Catholic faith and yoga? They're incompatible

EDITOR'S NOTE: At Parishworld.net we do our best to pr0vide our readers with articles and materials that we feel are relevant to our everyday practice of our Catholic faith. This article below was originally published in ParishWorld.net May 24, 2007. As you can imagine, it generated some comments and questions from our readers who are practitioners of Yoga.

We invite you to read this article throughly - including the comments from our readers and from our Theology editors. Please share your thoughts with us. It is our hope that through this blog post we can enlighten you on the merits and pitfalls of the practice from a truly Catholic perspective. We also pray this article gives you a clearer guideline on what the Catholic Church teaches about the matter.

Blessings to you all. Enjoy the article below.

~ Wally Arida, Publisher and Editor in chief

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Experts on cults and Catholic spirituality agree that yoga cannot be divided from its own spirituality.

FORT MYERS, FL., May 24, 2007 (http://www.speroforum.com/) - As a Catholic contributor, I never write for human respect. If that were my purpose, I would have already curtailed writing. Because my intent is to speak the truth, I never expect a pat on the back. But I maintain it pleases me to learn that my work does not always fall on deaf ears. Like most Christian writers I have encountered admirers and detractors. The positive feedback has been rewarding, but one specific incident is prominent amid the others.


One morning while checking my message machine, I heard a female voice announce, “I’m searching for the woman who writes for Catholic websites.” From her amiable tone, I sensed she was not a detractor and I returned her call.


When I phoned her, she introduced herself and will be referred to herein as “Mary.” She indicated she had read some of my articles and wanted to ask a question about the “New Age” dilemmas prevalent in her hometown. Though Mary and I had just met, it was soon apparent our passions were considerably alike!

Next, Mary shared a very inspirational story with me. She had discovered that a nearby Catholic parish in Fort Myers, Florida, was offering Yoga classes in the Chapel that surrounded the main altar. Mary and a few friends including a relations manager from Relevant Radio, arrived at Pope John XXIII parish on the morning of February 5, 2007.

After arriving, Mary proceeded into the church and lightly sprinkled holy water and blessed salt in the church before the Yoga classes commenced. Then she entered the parking lot to distribute leaflets about Yoga, to approximately 25 women as they arrived for the classes. Mary reasoned the women probably did not understand the dangers inherent in Yoga and she wanted to offer guidance. While distributing the literature Mary was confronted by the Yoga teacher (the Deacon’s wife). The Yoga teacher told Mary, “I wish that you would leave Church property.” Mary in turn professed the same wish to the instructor.


A few minutes after the guru re-entered the church, Mary recited the Blessed St. Michael’s prayer and re-entered the church as well. She slowly opened the door to the Chapel and was horrified by what she witnessed. The Chapel was dark with the exception of a few dimly lit recessed lights. Mary thought, “I’ve never seen an aerobics class like this before near a consecrated altar.”


CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL STORY



Please post a comment below after you have read the full story.

Wants his parish listed in ParishWorld.net

I have just signed up and when doing so my home parish was not listed in the pull down menu. It is St. Anthony's Parish in San Bernardino (Fr Mike Manning is the Pastor). Is there any way to get our parish listed?
Peace, Al Velasquez

How do I forgive my friend for killing himself?

Hi, I don't know if I am writing to the correct person, or if I will get an answer or not. I don't know who to post a blog or anything. But I have a question that involves my faith and forgiveness. My husband and I have a close friend that commited suicide on Monday morning. How do I forgive my friend for killing himself? I feel angry, hurt, confused and very sad. I was hoping for some insight from the Catholic Churches point of view. I hope you can help. Thank you. And if I sending this to the wrong person please forgive me.

Sincerely,
Nadina S.

Questions from a non-Catholic

Dear Parish World,

My name is Joe Hermann. I reside in the state of Virginia and I'm doing a paper on religion. I was always fascinated withthe Catholic religion, infact I was considering communicating to your religion, but I ran into a stubborn obstacle. I'll let you come to your own conclusions on that problem.

