Contending For The Faith---Part 14

 

In St. Jude 1:3, we read, "Dearly beloved, taking all care to write unto you concerning your common salvation, I was under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints." [Emphasis mine]. Contending For The Faith is a series of posts dedicated to apologetics (i.e.,  the intellectual defense of the truth of the Traditional Catholic Faith) to be published the first Monday of each month.  This is the next installment.

Sadly, in this time of Great Apostasy, the faith is under attack like never before, and many Traditionalists don't know their faith well enough to defend it. Remember the words of our first pope, "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..." (1Peter 3:16). There are five (5) categories of attacks that will be dealt with in these posts. Attacks against:

• The existence and attributes of God
• The truth of the One True Church established by Christ for the salvation of all 
• The truth of a particular dogma or doctrine of the Church
• The truth of Catholic moral teaching
• The truth of the sedevacantist position as the only Catholic solution to what has happened since Vatican II 

In addition, controversial topics touching on the Faith will sometimes be featured, so that the problem and possible solutions may be better understood. If anyone has suggestions for topics that would fall into any of these categories, you may post them in the comments. I cannot guarantee a post on each one, but each will be carefully considered.

Some Villains of Vatican II

[I have taken the information used in this post regarding Henri Nouwen principally (but not exclusively) from his writings. I have also used notes from my time with Fr. DePauw. I give all credit to those various sources, and take no credit for myself.---Introibo]. 

A question I asked Fr. DePauw (and one that has been addressed to me on this blog many times) was "How could the Modernists have taken over at Vatican II? The priests and bishops all had proper ecclesiastical training and formation. They signed the Anti-Modernist Oath." Father looked at me and said, "They didn't become bums overnight." Despite the heroic efforts of Pope St. Pius X, Modernism had not been extirpated. It went "underground" so to speak. The Communists had planted thousands of sodomites into seminaries to undermine the Church. Modernist sympathizers, and "closet" Modernists were in many powerful positions, having lied their way to the top. There were even to be found Masons and occultists. 

These enemies of Christ were waiting for an opportunity to subvert the One True Church, and that chance came with the usurpation of the Throne of St. Peter by Angelo Roncalli ("Pope" John XXIII). At his Robber Council, the Vatican II sect was born. There are many "Villains of Vatican II." There were those who helped in spawning the sect, and those who spread its errors far and wide in the wake of Vatican II. In the latter category, is the malevolent influence of Fr. Henri Nouwen (1932-1996). This villain, who did so much damage to souls, will be the subject of this post. In exposing Nouwen and his false teachings, you will be better equipped to avoid them.

From Catholicism to Paganism

 Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen was born January 24, 1932, in  Nijkerk, the Netherlands. He was the oldest of four children, whose parents were a lawyer (father) and bookkeeper (mother). His uncle, Fr. Toon Ramselaar, was co-founder of  Service International de Documentation Judeo-Chretienne, an organization which promoted "Christian-Jewish dialogue" from 1966 until its dissolution in 2009. One of the many heresies it taught was that the Old Covenant was still in effect; they published a document entitled "The People of God of the Old Covenant, never revoked by God." 

Nouwen was ordained a Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Utrecht on July 21, 1957, by infamous Modernist Bernard "Cardinal" Alfrink (a valid bishop but made "Cardinal" by Roncalli in 1960).  Nouwen wanted to study after his ordination. Yet rather than pursue theology, canon law, or philosophy, he petitioned Alfrink for a dispensation to study secular psychology, a request Alfrink gladly granted. In 1966, he came to the United States as a visiting professor at Notre Dame University. From 1971-1981, Nouwen was a professor of pastoral theology at Yale Divinity School, a Protestant institution that trains ministers. 

Beginning in 1969, Nouwen would publish the first of his 42 books (four published posthumously). He was heavily influenced by Fr. Thomas Merton, an apostate Catholic cleric deeply involved with Eastern pagan religions, such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism. Nouwen himself started to become fascinated with these false religions, and became a believer and promoter of the error of pantheism, which is embodied in these pagan sects, as well as by occultism. His books on spirituality pushed "contemplative" or "centering" prayer--practices which can lead people into paganism and/or the occult. His influence has been great in both the Vatican II sect and many Protestant sects. In "conservative" Protestant sects, there has been a pushback against using the works of Nouwen, because of his promotion of pantheism.

