Des Moines, Iowa, Nov 30, 2018 / 06:03 pm (CNA).- Dozens of Iowa inmates have filed a lawsuit challenging a ban on pornography which has affected the state’s prisons in recent weeks.
The law, which took effect Nov. 14, prohibits pornographic mat… […]
Washington D.C., Nov 30, 2018 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- An order of religious sisters in Pennsylvania has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the drilling of a government-sanctioned gas pipeline through the religious order’s property. The Adorers … […]
Washington D.C., Nov 30, 2018 / 03:40 pm (CNA).- Congress looks set to pass a compromise version of the Farm Bill, which would reauthorize billions in government funds for nutrition assistance and agricultural support, but strike a plan to expand work … […]
Greensburg, Pa., Nov 30, 2018 / 02:40 pm (CNA).- The Bishop of Greensburg, Pennsylvania is in recovery after suffering a mild heart attack over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Bishop Edward C. Malesic, 58, underwent a cardiac catheterization Friday, a proce… […]
Washington D.C., Nov 30, 2018 / 08:45 am (CNA).- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th circuit issued an order Thursday vacating a 2014 District Court decision against the Eternal Word Television Network in its lawsuit against the so-called contr… […]
Washington D.C., Nov 30, 2018 / 03:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- To the outside viewer, crystals are pretty rocks.
Perfectly curated pictures of the pretty stones pepper the social media feeds of scores of millennials, as they have become increasingly popular on necklaces and as part of a “wholistic”, wellness-minded life. But, more than just a fashion statement, crystals are believed by some to have healing properties, related to their energy or vibrations.
The Catholic Church rejects all things associated with New Age beliefs, including the trendy crystals, as heretical and dangerous.
At the same time, the Catholic Church embraces the veneration of relics.
To the outside viewer, relics are likely strange at best, and morbid at worst.
Relics are pieces of the body, clothing or other objects that have a direct association with a saint or with Jesus Christ. They may be pieces of bone or vials of blood collected after a saint has died, or a piece of their cassock, a book they used, or items that have been touched to these things.
Relics are venerated, often with a touch or a kiss, for the sake of the worship of God, and to ask the prayers of those saints.
So why is it ok for Catholics to kiss a vial of St. John Paul II’s blood and pray for his intercession, but not ok for Catholics to cure their negative energy by wearing a rock around their neck?
It’s all about who you want to establish a relationship with, explained Fr. Jim Orr, the director of St. Anthony’s Chapel in Pittsburgh, which is home to 5,000 relics.
“The importance of the relics is their association with the saint, because while the saints would be in the glory of heaven, their body is still their body, so it’s that association that makes the relics important, and, if you will, creates the connection,” Orr told CNA.
“When one venerates a relic, one is essentially making a connection with the saint in the glory of heaven. So what is going on spiritually is a kind of prayer to the saint, invoking their intercession.”
What makes a saint holy or worthy of veneration is not some kind of “spiritual radioactivity,” Orr noted, but their holiness, which is how well they loved God and neighbor.
“Holiness is the difference between the world and those who follow Jesus Christ, and it’s a difference of behavior,” Orr said.
“Look at God’s great commandments: love God with all your heart, mind and soul, love your neighbor as yourself, love one another as I have loved you. This is how they will know you are my disciples, by your love for one another.”
“And any of the great saints, if you look at them, (that love) is the characteristic of their lives. So when we look at relics, or blessed or consecrated objects, it’s about how they help us make the connection with those who have gone on into glory (in heaven),” he said.
In some ways, crystals are similar to relics, in that they are physical objects that can establish a spiritual connection. But it would be a mistake to think of them as anything but harmful, Orr said.
“It’s far from harmless. This is thinly-veiled so-called witchcraft, which really is playing with demons,” he said.
In the Vatican document “Jesus Christ: The bearer of the water of life”, the Church teaches that all things associated with New Age beliefs, including crystals, must be rejected, as they claim to offer an alternative to the Word of God: “From the point of view of Christian faith, it is not possible to isolate some elements of New Age religiosity as acceptable to Christians, while rejecting others. Since the New Age movement makes much of a communication with nature, of cosmic knowledge of a universal good – thereby negating the revealed contents of Christian faith – it cannot be viewed as positive or innocuous.”
Furthermore, the Catechism rejects New Age beliefs and the use of crystals: “All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.”
Father Gary Thomas, an exorcist for the Diocese of San Jose, told CNA that relics only obtain spiritual significance because they are associated with the saints. Saints are recognized as holy through the authority of the Church, which has its authority in God through apostolic succession, starting with the first Pope, St. Peter.
