Need a toothpick to get this out of my craw

Okay, I have had something sticking in my craw since Father's Day. I am hoping to get back to my writing soon, but I just had to get this off my chest. And please forgive the run on sentences. I always got chastised for that by my writing instructor in college. She always told us to write what we know, well why not how we speak. So all you grammar police out there, be forewarned, I love runons!

I had my kids for Father's Day and because I agreed on their birth that they would be raised Catholic, I honored that and took them to church. Now, in the past I haven't minded taking them to the local parish. I had always found the priest to be a very robust young man. I believe he is of the Franciscan order like Cardinal O'Malley. I could be wrong. He is always full of life and his sermons/homilies are usually very well thought out and inspiring. Except for Father's Day.

I don't remember the whole sermon, maybe because I shut him out after his opening lines. I found them to be so blatantly offensive and just plain wrong that I was lost in them and in some ways felt betrayed by them. What could get me all worked up? He basically was admonishing his parishoners not to listen to New Agers. He went on to say that New Agers will mislead you. They will have you believing that God is somewhere off in a cloud somewhere while the church, and mind you I almost gacked on this, teaches that God is within us. That wasn't the way my catechism book taught. If anything from what I have learned of New Age ways, and here I will part ways with the good Father, as I don't like that term especially used in a collective way as he did, I find that the opposite is taught.

Hmmm, maybe the churches teachings have changed over the years, especially since I left over six years ago. I was always led to believe that according to the Church, and mind you, I am speaking of the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church, that I grew up with, had taught that God was outside of you. I think the Gospel of Thomas was the first thing I had read that said to look within. The Gospel of Thomas being a gnostic gospel and part of the Nag Hammadi collection. It was deemed heretical by the church for its teachings. I was led to believe that we needed a priest to intercede for us. We had to go to a priest to ask forgiveness for our transgressions. If we weren't baptized we couldn't get into heaven. Which was where God was, out there, somewhere. If we sinned, we couldn't get to heaven, and would burn forever in the pits of hell, oh, of course, unless we went to a priest and he cleared us of our sins through the Act of Contrition. So when did the church do a 180?

Now the other thing that bothered me was the use of the term New Age. Man, the people who follow New Age paths just can't get a break. They are slammed from all sides. The church is teaching now, or at least this priest that they are wrong. Of course, anyone who has taken the time to learn will come to realize that there are many "flavors" of New Age philosophy. Hmm, I wonder if he considers Gnostics as New Agers? American Buddhists? I personally think that we should do away with the New Age label all together. From what I have learned, there is nothing new involved, but rather a new awareness of ancient teachings. Granted there are some who do not follow the whole way, but quite frankly, it is their path. There is a Hindu teaching that states, " The only one not getting up the mountain, is the one who is running round and round it telling everyone else they are on the wrong path"

Of course there are many factions of what is known as New Age. Some take teachings from Hindu foundations, other from Buddhist teachings, yet others Mayan, some from shaman, some from Native American. I think using a term like New Age as an all encompassing moniker is like calling all indigenous healers, shamans. An Inka Laika is different from an Aztec Curandero who is different from an Eastern shaman, or a Native American healer. Yet sociologists and anthropologists like to use the blanket shaman to cover them all. Each of these has their own ways, their own teachings and are unique. The same can be said for "New Age" practitioners.

Now, let's get back to the good Father and his comment. I wonder if the good Father has heard of the Course of Miracles, or read Gary Rendon's - The Disappearing Universe. In his book he tells about a visit from two ascended masters who come to teach him that we are not separated from God. In it, he tells us that we are there with God asleep and dreaming this world. God is not angry with us. God is not separate from us. We are God and God are we. It is an interesting read and from what I have heard, based on A Course of Miracles. I am not fully aware of the latter, but hope to read up on it in the future. I am currently reading a book on the hidden history of the world based on the teachings of the ancient mystery schools. The claim in that book is that Jesus was an initiate of the mystery schools. I also have a copy gifted to me of the Bhagavad Gītā, "Song of God" You see, rather than make blanket statements as the good Father has done, I try to learn about these other spiritual paths so as to remove ignorance. It also helps in my mission to unite the people of the world to understand their beliefs, so I might honor and respect them.

I have been away from the church for over six years. Did they have Vatican III and reverse the teachings that I had come to know? (Kind of like when they turned the altar around after Vatican II and removed Latin from the mass.)

Another thing that raises a question with me is if they truly believed that God is within and a personal relationship, despite needing a priest to intercede, why did they do what they did to the Native American culture? Why did they feel the need to rip children from their familes and toss them in Indian Schools and beat the culture out of them? The Native American culture was very spiritual. They were connected to the land and all of creation. They didn't treat things as things to be owned. They treated the land as a relation. They gave thanks for everything that they received. They even thanked the animals who gave of their lives so they may eat. When was the last time someone gave thanks to a cow, chicken or pig?

I guess I just find myself in conflict with what the priest said. It just doesn't jibe with all I have been taught by the Catholic Church. Even less so with what I have learned about the church over the past few years. Is the church so afraid of losing people to these New Age ways that they feel the need to lash out? Hmmm, all you New Agers out there better watch out. The last time the church felt threatened the Pope ordered the Albigensian Crusade  and the wiping out of the Cathars. I will give credit to Pope John Paul II for apologizing for this act before his passing.

For me, I will stick with that Hindu teaching about making it up the mountain. I will follow my own path and wish for you to follow yours. I will not be the one running round and round the mountain telling you that you are on the wrong path.