New Age Spirituality
The New Age movement is a very large umbrella that incorporates a lot of concepts, techniques, rituals, and spiritualties. It has infiltrated every area of life in various shapes and forms. As a result we have probably encountered forms of New Age spirituality within our culture and thinking nothing of it at all. Those who are ignorant of its particularities are the most vulnerable to accepting aspects of its teaching without being aware of it. The most notable for our purposes is the manner in which this movement works its way into our thinking and our churches.
“New Age ideas sometimes find their way into preaching, catechesis, workshops and retreats, and thus influence even practicing Catholics, who perhaps are unaware of the incompatibility of those ideas with the Church’s faith. “[1]
While some elements can seem innocent enough, and sometimes found to be beneficial in certain respects, the danger lies in occultism, a form of spiritualism that can draw in dry souls that only have a form of religion but are dissatisfied with organized forms.
“New Age is often referred to by those who promote it as a “new spirituality”… But what really is new is that New Age is a conscious search for an alternative to Western culture and its Judeo-Christian religious roots. “Spirituality” in this way refers to the inner experience of harmony and unity with the whole of reality, which heals each human person's feelings of imperfection and finiteness.”[2]
The influence of New Age spirituality is demonic in nature and many testimonies have been written about their deliverance from demonic oppression and possession as a result of opening themselves up to this form of spirituality. While most people never dive as deeply into occultism so as to become possessed by a demon, they nevertheless leave themselves vulnerable to its influence, often through a spirit that they have come to trust, either explicitly or implicitly, whether this dynamic takes on a relational approach or not. Sometimes this susceptibility is as simple as being led further into questioning Church teachings or traditional formulations of dogma. Those converts to Christianity from New Age spirituality are the most acute and previous gift to the Church who are able to assist us discern and navigate waters of subtle deception. The following paragraph will give you a basic perspective on what New Age thought sounds like so you can try and avoid its subtle influences and blurred distinctions.
The outlook of New Age spirituality is pantheistic in nature, that essentially everything is one. You are God, infinite mind, but your mind has led you into illusions concerning your True Self, and so we find ourselves living out of a false self that keeps leading us to think that we are distinct from God, separate from Him. The teaching of the Church is seen to be antiquated and the idea that we are distinct from God is rejected, leading us to religious division, shame, and guilt. We must follow our heart into a better way of peace, love, and joy, that only comes from obtaining God-consciousness, an awareness that we have the seeds of divinity within us. We are a spark of God and we are one with God. People who follow this form of spiritualism often hear voices through exercises such as emptying the mind, and often feel a strong sense of calling and draw to teach leaders in the Church a better form of spirituality, how to hear God’s voice. Seeing religion in general as a mere vehicle to a deeper spirituality which is expressed through the teachings of the New Age, there is often many committed to various religious expressions. As a result a kind of interfaith respect begins, understanding that ultimately what is thought to be correct in any of these religions are only what our minds come up about religion, all the while an infinite source of knowledge is found within God located within our hearts.
The Language of Frannie Rose
The largest concern that has arisen concerning the teachings of Frannie Rose is the similarity of her language to what we just encountered above. As a proclaimed Catholic, one who presumably recites the Nicene Creed at Mass every Sunday, her language is not drawn from the riches of the Catholic tradition, but rather is steeped in the language of New Age Spirituality. It would be difficult for one in the New Age to listen to her teachings and not understand them as such. Far from utilizing New Age terminology in some ecumenical effort to bridge gaps between Catholics and adherents to New Age teaching, such a use blurs the distinction between Catholic thought and New Age teaching to such a degree that Catholic teaching is not readily discernable by those who are informed by Catholic theology. The danger is apparent, since most people are not well-versed in the theology of their Christian tradition. Often such ideas that have been adopted through New Age influence goes unchallenged, and when it does it is seen as uncharitable on the part of those who are concerned enough to point out the discrepancies. New Age terminology is not a flexible and universal language that can be used to communicate the teachings of the Church, such terminology always have a New Age influence and carry connotations that are deeply rooted in that system of thought. The adopting of this language by most people would make them vulnerable to the meaning that most often underlies those terms. In the case of Frannie, sometimes she will also use language that seems compatible with Catholic teaching such as when she speaks of God as the “creator of everything” which would only make it more difficult for people to recognize the language she uses elsewhere. Thinking that one should be able to contextualize all this New Age language within a broader Christian perspective is extremely dangerous.
