And what's a good old Catholic feast day without Native American smudging?
Quote: "Guests and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament gathered July 15 at the National Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel in Bensalem to celebrate the feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha and Native American cultures.Not to worry, its all Bishop approved.
The event on the shrine grounds was attended by members of the Southeastern Cherokee Confederacy and the St. Kateri Circle led by Chief Buffy Red Feather Brown. The day included prayers, hymns, craft-making and a presentation on St. Kateri’s life."
Even Archbishop Chaput has prayed in sweat lodges and gone on vision quests. 😕INCULTURATION,WORSHIP, AND SACRAMENTSLiturgy and inculturation are major topics of conversationat all levels in ministry to Native AmericanCatholics. No attempt was made in this survey toassess the degree of inculturation that is envisagedor attempted, but the survey asked, “Do the Nativepeople in your arch/diocese use their religious symbolsand rituals in their communal prayer life?”Fifty-one dioceses (just under 30 percent of thetotal) replied “Yes” to this question and describedthe symbols and how they are used. A number ofdioceses stressed that these symbols and rituals areused only on special occasions; others indicated thatthey are incorporated into the ongoing worship ofthe community. Among the most common symbols/ritualsare the following:• Smudging (blessing, purifying) with cedar, sage,sweetgrass, and tobacco• Eagle feather used in blessings• Dance and drums used for liturgies• Indian music in liturgy (one diocese noted thatBr. Martin Fenerty, FSC, has composed fiveMasses based on Native American melodies)• Indian naming ceremony in conjunctionwith Baptism• Native attire used in local and diocesancelebrations• Four-directional prayer• Sweat lodge• Statues, relics of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha• Medicine wheel• Native crucifix and cross• Sacred vessels, decorations, and vestmentswith Native designs• Sacred pipeThe incorporation of Native symbols and rituals incommunal worship is much more common inparishes/ministries serving Native Americans onreservations or in rural communities than in urbansettings. Some of those ministering to NativeAmericans noted that the diversity of tribes, and thussymbols, in urban areas makes it difficult to find symbolsrelevant to all the groups to whom they minister.[clipped]
I don't get it and I'm part Native American, so is my ex-husband so my kids get it from both sides of the family. I've been to Pow-wow's, many of them over the years (prior to becoming Catholic) and Native American celebrations. It is part of my family's heritage, that doesn't change the fact that scared pipes, medicine wheels, smudging, sweat lodges (used to talk to entities) etc., are all part of Native American paganism.
How can you be Catholic while still clinging to pagan "scared" objects and practices like the medicine wheel?
What's a medicine wheel you might be wondering?
Quote: "We believe that the Medicine Wheel creates a vortex of healing energy that comes out of the ground and spirals out into the surrounding area, thus benefiting all living things. It is mirrored by another Wheel in the Spirit World. Heaven and Earth are joined together by a tube of energy that flows between the two Wheels and to stand in The Wheel is to be part of that joining. The more we do ceremony in the Wheel, the stronger its energy and connection become. It is a beacon of Light shining out to illuminate the darkness and radiate healing and understanding into our community and to all the Earth."
How about that sacred pipe?
Quote: "The pipe ceremony is a sacred ritual for connecting physical and spiritual worlds. "The pipe is a link between the earth and the sky," explains White Deer of Autumn. "Nothing is more sacred. The pipe is our prayers in physical form. Smoke becomes our words; it goes out, touches everything, and becomes a part of all there is. The fire in the pipe is the same fire in the sun, which is the source of life." The reason why tobacco is used to connect the worlds is that the plant's roots go deep into the earth, and its smoke rises high into the heavens."Does any of that sound compatible with Catholicism to you?
It's paganism!
Quit straddling the fence. Either you're Catholic or you're not. Give up the pagan sacred items and embrace Catholicism.
