Saturday, October 8, 2011

The Deception in Yoga


                                   ~~~Fr. Conrad Saldanha
(May Jesus bless you as you read it prayerfully. Also Pray and reflect on God's Word daily with Fr. Conrad  @  http://dedicateddiscipleship.blogspot.com/  )

The practitioners of yoga have often claimed that Yoga has nothing to do with religion. They could be right in their own eyes because they who practice it look at the world in such a manner.  But for a Christian, it does not communicate the mind of Christ and His body, the Church.  Yoga is the lie of the devil and his deception that is infiltrating the church under the guise of being un-harmful and propagating health benefits which in some cases may be true.  What should be understood is this:  what is contrary to the Christian faith has to be contrary to the very nature of man and thus in the final ending, harmful for humans and the human race as a whole.  Health is not the highest value of life but faith is. One cannot exchange ones eternity for apparent good health and relaxed body here on earth.

And then, one can enjoy better health benefits when one receives the sacramental grace offered through the ministry of the church. Similarly, some claim to have tamed the stuff and call it Christianized yoga, this is a greater deception when one understands the relationship between Truth and lie; a relationship which I am also discussing in my article.

There have been many who have written about the evil of yoga and the reason why one should shun it, though I am unaware of how many have striven to write about it from an existential anthropological angle. Thus the aim of this exercise is to analyze the whole issue from an existential-anthropocentric point of view. 

The reality of ourselves from an anthropological perspective: How are humans different and what makes them different from other living creatures? 

Human by nature have the capacity to reason and express themselves in varied languages and words. They have a capacity to remember, imagine and create which is unique to their persona. Each is so different from the other that no two human beings even if they look alike are the same in every attribute. They may be similar to each other yet not the same as each other.

Hence in the light of the above, the spirituality a human being imbibes has a marked impact on his persona.  If he practices a spirituality that is steeped in mantra, concentration and focus on one object, which could be the breath or a mantra or bodily sensations, then it in no way promotes the uniqueness of his creative abilities. There are better ways to achieve the goal of concentration and relaxation rather than having concentration as its goal.

On the other hand, the aim of Christian prayer is not concentration, though the ability to concentrate better could be the fruit thereof.  Jesus never gave his disciple a mantra to utter. To approach God by way of a mantra and / or to think that we should attain God by using a mantra is not only an insult to the persona of the created being and also to a God who has created us with such varied wisdom.  We who communicate using a language with many words have to reach such pitiable state in order to communicate with God our creator, is an inhuman exercise. This method of communicating means to go against our very persona; which expresses in varied words and language, with emotions and feelings, with non verbal gestures and expressions. The animal and bird kingdom speak in a mono language each according to their nature speak their own sounds (mantras) to communicate.

Some are foolish enough to compare the Rosary or the holy ejaculatory prayers to a Mantra. If one understands the Christian doctrine on God then one would be both watchful in its practice and welcome the beauty of such devotions.   While the Rosary is based on sound Christian doctrine, repeating the words about Mary as revealed in Scripture, its recital never invites one to concentrate. Rather it is an invitation to ponder like Mary on the Mysteries of the life of Jesus, with Mary with us on the pilgrim path. Thus, it should lead us into that contemplation which allows the mystery to work in us through constant revelation. Hence, we do not lose our persona in order to claim oneness with the universe or the cosmic creation whose consequence is often a make believe world ridden in escapism or a form of detachment that suits one’s mindset.

Therefore, Christian meditation or pondering is not an abstract activity that trusts itself but a reliance on a creator in a creator-creature relationship. It is relationship in which we allow the creator to communicate with us his wisdom without which we cannot grow; our vocation to transform the world is thus carried out in union with the God through the Holy Spirit. This is contemplation and is unique to Christianity. A Christian who remains stagnant at only meditation is still a yogi and has not understood the reality of his faith. There are many practitioners of yoga who claim that they now understand faith and scripture better. I pity them for such pride which prevents them to be open to the revelation of God, as in contemplation. This makes them trust their own reasoning’s, with fabulous logic and yet with a sound foundation in falsity and lies.

On the other hand, all the formulated Christian prayers have their sound root in the doctrine of Christ and his tradition. All Christian prayer that is approved and based on sound doctrine is valid and acceptable to God, even if the one reciting it is not doing so with efforts of meditating nor concentrating. It is nevertheless considered effective irrespective, but this degree of effect may vary to the extent to which one is fervent. Thus in Catholic circles we have the concept of ‘ex opera operato’, the heart that is fervent and the intention with which it is prayed adds to the effect. As explained, the rosary is also a prayer that recognizes the limitation of the created being and humbly acknowledging this, calls on God to intervene through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. But if one meditates on the mysteries and recites as per the doctrine of the Catholic Church and then one enters into a state of contemplation allowing God to speak through the Mysteries which are a compendium of the Gospel.  

There are other areas of differences too between a Rosary and a mantra but this should suffice. 

Unlike a yogic approach, the Christian approach to God is personal. One approaches God with the aim of either asking or communicating or seeking a relationship.  Hence it is not an abstract approach to an abstract concept of god. On the other hand the yogic approach ends up ‘with me’ as the centre of the universe; tat tvam asi or aham brahamaasmi (Sanskrit: you are that/ I am he or I am the universal being/ ultimate reality)

In a Christian approach every bit of surrender and submission is strongly rooted in one’s ego which seeks to die to itself and in the end is raised up to a new person, in God’s own image and yet with one’s own uniqueness and quality. Never will a Christian at the end of his prayer experience claim that he is ‘He’ or “I am one with creation.”- Pantheism! 

