Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 356 – Part IV.
(Youcat
answer - repeated) No. esotericism ignores the reality of God. God is a
personal Being; he is love and the origin of life, not some cold cosmic energy.
Man was willed and created by God, but man himself is not divine; rather, he is
a creature that is wounded by sin, threatened by death, and in need of
redemption. Whereas most proponents of esotericism assume that man can redeem himself,
Christians believe that only Jesus Christ and God’s grace redeem them. Nor are nature and the
cosmos God (pantheism). Rather, the Creator, even though he loves us immensely,
is infinitely greater and unlike anything he has created.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 2116)
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 (Cf. Deut 18:10; Jer 29:8).
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.
Reflecting
and meditating
(Youcat comment) Many people today practice yoga for health
reasons, enroll in a meditation course so as to become more calm and collected,
or attend dance workshops so as to experience their bodies in a new way. These
techniques are not always harmless. Often they are vehicles for doctrines that
are foreign to Christianity. No reasonable person should hold an irrational
world view, in which people can tap magical powers or harness mysterious
spirits and the “initiated” have a secret knowledge that is withheld from the
“ignorant”. In ancient Israel, the surrounding peoples’ beliefs in gods and
spirits were exposed as false. God alone is Lord; there is no god besides him.
Nor is there any (magical) technique by which one can capture or charm “the
divine”, force one’s wishes on the universe, or redeem oneself. Much about
these esoteric beliefs and practices is superstition or occultism.
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 2120) Sacrilege consists in profaning or
treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions, as well as
persons, things, or places consecrated to God. Sacrilege is a grave sin
especially when committed against the Eucharist, for in this sacrament the true
Body of Christ is made substantially present for us (Cf. CIC, cann. 1367;
1376).
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