In Christ,
Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner
Sources:
http://catholicphilly.com/2017/07/photo-features/celebrating-native-american-life-on-st-kateris-feast/
https://cruxnow.com/faith/2014/09/03/blending-rites-and-rituals/
http://wwwmigrate.usccb.org/issues-and-action/cultural-diversity/native-american/resources/upload/NA-Catholics-Millennium.pdf
http://mesacreativearts.com/html/medicinewheel.html
http://www.native-americans-online.com/native-american-pipe-ceremony.html
When I first converted to Novus Ordo in 2003 I encountered this. There was a Kateri Mass, we all lined up and took Communion, then lined up again and got smudged by Native Americans. My devout Baptist parents were visiting and did not want to be smudged. They saw it as something they should not be doing as Christians. It confused me as a new Catholic.
ReplyDeleteBut now having read Nostra Aetate and in the light of the Assisi celebrations started by JP2 and continued by Benedict who allowed even a voodoo priest,I understand that this has simply been a doubtful church parading as Catholicism. I consider it my poorly regulated pseudo-Catholic kindergarten before becoming a traditional sedevacantist Catholic.
Seattle kim
Kim you are a broken record and I'm not listening to your tune.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't about a vacant papacy. We've got a pope, he's just not a very good one. Period.
I respectfully disagree. He is the spirit of Vatican 2 and as such he is the best leader yet of the Vatican 2 Church!
DeleteSeattle kim
I wonder what religious practices and form of worship St. Kateri and her spiritual advisers, Fathers Chauchetière and Cholenec, S.J., adhered to. St. Kateri was one for great penances and mortification and Eucharistic devotion, likely traditional Catholicism.
ReplyDeleteColorful it is, but is it (as it must be) Christ-centered worship?
I known Archbishop Chaput is Native American, so I'd be interested to understand his justification of this or understand some of these practices from his POV. Regardless it seems to be no wonder that St. Katherine's shrine is closing.
ReplyDeleteI also think it's a disservice to St. Kateri whose sainthood wasn't about getting people to better understand the Native cultures.
Fedhill, you're right on the target I think. St. Kateri rejected the pagan rites of her culture and came to the truth of Christ. We don't honor her by pretending that her pagan past was somehow a valid means of worshiping the one true God.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago I happened to see on EWTN a "Mass" for the installation of a new bishop somewhere in the upper Midwest. They actually included a pagan drumming ceremony in the Liturgy. It may have been before the opening procession, so technically not "part of" the Mass, but that to me is a distinction without a difference. We best honor all Native Americans (whose ancestors came here from somewhere else just like the rest of us, by the way) and all others of pagan beliefs by bringing them to Christ, not by adopting their pagan ways. Sigh.
God bless all here.
He is a bad Pope according to what standards, Julie? Yours? Vatican 2? I would say according to the standards of Vatican 2, Francis is a great Pope. It was Benedict and JP2 that held back the progress called for at the council.
ReplyDeleteThis nonsense was featured on the site Tradition in Action. By the way, it's a wonderful website, full of all sorts of articles and whatever someone is interested in, there is a topic to address it, including the "green" cult of earth worship, Communism, homosexuality and even style of clothing.
ReplyDeleteAnyway- have Catholics forgotten history? or just choose to ignore it?? This pagan "noble savage" nonsense was erased when the Europeans arrived and showed the savages (and, sadly, they were savages) the error of their ways- including, but not limited to, human sacrifice, infanticide and murder of unwanted wives. In fact, Leftist historians love to mention killings that Spanish explorers committed against "poor natives". What the historians fail to mention is those Spanish came upon a grotesque and sadistic blood lust involving children and animals, performing unspeakable acts. I believe there is some indigenous art depicting these horrid acts in South and Central American exhibits.
If these participants in this type of "worship" choose to forget everything that goes along with pagan worship, they may as well choose to forget their Creator, and all of the wonderful technology and modern inventions that went along with Christian Western civilization as well. And, this sort of pagan garbage will continue unless we stand up and "resist them to the face". It is we who are to blame, for its persistence.
We have to pray hard for Pope Francis. May the Holy Spirit enlighten his mind and heart.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone remember the prophecy given that Pope Francis will later realize his mistakes, but then it will be too late?!
Let us include our beloved Pope Francis in our everyday prayers, starting with the morning prayers.
MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON US ALL.