Yoga’s origin is Hinduism and is steeped in a mystery of incoherent understanding of the truth.  The Hindu concept of the universe and life can often lead one to doubt in its many beliefs. Yoga comes as an aid to rescue such a mind set of confusion.  Doubt in Hinduism is looked down upon as negation of the rational mind that is not still. Therefore it has to be calmed by either the discipline of exercises, mantra or hyper activity as in karma yoga or focusing on objects, a word or breath.  The mind that is hyperactive needs to be controlled and focused on in order that one may achieve concentration and altered state.  This practice is a great affront to the assimilation and understanding of truth.

Human beings are born to relish and celebrate beauty and truth.  Yet truth eludes the human mind in the many reasoning’s of the mind.  A glimpse of the truth is enough to give a false sense of satisfaction and to be deceived and be led astray.  It is like being so enamored by the beauty of the rose that one fails to see the beauty of the plant. The Christian understanding is this: Truth is not immanent to man and hence he cannot arrive at the truth even through a brain storming session of high profile intellectuals.  Yet it is seeking and in knowing and understanding the truth and acting on truth that he finds his real freedom and happiness. In truth is his fulfillment.

Truth is objective and to be understood not as we choose to understand but for its own sake. The moment we seek to understand truth as we want to understand it then we are not doing justice to truth. For the Christian truth is also dynamic, constantly revealing itself and contemplation in the power of the Holy Spirit is the way to assimilate it.

Whereas the Hindu concept of truth and its understanding is this : one is in the truth already and it has to be realized through meditation and yoga, i.e. by attaining knowledge, achieving enlightenment and realization through yoga is the method to arrive at such consciousness. Good and evil are almost non-existent concepts and truth diminishes into an abstraction wherein everything is considered to be a part of the cosmic universe. Morality which is an important component of truth is low on the quotient and is ignored totally in the spiritual achievements of the yogi. Suffering and poverty, the existential reality, is attributed to one’s karma or previous life and one’s destiny is already pre-ordained. Detachment here means being separated from the realities and confrontations of daily life. Pain, hunger, desires or carnal manifestations are part of the manifestation of the universal being. How to explain concrete realities of poverty and pain and sufferings? Attribute it to one’s Karma=deeds done in previous life.

How then does one handle matters of truth and morality and the existential realities of life? An ordinary human being confronts this reality or may rationalize about it and if necessary may even take  an aggressive posture to deal with it. The Yogi on the other hand deals with it through the structure and methodologies which boastfully is affirmed as being well rooted in ancient religious wisdom. This yogic methodology ignores the basic reality of life and enters a world of experiences which is termed as the god experiences by some or a state of bliss or nirvana, etc. by others.

Truth sought through the subjective human conscience is totally ignored. Hence many among the Clergy who have trodden this path have been highly wary of the confessional and have even abused the confessional making a mockery of the sacrament besides suppressing the truth of Christ. Morality, which communicates truth, is the dynamic ray of the truth of life.

They who have dabbled with such occult practices have often been in the forefront of attack against the prayer group spirituality, retreat centers and the sound teaching of Christ and the Catholic faith in matters of sin and morality.  “They induce guilt” is the popular allegation and why will they not when they are in a state of deceptive bliss achieved through human effort, i.e. yoga, vipassana, etc.  They ignore the reality of the self that finds true fulfillment in truth; which includes the moral element too.
 
The most deceptive element of this spirituality is the love that they often talk about. Of being kind to everyone and doing good but the most practical aspect of this love and kindness is overlooked: morality, truth, forgiveness and commitment is of no or less value. Relativism and perspectavalism are objective truths, a contradiction in the contradictions they hold on to. It is a way of willfully shutting out the truth about God arising in the conscience of every human being. “Undeniably, those who willfully shut out God from their hearts and try to dodge religious questions are not following the dictates of their consciences, and hence are not free of blame” (GES. Para 19:3, Vat II).

Jesus, the perfect one, reveals man to himself (cfr. GES 22, Vat. II) which includes his sinful and immoral state cut off from God. He came to set this imbalance of relationship right with God and one another through the reconciliation of the cross.  He speaks to the conscience of every man especially those who have submitted to the obedience of faith to lead a life worthy of his calling by the power of the Holy Spirit received in Baptism. The Holy Spirit constantly working a programme of renewal, through repentance faith and surrender, transforms us from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18).

Hence, reason and doubts are not shunned but meet their satisfaction in the search for truth in Christ Jesus who claimed to be the way, the truth and the life and the one way to the Father and no one goes to the Father except through him (Jn. 14:6).

In the light of the above we can say that Yoga then deceives at two major levels. In the first major and immediate way, it deceives the self through its methodologies whereby one through its practice unknowingly walks the path of escapism in an experience which can be compared to that of a drug addict; a altered state of mind. There are some who have come out of it and acknowledge this element of the psychedelic experiences.  This is further affirmed by experts who vouch that the experiences of yogic arousals are the same like that of psychotropic hallucinatory drugs. In India, in some place there are a band of yogi’s who achieve their spiritual goal through the use of such drugs.

The second major deception is that of relegating everything to the deep, the subconscious, and building a wall surrounded by an experience of deception.  This wall is often difficult to break through both for the practitioner or the one seeking to help the victim of yogic philosophy through the truth of the gospel. Unless the practitioners cry unto God to liberate them from such self imposed bondage which they have put themselves in they will never be free.

