The Death of a Diocese

[Boanerges]

Here we are, my family of 13, trying ever-so-hard to follow the teachings of the Church, faithfully praying for our dear priests and what do I see in the diocesan rag? An Enneagram workshop at one of our parishes! The latest of many New Age “teachings” thrust upon us. I’ve seen the "Four Directions’ prayer taught to our youth at summer retreats, Priests confirm kids in their sin during confession, you name it.

Concerned isn’t a strong enough word for this craziness. With consultation of a very orthodox priest from another diocese, I sent a very polite letter outlining the problems of this practice with warnings of its occult origins. What did the bishop do? He had the priest who was hosting the workshop respond. Fair enough, I thought. What was his response? The priest said he learned it in seminary; the Enneagram master was his personal friend; the Enneagram had “Christian origins”; the Enneagram, like the bible can be misused; previous workshops had “great feedback”.

I focused on the Christian origins first. The priest cited Evagrius Ponticus, 3rd century, and Blessed Raymond Lull, 16th Century, with mastering such “techniques”, giving the impression of Church approval. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. (imagine that!)

A simple name query in the Catholic Encyclopedia revealed that Evagrius, as well as Origen, had been condemned by three ecumenical councils for their Pelagian heresy. Blessed Raymond Lull, although martyred by Muslims, would not be canonized because he was condemned for his heresy by two popes!

My polite response to the good father, citing this and other “new” information was met with…silence. A copy of my response was also sent to the the bishop and he responded with…silence. Deafening silence!

As we continue our prayers for our priests, bishop and diocese, my heart is heavy. I feel like we’re abandoned on an island. Our local priests have all been duped by the Enneagram and other New Age “enlightenment” practices. No orthodoxy here. Just a weird mix of Church teaching and the New Age, with the inability to separate the two. It’s scary. I fear for their souls. I’m not surprised we have very few vocations and churches are “clustering”. God won’t reward those dabbling in the pagan and the occult. We get what we deserve…

May God have mercy on us.

St. Athanasius…please pray for us!

 

[kevstar31]

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle;
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray:
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
cast (thrust) into hell Satan and all (other) evil spirits
who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_to_Saint_Michael

 

[beckycmarie]

My polite response to the good father, citing this and other “new” information was met with…silence. A copy of my response was also sent to the the bishop and he responded with…silence. Deafening silence

That silence may be because they realize you are correct and there is no longer the need to respond back with a defense of the enneagram.

The book Catholics and The New Age by Fr. Mitch Pacwa explains how New Age worked its way into seminaries and retreat houses in the 60s, and hasn’t quite left us. Some of the priests who still support things such as the Enneagram are likely doing so out of ignorance.

The best way to battle New Age in the Church is by praying and charitably instructing the ignorant.

 

[leonie]

Here we are, my family of 13, trying ever-so-hard to follow the teachings of the Church, faithfully praying for our dear priests and what do I see in the diocesan rag? An Enneagram workshop at one of our parishes! The latest of many New Age “teachings” thrust upon us. I’ve seen the "Four Directions’ prayer taught to our youth at summer retreats, Priests confirm kids in their sin during confession, you name it.

Concerned isn’t a strong enough word for this craziness. With consultation of a very orthodox priest from another diocese, I sent a very polite letter outlining the problems of this practice with warnings of its occult origins. What did the bishop do? He had the priest who was hosting the workshop respond. Fair enough, I thought. What was his response? The priest said he learned it in seminary; the Enneagram master was his personal friend; the Enneagram had “Christian origins”; the Enneagram, like the bible can be misused; previous workshops had “great feedback”.

I focused on the Christian origins first. The priest cited Evagrius Ponticus, 3rd century, and Blessed Raymond Lull, 16th Century, with mastering such “techniques”, giving the impression of Church approval. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. (imagine that!)

A simple name query in the Catholic Encyclopedia revealed that Evagrius, as well as Origen, had been condemned by three ecumenical councils for their Pelagian heresy. Blessed Raymond Lull, although martyred by Muslims, would not be canonized because he was condemned for his heresy by two popes!

My polite response to the good father, citing this and other “new” information was met with…silence. A copy of my response was also sent to the the bishop and he responded with…silence. Deafening silence!

As we continue our prayers for our priests, bishop and diocese, my heart is heavy. I feel like we’re abandoned on an island. Our local priests have all been duped by the Enneagram and other New Age “enlightenment” practices. No orthodoxy here. Just a weird mix of Church teaching and the New Age, with the inability to separate the two. It’s scary. I fear for their souls. I’m not surprised we have very few vocations and churches are “clustering”. God won’t reward those dabbling in the pagan and the occult. We get what we deserve…

May God have mercy on us.

