The contemplative response is not a luxury or an added extra [for the Carmelite]; it is at the very core of how we see life and cope with the challenges and pressures of what we call our postmodern world. Perhaps this is what Karl Rahner meant when he said, a generation ago: “The Christian of the future will be a mystic or will not exist at all.” – Carmelite Friar, Eugene McCaffrey, “Carmelite Spirituality”
Dear Lighthouse Trails:
I wanted to thank you for all your wonderful work rooting out false Christianity. I have followed your website and blog for 12 years and have been so blessed. Just wanted to forward some pertinent information regarding Catholicism and the increase of their number at these end times. I am not Catholic, but I subscribe to several news outlets that keep me informed of news regarding abortion, euthanasia, LGBTQ, and the like; one of those sites is LifeSite News. They are conservative Catholics, but they do a good job in keeping tabs on the news on many fronts. I ignore their Catholic stories, but this one [see below] I think you will understand as a mark and sign of the Catholic Church’s pervasive influx of error. You may already know about it, but it fulfills much of what Roger Oakland speaks about, as well as many of your other authors. God bless you and all that you do in equipping the saints.
SF
LTRP Note: The Carmelite Order of the Catholic Church is rooted in contemplative spirituality. What we find noteworthy about the news article below from LifeSite is that what is being called Catholic “church traditions” is largely contemplative prayer (the spirituality that is drawing people into the Carmelite Order as well as into the Catholic Church). Ray Yungen examines this influence in his article “Contemplative Spirituality – the Source of the Catholic Church’s Expansion.” In that article, Yungen stated:
I had always been confused as to the real nature of this advance in the Catholic church. Was this just the work of a few mavericks and renegades, or did the church hierarchy sanction this practice? My concerns were affirmed when I read in an interview that the mystical prayer movement not only had the approval of the highest echelons of Catholicism but also was, in fact, the source of its expansion.
To gain a better understanding (from a biblical perspective) of contemplative spirituality as well as Roman Catholicism, please see the links below the article under Related Information.
“Latin Mass, Church Traditions Bring Boom in Vocations for US Order of Nuns” (posted in LT for informational and research purposes)
By Drew Belsky (Lifesite News)
In an age where religious professions are in decline, especially in the United States, one order is looking back in time to buck the trend. The Discalced Carmelites have turned from the modern Church’s reforms of the 1960s and embraced ancient traditions – particularly the traditional Latin Mass. Now their order is booming, with multiple at-capacity monasteries dotting the eastern U.S. . . .
The cloistered nuns at the Carmel in Fairfield close themselves off from the world and devote the rest of their lives to strict silence, arduous labor, and prayer. . . .
St. Teresa of Avila* (1515–1582), whom the Carmelites revere as their patroness, is one of the order’s most distinguished saints. A famous mystic and foundress of many Carmelite houses, she also wrote the famous works The Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle. . . . With the Church’s ancient liturgy and traditions now firmly ensconced in the order, “young women are writing, are knocking at the door to enter,” said Mother Stella. “The growth is very clear and very palpable.” . . . Mother Stella did not mince words regarding the importance of the contemplative orders. Click here to continue reading.
Related Information From Lighthouse Trails:
*Teresa of Avila – An Ancient Mystic Who Helped Shape Today’s Spiritual Formation Movement
Catholic Evangelization and the Role of the “Eucharist” in This End-Time Deception by Roger Oakland
Five Things You Should Know About Contemplative Prayer by Ray Yungen
(photo of painting from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission)
Mystic Teresa of Avila, Pt.3 – Cristo La Verdad
[…] Interest in Contemplative Catholic Monasteries Increasing […]
Many thanks, LHT. I was quite unlikely to find it on my own.
There they are, #2716 and #2717 (in part).
What a cumbersome, suffocating document is the RCC Catechism. All flowery, pious, high-sounding verbiage, an elaborate man-made structure of religious bondage.
So glad I left.
Since the page numbers for this quote will vary in different editions of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we are providing the following location information:
To find the quote, which Ray Yungen included in his article, as well as an entire section on Contemplative Prayer in the Catechism, please refer to: Part Four: Christian Prayer -> Section One: Prayer in the Christian Life -> Chapter Three: The Life of Prayer -> Article One: Expressions of Prayer -> III. Contemplative Prayer.
In the article by Ray Yungen linked near the top of the article above, ( “Contemplative Spirituality – the Source of the Catholic Church’s Expansion.”) Yungen refers the reader to “pg. 652” of the 1994 RCC catechism. I’ve checked the catechism online, and it has no page numbers as such, just numbered articles and statements, of which there are thousands.
If the reference number to the specific statement Yungen was referencing could be given, that would be a great help.
As long as marriage is forbidden in the monasteries and convents the sexual abuse and immorality will continue in the R. Catholic Church all over the world, as it has for centuries. I am dismayed that many girls are entering the convents, thinking that it will be a beautiful experience. I have horror stories from my own family about things that happen within the walls of convents and monasteries.