In my experience in ministering to people with such background of dabbling with the New Age, I have often come across cases of such deception. They reason and have great confidence in their ability to reason out things scientifically and logically.  But they have forgotten the important drawback of logic, viz. that of basing oneself on a wrong premise: All that is logical is not necessarily the truth but the other way is true, all that is truth is always logical, but the yogi finds it difficult to grasp it and sees them as foolish.

There was this person who was involved in the art of living. He had come with problems in interpersonal relationship wherever he went.  He was often discouraged from practicing the calming exercise, the yogic methodology of calming oneself.  But after many reminders and prayers and not without much arguments with logical reasonings that he came one fine day to confess that though he practiced the calming exercise yet within himself he always had this raw feeling of agitation and becoming boisterous often. 

A total renunciation doesn’t comprehensively handle the problem. At our retreats I would encourage those who had dabbled with such occult to renounce or strictly follow the discipline of the retreat. I would tell them that Christian silence is different from that of the yogic silence. Here in the Christian silence you are still communicating to the living God while the yogic silence is communication with an abstract reality with abstract techniques and methodologies.  Those who obeyed the discipline of silence as followed at the DD retreats emerged successfully contemplating the beauty of God in all that they did but others went away empty. 

Another case was of a woman who had gone for a vipassana (Buddhist form of yoga, which focuses on the breathing and bodily sensations. Since her conscience was compromised and was into activities which have its roots in Marxism, she had great difficulty to comprehend the truths of the faith and hence couldn’t deal with her larger fears and anxieties since they were suppressed in the deep subconscious and hence suffered many fears and pains.

As mentioned at the outset, one may ask; how come they who practice these New Age practices receive healing. My contention is this, the healing may be real but it is again rooted in deceiving the body.  While the healing received through the practice of Yogic exercise is different from those received from the practice of yogic meditation.  When a certain nerve causes pain the doctors have two broad options whether to allow the processes of healing through medicine or other forms of palliative care or go for a surgery to cut the pain causing nerve. Both options are not of equal value and significance, the former, if possible, is always a better option.  Yet the doctor and the patient could say; “look I want quick results”, this can lead to long term disaster. Likewise the yogic healing is for this life and cuts us one off from the eternity of life which God has prepared for those who seek their Salvation from him who paid a great price to offer it to them; the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.

Similarly, the effect of yoga can lead to immediate gain but an eternal disaster for ignoring the truth which Jesus came to reveal in order to give us eternal life.

The Catholic Church warns about the evil of yoga through its various documents. Here below I would like to mention the two documents:

1) In 1989 the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (SCDF) came out with a letter called “Orationis Formas” on some aspects of the Christian meditation.


Some ask whether we could separate the exercise from the yogic meditation. If you want to eat the food products of Fukushima after the radiation risk in spite of knowing it then it is to your destruction. Similarly, since we know for sure that the exercises, however healthy and beneficial it may be, but, ultimately has its roots in Hinduism, leads to destruction, then we are opting to walk the treacherous path. “It is difficult to separate the individual elements of New Age religiosity – innocent though they may appear – from the overarching framework which permeates the whole thought-world on the New Age movement.” (JCBWL: A Christian reflection on “NewAge”: Chp. 4:1)

Some prefer to practice what they call the safer and good elements of yoga, yet the above document, which I have quoted from, clearly warns about the dark and grim reality. Similarly, you cannot say to yourself I will take the name of Jesus while doing the exercise.  It is like using a vessel used for unclean purpose for a noble purpose. Do not abuse the most Holy name of Jesus and crucify him again in your hearts for shortsighted selfish gain.

Truth has to be sought for its own sake. We cannot say now we understand truth better because of yoga. A contaminated vision cannot make us see things better even though that person may claim that he can see well. Similarly, those immersed in yoga and its philosophy may see things better through the glasses yet it is not a perfect vision in comparison to the direct vision. If the glass is tainted then the seeing also becomes tainted, though the one seeing through the taint may think that it is normal to see in such fashion. It is like this Alcoholic, with wife and children left to fend for themselves, who once told me  that he was not wrong by drinking; because he was only harming himself, so why should his wife and children complain and nag him. The self was more important to him than the others towards whom he had a responsibility and commitment.

Yoga’s base as discussed above is a deception and not based on truth. A lie can’t make truth better. Whereas truth can enhance a lie to make it look better and more convincing; a good lie always contains a good bit of truth. In other words; lie added to truth only makes it a greater lie full of deception, likewise truth added to lie again qualifies for the same state. Truth stands alone and does not require the help of lie to qualify or enhance it.  

Jesus is the truth that saves. The incarnate eternal Word of God is also the revelation of God to the human race in need of the truth that saves. He fully reveals man to himself and has given us knowledge about himself and us. He has revealed to us our true worth and yet in his great mercy and love revealed to us the great mercy of God to save us from our state of sin; a state that prevents us from knowing the truth unless we turn to him in faith. Faith is the foundation to know him; faith is also the beginning to receive this revelation of God. Faith which is expressed through all humility can even lift us up to his level because God is pleased with such humble trust. He does this by pouring into our hearts his life and love (Rm.5:5) so that through his Spirit of Sonship we may continue in the grace, daily nourished at his Eucharistic table and striving in the world.  