I just have a few questions, what version of the bible do you study? What is your substitute for our deacons? Why is thevirgin Mary worshipped as much as Jesus? Your holy water, is it replaced daily? When is your time of confession, what day of the week and the correct term of this procedure? There are many more questions I have but I'll stop here.

If I have asked of any information that has disrespected your faith, please acccept my apologies, this was not my intentions and my utmost respect for the Catholic faith.

Thank you all concerned for you consideration. GOD bless everyone.

J. M. HERRMANN

Letter to Fr. Mike Manning of Wordnet TV

Hello Father,

Today was the first time I had the opportunity to view your broadcast. It was Awesome! You had the Actor Gavin and his wife as guests. Their testimony was so powerful! They are such a wonderful couple. God Bless them for sharing of his goodness and his mercy, and may God abundantly Bless your ministry. My testimony is very similiar. My husband had told me he wanted a divorce, that he never wanted to see me again and that he wanted to be free of me once and for all. I was heartbroken. I have Loved God for as long as I can remember and I Love my husband. We did not get divorced, but I believed, in my mind, that our situation was hopeless, but I continued to pray for my husband and I never gave up. I continued to believe God for a miracle and he has performed that miracle above anything that I ever would have imagined. My husband and I are reconciled. Glory to the name of Jesus! We serve an awesome God!

Thank you and God Bless you!

Mrs. Lyndoria Faye Body

Favor de orar por mi hijo Francisco

Favor de orar por mi hijo Francisco, para que abra su corazon y pueda escuchar a nuestro Señor Jesucristo para que encuentre el camino correcto y que pueda tener paz en su corazon y que sepa que su familia lo queremos mucho y que Dios nos de sabiduria a nosotros para poder guiar a nuestros hijos por el camino que el nos a trazado.

Gracias

Reaction to "I didn't feel close to God" article

By David Nimrod M. Cubar

Editor's Note" Click this link to view the original ParishWorld.net article that David was referring to: "I didn't feel close to God"


I just want to share my blog which i think also struck a cord with this article. My orginial bog is posted in: www.sigawnatahimik.blogspot.com

I assisted a youth camp for Youth for Christ last 11/25 of last year. I was supposed to be prayer warrior but some things were not right with me so I ended up composing this letter and prayer during their baptism.

P.s. I joined Youth For Christ when I was 12 and back slided when I was 20.****


Here is my blog:

Why, O Lord, do I still seek you? Why do I miss the feeling of being close to you? Why does my heart ache every time I hear people speak of their love for You? Why does it matter to me when I hear stories about the saints and holy people who gave their all for You?

When I decided to leave the world that I feel I am chocked and unable to be myself, I also left with it my more than 9 years of service in YFC who witnessed to my ups and downs, my burning passion to serve you and my dedication to give my all. But at the same time, this is the place where I felt not myself. A place full of these and that's which ultimately I lost track of who I truly am.

And so I stopped studying, my service and my Faith to start all over again - to find myself once again. At first I was successful - I never been happier in my life. But every time I see my YFC friends in their service or hear songs that I am familiar with - my heart aches of longing.
Is it just because I was used to this kind of environment for a long time or just the last remnant of a painful past? But of all things that I turned my back against - it is you, Lord, that I am most attracted -longing even.

Alas Lord, the irony of my situation - I who seeks and you keep quiet. I am confused Lord, or honestly, afraid. What is it that you want from me right now? Why?

Lord, I dont know if I am still able to open myself again to you - to say "yes" again. Why Lord? Is it because I am afraid that I might lose myself one more time? I am afraid that the same pain will all be flashing back.

I am here right now, Lord, standing in front of your altar. But it is all quiet. Are you here Lord? Are you present?

I only live my life once. And I want to live it as best as I could. I hope, Lord, that you will answer me soon. I hope that you will hear my cries. I hope that you are not hiding - that you are not far away.

Lord I am standing - waiting - longing.


