The Progressive Catholic Voice: An independent and grassroots forum for reflection, dialogue, and the exchange of ideas within the Catholic community of Minnesota and beyond

[Kolokotronis]

Now admit it, NYer. You don’t seriously wonder why we Orthodox aren’t just thrilled at the prospect of reunion with the Church of Rome, do you!

[iowamark]

www.progressivecatholicvoice.org

[Manfred the Wonder Dawg]

Many of the spiritual practices of proclaiming Christians ARE dangerous. What do you find objectionable in the quote you cited? Many of the methods currently embraced by people within the RCC and all stripes of Protestant churches line up with the occult - these are dangerous.

BTW, I think the people that run http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/index.html are dispensationalists, not reformed.

This page http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/desertfathers.htm examines several mystic teachers without regard to whether they be RC or Protestant.

[ChurtleDawg]

It is strange-—the Orthodox Communion is far less hierarchial than the Catholic one, and far more horizontally figured than the Catholic vertical model, but the Orthodox have a far more uniform practice and the laity are much more in full agreement with the basic doctrines. In the Catholic Church, almost all doctrine is officially pronounced in the catcheism, but huge numbers of Catholics, even those in authority, make up their own doctrine.

[ChurtleDawg]

but that website is saying that meditation and other spiritual practices are bad. It is trying to tar all Christian mystics with either paganism or heresy. It is like saying jogging is bad because many people who jog are into new age religions, or become gnostic.

sorry, that is just nonsense. There is nothing wrong with contemplative prayer.

my verdict still stands-—that website is hyper-evangelical nonsense.

That is what happens when you try to confine God to a book-—you lose all spirituality. And that is what many of the more militant extreme protestants do-—they make God to be just a character in the Bible.

[NYer]

You don’t seriously wonder why we Orthodox aren’t just thrilled at the prospect of reunion with the Church of Rome, do you!

Puhlease!

[Pyro7480]

Frank question time: have you been praying that the crisis in the Latin Church ends?

[pgkdan]

what a bunch of reformed garbage!

I wouldn't argue with these guys. They are afraid of that which they don't understand...and that's just about everything.

[wagglebee]

Yep, they lost me when they tried to compare the likes of St. John of the Cross, St. Ignatius Loyola and Thomas Merton with these nutjobs of today. I did notice the St. Thomas Aquinas and Thomas à Kempis were both left off of the list, they must be considered above reproach even though they were both given to mysticism.

[Kolokotronis]

“Frank question time: have you been praying that the crisis in the Latin Church ends?”

Sort of. I pray that the Latin Church cleans these matters up on its own and soon. There are just too many bad ways for the crisis to simply “end”.

[Manfred the Wonder Dawg]

That web site specifically - and accurately - states that mediation which focuses on emptying one’s mind, rather than focusing it on Scripture, is dangerous. Regarding contemplative prayer, it also (as does everything) hinges on what meaning one associates with the phrase. Please review this before accepting contemplative prayer without caveats.

http://brogdensmuse.menofhonorministry.org/Apologetics/Contemplative%20Prayer.ppt

[Pyro7480]

Esta bien. :-)

[Kolokotronis]

“It is strange-—the Orthodox Communion is far less hierarchial than the Catholic one, and far more horizontally figured than the Catholic vertical model, but the Orthodox have a far more uniform practice and the laity are much more in full agreement with the basic doctrines.”

Well, we are thoroughly hierarchial, CD, but beyond that, because the laity are the ultimate defenders of Orthodoxy, we have to know what the doctrine is and be on constant guard to protect it.

[Martin Tell]

the Orthodox have a far more uniform practice and the laity are much more in full agreement with the basic doctrines....

Although I have only been Orthodox for three years I have observed that as well - and what a relief it has been after the Episcopal Church to be a member of a church where I am joyously and completely loyal.

As to why this uniformity of belief and practice exists there are probably several reasons.