If you have dabbled in yoga, vipassana or any other New Age spirituality then it is high time you said no to it and renounce this before the living God and turn to Jesus in all humility for help. Wait on him and ask him to guide your life by giving you his Holy Spirit, who he promised will guide us into all truth. (Jn.16:13)

Prayer: Father your Word is truth, forgive me for not accepting your word as your word and thus not allowing you to speak to me through it.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

The need for a correction to the Inner-Healing Process



Fr. Conrad Saldanha                                                        Part II
When teachers give homework for the child to work on they generally know that the child is capable enough to do it. Now, if the parent does the homework and leaves nothing for the child then the child will never grow in being independent and know and realize the intricacies of life.

Likewise, a parent will not always carry a child and make them walk. The real joy is in seeing a child walk and even seeing the child walk for the first time.

Similarly, any healing process that seeks diligently to remove the obstacles that apparently seem to hinder can lead to dangerous pitfalls.

If the crosses and the obstacles of daily life are taken out of the way, the most vicious spirit of pride could reign in our hearts.“The beginning of man's pride is to depart from the Lord; his heart has forsaken his Maker.” Ecclus. 10:12

Speaking of the dangers of pride, St. Paul reveals;  “And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Cor 12:8-10

The debate to know this messenger of Satan we leave it to the experts for the moment. But what is strongly brought across in the above is the direct revelation in vs9 which assures every human with weaknesses, the power of God’s grace released on the cross to attain perfection. Not in achieving perfection based on human priorities but a perfection that is based on God’s priority. This should be the goal of all healing. A healing that makes us forget God and enables us to leave him behind is detrimental to our call of true discipleship.
Another point of contention is this: Does healing have a higher value than the faith we profess? There are many who have deviated from the faith by even proclaiming healing through every kind of New age methodologies such as Yoga, Vipassana, Pranic healing, Cosmic energy, and other such therapies which are contrary to the faith. When challenged the fruit of such practices, especially the healing they have received thereof, is provided as a justification for continuation in such philosophies and therapies.

The Psycho-analytical methods used in inner healing can be fraught with such danger. Its rash application and a heavy usage in prayer groups can be compared to the pre-matured handling of the cocoon which results in the death of the worm.

In the Bible we do not have explicit teachings on the aspect of inner healing.  But like some doctrines of the Church which finds implicit mention in some statements of Scripture so also the concept of inner healing could be routed in forgiveness and seeking the Lordship of Jesus in every area of our life, which includes the past, the present and the future; for he is a God who was and is and is the one to come.  He is God who has created all things and so the old is gone and the new is ushered in by his power. Many a times the emphasis is predominantly on the inner core or the subconscious making it comfortable to the long standing scare, pain or anxiety. There is a certain sense of well being and a feeling of wholeness which may ultimately lead to healing.

Hence any inner healing which follows an abstract methodology, detached from God (though God is mentioned yet in the process what comes across is that we can do it without him) by way of pure therapeutic techniques needs to be banned from the Church and needs to be condemned.  It is unfortunate that some seem to apparently have Christianized the process but yet it is in many ways no different from the New age methodologies in the whole process and approach. Hence practitioners of this type of inner healing go about freely testifying to other new age spiritualities and practices too. What is practiced can be termed as value based spiritualities, without a need for divine intervention.  

The extent to which the Lord is put into the whole process is important and necessary. You cannot separate him and at the same time he needs to be given the legitimate place. The Lord as being primary and not our healing; this will communicate the major difference between therapeutic approach and divine approach to it. So also the human priority should not be a hindrance to the responsibility which Jesus has placed on his followers to carry the crosses of daily life, which in turn is a participation in the Cross of Christ.

It is our many weaknesses which make us humble enough to trust him more than ourselves and this trust is necessary for our salvation.

One of the sound bases to discourage these psycho-analytical processes of inner healing is in the dynamics of the Christian calling; God in Christ Jesus has called us not because we were perfect but in spite of our sinfulness. Scripture in Romans 5:6 reminds us that “While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

Therefore of prime importance is that change of heart and sinful attitude of hostility towards God which prevents us from recognizing him and following Christ.  Hence the sinful tendencies (concupiscence as understood by St. Augustine) and the lack of clarity on sin and wrongdoing may remain for a time and perhaps for a long time to come. But the call to stay on course in following the Master should grow in intensity. The stronger the current that seeks to lead us away from loving God and following him, the stronger should be our efforts and perseverance to stay on course in the journey of life with Jesus.

The over emphasis on inner healing can be an obstacle on this journey and can take our focus away from the Master who has accepted us and called us to follow him. This primary act of repentance requires a mere change of heart and attitude towards God; from that of hostility to one of willing obedience and love.

In this journey, we know that humans have a capacity to exceed themselves beyond their limits and this is further enhanced with a helping hand from Jesus our Savior and the Church which like a huge ship is on course in the same direction.  The food for this journey is the Word and Sacrament. 

We even see beauty and meaning in life when we see humans in spite of their many handicaps winning the battles of life’s journey, though many times they do so for a worldly crown which is perishing. How much we need to do this for Christ who assures us of a surer crown, for those who strive.  St. Ignatius of Loyola calls it Magis: what more can I do for you God, and I would like to add, in return for all that you have done and continue to do for me?