The prayer I composed soon after:

Father, I am scared. I am not hearing your voice anymore. I am not feeling your presence. Have you abandoned me, Father? Have you left me in the same way that I left you? Where are you, Father?

I know that I have left you, but why do I have this great longing for you - to be with you. Dont remain silent to someone desperate to have your embrace.

Is this how you felt when I left you? The feeling of utter helplessness because the one you are longing for does not answer. Oh Lord, I am sorry!

Come back to me, Father. Embrace me one more time. Let me fell your love again. Quench the thirst of my longing.


****
My God has abandoned me because I have abandoned Him first. Now that I long for Him - He does not answer. This is how he feels - when I abandoned Him. I know that he longed for me but I was not there. Now I call His name, but I hear emptiness. I am longing for my God - where is He?


****
Just Believe

I called but no one answered.
I knocked but the door remained shut.
I cried but no one dried my tears.

I am alone -
no one to comfort, no one to embrace
I am abandoned - forgotten
He has turned back while I long for His embrace.

Where is He?
Where is my comforter?


Alone in the dark, empty inside.
I know He is here.
He will not abandon me.
He will fulfill his promise.
I just have to believe.

Specially good this week

Parish World is especially good this week, Wally. I went to the rookie priest, GodTube and Christian on Idol articles. Thank you very much, SJeanne

"Is God Father or Mother?"

Do you agree with "Why God is Father and Not Mother" by Mark Brumley?

Posted by Wally Arida, Publisher

In this article, he writes:

"The Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man" is how the 19th century liberal Protestant theologian Adolph Harnack once summarized the Christian faith. Nowadays Harnack would find his brand of reductionist religion dismissed as hopelessly sexist and exclusive by many feminist theologians. The "brotherhood of man" might be reworked into "the family of humanity" or its equivalent.

But what would they do about the Fatherhood of God? Can we replace the allegedly "sexist" language of Divine Fatherhood with so-called gender-inclusive or gender-neutral terms such as Father/Mother or Heavenly Parent without further ado?

Many people–including some Catholics–say "yes." "We not only can," they contend, "we must. God is, after all, beyond gender. Calling God ‘Father’, without adding that God is also Mother, unfairly exalts one image for God above all others and ignores the culturally conditioned nature of all our images of God," they argue.

Click here to read the complete article.

What do you think? Is God a Father or a Mother? Join this discussion and let's turn this intriguing topic inside out. I'm sure at the end of the day we will have learned something enlightening about our Catholic faith and how we can apply it to our daily lives.

Now let's go have some fun with this baby. Post your comments today.

Liked the editorial

I also liked your other editorial about whether we are better Catholics or find God/Jesus more in difficult times of our lives. It is wonderful that even when you were sick you didn't give up on serving the Lord by writing and publishing. That is a beautiful role model. Thank you and best wishes for your publication.
- CB

St. Valentine's Day and the Sacred Heart of Jesus

St. Valentine's Day is such a perfect day to think about our number one Valentine, Jesus, symbolized in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. When we reflect on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are reminded of Jesus's warm love for us, never ending, always waiting for us to express our love for Him and others. Jesus, the King of all Hearts, has a special burning love for us, that no human can ever contain or share in the same way. This love of Jesus reaches us in our depths of despair, when we care for others, or when we least expect to feel the love of our Dear Savior and Friend. On this St. Valentine's Day let us think of Jesus as our Valentine and try to think of something special we can do for Him to express wonderful selfless and giving love. Thank you for all you do for Jesus and God Bless YOU!

~ Carla

"Why do you pray the Rosary? or Why don't you?"

By Wally Arida, Publisher and editor-in-chief

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and praying the Rosary is one of the cornerstone traditions of our Catholic faith. If you're a cradle Catholic like myself, you've been exposed to this prayer since you were a child. Many Catholic prayer groups are focused around the Holy Rosary. It's recited at funerals and many other special events. When Catholics get together for prayer, chances are we start reciting the rosary.

Matt Smith offers a great article explaining his devotion to this prayer. Click here to read, "For People Who Can't Stand the Rosary." We ask you to read it and then share your thoughts with us.