So what, exactly, is pantheism?  According to one source that gave what I believe to be an accurate and concise definition:

Pantheism is the view that the world is either identical to God, or an expression of God’s nature. It comes from ‘pan’ meaning all, and ‘theism,’ which means belief in God. So according to pantheism, “God is everything and everything is God.” (See philosophytalk.org/blog/pantheism). 

The Vatican Council of 1870 infallibly defined:

CANON 3. If anyone shall say that the substance and essence of God and of all things is one and the same; let him be anathema. 

CANON 4. If anyone shall say that finite things, both corporeal and spiritual, or at least spiritual, have emanated from the Divine substance; or that the Divine essence, by the manifestation and evolution of itself, becomes all things; or, lastly, that God is a universal or indefinite being, which by determining itself constitutes the universality of things, distinct according to genera, species and individuals; let him be anathema. 

This is an infallible condemnation of pantheism, and panentheism, the equally false doctrine that God is "within" the universe the way a soul is within a body. No one can therefore endorse any form of pantheism/panentheism without being a heretic.

Nouwen: Promoter of Pantheism

In 1972, Nouwen wrote a book entitled: Pray to Live: Thomas Merton – Contemplative Critic. Clearly, this little-known testament of praise for Merton shows Nouwen’s affinity to Merton’s mysticism. In the introduction of the book, Nouwen admits the “impact” Merton had on his life. Nouwen also discusses a major turning point in Merton’s life when Merton crossed paths with a Hindu monk called Dr. Bramachari. Merton wrote about him with much humor, great respect and deep reverence, Nouwen writes. (See Pray to Live: Thomas Merton – Contemplative Critic, pg. 28). 

Merton, who was seeking to be a mystic, was studying many of the “great” Eastern pagan mystics. He was told by Bramachari that he did not have to leave the Catholic faith to become a mystic; it could be found, he said, within the walls of “the Christian mystical tradition” – that is “Christian” mysticism. (Ibid., pg. 29). Nouwen went on to write several other books with the continued theme of "contemplative spirituality" as taught by Merton. Two of the most popular of Nouwen's books today are The Way of the Heart (1981) and In the Name of Jesus (1989).

In The Way of the Heart, Nouwen speaks of his Eastern-style meditation:

The quiet repetition of a single word can help us to descend with the mind into the heart … This way of simple prayer … opens us to God’s active presence. (See The Way of the Heart, [1991 ed.], pg.81). 

This technique concentrates on emptying the mind of thought through the repetition of a single word, known as a mantra. It is based on Eastern pagan religions, and it is being taught to the unsuspecting as a form of "Christian contemplation." (It is also used in yoga). This "contemplative" or "centering" prayer was able to pretend to be "Catholic" or "Christian" because of Vatican II. In that council's damnable declaration Nostra Aetate ("The Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions"), paragraph #2 states:

Thus in Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery and express it through an inexhaustible abundance of myths and through searching philosophical inquiry. They seek freedom from the anguish of our human condition either through ascetical practices or profound meditation or a flight to God with love and trust. Again, Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination. Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing "ways," comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself. (Emphasis mine). 

Nouwen shows his admiration for false religion in the foreword to the book Disciplines for Christian Living: Interfaith Perspectives [1993], written by "Fr." Thomas Ryan, CSP,  who directed the Paulist North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in New York City. He wrote:

[T]he author shows a wonderful openness to the gifts of Buddhism, Hinduism and Moslem religion. He discovers their great wisdom for the spiritual life of the Christian … Ryan [the author] went to India to learn from spiritual traditions other than his own. He brought home many treasures and offers them to us in the book. (pgs. 2-3; Emphasis mine). 

Nouwen was also a sodomite. His biographer, Michael Ford (Wounded Prophet, [1999]), claims Nouwen “had a homosexual orientation” but (allegedly) never acted upon it. 