Crystals can have “perverted” spiritual energy through spells or pagan rituals that are performed with them, he said.
“Crystals can be used as conjuring objects for the demonic,” Thomas told CNA. “I have had people come to me for deliverance who have been involved in the practice of using crystals for demonic musterings.”
Orr, who has also been involved in exorcism ministry, said he too has seen people who have established connections with the demonic through their use of things like crystals.
“The demons go along until they can get their hooks into this person, and then they turn on them, and that’s when we in the ministry see them, when they finally realize what they’re dealing with, and they can’t disassociate themselves from the demons,” he said. That’s when they come seeking the help of exorcists.
“So in that sense, that’s how crystals are like relics. It’s who you’re creating a relationship with. The relics create a relationship with the saints and the glory of heaven; crystals create a relationship with demons.”
Indianapolis, Ind., Nov 30, 2018 / 12:28 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Nineteen states and numerous pro-life and disability groups have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold an Indiana law prohibiting abortions based on race, sex or disability. The law ha… […]
Sacramento, Calif., Nov 29, 2018 / 05:02 pm (CNA).- A California court of appeals overturned Tuesday a lower court’s ruling that had put the state’s assisted suicide law in jeopardy.
The 4th District Court of Appeals in Riverside, Californ… […]
Santa Fe, N.M., Nov 29, 2018 / 04:51 pm (CNA).- The Archdiocese of Santa Fe announced Thursday it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
At a press conference Nov. 29, Archbishop John Wester said that filing for bankruptcy is an equitable… […]
Washington D.C., Nov 29, 2018 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- Landmarks from London to Sydney were illuminated with red light Wednesday, in tribute to the modern martyrs around the world who have offered their lives for Christ and the Church.
In Washington’s Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Catholics and Church leaders from four continents gathered inside the illuminated shrine to pray solemn vespers for the persecuted Church.
“For me, it’s really a blessed moment where we have the whole Church praying for us persecuted churches around the world,” Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq told CNA at the event Nov. 28.
Red Wednesday shows “that we are one in Christ. If any part of the body of Christ is suffering, the whole body is suffering,” he continued.
The Iraqi archbishop also spoke of suffering in the context of the “purification” of the Catholic Church, describing not only the persecution of the faithful in his home country, but also touching on Catholics’ suffering due to the sex abuse crisis in the West.
“We feel the pain of the Church today because of the sins of its servants, and I believe that the Holy Spirit is working in the Church for its painful cleansing from within to become purified and to be the bride of Jesus Christ,” Warda said at the prayer vigil.
“Jesus gave up everything only to be holy to the Father,” he said. “Love, peace, and forgiveness will always remain and have the last word. He will achieve victory with his grace.”
“God gave us the grace to overcome ISIS,” Warda said.
Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S. Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy Broglio, and Bishop Oliver Doeme of Maiduguri, Nigeria were among the distinguished guests at the basilica event organized by Aid to the Church in Need.
“We must not hide from suffering when it comes. We must firmly address it in faith, love, and prayer,” Warda said.
The Iraqi bishop shared stories and statistics of the suffering that his people have endured. “Since 2003, 61 churches and shrines were burned, destroyed, or harmed. Over 55,000 homes seized, 150,000 Christians were displaced in 2015. Countless Christians have been kidnapped or murdered,” he said.
“The Church in Iraq is a martyr Church,” Warda said. “Our persecution continues to make us a church of peace and reconciliation, transforming us into an apostolic, missionary church.”
“Persecution brings us closer to Jesus … We are called upon to remain faithful to the Gospel” through “an invitation to the cross,” he continued.
Throughout the prayer vigil, the names of 20 martyrs killed between 2017 and 2018 were read aloud. Priests were among the martyrs from Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Venezuela, Madagascar, and Kenya.
Those gathered in the basilica prayed for Catholics who remain missing since being kidnapped in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, and Mali.
Specific attacks against large groups of Christians in Egypt, Pakistan, Central African Republic, and other countries were also remembered. On November 15, 42 people died in an attack on the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Alindao, Central African Republic.
Aid to the Church in Need began the “Red Wednesday” initiative in an effort to draw attention to the plight of persecuted Christians around the world today. On Nov. 28, St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, Westminster Cathedral in London, and more than a dozen other buildings were lit red for the evening.
Warda told CNA, “This is really a time for prayer, a time to be with the persecuted one. It gives the Church a mission today … to be with those who have been persecuted for their faith, been neglected, been marginalized, to feel their pain, even when we are in distance.”
“I take this message back home and will tell them that the whole Church is praying for you,” he continued. “It makes us more strong in knowing that we are persecuted, but not forgotten.”
© Catholic World Report