St. Athanasius…please pray for us!

Are there no good parishes in your diocese?

Have you considered moving?

 

[FCEGM]

Here we are, my family of 13, trying ever-so-hard to follow the teachings of the Church, faithfully praying for our dear priests and what do I see in the diocesan rag? An Enneagram workshop at one of our parishes! The latest of many New Age “teachings” thrust upon us. I’ve seen the "Four Directions’ prayer taught to our youth at summer retreats, Priests confirm kids in their sin during confession, you name it.

Concerned isn’t a strong enough word for this craziness. With consultation of a very orthodox priest from another diocese, I sent a very polite letter outlining the problems of this practice with warnings of its occult origins. What did the bishop do? He had the priest who was hosting the workshop respond. Fair enough, I thought. What was his response? The priest said he learned it in seminary; the Enneagram master was his personal friend; the Enneagram had “Christian origins”; the Enneagram, like the bible can be misused; previous workshops had “great feedback”.

I focused on the Christian origins first. The priest cited Evagrius Ponticus, 3rd century, and Blessed Raymond Lull, 16th Century, with mastering such “techniques”, giving the impression of Church approval. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. (imagine that!)

A simple name query in the Catholic Encyclopedia revealed that Evagrius, as well as Origen, had been condemned by three ecumenical councils for their Pelagian heresy. Blessed Raymond Lull, although martyred by Muslims, would not be canonized because he was condemned for his heresy by two popes!

My polite response to the good father, citing this and other “new” information was met with…silence. A copy of my response was also sent to the the bishop and he responded with…silence. Deafening silence!

As we continue our prayers for our priests, bishop and diocese, my heart is heavy. I feel like we’re abandoned on an island. Our local priests have all been duped by the Enneagram and other New Age “enlightenment” practices. No orthodoxy here. Just a weird mix of Church teaching and the New Age, with the inability to separate the two. It’s scary. I fear for their souls. I’m not surprised we have very few vocations and churches are “clustering”. God won’t reward those dabbling in the pagan and the occult. We get what we deserve…

May God have mercy on us.

St. Athanasius…please pray for us!

You have my prayers and my sympathy. The Enneagram idiocy was travelling around my former diocese (San Jose, CA) a number of years ago - California always seems to be ahead of the rest of the country in things inimical to the Faith.

Some friends and I learned that a local which parish was going to be having Enneagram workshop and made up a flyer warning of its dangers and either handed them out or left them on cars at the parish. A local Catholic high school hosted an introductory program on the Enneagram (taught by religious sisters, it seems almost needless to say) for mothers of the students; my friends and I met the attendees with our flyers and later heard from a concerned mother who attended that there was quite a kaffuffle amongst the mothers and the instructors.

 

[Boanerges]

That silence may be because they realize you are correct and there is no longer the need to respond back with a defense of the enneagram.

The book Catholics and The New Age by Fr. Mitch Pacwa explains how New Age worked its way into seminaries and retreat houses in the 60s, and hasn’t quite left us. Some of the priests who still support things such as the Enneagram are likely doing so out of ignorance.

The best way to battle New Age in the Church is by praying and charitably instructing the ignorant.

Thank you for your observations. I sensed this as well. But God, who always works such wonders in my life, gave me the answer to this enigma just today, while listening to EWTN radio. Fr. Charles Connor has a weekly radio program called the Great Heresies and the beginning episode defined this particular problem and synthesized it. He cited Pope St. Pius X and his encyclical **PASCENDI DOMINICI GREGIS. **Pascendi was the Church’s answer to the heresy called Modernism and the root cause which is…PRIDE, among others. Fr. Connor hit it right on the head and today’s Enneagram is just another product of the Modernist heresy that has infiltrated the priesthood.

I’m going to re-read this encyclical and hopefully be able to get my mind around it and then give a more detailed follow-up to this post and, perhaps, to the good bishop.

God is so GREAT!

God’s Blessings to you all!
Bo.

 

[Prague]

Hi. You are close to Scottsbluff. Do you attend Church there are Gering? What Diocese are you in? Lincoln? I thought the Bishop there was a pretty conservative kind of guy.
Just wondering since I was born and raised in Lincoln.
Will keep your Parish in my prayers.