“From the point of view of Christian faith, it is not possible to isolate some elements of New Age religiosity as acceptable to Christians, while rejecting others.”[3]
New Age Influences
While one wishes to be as charitable as possible concerning this language as if it is unintentional, the New Age influence upon her thinking is apparent. If we only had this language to consider it may have been much easier to address where Catholics could have lovingly approached her concerning the matter to change it. However, her history shows that she has been immersed in New Age thought.
1) The Reading list from Frannie's book ‘Fixing Frannie’, reveals New Age influences from authors who are very much considered as teaching New Age concepts. People who first read her book and then ventures into her reading list will expose them to these ideas further and further.
2) Previously on her LinkedIn page, she had stated that Deepak Chopra, who is a renown New Age “guru,” has been her greatest influence. This information had been taken down once it was mentioned to Richard Hanifen.
3) In one of her presentations she quotes Rumi, who is a Sufi mystic. Likewise, on her Facebook page one can see that she quotes people like Rumi and Wayne Dyer, who is a New Age philosopher. She also has quoted Richard Rohr of The Center for Action and Contemplation which is a well-known hub for dissent. Two notable articles concerning Rohr can be found at the following:
Can I Trust Fr. Richard Rohr Part 1
Can I Trust Fr. Richard Rohr Part 2
4) Frannie’s sense of calling to teach leaders in the Church how to hear the voice of God through the emptying of the mind is not unique but is a common New Age tactic to influence the Church.
5) In her story prior to reading a New Testament she claims that a spirit, who identified itself as “I AM”, told her things that she never knew and then directed her to different religious texts which included the New Testament but also involved Sufi and Buddhist texts.
What Does Frannie Say?
Below is a short compendium of statements made by Frannie. I would direct people to the following Youtube video, for as long as it remains public, in order to get an idea of the sort of things she is saying.
"That's not to say the old ways are wrong," "It's pushing things aside to make more room for what God is going to teach you, and when you take them back, they're richer." This statement, no matter how one attempts to interpret it in a favorable manner, reveals several striking ideas which ought to give pause to any honest reader. The “new way” is the New Age form of spirituality that she is promoting in the diocese, a spirituality as we discussed earlier that does not find itself in ‘traditional religion’.
When being asked about resistance that she receives from faithful Catholics she states: “...traditional religion very set in the old ways of doing things...”
Frannie also states that "Religion is just a vehicle to God, if you take every faith as a piece of a pie, cut up a pie into pieces, every faith touches at the center, every piece of the pie touches at the center and that is where God is. A religion is just a vehicle and to get it right is not the point, to find God is"
“I believe that faith is the secret to living an extraordinary life... and the faith does not have to be a specific faith... a specific religion... its just the faith in God”
As you can see, she clearly does not think that the Church is the fullness of the faith, but is rather one of many religions that need to be ‘enriched’ by New Age spirituality. This attitude towards religion in general takes on a practical application in the use of her teaching on emptying the mind.
"We have to be emptied of what we think we know about God."
"...in order to fully experience God you have to let go of what you have been taught."
“In order to really experience God, you must let go of all you’ve been taught about God. And, until you experience it, you don’t know it.”
“The final barrier to the vision of God is your God concept, what you think about God, God isn't in your mind. What you think about God is what your mind has made up about God what you have heard from others about God... but is not your experience.”
“You miss God because you think you know him”
“God is not in your thoughts, not the way you wish him to be, he is in your heart. So let your mind let go”
“We miss seeing God because we think we know about him... we have been told in Church...”
“The ‘I AM’ inside you, inside your heart, part of the ‘We.’”
“Later, you start to develop into the True Self, the heart center with the seeds of God’s Spirit inside you, the seeds that God planted in all of us, seeds of compassion…” “These things are who you are – the Infinite Heart with God in the center, ‘We.’”
While talking about looking into the eyes of a raccoon she states: “the God within them, and the God within me”.