One is that the laity are truly engaged in deciding what is "Orthodox." There have been several examples in history where (almost) all bishops proposed a heretical direction and the laity refused to give their amen.

Second, our very lack of an earthly, central authority, ironically strengthens our shared heritage of the truth. That is not to say we are not taught the necessity of obedience. Much of Orthodoxy seems paradoxical; it can only be understood by living it.

Finally, I believe that Orthodoxy is divinely protected. To be clear, I am not asserting it is perfect. Humans will screw up everything.

[iowamark]

EO "laity are much more in full agreement with the basic doctrines"?

Not quite. Look at the number of Communist Orthodox in Eastern Europe. Look at the more or less Communist Orthodox in the US: Dukakis, Blagoyevich, Tsongas, Sarbanes, etc.

[Marysecretary]

she looks like a typical washed out lezzie.

[Marysecretary]

What she does is occultish and unbiblical. Projection is a funny thing, eh? I hope they stop this nonsense. It hurts the church.

[Manfred the Wonder Dawg]

You think highly of Thomas Merton? A couple of quotes from this mystic:

“It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, ... now I realize what we all are .... If only they [people] could all see themselves as they really are ...I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other ... At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusions, a point of pure truth ... This little point ...is the pure glory of God in us. It is in everybody.”

“I see no contradiction between Buddhism and Christianity ... I intend to become as good a Buddhist as I can.”
(David Steindl-Rast, “Recollection of Thomas Merton’s Last Days in the West” (Monastic Studies, 7:10, 1969)

A Christian ought to care more for what is taught than the man who may have been useful at one time.

[Marysecretary]

Good grief. One only gets to know who God really is through scrpture. Anything else can be misleading and false. Hopefully church fathers at least began with scripture in their writings. Anything else IS misleading and false.

[cerberus]

We are probably in the minority here, but I agree with you that this website is about the most ridiculous thing I have seen.

[DogwoodSouth]

UPDATE!!!

Freeping really works! After seeing the article you posted, I wrote an email to the pastor of this church voicing my concerns about the speaker. The pastor responded to my email swiftly and charitably. Here is his response to me:

“Dear (my real name),

Thank you for taking time to pass on your thoughts on the event planned here at St. Olaf this weekend. Until today, I was unaware that Ms Bourgeault was a public advocate for homosexual marriage. After consultation with the Centering Prayer group here at the parish, who, along with the Minnesota Contemplative Outreach, invited her to speak here, the decision has been made to move the event to another site and remove St. Olaf sponsorship.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr Mark Pavlik
Pastor”

- End -

Hope that’s encouraging for all of us. This priest should be commended for taking action when it was called to his attention.

[DogwoodSouth]

BTW - feel free to ping this to whoever might care.

[Aquinasfan]

Eeeeeeeeeeeeewwwww!!!

[OpusatFR]

Ya done good. ~And so did Fr. Pavlik.

[wagglebee]

No, I don’t agree with everything that Merton wrote; however, I don’t think he should be lumped in with some of the modern wingnuts.

[Aquinasfan]

There is nothing wrong with contemplative prayer.

True, but "centering prayer" isn't contemplation. The problem with "centering prayer" is that it centers on the self, rather than God. It's a dangerous form of self-hypnosis.

The Danger of Centering Prayer.

[Manfred the Wonder Dawg]

With what wingnuts should Merton be lumped in with? His views are certainly not Biblical. Is there an older bucket of wingnuts? But Merton is 20th century, so he’s really not far from the moderns in terms of time. Or beliefs.

[Aquinasfan]

Good grief. One only gets to know who God really is through scrpture.

You're a good Christian Mary, but... where's that in the Bible? Luther's Bible-alone thing is mystifying to us Catholics and Orthodox.

Matthew 18:17

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

1 Timothy 3:15

if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

2 Peter 3:16

He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

2 Thessalonians 2:15

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

Matthew 28:19-20

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.