 

[TBolt1000T]

This is what I personally would do, but it’s just me, and I guess I have a crazy side. I would stand outside of the parish with a bullhorn in protest, and I would use that bullhorn to bring attention to the issue, and to warn people of the dangers of this practice. Even though I would use a bullhorn, I would try to do it in the most cheritable way possible. I think that just the fact that a concerned Catholic was standing outside of the parish protesting with a bullhorn would definitely get people’s attention. That’s just me though, and that’s what I would do. The flyers that someone else mensioned are also an excelent idea. You could also take your concerns to the next level if the bishop won’t listen. Praying about it in front of the exposed Blessed Sacrament is also a good idea.

 

[jfoges]

I went through an Enneagram workshop about 6 months ago and I read a book called The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective by Fr. Richard Rohr. Honestly I think you are all making a big deal out of nothing. All the Enneagram is, is a system for trying to figure out what your faults are and how you can work through them. It doesn’t encourage anyone to sin, nor does it contradict the Catholic faith. If anyone can see a way that it does, please give a specific example how it contradicts the faith. Also, the fact that New Agers use it too does not mean that the thing in itself is contrary to the faith.

 

[Allen537]

I went through an Enneagram workshop about 6 months ago and I read a book called The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective by Fr. Richard Rohr. Honestly I think you are all making a big deal out of nothing. All the Enneagram is, is a system for trying to figure out what your faults are and how you can work through them. It doesn’t encourage anyone to sin, nor does it contradict the Catholic faith. If anyone can see a way that it does, please give a specific example how it contradicts the faith. Also, the fact that New Agers use it too does not mean that the thing in itself is contrary to the faith.

I agree.

There is nothing intrinsically evil about the Enneagram. It is a tool for helping people identify certain things about themselves. It is not meant to be the “end all be all” of a person’s spirituality. If people see it that way, then yes, there is a problem. St. Theresa tells us that if we don’t know ourselves, we cannot know God. The Enneagram is a tool that helps us to understand ourselves, what kind of personality we have, our faults and our strong points. If we don’t know who we are, how can we ever truly know the God that dwells within us. This is the whole point of the “Interior Castle”, getting through the various mansions of the Human Person to the Center, Where God Himself Dwells.

In Carmel,

Br. Allen

 

[Biblioassistant]

I’ve studied the enneagram and tried it out and in my humble opinion, it’s not worth much.

Maybe my problem is that so many of its practitioners are so…out there. I tend to be very practical and not fond of the woo woo stuff.

 

[jfoges]

Even though I defended the Enneagram in a previous post, I am not really a huge fan of it. To be perfectly honest I thought it was kind of silly. The thing that bothered me about it is it claims that everyone fits into one of 9 personality types. I just don’t get how they know this to be true. Also it claims to be based on ancient wisdom, but it actually comes from a 20th century Chilean professor named Oscar Ichazo. There is no evidence that he learned it from Sufis in Afghanistan like he claimed.

That being said, some people do really like the Enneagram and get a lot out of it. It just isn’t for me.

 

[beckycmarie]

For those who think the Enneagram is harmless and in any way compatible with Christianity - here’s info on the Enneagram from The New Age: A Christian Critique by Ralph Rath.

ENNEAGRAM

Excerpt:

In an article in New Heaven/New Earth, Dorothy Ranaghan raised a number of criticisms of enneagrams. To begin with, she had problems with its origin in contemporary Sufism. (Sufism is a mystical offshoot of Islam.) “There is much in the zeal, devotion and asceticism of Sufis that is admirable,” she wrote. “Yet, in contrast to the contemplation and the yearning for holiness of the Muslim mystics of former ages, contemporary Sufism, which claims over 40 million adherents, has become a mix of pantheism, magic and rationalism with a belief in telepathy, teleportation, foreknowledge, transmigration of souls and a denial of a personal God.”

Ranaghan also had problems with some of the terminology which seemed Christian, but was not. “Redemption,” for example, does not mean, among Sufis, the saving action of God in our lives, but “return from ignorance.” The very worst thing, according to Sufi doctrine, is “not sin, but ignorance.” "All Gnosticism flows from this premise,"Ranaghan observed.

The goal of Sufism is to make a person whole and the enneagram chart seeks to enable healthy integration of the personality as the path to redemption. “Jesus can and does heal and restore sight to the blind and hope to those who are cast down,” Ranaghan wrote, “but brokenness in mind or body is not necessarily an obstacle to holiness. Furthermore, even the most authentic, self-discovered, psychologically healthy, integrated and whole person on earth can go to hell.”

In her book A Closer Look at the Enneagram, Ranaghan said the man primarily responsible for transmitting the enneagram into the West was George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, an Armenian occultist who lived in Russia from 1877 to 1947.

 

[Poor_Clare_tobe]

I agree.

