Posted on 10/17/2002 9:04:29 PM PDT by Pokey78
Edited on 04/23/2004 12:04:55 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
John Paul II marked the start of the 25th year of his papacy, now figured to be the fourth longest in history, with a startling announcement in St Peter's Square: He does not intend to resign but will let the Boss decide when he should leave, and by the way he has decided to change the rosary, the daily devotion Catholics have recited for 900 years. Now the pope has many issues vying for his attention, including his decision Thursday for reject the American bishops' plan for dealing with clergy sex abuse, but it is actually hard to imagine a more dramatic and far-reaching decision than the addition of the "luminous mysteries," for it will literally change how millions of ardent believers pray each day for peace.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Exceptions big enough to drive a semi through! "Queen of Heaven" is a title the ancients assigned to the primodial mother goddesses -- Cybele, Ashteroth, etc. Something about cosmic momism violates (and perverts) the design specifications of the man/God relationship. Induces a cosmic oedipus complex. Warps the role of sexuality, and a man's understanding of his legitimate masculinity.
Devotees of Cybele would, when seized by a religious ecstasy during the pagents commemorating that apparition of the Queen of Heaven, hack off their genitals, hurl them into the mother goddess's temple, put on new white linen robes, and join the parade. They sacrificed their sexuality to fructify mother earth.
Modern celebates (yes, that is a cognate word, derived from the name of that queen of heaven) equate purity with asexuality. They sacrifice the normal and God-ordained default setting of the human race (paired) in order to fructify the aims of Mother Church. Normal sexuality is equated with a rejection of the spiritual. (And this precious summons to maturity, to life, to family formation pops up in some shockingly pervserse ways when denied.)
(1) The word celibate does not derive from Cybele. It derives from the word celebs which is a Latin word used to describe an animal that has not been husbanded. The word celebs was already a well-established word in the Latin vocabulary before the worship of Cybele, a foreign goddess, was imported to Rome from Greek-speaking regions. It should be obvious that the root of celibate is celib/celeb and not cybel - the consonants are transposed. That's like saying the word marketing is derived from the word mattock because the two have the same consonants, even though they're transposed.
(2) The Greek word for celibate is anygynos which bears absolutely no relation to the word Cybele. You're mixing Latin and Greek to concoct a false etymology.
(3) Cybele was not known either to her Greek or Roman devotees as the "Queen of Heaven". Her epithet was "Great Mother". I would point out that the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, which is a list of the official titles given to Mary going back to the Roman era, does not include that title although it was much in vogue as a title for Cybele-type goddesses. Why? Because Christians then as well as Christians now know the difference between a fake goddess and a real saint.
(4) Even if your position was historically or etymologically accurate (and it is actually woefully inaccurate) it is logically barren. The same phrases we both apply to Jesus: Lord, Savior, King of Kings, Anointed One (i.e. Christ) were applied to various pagan godlets like Apollo, Osiris, Adonis, Dionysus etc. The fact that others have, in the past, applied to pagan deities the titles which rightfully belong to Jesus alone does not mean that worship of Christ is the same thing as belonging to a pagan fertility cult.
Likewise, venerating Jesus' mother as a saint and applying to her titles of which she is worthy - most preeminently that of Theotokos or mother of God - does not mean that Christians paying their due respect to the mother of their Lord are imitating pagan cults either.
(5) Finally, St. Paul calls the practice of celibacy praiseworthy and desirable and chose it for himself. If celibacy was pleasing to God in St. Paul as Scripture records, then the pursuit of that same Biblical commitment today is also pleasing. Casting aspersions on those who strive to live according to that Scriptural counsel and painting them as cultists is despicable, unBiblical and unChristian.
Dominus Vobiscum
Mother
Bump!
-pru
Don't know how to quantify or measure its practice, whether "often" or "sometimes" or "can be."
Certainly a spiritual director is useful or required. Centering Prayer was initially designed as a beginning point, we have lost even the baby steps of Christian contemplation in so many churches.
I read your linked article and think the author lacks an understanding of the key difference between Centering Prayer and Eastern Meditation: Intention.
And the charge of: "Emptying the mind" is a common misnomer for meditative practices of both East and West. Escapism, "blissing-out" etc. are not the practice or goal of any major meditative tradition - just the opposite. "Bare awareness" is a more accurate term, and improving the ability to concentrate (as opposed to space out) is necessary in as well.
Still, correcting mistaken impresssions is important, and one should always take care in his or her spiritual practices and be among a healthy community with healthy experienced spiritual guidance. We agree on this.
I think, however, the greater danger is that organized Christianity will become shallow and fade in it usefulness to the West without rejuvenating its spiritual practice of the contemplative tradition.
Centering Prayer is just one practice, I mention it because it is the most cross-denominational. Within Catholocism there are others to explore.
thanks for your reply.
That touched my very core.
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