Contemplative/Centering prayer has the same goal as yoga meditation; the person must unify himself/herself with the "Divine-self" or "God-Self" within. Through contemplative prayer, the person tries to lose contact with the conscious mind for an altered state of consciousness. This disassociation is meant to allow a person to become "one" with "the Divine." Even those who do not get to such altered states, have unwittingly opened themselves up to a decidedly pagan worldview and possible demon possession. The idea of being "divine" is the opposite of Christianity which tells us we are sinners in need of Redemption by the God-Man Jesus Christ.

Nouwen in His Own Words

The God who dwells in our inner sanctuary is the same as the one who dwells in the inner sanctuary of each human being. (Here and Now, p. 22; Emphasis mine).

Prayer is ‘soul work’ because our souls are those sacred centers WHERE ALL IS ONE ... It is in the heart of God that we can come to the full realization of THE UNITY OF ALL THAT IS (Bread for the Journey, [1997], entries for Jan. 15 and Nov. 16; Emphasis mine).

The two quotes above are pure pantheism. This led Nouwen to Universalism, the heretical belief that all will be saved, and Christ's One True Church is irrelevant. 

Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God’s house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God. (Sabbatical Journey, [published posthumously,1998], pg. 51; Emphasis mine).

Finally, how's the following for an example of pantheistic, pagan mumbo-jumbo:

Praying means breaking through the veil of existence and allowing yourself to be led by the vision which has become real to you. Whether we call that vision ‘the Unseen Reality,’ ‘the total Other,’ ‘the Spirit,’ or ‘the Father,’ we repeatedly assert that it is not we ourselves who possess the power to make the new creation come to pass. It is rather a spiritual power which has been given to us and which empowers us to be in the world without being of it. (Ibid pg. 114; Emphasis mine).

The radical extent of Nouwen's pagan "spirituality" has been praised by occultist Sue Monk Kidd, a former Protestant Sunday school teacher who now worships "the goddess" as a result of reading Nouwen.  Her descent into occult goddess worship began when reading the works of Merton and Nouwen and she attended Vatican II sect retreats based on their type of centering/contemplative prayer. She suddenly didn't find prayer "boring" anymore. Kidd started to admire the demon goddesses of Hinduism, and began to delve into the worship of ancient goddesses. Kidd traveled with a group of women to Crete where they met in a cave and sang prayers to “the Goddess Skoteini, Goddess of the Dark.” She says, “... something inside me was calling on the Goddess of the Dark, even though I didn’t know her name.” (See Kidd's book, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, [1996] pg. 93).

Sue Monk Kidd wrote the foreword to the 2006 edition of Henri Nouwen’s With Open Hands. She wrote:

Amazingly, the book is possibly more relevant now than when it was first published. It speaks clearly, amid a growing profusion of anxiety, busyness, and noise, about returning to the quiet core of ourselves. It compels us to accept life’s goodness at the precise moment life seems most hazardous and un-embraceable. It offers the mystery of hope in a world gouged by terrorism and given to despair.... Twenty-seven years ago, With Open Hands helped to wake me to the immense. (Emphasis mine).

Reality Check: The Teaching of the One True Church

Centering/Contemplative prayer actually isn't prayer at all. Prayer is meant to lift us up in thought to God, Who is totally distinct from us so we can be in a loving relationship with Him. Centering prayer has the person repeat a monosyllabic word ("mantra") to express his "intentionality" of being "one with God." He is to return to this word to prevent any distracting thought (holy or otherwise). The idea is to suspend thinking as much as possible.  Why would you want to do that? The intent of the technique is to bring the practitioner to the center of his own person or being. There he will allegedly experience the presence of the "God who indwells him." You look for God, as if He were a part of you, because in these pagan Eastern ideologies, God and the universe are one. 

More reasons Contemplative/Centering prayer is evil: 

• If centering prayer is to lead us to contemplation, and if contemplation is the experience of the loving presence of God, how can this happen if we reject His grace through loving thoughts of Him by banishing the active thought process? It is more of a hypnotic state than anything contemplative, and cannot be truly thought of as prayer in any Catholic sense of the word.