I know of situation and cases where people have been possessed and going through all sorts of oppression in their struggle over sin and right action. They easily stand condemned in the sight of men for sinful action and wrongdoings. Those who have been given the power to heal and set the captives free from their bondages have instead opted for the path of judging them as criminal and bad witnesses of the Lord. Perhaps, if they had looked at the log in their own eye then they would never have stooped to condemn the chosen ones of God. The visible sins of men are more irksome to him then the invisible weaknesses. What the world and people have to say are the new criteria for judging the grievousness of sin.
But God who knows the inner reality of each one of us, the one who looks at the heart of a man and judges unlike man who looks at the outside, also knows whom to show mercy and why. (Rom.9:15; Ex.33:19) Hence his judgment is never unjust or predestined.
As a result, a person who has not experienced inner healing, should never brood over his or her poor fate, nor should the one who has never been for one or failed to receive healing at the inner healing session itself; instead it should increase their resolve to follow him with their many faltering.
It is the Lord that matters and how we love him. Our weaknesses are never a impediment but can be a boost to seek his face more. They become opportunities to offer up to the Lord our bodies as a living sacrifice as we fight and struggle against the many cravings of the flesh.

Prayer: Lord I thank you for accepting me into your family. May I strive in my daily struggles against my many sinful tendencies to live a life worthy of your calling.


Saturday, September 24, 2011

The need for a correction to the Inner-Healing Process


Fr. Conrad Saldanha                                                     Part I

Having been in the ministry of inner healing and experienced the entire inner healing process, I believe there is an urgent need to correct certain aspects of the process, its vision and goal.

At our DD (Discipline and Discernment) retreats, we would make it a point to emphasize this need i.e. for a right and correct attitude in the face of certain drawbacks to the inner healing process.


There have been many instances of lacunae in the inner healing process.

I was once ministering to a girl who was facing many problems on account of the abusive nature of the relationship she was in.  The boy would be abusive, beating the girl, using all sorts of abusive language and with threats of using force against her and the family. 

For the sake of her attaining immediate mental peace in order to overcome the trauma of those moments, it was necessary to pray with her for healing of memories. But, this in no way helped her situation. For after having come out of that state they would patch up again even though it was discouraged as being highly risky. The advice to corrective measure would also get ignored. Perhaps a supportive assurance and by allowing the individual to remain in the pain and encouraging her to handle it prayerfully with the right Christian attitude would have helped her greatly than a quick fix solution. 

This above example communicates a point at a very human level.

I was told of an individual who was ministered to by someone who has been quite experienced in the ministry of inner healing.  The person was suffering from a low self image and had some skin allergy too. The deep rooted rejection and pain was handled through a process of inner healing therapy.  Yet it never really encouraged the boy to seek God once the healing process was in place. This was because the relevance of God in the life of the individual was never emphasized.

Another area in question is this: What happens when a person does not receive the assured healing, even though, the triggering factors is well known?  Many times, a person goes through a tremendous guilt and trauma in one’s relationship with God and one another for not having received the healing that one has so diligently sought for.

There are many such stories of deficiencies in the goal and aims of inner-healing. What then are some of the dangers of the Inner-healing process that should make us tread with caution and should spur us on to make a course correction in our whole approach to it? For this we need to explore a brief into the historicity and background of the whole process.

A brief about its origin and background: The subject has its roots in the Freudian and Jungian psychology.  Agnes Sanford a Pentecostal was among the first adherents of a methodology that tried to combine spirituality with the principle of the Psycho-analytical methodology.   Freud believed that at the root of every human behavior was a background in subconscious stimuli received at some point in the growing stage and hence the reason for human behaviour.  What Freud had discovered was true to a large extent. But to attribute every regression to the subconscious is the debatable element in the whole concept.  

You need to attend an inner healing retreat, they say, in order to handle a particular areas of weakness.  Many times the emphasis especially, among prayer groups on this element is so much that even God takes the back seat and healing the first place.  Even post inner healing, the situation now being better, one has forgotten the God who has healed. One then goes on with life as usual, returning to their former lifestyle of sin and wrongdoing.

Here below, I want to explore the two reasons which can help us understand the limitations of the Inner-healing process and the caution we need to exercise in the unbridled application of this therapeutic methodology:

The first is the anthropological nature of humans from a Christian point of view; the body, mind and soul, with each having a role to play in the development of the individual with eternity as its ultimate goal.

Hence every experience and pain and trauma that one undergoes has an important role to play in one’s formation and development. For a Christian, the body is not a unnecessary evil that has to be discarded: sooner the better!  But rather the body is an instrument of our transformation through much learning. This is made possible through the many experiences and stimuli that it receives and the way it is interpreted and applied. In this body, with its experiences and subject to the law of Christ, is what develops the inner man which in Christ Jesus is transformed from one degree of glory to another.

It is through the sufferings which we undergo that we are transformed much. Therefore Jesus says; Carry your cross daily and follow me.  Part of the suffering is the daily pain of the temptation of sin, which for a Christian is never a palatable action as one seeks to please God out of love for him and his laws. These sufferings in a Christian crucible, makes us all the more human and meek. Surely the meek shall inherit much and even eternity for they shall be shown mercy.

Likewise the mind transformed through the Word of Christ, despite all the pulls of the body is what Christianity is all about. Christ salvific action in us is a total sanctification of mind, body and soul. Hence the struggles of daily life can be sought to be mitigated by inner healing but in the long run can have a negative effect if this freedom is not used to seek God’s glory.

On the other hand we need to dwell on the nature of sin and its many manifestations, and the constant deception in which we live as humans, especially the deception of being blind to the whole concept of sin and its priority.  