Richard Rohr as stated: “The true you, the True Self cannot really be hurt. There’s nothing to prove or protect with the True Self. It is indestructible. It's your eternal soul or your identity in God. It’s the Great I AM (Exodus 3:14), continued in you and me.”[4]
Likewise, Keating states: “God and our true Self are not separate. Though we are not God, God and our true Self are the same thing”[5]
(For more information on Keating read Is Centering Prayer Catholic?: Fr. Thomas Keating Meets Teresa of Avila and the CDF by Connie Rossini.)
“We must be open to ‘God-consciousness’ – that’s an awareness of God, an experience of God, putting God at the center of all. We must see everything from the center, God.”
“What is ‘God-consciousness?’ – that God is in the center of me. And, it’s from that God-place that I see God is the center of all”
‘We’ are the union with God. A consciousness of possibility; a consciousness of infinity where you never try to understand it all; where you know God is in it all, and knowing this and knowing who you are, ‘We.” In the union between you and God, you feel connected to all.”
“God-consciousness is infinite, it’s eternal, unlimited by thought and perception – ‘I AM,’ unrefined by the ego.”
“God is within us...so in other words we are not 'me' were 'we', were always 'we'...what happens is that we were always 'we' from the time of birth and what we did through our conditioning is that we walked away from that...kind of like the original sin... the way its taught is sometimes distorted...”
“God pulls us back to the union that we were born to. The truth is that your heart and God are together as One. You began as a spark of God even before you were born.”
“This is who you were and what you sought until the mind complicated things, because it always does. When it comes to God, the mind knows nothing except what it’s been taught, not what it’s experienced.”
"You are originally unlimited and perfect. Later, you take on limitations. Today, we’re not going to become ‘a mind,’ we’re going to be God, unlimited mind.”
“We need to walk back by uncovering what’s inside. It isn’t learning from outside, it’s learning what’s covering us inside.”
Conclusion
The teachings of Frannie Rose strongly reflect the language of New Age Spirituality. This language is dangerous and irresponsible. It is not healthy for the spiritual life of Catholics to become immersed in this language and the connotations associated with them. At this time, please take a moment to reread the section on The Language of Frannie Rose.
[1] John Paull II, Address of John Paul II to the Bishops of the US on their “Ad Limina” visit, May 28, 1993, 2
[2] Pontifical Council for Culture and Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life, A Christian Reflection on the “New Age , 3.1
[3] Ibid., 4
[4] Taken from https://34dj3l269uzv2uy0oh3yzb0w-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/7-TRUE-SELF-FALSE-SELF.pdf
[5] Taken from http://www.spiritualdirection.com/2015/09/28/can-i-trust-father-thomas-keating
4) Frannie’s sense of calling to teach leaders in the Church how to hear the voice of God through the emptying of the mind is not unique but is a common New Age tactic to influence the Church.
5) In her story prior to reading a New Testament she claims that a spirit, who identified itself as “I AM”, told her things that she never knew and then directed her to different religious texts which included the New Testament but also involved Sufi and Buddhist texts.
What Does Frannie Say?
Below is a short compendium of statements made by Frannie. I would direct people to the following Youtube video, for as long as it remains public, in order to get an idea of the sort of things she is saying.
- Religion in the New Spirituality
"That's not to say the old ways are wrong," "It's pushing things aside to make more room for what God is going to teach you, and when you take them back, they're richer." This statement, no matter how one attempts to interpret it in a favorable manner, reveals several striking ideas which ought to give pause to any honest reader. The “new way” is the New Age form of spirituality that she is promoting in the diocese, a spirituality as we discussed earlier that does not find itself in ‘traditional religion’.
When being asked about resistance that she receives from faithful Catholics she states: “...traditional religion very set in the old ways of doing things...”
Frannie also states that "Religion is just a vehicle to God, if you take every faith as a piece of a pie, cut up a pie into pieces, every faith touches at the center, every piece of the pie touches at the center and that is where God is. A religion is just a vehicle and to get it right is not the point, to find God is"
“I believe that faith is the secret to living an extraordinary life... and the faith does not have to be a specific faith... a specific religion... its just the faith in God”
As you can see, she clearly does not think that the Church is the fullness of the faith, but is rather one of many religions that need to be ‘enriched’ by New Age spirituality. This attitude towards religion in general takes on a practical application in the use of her teaching on emptying the mind.
