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LRThunder
Guest
I’m not God and can’t fully understand why he does what he does.
But for actions WE can control, the ends don’t justify the means. Never have, never will.
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But for actions WE can control, the ends don’t justify the means. Never have, never will.
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dbacks5439
Guest
So, you’re saying we should have a “Catholic Police” patrolling the rooms and monitor the meditative activities done off hours? Should we take away other people’s free will? They want to practice yoga, we’re letting them do it in a high school classroom off hours, and as far as I know, no Catholics are participating. So what is the problem? No harm, no foul.
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LRThunder
Guest
If they want to practice yoga, fine, but it shouldn’t be on any Catholic property. It sends a mixed message.
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dbacks5439
Guest
What mixed message? That the Church is tolerant of other belief systems? Please don’t get me wrong, I understand your position. I’m just saying, we should act like Jesus would. He ate with sinners. He hung out with the lepers. He even talked to the tax collectors, who were some of the most hated people in that period. We can’t rent out a room for ~2 hours for a yoga class?
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sir_galahad
Guest
It seems to me that the school is causing scandal and veering dangerously close to religious indifferentism. There’s no reason why a Catholic school should be offering a space to people practicing pagan meditation. It’s enabling people to practice a false religion at worst and unsound prayer practices at best.
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Brendan
Guest
Can we rent it out to be a brothel because Jesus also hung out with prostitutes?
One of the things that Christ did when he ate with sinners was to bring about their conversion. Inviting yoga practicioners into a Catholic factility is fine, as long as our intent is like that of Christ, to bring about their conversion.
Is that being done at this school?
Yoga is not Catholic. That has been clearly stated by Rome
Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict) issued a very good document on the subject.
ourladyswarriors.org/teach/meditation.htm
As did Cardinal Sin of Manila
ewtn.com/library/NEWAGE/SINMAHAR.TXT
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dbacks5439
Guest
Code:
Hi. I looked at Cardinal Ratzinger and I found a quote,
"The majority of the "great religions" which have sought union with God in prayer have also pointed out ways to achieve it. Just as "the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions,"[18] neither should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian. On the contrary, one can take from them what is useful so long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured. It is within the context of all of this that these bits and pieces should be taken up and expressed anew."
This is exactly my position. Yoga also employs bodily positions and movements. God gave us bodies to perform a multitude of tasks, so why not in prayer? As long as prayer is to God and only God, I still don't see the problem.“Eastern Christian meditation[32] has valued “psychophysical symbolism,” often absent in western forms of prayer. It can range from a specific bodily posture to the basic life functions, such as breathing or the beating of the heart. The exercise of the “Jesus Prayer,” for example, which adapts itself to the natural rhythm of breathing can, at least for a certain time, be of real help to many people.[33] On the other hand, the eastern masters themselves have also noted that not everyone is equally suited to making use of this symbolism, since not everybody is able to pass from the material sign to the spiritual reality that is being sought.”
So even Cardinal Ratzinger agrees with my position.
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Catholic90
Guest
Uh, yeah…‘learning how to breathe’ and ‘centering oneself’ is pretty harmless!
And to the other poster who questioned who one is praying to when meditating…well, we have Bible studies at our Catholic church where the facilitators ask us to “meditate” on God’s word. This is complete with lowered lights, candles lit, quiet music playing, etc.
So, YES, one CAN meditate and pray to God at the same time!
Sheesh, people! Have some faith!
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mikew262
Guest
The things people worry about. :yawn:
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Malcolm_McLean
Guest
Not necessarily. Obviously everyone who is alive for more than five minutes knows how to breathe. However hyperventilation can be dangerous. Conscious breathing is also good at creating an illusion of bodily control. Advanced Hindus often claim to have amazing powers. Whether this is true or not, the average person is not going to ward off cancer by going to a few yoga sessions in the local church hall. However they may be given the impression that this is a possibility.
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Catholic90
Guest
Good heavens,people!
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shadrach
Guest
Exactly my point. That is who you are praying to at a BIBLE study. Which is patently a Christian fellowship.
YOGA is a HINDU fellowship. So its pretty simple logic that using their meditation opens you up to who they worship. Which we all know isn’t God. So that leaves 1 other option, huh?
Thats why I want to contact whoever is over this school. Trying to build the faith of the students, instead of having people bring in opposite influences.