The sinful nature in human beings and the various wrongs that one commits can be broadly classified into two categories:
1) The Divine priority 
2) The human priority

Unfortunately, even in Christian or Catholic circles, these two categories of sin or wrongdoing is not explored or understood so as to apply proper remedial measures to alleviate the sufferings of the penitents who come to priests for solace and healing. 

There are some sins that bother human beings more than God and we may even think that we are doing God a favor when we become activists to vanquish it either from our own lives or from the lives of others.  Guilt or the human agenda for revenge become a determining factor in the human priority and one is not able to see the deception we are enmeshed in. “They know not what they do” holds true here.

A mere lie could disturb us more and we could browbeat the whole issue than if a person fails to witness to the truth and love of God or spend time in prayer in his presence.  A person dabbling with new age spirituality may never be looked on with so much contempt than a man who has committed adultery; though the other is an adulterous relationship with the spiritual world of darkness. Though both are sins which one is more heinous in the sight of God?  Here it is not the question of which is more heinous, it is that the other may be totally overlooked and ignored and maybe, one even finds reasonable justification when confronted.

In drawing attention to some of these human priorities, I also want to bring to the forefront the whole issue of inner healing: Many times we encourage people to seek healing or even individuals may seek healing in keeping with the human priority.  “I want God to heal me of a particular weakness because I find myself in an embarrassing position. I am afraid of the rejection that I experience on account of the pain, fear and anxiety thereof.  God’s commandment and the category of sin and its viciousness may never be the priority of the individual.

God may be telling us; “My child I love you just the way you are, my grace is made sufficient where there is weakness.  Just as the heavens are far above the earth so also my ways are not your ways. In keeping with my priority I want to deal with that particular area which is nagging in my eyesight and I need to deal with that first” or I want to leave the weed and wheat to grow together so that there is no patch mark left in your life and the wheat will grow better.”

It is better to have all the scars of sin, which may even present us a bad witness in deeds (After all human judgment is flawed with irrelevant expectations) than to have every scar of sinful tendencies vanquished in us and have no God.  To have Jesus in our lives is much important than to have a perfect, upright life but deprived of God.

Does this mean we discard inner healing completely?  (We shall answer this question and the alternatives we have towards resolving this problem in Part II…)

Prayer: Lord, may I not seek to please myself but you. In pleasing you, my soul will be at rest and enjoy your peace. 

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Whom did Christ offer his blood to? Part II


                                                                          }}}}-- Fr. Conrad Saldanha
A mother once shared with me about the changed behavior pattern of her son after his marriage. She said that he has married a woman who has great love for wealth, money, rich living and who has managed to keep him under her thumb and control. This has resulted in a changed behavior pattern in him whereby he now lets out his frustration and anger on his parents.

One practical angle of the consequence of sin which we normally avoid in our deliberations is this; the so called weak in society can be more seductive instruments of sin if their weaknesses are not in submission to God’s saving action.

The weak woman can be more dangerous in manipulating the strength of the strong man to her advantage and cause further unrest in society. As in the first instance at Genesis so also it is now.

In a family where kids grow together, the smallest can manipulate the parents in various ways, for eg. influencing the parent in punishing the elder child. The fruit of such subtle common and everyday action steeped in self preservation and survival, which we may sometimes call the politics of daily life, is that it results in making a scapegoat of the more upright. 

What would happen if there was no law and order and it was a free for all society? We would be no different from the savages and the barbarians. Perhaps still worse without religions which inculcated the element of fear in people!

Jesus changed the rules of the game totally. In him we see what humans are capable of in their sinful manipulative behavior. The most innocent man in human history has been condemned to death. Will it be any different if he would come again, after having learnt the lesson from our ancestors and from the Bible? No, a majority would still do it. An innocent threatens and intimidates us more than a criminal and a manipulator. Dealing with a weak brings out the best from our criminal store house than when dealing with the strong. Just a reflection on the unharmed aborted babies is a visible proof of the criminal behavior of the civilized humanity. An honest and simple man is much more a threat than a dishonest man and if there was no law then we would even eat them raw.

Blood for blood was the Old Testament law: eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. It only leaves room for dishonest lies and manipulation for survival with twists and turns. Yet that was the best till a more sure faith was revealed in Christ Jesus.

In the death and suffering of the most truthful man in the history of the human race we see the consequences of degradation of humanity due to sin. We may come up with pleasant theories and sit in judgment even over God. How can God demand blood if he is a loving God? Yet, He doesn’t require blood for his sake; he requires it for our sake. So that by the blood that we shed by our sinful manipulative and selfish action, we who deserve death by his justice, may now be atoned for and receive his mercy. So that, especially the weak, poor and outcast, who seeks his salvation, may find it.

Jesus is God’s permanent and once and for all solution for the human race heading towards the omega point of disintegration and death. 

It is as if God saying: “I need to see the blood of my Son in order that I may have mercy on the human race who sin against me and one another. Christ is the mediator between God and man, who entered God’s presence on behalf of humanity by his own blood so that he could plead for us before his Father in heaven for mercy and forgiveness. The Father seeks to reach out to us in love exactly in the sinful situation in which we are. When we see him coming and respond to his saving help then can we have life through the redemptive action of Christ’s blood shed for us.