There is nothing intrinsically evil about the Enneagram. It is a tool for helping people identify certain things about themselves. It is not meant to be the “end all be all” of a person’s spirituality. If people see it that way, then yes, there is a problem. St. Theresa tells us that if we don’t know ourselves, we cannot know God. The Enneagram is a tool that helps us to understand ourselves, what kind of personality we have, our faults and our strong points. If we don’t know who we are, how can we ever truly know the God that dwells within us. This is the whole point of the “Interior Castle”, getting through the various mansions of the Human Person to the Center, Where God Himself Dwells.

In Carmel,

Br. Allen

Thank You Both for your posts. I was reading the responses and thinking to myself what did I miss??? I agree with both of you that the enneagram is a tool and can be used quite usefully.[yes it can be misused also] I definitely did not see it being used in any occult way(When I read a book on it and took a survey) nor did it lead me away from Our Blessed Lord nor from His Church. The more we learn about our strengths and weakness the more we can know who we are in our journey towards God. Any tool may be of use or not… If you find it not to your liking then by all means don’t use it but to make a blanket statement that there is no value whatsoever??? Again just a few thoughts of mine for what they may be worth Blessings All!

 

[babesinarms]

Thank You Both for your posts. I was reading the responses and thinking to myself what did I miss??? I agree with both of you that the enneagram is a tool and can be used quite usefully.[yes it can be misused also] I definitely did not see it being used in any occult way(When I read a book on it and took a survey) nor did it lead me away from Our Blessed Lord nor from His Church. The more we learn about our strengths and weakness the more we can know who we are in our journey towards God. Any tool may be of use or not… If you find it not to your liking then by all means don’t use it but to make a blanket statement that there is no value whatsoever??? Again just a few thoughts of mine for what they may be worth Blessings All!

Sorry, but I have to disagree when it is based at a parish level. This certainly can rollercoaster into the “Death of a Diocese”.
See this link here: news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24214935-952,00.html.

This all began when we were parishioners at this church a long time back and they were holding enneagram forums, workshops and retreats based on this very thing. All* seemed* pretty harmless at first, but open the door on one, and the rest just keep on rolling on through.

Ranaghan also had problems with some of the terminology which seemed Christian, but was not. “Redemption,” for example, does not mean, among Sufis, the saving action of God in our lives, but “return from ignorance.” The very worst thing, according to Sufi doctrine, is “not sin, but ignorance.” "All Gnosticism flows from this premise,"Ranaghan observed

This is the subtlety of New Age thinking - purely gnostic - one has to watch where you take this, the focus can easily be taken off Jesus Himself. It’s not obvious like occultism. I would MUCH prefer the writings of St. Teresa’s ‘Interior Castle’ as well - the focus is on God at the center, not us!

smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/17/17_1_10.gifsmileys.smileycentral.com/cat/17/17_1_26.gif

 

[thistle]

The Enneagram should be avoided because it can be dangerous. I agree with the other poster that recommended reading Catholics and the New Age by Father Mitch Pacwa. He has excellent chapters on the Enneagram Workshop and also the Occult Roots of the Enneagram. In case you think he speaks from ignorance on this subject, in 1972 Father Pacwa attended an intensive 8 day Enneagram Workshop so he can speak with authority.

 

[Boanerges]

Hi. You are close to Scottsbluff. Do you attend Church there are Gering? What Diocese are you in? Lincoln? I thought the Bishop there was a pretty conservative kind of guy.
Just wondering since I was born and raised in Lincoln.
Will keep your Parish in my prayers.

I’m across the river from Scottsbluff. The parish I referenced is in the eastern part of the diocese. As far as the bishop is concerned, his teachings (so far) has been nothing but orthodox. HOWEVER, it’s not what is said that’s the problem. It’s all in the ACTIONS.

Two cases in point. One, the diocesean clergy retreats at the Benedictine Center north of Schyler, NE, which is in the Omaha diocese. The Center uses the Enneagram in their retreats.

Second, the summer reatreats for high school kids uses (of all things) the Prayer to the Directions (a native American prayer co-opted by Wicca and other New Age goofys). Feedback from some of these kids (including one of mine) admit of scandal in the confessional with priest-approved fornication “as long as we love each other, ya know”. This youth retreat is sadly nothing more than a hormone-fest disguised as a "faith-filled experience.

I’ve conversed with the priests involved and they blew me off as just another crank.

I also got on Johnette Benkovic’s radio show a little over a week ago and Fr. Edmund Sylvia lamented that this “isn’t going away” There’s a big problem with this in Florida where they’re based. We must continue to pray and confront the issues with facts and the Teaching of the Church via encyclical (Pascendi) and the CCC.

