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Rascalking
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You shouldn’t. I wouldn’t budge either.
Horrible advice in the confessional. Should I report it to my Bishop?
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Christian_polk
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Sometime
I have no comment on the advice given , for it seem
always turn what is evil or you don`t understand into something more helpful for them .
Your choice
s you have to read between the lines with what others say especially fathers .I have no comment on the advice given , for it seem
s his reply was meant as a self reflection opportunity for you , teachers can`t always tell you what to do , but they can guide .always turn what is evil or you don`t understand into something more helpful for them .
Your choice
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Samuel63
Guest
Sharon Lee Giganti’s main message on Catholic Ansers Live is to stay far away from the New Age movement, content, practices, all of it!
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JM3
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The Holy Spirit whispers to a soul in many ways. Don’t let your subjective judgement drown out that whisper.
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SmokeRing
Guest
Quite true. I think people who offer such potentially harmful advice are themselves unsure of their own chosen path and feel they need to reinforce it by recommending it to others.
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joanofarc2008
Guest
I bet you that quite a few on this thread that quickly bashed the priest do not know that there is a pre-Vatican II book that received the Imprimatur called Zen Catholicism that teaches just how to do this. This is not a new theory in the Catholic Church nor does it have anything to do with the ecumencalism that some attribute to VII. I for one do not mix Eastern Meditation into my practices as I believe it creates an issue for me due to some experiences I had with a bad teacher who insisted on introducing practices that do not align with Catholicism such as Chakras, etc. This is why when we look at the teachings of the Church we learn that one of the most important things in this is a good spiritual guide or director and obedience.
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JReducation
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If it’s your confession, you’re not bound by the seal. The priest and anyone who has heard it is bound by the seal.
Of the above, the only one with him I’m very familiar is with Thomas Merton. Merton’s theology of prayer is beyond reproach. It’s very Benedictine. Merton traveled to the East for very legitimate reasons. He was a Spiritual Theologian. He was interested in the methods, tradition, theology of the Asian faiths. He was a scholar. This is what scholars do. Scholars do not stick their head in the sand and refuse to open a book on Shinto, Islam, or Hinduism. That’s not much of a scholar if he has no idea what is out there and what are the similarities and differences, as well as what may be useful or dangerous.
I think the problem on these threads is that because most posters are not scholars, they are looking for the conside and very directed response to their questions. There is nothing wrong with that as long as you leave the door open for scholarship. Imagine going through four years of philosophy, four years to get an M.Div, give more years to get a Doctora in Sacred Theology and never having opened a single book that was not Catholic. That’s not much of a Catholic scholar and not much of a doctor. It’s important to take men like Merton, look at their work and see its fidelity to his Benedictine roots and look at his curiosity as normal for a scholar.
You’re right. Catholicism is not about fear. There is a difference between prudence and fear. We see this in many spiritual masters who dealt with non Christians. They took what was good and tried to understand what was wrong so as to explain the problems. Among them are Francis of Assisi and Islam, Francis Xavier and Buddhism, Mother Teresa and Hinduism.
We need to teach people, not frighten them.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
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0129141
Guest
meditationiseasy.com/mCorner/techniques/zen_meditation.htm
Does this sound Catholic to you? Meditating to be in a state of emptiness!? There is absolutely no focus on God in zen meditation, you just try to empty yourself. Its focused on YOU, not God. Catholic already have “zen” meditation, its called contemplation: being quitely in God’s presence, not to empty yourself, but to be FILLED with His grace and love. If you want hardcore zen, get ye to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament:thumbsup:
Does this sound Catholic to you? Meditating to be in a state of emptiness!? There is absolutely no focus on God in zen meditation, you just try to empty yourself. Its focused on YOU, not God. Catholic already have “zen” meditation, its called contemplation: being quitely in God’s presence, not to empty yourself, but to be FILLED with His grace and love. If you want hardcore zen, get ye to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament:thumbsup:
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Contarini
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Why is Sharon Lee Giganti such an indisputable authority?