- Our Knowledge about God
"We have to be emptied of what we think we know about God."
"...in order to fully experience God you have to let go of what you have been taught."
“In order to really experience God, you must let go of all you’ve been taught about God. And, until you experience it, you don’t know it.”
“The final barrier to the vision of God is your God concept, what you think about God, God isn't in your mind. What you think about God is what your mind has made up about God what you have heard from others about God... but is not your experience.”
“You miss God because you think you know him”
“God is not in your thoughts, not the way you wish him to be, he is in your heart. So let your mind let go”
“We miss seeing God because we think we know about him... we have been told in Church...”
- Our Relation to God
“The ‘I AM’ inside you, inside your heart, part of the ‘We.’”
“Later, you start to develop into the True Self, the heart center with the seeds of God’s Spirit inside you, the seeds that God planted in all of us, seeds of compassion…” “These things are who you are – the Infinite Heart with God in the center, ‘We.’”
While talking about looking into the eyes of a raccoon she states: “the God within them, and the God within me”.
Richard Rohr as stated: “The true you, the True Self cannot really be hurt. There’s nothing to prove or protect with the True Self. It is indestructible. It's your eternal soul or your identity in God. It’s the Great I AM (Exodus 3:14), continued in you and me.”[4]
Likewise, Keating states: “God and our true Self are not separate. Though we are not God, God and our true Self are the same thing”[5]
(For more information on Keating read Is Centering Prayer Catholic?: Fr. Thomas Keating Meets Teresa of Avila and the CDF by Connie Rossini.)
- God-Consciousness
“We must be open to ‘God-consciousness’ – that’s an awareness of God, an experience of God, putting God at the center of all. We must see everything from the center, God.”
“What is ‘God-consciousness?’ – that God is in the center of me. And, it’s from that God-place that I see God is the center of all”
‘We’ are the union with God. A consciousness of possibility; a consciousness of infinity where you never try to understand it all; where you know God is in it all, and knowing this and knowing who you are, ‘We.” In the union between you and God, you feel connected to all.”
“God-consciousness is infinite, it’s eternal, unlimited by thought and perception – ‘I AM,’ unrefined by the ego.”
- New Age Version of Original Sin
“God is within us...so in other words we are not 'me' were 'we', were always 'we'...what happens is that we were always 'we' from the time of birth and what we did through our conditioning is that we walked away from that...kind of like the original sin... the way its taught is sometimes distorted...”
“God pulls us back to the union that we were born to. The truth is that your heart and God are together as One. You began as a spark of God even before you were born.”
“This is who you were and what you sought until the mind complicated things, because it always does. When it comes to God, the mind knows nothing except what it’s been taught, not what it’s experienced.”
"You are originally unlimited and perfect. Later, you take on limitations. Today, we’re not going to become ‘a mind,’ we’re going to be God, unlimited mind.”
“We need to walk back by uncovering what’s inside. It isn’t learning from outside, it’s learning what’s covering us inside.”
Conclusion
The teachings of Frannie Rose strongly reflect the language of New Age Spirituality. This language is dangerous and irresponsible. It is not healthy for the spiritual life of Catholics to become immersed in this language and the connotations associated with them. At this time, please take a moment to reread the section on The Language of Frannie Rose.
[1] John Paull II, Address of John Paul II to the Bishops of the US on their “Ad Limina” visit, May 28, 1993, 2
[2] Pontifical Council for Culture and Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life, A Christian Reflection on the “New Age , 3.1
[3] Ibid., 4
[4] Taken from https://34dj3l269uzv2uy0oh3yzb0w-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/7-TRUE-SELF-FALSE-SELF.pdf
[5] Taken from http://www.spiritualdirection.com/2015/09/28/can-i-trust-father-thomas-keating
Wow! Thank you for your time and research talent here Corey! It's so helpful to have such companions in the spiritual battle!
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome. It was my pleasure. I will be furthering the series, focusing more on what the ministry could be by speaking on Eastern Catholic spirituality.
Delete