As for men, it is poured out for many as a sin offering. It becomes a reminder and atonement for our sins. Take and drink and take and eat are indication that we are the ones who are the actual beneficiaries, even if we don’t understand the full significance of what Christ has done for us. So at every Eucharist we partake of the cup and eat the flesh. This Eating and Drinking is also a participation in the life of Christ and the Trinitarian life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.   

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Lev 17:11, 14) One significant element of the offering of the blood was atonement and this atonement warded off death and curse and evil and restored life. “..for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life.”  (Lev 17:11)

Thus the price that Scripture talks about and which Jesus paid was not to the Devil but rather a price that he had to pay in fulfilling the Father’s will which included his plan to save us.  It could also be put as the price that Jesus paid in order to redeem us.  It is more an expression of a figure of speech that communicates the extent to which Jesus sacrificed and offered himself in order to save us. The Devil gains nothing whereas it is all to the advantage of “the humanity” who believes and accepts God’s offer of Salvation. This is why Jesus sent his disciples to the ends of the earth, so all those who believe in Him may not perish but may be the recipient of God’s mercy through the great outpouring of His precious blood.

This great offering of the blood gives us life and life in abundance. (Jn. 10:10) It was life that we required to overcome our weakness to sin and the fear of death. So too we needed a sure hope of life not only after death, but even here on earth. Jesus did it for us by making us participants in the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity; the very life of God, which is eternal.

It is easy for the devil to live on dead creatures i.e. creatures separated from God by virtue of their resistance to accept his salvation. The devil can thus deceive and prod them who lack the will to resist in order to cause them to further rebel and sin. But he who has the life of God has the same power over sin and wrong doing as Jesus. This process is gradual and works best when we cooperate with his grace.

This can be best explained through the allegory of the sick body which is captured by the sin of germs and bacteria’s. The Doctor does not give the medicine to placate the infection and germs. On the other hand he could kill the germs by giving them an appropriate dose of antibiotics. Another way a wise doctor can deal with it, is to work out a programme of removing the deeper causes and underlying causes which normally has to do with the mental and dietary regimen and thus build the immune system of the patient which in turn takes over to push infection out of the system.  Similarly, Christ has strengthened us and does that at every Eucharistic banquet with his Body and Blood so that the hold the evil one has over us is reduced and vanquished.  Unfortunately, many of us do not realize the full significance of Christ’ action in the Eucharist and hence fail to avail of the full benefit of this elixir of life.

The devil reaps where he does not sow and reaps on the life which God has provided the human race. Satan and the army of evil angels sought the blood of Jesus too and were instrumental according to the will and plan of God in the Crucifixion. They through the hands of wicked men crucified Jesus who laid down his life according to his own free will.

Was the blood offered to Satan and did he get it, though he sought it in keeping with his blood thirsty nature? No, what Satan sowed and labored for he couldn’t reap, he is a cursed being equally in the fray. His gain became a curse for him. He would not even dare to see the most precious blood of Jesus that hangs like a curse or a noose for him. Satan flees at the very sight and the naming of the precious blood of Jesus. It makes him tremble and shake the moment the most sacred blood of Jesus is proclaimed.

Therefore, the Devil is not appeased by Jesus in any way but Jesus by offering his Body and blood, the perfect nourishment to those who receive him in a worthy manner, has strengthened us in every way. Jesus keeps doing it at every Eucharistic meal with the Word, Sacrament and the believing church in the power and manifestations of the Holy Spirit.  This is the very life of God which we have and which we walk in and made possible by Jesus by ransoming us by his blood.

The real beneficiaries are we who believe and accept this plan of God’s salvation.  The blood of Christ then becomes a sanctifying instrument through the forgiveness of sin.  Just as the body in an infection has the capacity to fight and overthrow the infection through proper palliative care likewise the redemptive action of Christ Jesus becomes a constant strength for the soul to overcome the temptation and vile of the evil one. We are fortified at every Eucharist to go out in his name and be victorious if only we know and receive his redemptive action in a worthy manner. 

Those in the ministry of deliverance and those who often find themselves in great oppression can now hope for a greater fruit by seeking to avail of the power unleashed by the blood of Jesus on the cross.

Prayer:  Lord, cover me with your precious blood, so that I may always be under your watchful and protective eye and that your angel of life, seeing this seal of protection, ward off every evil force that strives against your plan for me.  

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Whom did Christ offer his blood to? Part I


                                                             }}}}-- Fr. Conrad Saldanha
A pastor once preached from the pulpit and said that Jesus offered his blood to the devil as a ransom for the salvation of mankind. This is the price that he had to pay for our sins so that we could be free from the clutches of the devil. The whole world and all people are in the clutches of the evil one. The love of God is shown in this; He died offering his blood as a ransom to the evil one.

The idea of Jesus offering his blood to the Devil as a ransom for us can send many on a wild goose chase. But put in another way it can be a subject of a hot theological debate and which I myself would like to participate, answering the dispute in a two part series: “Whom did Jesus offer his blood to, in order to redeem us?”

There have often been attempts in the past to explain this at various times and various moments.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) only emphasizes on the offering of Christ’ whole life to the Father (606-7)

On the other hand the scripture which is normally quoted to give us the impression that Christ Offered himself to the Father is the text from Hebrews:

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Heb 9:11-14

The argument then offered which makes many retract is this: How can God who is a loving Father require blood for appeasement. What difference is there between the God of the pagans and the Christian God?