• It actually goes against the teaching of St. Teresa who warns against suspending intellectual operations on our own (unless/until God gives the grace of infused contemplation): Unless His Majesty has begun to suspend our faculties, I cannot understand how we are to stop thinking, without doing ourselves more harm than good...(See The Interior Castle, fourth mansion, chapter 3). 

• The emptying of the mind by repeating a mantra is explained by proponents of centering prayer as a preparation for infused contemplation and likened to acquired contemplation. This simply is not Catholic teaching. According to the great theologian Garrigou-Lagrange, If by acquired contemplation we mean a prayer distinct from simplified affective prayer, in which the intellect is totally absorbed by its object and in which we place ourselves by the suppression of all rational activity, we thereby not only create a degree of prayer unknown to St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross, but we likewise oppose their explicit teaching. In fact, St. Teresa repeatedly opposes the total suppression of discourse and the movement of thought as long as one has not received infused contemplation (Life, chapter 12; The Interior Castle, fourth mansion, chapter 3; The Ascent of Mount Carmel, Bk. II, chapter 15). (See The Three Ages of the Interior Life, [1948], 2:311; Emphasis mine). 

• Finally, there is a completely false notion of sin and human nature that comes with centering prayer. At the center of our being is NOT God; rather, we are born in Original Sin and devoid of God. We need the grace of baptism to have God dwell in us. If we are unfortunate to lose sanctifying grace, we must regain it through the Sacrament of Penance, or at least an Act of Perfect Contrition with the intention of confessing as soon as possible to regain the state of grace. Centering prayer claims you receive the experience of God regardless of your sins, by overcoming the "otherness" of God and finding Him "within"--an idea direct from pagan Hinduism. 

This "spirituality" based on paganism also leads to Indifferentism, the heresy that one religion is as good as another. To this the Church teaches:

Pope Pius XI in Mortalium Animos (1928), para. # 2:

For which reason conventions, meetings and addresses are frequently arranged by these persons, at which a large number of listeners are present, and at which all without distinction are invited to join in the discussion, both infidels of every kind, and Christians, even those who have unhappily fallen away from Christ or who with obstinacy and pertinacity deny His divine nature and mission. Certainly such attempts can nowise be approved by Catholics, founded as they are on that false opinion which considers all religions to be more or less good and praiseworthy, since they all in different ways manifest and signify that sense which is inborn in us all, and by which we are led to God and to the obedient acknowledgment of His rule. Not only are those who hold this opinion in error and deceived, but also in distorting the idea of true religion they reject it, and little by little. turn aside to naturalism and atheism, as it is called; from which it clearly follows that one who supports those who hold these theories and attempt to realize them, is altogether abandoning the divinely revealed religion. (Emphasis mine).

Pope Leo XII in Ubi Primum (1824), para. # 14:

It is impossible for the most true God, who is Truth Itself, the best, the wisest Provider, and the Rewarder of good men, to approve all sects who profess false teachings which are often inconsistent with one another and contradictory, and to confer eternal rewards on their members. For we have a surer word of the prophet, and in writing to you We speak wisdom among the perfect; not the wisdom of this world but the wisdom of God in a mystery. By it we are taught, and by divine faith we hold one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and that no other name under heaven is given to men except the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth in which we must be saved. This is why we profess that there is no salvation outside the Church. (Emphasis mine).

Conclusion

Fr. Henri Nouwen was a Villain of Vatican II. He spread the perverse errors contained in Nostra Aetate through studying and adopting pagan/occult forms of meditation, which he then hid under the guise of "Christian contemplation." Contemplative prayer is a misnomer, since it is neither contemplation nor prayer as found in the teaching of the One True Church. Beware of any type of prayer that advises people to:

• Breathe a certain way before or during prayer
• Maintain a certain posture or bodily position
• Repeat a word or phrase, even if it's from the Bible, or use a word or phrase to stay "focused"
• Go "beyond thinking" or thought
• Turn inward in order to find or be with God

If you use this "meditative prayer" you will not find any "Divine within you," only deception (and possible possession) by demons.