But do you really get it? If you're one of the passionate advocates for praying the rosary, can you help others understand why you do it and how it has made you closer to God? Do you really feel a personal connection with God when you pray the rosary? How does praying the rosary help you communicate with God better?

Share your thoughts with us. Why do you pray the Rosary? Or why don't you?

Thank you for Fr. Roberto Mena, ST

Gracias por la bella página del Padre Mena.
Quisiera mantener el contacto con él.
Thanks for the nice webpage of Father Mena.
I would like to maintain contact with him.
~ Padre Jorge Toussaint,Guatemala

"Can a Catholic be a Democrat?"

I saw this blog and I thought I should share it with you all so we can have some fun and talk about the things that really make us Catholic. I am publishing it in its entirety. Now, tell me whether you agree with the author or not. And why? This should be interesting. Post a comment at the end of the article. Fire away!
~ Wally arida, Publisher and Editor in chief



Can a Catholic be a Democrat?
January 10, 2007 01:00 PM EST

I was recently given a book called " Can a Catholic be a Democrat?" To tell you the truth, I probably won't read the book (although I hear good things about it), because it's bound to be 220 pages of "no."

Is this a question that really needs asking, "can a devout Catholic be a faithful Democrat?" I think we all know the answer. The Church has 5 non-negotiable issues. Any candidate that supports these issues cannot be supported or voted for by a Catholic, simple as that. To do so would be a sin. What are these five non-negotiable issues? To list them off sounds like one is reading the Democratic platform: embryonic stem cell research, gay marriage, abortion, euthanasia, and human cloning.

Notice the absence of "war for oil," the death penalty, and tax cuts.

The Dems have continued to support embryonic stem cell research, despite the fact that it has yet to show any hint of promise for curing diseases, because it furthers their baby-killing agenda. Life is cheap to liberals, and to create any benefit from the destruction of unborn life is to further prop up their barbaric need for what is ultimately the "right" to promiscuous, risk-free sex (aka, abortion).

The Dems have shown again and again that, against the will of the US public, they will support gay marriage with every ounce of effort they posses. Many feel gay marriage cost John Kerry the 2004 election. Dems have no respect for the institution of marriage and will sell it out to any and every gay, bigamist, or animal lover that will give them a vote.

As far as abortion goes, the Dems have religiously protected this "right" (and that's about the only thing they'll do religiously) since the first woman was "forced" to kill her unborn child with a coat hanger. The Dems put this issue above all else, and will not budge on it. They flat-out support the murder of unborn children.

The Dems showed us all a while back that euthanasia wasn't just a dream of theirs when they had Terri Schiavo starved to death against her mother and father's wishes. Adding to the "can a Democrat be a Catholic" argument, they wouldn't even allow a dieing Schiavo a measly crumb of Holy Eucharist.

Can a Catholic be a Democrat? Sure. But will that Dem be a Catholic in way other than name? Certainly not. The Democratic party's platform is almost in complete contradiction to the teachings of the Catholic faith (with the exception, perhaps, of Catholic Social Teaching, which fits perfectly due to it's heavy borrowing from Socialism). All five of the Catholic church's non-negotiable issues seem to be taken directly from the Democratic party's platform. To vote Democrat is, in almost all cases, wrong and against Church teachings. "Catholic" politicians such as Nancy Pelosi (D, CA) and Jennifer Granholm (D, MI) should be excommunicated for their support of abortion.

Can a devout Catholic be a faithful Democrat? Absolutely not!

Shane Carey is a writer at the conservative news blog, UnrestInTheForest.blogspot.com.

Watched the ParishWorld.net story on TBN

Interesting! What a great story you have there. And you interview well -- you did us proud in that video.
~ Ben Nepomuceno from San Diego, CA

Editor's note: Click here to read the article and view the video

"Your testimony is indeed inspiring!"

