It is easy for you to sit back and proclaim another religion ‘wrong’. It is harder for you to explain why you personally do not see God in the Beautific Vision when you receive Holy Communion, w**hile this humble Hindu priest named Ramakrishna, of the so-proclaimed ‘demonic’ Kail temple, saw God every day. **
This is precisely the problem. While it’s not our say, who God chooses to reveal himself (in respect to what you say to Ramakrishna), I’ve seen it noted by another poster, the concerns are that the priests in thinking they are right, are opening themselves up in vulnerability. While the intention may be to bring, Hindus to the Catholic faith, I don’t believe praying in their shrine in their own way, in order to patronize Hindus, is the best means to do it.
How many times have we heard an anecdote about a local parish priest, invoking non Catholic Eastern Religious beliefs…One time, is too many times.
That Jesuit priests go in there or anywhere and pray to God is good, and anyone who would have a problem with them doing so, or with Blessed Mother Theresa doing so, or Pope Benedict praying where he chooses to, needs to rethink how their judgmentalism disserves themselves and others and God
Catholics have a right to defend what they believe might not be the best course of action. I don’t see judgmentalism. I see concern for precedents open up and improperly swaying those who don’t know as much as they should know in making distinctions from our faith from others. Some of your statements kind of backhand our faith actually when you promote that Hindu priest.
I don’t see davidwilson, as being judgmental but moreso concerned with the truth.
I will agree with JReducations concerns about lack of charity towards the priests and how even though what we say about those Jesuits maybe true, that there still has to be love involved in admonishing–but this is one of those situations, where I can respect why some Catholics posters still don’t back off in admonishment of the Jesuits.
I know I wouldn’t just because of what I’ve learned can happen. I don’t think it’s appropriate to endorse and give a green light. I have a real problem for instance, if I were to hear my local parish, talk about how “beautiful” buddhist practices of prayer are…believe me,
and I think the invocations of Mother Theresa, and to a greater extent the Pope, are a disingenuous comparison, because their actions don’t all of a sudden validate what the Jesuits did.
I actually don’t believe its along the lines of the Pope, who has more to do than these Jesuits in interfaith dialogue.
And I also believe, as noted by another poster , “I went into a Buddhist shrine to pray for the Buddhists” when it comes to places of prayer, we shouldn’t take ours for granted.
I think of myself and what I do know,when entering our churches, and beautiful cathedrals…I know I would never get that same feeling going into any other “holy” place. Even some other Christian denomination church, I wouldn’t pray there, I recall other Catholics mentioning, feeling out of place when they walked into the wrong church assuming it was Catholic.
I know for myself, I would need something more than a substitute shell. Where I know the Eucharist, is where the adoration of the Eucharist is, and where the Communion of Saints and Angels are likely to be…
I don’t think I would be moved, because I know where Jesus’ Church home, really is…it’s a little different than saying “we can pray anywhere at home, in the shower, why not see these Jesuits as doing the same thing?”
because it wasn’t. When you have your own fathers saying it was “enriching” that’s actually a peculiar thing to read.
They might mean, in respect to “interfaith” dialogue, but an ignorant Catholic onlooker might take that as a greenlight to ignore and take for granted what they truly have.
The motivation of posters to be concerned about this article has nothing to do with pride, or judgmentalism or lack of love towards those Jesuits, it has to do with being bothered at an instance that promotes the idea that our Catholic faith is on par with these guys, when its so much more. You even said
It is easy for you to sit back and proclaim another religion ‘wrong’.
That’s actually quite the opposite. It shows he knows what our faith is all about.
You know how many Catholics (myself included early on as a cradle Catholic) don’t actually believe in the Eucharist in 2009? And how many lukewarm Catholics, actually think their faith is just one of many paths to God?? instead of the actual fullness of communion with God?
TOO MANY, and it’s important for our priests to acknowledge this. It’s the same problem I have where people think the Dalai Lama is second in holiness to Pope Benedict. I doubt it, I’d say even a lot of devout lay Catholics have a greater chance of that happening, than the Dalai Lama.
and that pagan practices can achieve it better and sooner? Sorry, “Reality of God” is like new age nonsense, and the fact that you assume it all comes down to presenting a sense of holiness, or devotion, misses the mark. God or the Beatific vision, is not missing from Catholics, because they’re lazy. It’s because they would die! And that’s not his will for us on Earth. So I doubt that this Ramakrishna dude, found a reality of God through his own way better than us. He was fooling himself and others.