I guess my job is to make their life “uncomfortable” and hope for change.

I will post my emails to the bishop and priest involved later.

God bless you!

 

[Boanerges]

My final parting thought to the good bishop:

Dear Bishop XXXXXXX

"Thank you for this opportunity to converse about this most important subject. However, as of this writing I haven’t received any follow up response from either you or Father XXXXXXX regarding the Enneagram. As a final thought, I offer an answer to this vexing problem, which came from a great Catholic historian, Fr. Charles Connor.

"Fr. Connor mentioned the encyclical on the Doctrine of the Modernists called PASCENDI DOMINICI GREGIS, (Pope St. Pius X, September 8, 1907) St. Pius X called the heresy of Modernism “the synthesis of all heresies” and the text reveals the hubris of the Modernists as it has manifested itself in the New Age Movement within the Church. The following is an excerpt from Paragraph 40: ****“****A lamentable spectacle is that presented by the aberrations of human reason when it yields to the spirit of novelty, when against the warning of the Apostle it seeks to know beyond what it is meant to know, and when relying too much on itself it thinks it can find the fruit outside the Church wherein truth is found without the slightest shadow of error…” That, in a nutshell is what is going on…searching outside the Church. Why? Instead of immersing ourselves in the wellspring of grace of those spiritual giants that have come before us, who, or what are we looking for? Outside the Church is where we lose our faith. Pride and vainglory is what led Martin Luther out, giving us the scandal of Protestantism. Is this the ends we’re looking for? This sophistry continues in our seminaries, as Fr. XXXXXXXX has already mentioned, which makes seminarians ripe for false teachings like the Enneagram, to sprout. The “fruit” of that is suspicion of His Church and Her God-given grace to achieve perfection. That doesn’t make faithful Catholics. It makes lukewarm Catholics on fire with a false spirituality and ultimately will lead them to ruin. When priests and nuns walk away from their vows because of this, what kind of spiritual “fruit” is that?

"Like horoscopes, the Enneagram forces a person into a predetermined “box” using Gnostic techniques. This removes man’s uniqueness as God’s creation and one-of-a-kind soul. This is nothing more than man’s attempt to effect his own salvation. Instead of letting our Lord give us the grace through humility and genuine spiritual direction, man attempts to change the “system” and becomes his own “savior” by psychology and “spiritual novelty”? Genuine spirituality does not rest on psychology but on our openness to God’s grace.

“As a Catholic faithful to the Church and Her Magisterium, I humbly implore you to look around and see the destruction this “Heresy of heresies” has wrought in our parishes and, as our shepherd, root out these evil practices. It won’t be easy, but you certainly will have our prayers and support. If undertaken our diocese will eventually produce tremendous fruit like a well-pruned tree. We’ll be a beacon of light to those hungering for truth, vocations will flourish and, most importantly, ****obedience ****of faith will return to His Church, from the Holy Father all the way down to the parish priest. It is my hope this is where you want the diocese to go. Presently, it doesn’t look that way.”

There it is and still more silence. I hoped for some profound theological thought on the matter but, like other posts in this topic, I’m afraid it will again be an unintelligible mixture of the Gnostic, New Age and Catholic theology.

In the words of the priest hosting the workshop, they should get “good feedback”! I just wish I knew how “good feedback” pertains to salvation…

 

[Boanerges]

Thank You Both for your posts. I was reading the responses and thinking to myself what did I miss??? I agree with both of you that the enneagram is a tool and can be used quite usefully.[yes it can be misused also] I definitely did not see it being used in any occult way(When I read a book on it and took a survey) nor did it lead me away from Our Blessed Lord nor from His Church. The more we learn about our strengths and weakness the more we can know who we are in our journey towards God. Any tool may be of use or not… If you find it not to your liking then by all means don’t use it but to make a blanket statement that there is no value whatsoever??? Again just a few thoughts of mine for what they may be worth Blessings All!

This is what has permeated our Church…heterodoxy. Lets follow the logic. If I can better understand myself or someone else by using, say, a horoscope or Ouija board, then it’s okay? If I give the Ouija board some Christian terms or pray before I use it, that makes it legitimate? Don’t forget the ROOTS of the Enneagram. It came form an occult master, just like the Ouija Board. Read PASCENDI…all of it. The warnings are clear. The teaching is binding on the faithful and, for good measure, came from a saint. Church teaching has never changed on this so, what’s with the hesitation?

God bless you.
Boanerges

 

[dove51]

As usual, I have no advice, but it genuinely makes me cry to think of such things happening. It’s almost too much to bear. :bighanky: I guess we can pray, though.