It’s rather amusing to see Catholics exalt laypeople sponsored by apologetics organizations above their own priests and bishops.
Or rather, it would be amusing if it weren’t sad.
Of course the priest may be wrong and Sharon Lee Giganti may be right. But it sounds as if you give her authority simply because she speaks on Catholic Answers Live. That makes no sense at all.
Catholic Answers is just a bunch of laypeople and at least one priest. They have no authority that other Catholics do not have.
Edwin
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Contarini
Guest
Well, it sounds very Catholic to me.
Pseudo-Dionysius, anyone? Whatever you think of the Dionysian writings, they are historically very influential in Catholic and Orthodox spirituality. Aquinas quotes “Dionysius” all the time.
That doesn’t make any sense. Zen meditation is all about getting the focus off of “you.” That’s what “emptiness” means.
The more active, focused methods of prayer and meditation traditional in Western Christianity, while certainly valuable, actually run more risk of focusing on “you.”
Edwin
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joanofarc2008
Guest
Have you read a certain statement listed above on these types of meditation written by some theologians in the Vatican. One of which I believe is a very smart man with the last name of Ratzinger? Of course he was only a Cardinal then.
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joanofarc2008
Guest
First who cares. If person A with their spiritual director sees something as licit when reviewing Vatican documents and it works for them why does another person need to worry about so much about the sliver in their eye?
Now if the person is going forward and teaching things that are obviously contra to teachings such as chakras, etc then there is a bigger proglem and I suspect that person’s superiors would handle the matter quietly if at all possible.
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Rascalking
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TempleofTheSoul
Guest
Thank you for the link…I am reading through it right now and find that it contains alot of wisdom.
God bless
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joanofarc2008
Guest
No he belongs to another well known dioceseRatzinger…hmm…haven’t heard of him. Isn’t he your local priest?
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Contarini
Guest
So you’re starting with the assumption that practicing Buddhist meditation is wrong. You keep saying that you need to avoid it because of your previous experience. But the experience as you describe it may point in the other direction.
Your “dryness” may be because you are trying to force yourself into a mode of prayer that isn’t suited to you. Perhaps the stillness and emptiness you found in Buddhism is something that you need–but within a Christian context.
I certainly have problems with many of the folks who try to combine Zen with Christianity. My own denomination (not known generally for its narrow-minded dogmatism
) refused to confirm the election as bishop of a priest who practiced Zen. This priest had altered the liturgy in his parish church to remove language about Jesus saving us from our sins. That’s clearly an example of someone corrupting the faith due to Buddhist influence.Similarly, Prof. Paul Knitter claims to be a Buddhist and a Christian, but he advocates a form of religious pluralism that denies or downplays the Incarnation. Again, this is obviously the wrong model.
If Fr. Kennedy does something of that sort, you are right to be wary of him.
But you might consider the possibility that your continued craving for Buddhist meditation isn’t simply a temptation of the devil. You are trying to cut something out of your spiritual life that you may need. I’m not saying that you should practice Buddhist meditation necessarily, only that you need to figure out what is good and holy in your desire for Buddhist meditation and find a way to satisfy that desire. And similarly, if you see your desire for Buddhist meditation as a Satanic temptation, you need to be able to identify what it is that is sinful or unorthodox in that desire. It surely isn’t enough to say “it’s a practice from another religion,” when the whole concept of “religion” is so impossible to pin down in the first place.
Edwin
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Verbum_Caro
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Contarini
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I’m not quite sure what you mean. The OP is concerned that his priest may have given him spiritually unhelpful advice. This is a concern worth addressing.
I’m not quite sure what you think you are arguing with in my post!
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TempleofTheSoul
Guest
For one I have years experience with Buddhist meditation so it is not based on an assumption.
It is not something that I need but my periods of lack of faith have to do with spiritual struggles just as any other Catholic has experienced.
It is because of my knowledge of him due to the fact that I live in the same area as he that I am wary of him. When I ran in Buddhist circles looking for meditation groups in my area before I came back to the church I was going to try out zazen with him but it never happened.
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