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shadrach
Guest
If more people worried about things like this, maybe Church attendance would be on the rise, not the decline.
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Pong
Guest
I’m sure the majority of lapsed Catholics could care less about a high school building being used for yoga.
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SedesDomi
Guest
Do Jews or Muslims worship God as well?
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dbacks5439
Guest
It seems people are neglecting post 27, where then Cardinal Ratzinger actually supports the use of yoga as long as God is first. I agree completely that Hindu chants are detrimental to the faith. However, the thing in question is New Age Meditation. Don’t we meditate too? Yoga can be incorporated into meditation as long as God is first. Where did we get the Christmas tree? What about Christmas, the holiday? Last I checked, the tree is pagan and so is the date that Christmas is on. But, we were able to incorporate both into our faith and used them to put God first.
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valient_Lucy
Guest
Just to stir the pot a bit,
Actually, most people don’t breathe correctly. Most people breathe with their chest, and not with their diaphragm. Any singer can tell you that. We’re trained as children to suck in our stomachs and stick out our chests, and as a result we take shallower breaths than if we simply allowed our diaphragms to function.
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raggakitten
Guest
I say is not proper.
One should not let ourselves be influenced by that type of practice, many people think it’s harmless because THEY use it as a form of body exercise or work out… But when they’re meditating, they don’t tell you to focus on God, do they?
It’d be like practicing Feng Shui and stuff like that… It seems wrong to me.
If you wanna exercise, RUN, lift weights, do aerobics, but don’t be masking paganism in the form of exercise!
The devil has many ways to desguise himself!
And the Catholic school letting people who practice these activities to use the building is sending a mixed message, almost saying “I’m OK with this type of practices”
If it were a Satanic group that needs a place to practice their rituals, would the Catholic school let them use the building too just because is “off hours”???
That is DEFINITELY an issue that should be addressed.
Whose side are they taking? What message are they sending to the youth that attends that school???
Today’s youth is easily influenced with what they see… So, if they see that their school is letting people practice Yoga in the building… Then they might think that practicing Yoga is perfectly accepted by the Catholic Church, therefore, making them more prone to do it in their adulthood, or whenever they feel like it.
And I don’t think there should be such hypocrisy of saying during class “yeah, Yoga is wrong and pagan” when they’re letting people practice 2 types of Yoga in the same building!!!
One should not let ourselves be influenced by that type of practice, many people think it’s harmless because THEY use it as a form of body exercise or work out… But when they’re meditating, they don’t tell you to focus on God, do they?
It’d be like practicing Feng Shui and stuff like that… It seems wrong to me.
If you wanna exercise, RUN, lift weights, do aerobics, but don’t be masking paganism in the form of exercise!
The devil has many ways to desguise himself!
And the Catholic school letting people who practice these activities to use the building is sending a mixed message, almost saying “I’m OK with this type of practices”
If it were a Satanic group that needs a place to practice their rituals, would the Catholic school let them use the building too just because is “off hours”???
That is DEFINITELY an issue that should be addressed.
Whose side are they taking? What message are they sending to the youth that attends that school???
Today’s youth is easily influenced with what they see… So, if they see that their school is letting people practice Yoga in the building… Then they might think that practicing Yoga is perfectly accepted by the Catholic Church, therefore, making them more prone to do it in their adulthood, or whenever they feel like it.
And I don’t think there should be such hypocrisy of saying during class “yeah, Yoga is wrong and pagan” when they’re letting people practice 2 types of Yoga in the same building!!!
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rwoehmke
Guest
I don’t really think so. If you were more familiar with the two types of Yoga mentioned you would know they are not just body exercises and meditation techniques. I don’t think the good Cardinal now Pope would approve the wholesale adoption of either of these types of Yoga. I have done some Pilates training and even in that, while the body movements and breating are fine, some of the instructors patter as to what was happening as one went through the motions was . Get a clue before you buy into these things lock, stock, and barrel. MacLean has a good fix on what goes on. It ain’t just breathing exercises.
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mikew262
Guest
Oh please! Yoga as a way of exercising, stretching, relaxing , and meditating is totally harmless. As long as the focus stays on this, there is no harm being done. If the instructors try to actively promote Hindu-ism, then I see a possible reason to be upset, but I don’t think this is the case here.I’m sure the majority of lapsed Catholics could care less about a high school building being used for yoga.
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