(Editor's Note: This is in response to the article about ParishWorld "From Guns to God" that appeared in the January 2007 issue of Kerygma Family Magazine. Click here to view the article. Click here to view the video "From Guns to God - The ParishWorld.net Story" that aired on the Trinity Broadcasting Network last Jan. 3, 2007.)

Hi wally,

I just read your article. Praise God!!! Your testimony is indeed inspiring. It was like looking into a mirror. It gives Hope! I also had my own journey in the dessert. And this particular verse led me out of it.

The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob. They did not thirst when he led them through the desert. He made water flow from them from the rock. He split the rock and water gushed forth. - Isaiah 48:20-22

And I tried to put my name in there instead of Jacob. The Lord has redeemed Appie. The Lord has redeemend Appie. And I smiled. :-)

There is nothing like finding that God's words come alive. And I realized that this verse was written in past tense. Meaning, this word has already happened. And if it has happened before, because God is God, it can happen again.

Then it made me think about my thirst (like you) and all those who are thirsty. And my hardened heart and all those whose hearts have been hardened. And say the words again...

They did not thirst when he led them through the desert.

God led them through the desert. They did not thirst because God led them through. I realized then that when I am in my own desert, I thirst because I do not let God lead me through. I take matters into my own hands. But what a delightful promise it is that when God is the one who leads us through the desert WE WILL NOT THIRST. And there's more! He did the impossible.

He made water flow from them from the rock. He split the rock and water gushed forth.

How many walls can God break and let something flow? How many times did he break me and let my tears flow? Sometimes, I realized, it's in the breaking that I found what quenches. It's in the breaking where I founnd what soothed me.

And it is indeed, in the desert where I found God.

Thank you God for leading me. :) Amen.

- end of sharing -

MORE POWER TO PARISHWORLD.........

~ Appie Ramos

"Do we grow more in our faith when times are tough or when times are good?"

By Wally Arida

Here's someting we want you to reflect on. We go through peaks and valleys in our lives. That's just the way life is.

There are those of you who found God when you hit rock bottom. Just when you thought no one was around to help, you realize God was the only one who was with you all the time - helping you along the rough trail. And you come back to the Church. You begin attending Mass every Sunday, looking to God for personal strength.

And there are those of you who are very fortunate in life. You have a nice job, good health, a loving family. You feel your life is blessed. You turn to God all the time with your strong faith. You thank God and praise Him as the reason for your good fortune. You're devout in your faith.

We have all hit rock bottom and we have all been well blessed at some point in our lives.

Now reflect on this question, "Do we grow more in our faith when times are tough or when times are good?" Think about it and how this has applied to your life. Were you stronger in your belief in God when all hope seems lost? Or were you stronger in your belief when all is moving extremely well.

Share you stories with us. Bless us with your stories of survival and with your stories of thanksgiving. And tell us when you think your faith was stronger.

What is Church teaching on chain letters?

I have a question regarding chain letters. What is the official stand of the Catholic Church on this? Although the content may be good and worth sharing, I just don't like the way its being propagated. Meaning, if I/you don't send it something bad might happen to you or your loved ones. I don't think Mama Mary, God or Jesus works that way. Do this or do that or else attitude.

Again as I said most if not of the content of chain letters such as this is worth sharing I just don't like the pressure or the " or else " attitude towards it.

Your comments is highly appreciated.

Octave Cantos

Our finger is on the Catholic pulse

I began subscribing to ParishWorld this past year and look forward to its arrival every week. You always seem to have your finger on the pulse of what Catholics need to think and talk about.

Regards,

Frank Tobin
Frank Tobin Public Relations
Catholics in Media Associates (CIMA)

Coming Late at Mass

I would like to have this go out to the parishoners that are constantly late to mass. They seem to be the same people every time. Please know that you are disturbing the people that make the effort to get there on time. The ushers try to hold these people back until the readings are done. However one usher told us that it doesn't do any good. People will just go ahead and disturb everyone else in the aisles to get at a seat. I'm sure you take the time to get to a family function on time. Try and respect the mass to get to God on time !
~ Anonymous parish member