The argument concerning Jesus offering his blood to the devil is a strong argument in some circles. Jesus has paid a price to ransom us who are under the power of the devil. Sin held us captive to the devil and we need to be redeemed from this captivity to the Devil and Jesus offered his blood to the devil in order to free us from this captivity to the devil; the price he paid to redeem us. “..You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”(1 Cor 6:19-20) Or the other text: “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” 1 Cor 7:23-24

I propose that the problem has to be looked at from a broader perspective taking into consideration the Old Testament and also the relationship between God, Man and Satan.  These are the 3 characters in the whole drama of redemption and each have a role to play.  It is my opinion that all three had a stake in the Blood of Christ (life of Christ) in three different manners and that is the price that Jesus came to pay. To whom did he pay is the question we dwell on and seek to answer. 

A little historical background in the light of the Old Testament would help us in understanding the role of each of the characters and their role.

The offering of sacrifices is seen in the very first book, in the first children of Adam and Eve. By the time of Moses the laws of offering a sacrifice are streamlined with the appointment of the Levitical priesthood. The sacrifices for sin, under the Law, were sin-offerings: Lev. 4:3,4,23,24,27,31,34 and 35; Exod. 30:10; Lev. 5:11,12and Lev. 9:2,6,7, and 2 Chron. 29:7-10,20-24. 

In the Old Testament the offering was clearly made to God for the atonement of one’s self for sin.  The blood of the bull or goat or lamb was collected by the priest and was sprinkled on the veil of the sanctuary.    

Which clearly suggests that God required of them, an atonement with blood in order that his wrath may not come on the sinners who have broken his laws and commandments. In this we learn that there is a relationship between sin and blood.  Sin that is the result of breaking God’s commandment not only brings about a further divide between God and man but also separates man from each other. The worst consequence is that it reduces his life span through the working of the wrath of God, even leading to death. (Rm. 6:23) Thus atonement is through the blood; the life of a lesser creature than humans was the norm in the Old Testament.

Hence the significant point that we have in the Old Testament is that of a vulnerable humanity steeped in sin and wrong doing and the resultant bondage which is detrimental to his immediate wellbeing and eternal happiness. Therefore God has to intervene and offer them a solution that would represent and would be a fore runner to the ultimate plan which would unfold at an appointed time in history; Jesus, the Lamb of God who will come and offer himself as sacrifice to redeem us from under the power of death and sin.

Where Satan comes in the picture? As far as the Old Testament Sacrifice is concerned, Satan’s role finds no mention. But it is important to keep in mind the pagan sacrifices which were ghastly demonic and an offering to appease the deity whom the Apostle Paul would even refer to as Demons; “I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God.” (1 Cor 10:20) The aim of their exercise was to appease Satan and the evil spirits so as to ward them off through satisfaction. This practice is still a common practice in pagan and modern paganised cultures especially if they are assailed by evil spirits and when they have to undertake a major task or for other evil purposes.  Blood of fowl or goats or bulls are offered in order to appease the deity or wandering spirits in order to ward-off any obstacles or evil.

Reflecting on man; the key character and primary centre among God’ vast creation. Ever since his fall the first man came under a curse, subjected to pain and suffering. Humans lost the sense of God and came under the power of sin and death, the power of the evil one.  In the history of the Old Testament we see a gradual decline in morality and goodness and a growing trend towards creating their own gods.  If we analyze sin then the primary sin is that of losing the sense of the one true God who created us and instead creating the one which suits our reasoning’s and fascination.  

Yet there is one thing that’s common both among some of the pagan religions of those times and the early ancestors of Noah and others and that is the offering of the blood sacrifice to make atonement for the guilt of one’s sins and to appease the deity in order to receive favors.

When it comes to humans, the Bible clearly forbids the consumption of blood in any form.  Yet in the history of the human race they have been abundant of instances of torture, murder, wars and even the drinking of human blood either as part of a ritual or apart. These have not just been an ancient reality but even in our times, these things exist in various measures. Often we find the best solution employed for survival and peace is the destruction of the other.  

Have humans been a slave to Satan, yes, each according to their sinfulness and choices are in a way under the yoke of the evil one.  Therefore we are also under the power of sin; Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.  (John 8:34) And then there is death under whose power we are subjected to and against which we constantly struggle against for survival. “..who has the power of death, that is, the devil.” Heb 2:14

Thus sin and death which are a visible reality are the weapons of Satan to trouble humans, especially the power thereof of guilt, shame, fear, uncontrollable anger, greed, addiction and every form of destructive behavior patterns.  One under the deception and influence of the devil begins to believe and think that it is self gratification is necessary in order to survive. The human nature by default manifests a pattern of behavior which seeks survival over death, gratification over sacrifice because of the many fears and anxieties, including the fear of death.And you, who once were estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds” (Col. 1:21)

In the light of the above we shall now place Christ Sacrifice in its proper context; all three had a stake in the bloody sacrifice of Christ.

Though the God of the Old Testament desired as necessitated by human sinfulness that atonement be done by the blood of bulls and goats yet it was never his desire to continue with the bloody sacrifice of atoning with blood. It was as if he was waiting for a special moment, the appointed time to send his son Jesus to finish off with the ritualistic requirement according to the law that governed our life. The atonement with blood was necessary in order to prevent us from falling further prey to the devil, the angel of death.
                                                            (To be continued in Part II)

Prayer: Lord prepare my heart and mind that I may reap the benefit of the precious blood of Jesus Christ and thus participate fully in the life of Christ and the Most Holy Trinity.