THE POPE''S COMMENTS ABOUT BEING SAVED THROUGH OTHER RELIGIONS

 

Pope Francis in a crowd

Photographer: Clemens Van Lay

Royalty free photo on Unsplash

In our fractious times in which certain groups of people seem to enjoy reacting with outrage and telling everyone else about it, our poor Papa is being criticized for his poor wordsmanship once again.

This time it is because he said that "all religions are paths to God," during a trip to East Asia and Oceania.

Apparently, he went on to say, "they are like different languages that express the Divine," and the outrage gang promptly lost their minds.

Mostly, I think that our Pope tries to paraphrase the Catechism, and it gets lost in the translation. It seems to me that he appears to be trying to express a nuanced, complex thought in more simple language.

Author Tom Hoopes points out something similar in his September 19th article, Did Pope Francis Just Say That all Religions are Equally True? in a Media & Culture Newsletter of Benedictine College in Atkinson, KS,  and his recent book What Pope Francis Really Said. [See: ARTICLE LINK]

If you read the short article, he talks about the process he uses to analyze the Pope's comments. He deconstructs the comment, and figures it out, but especially with the latest comment, it is clear that our Pope is not deviating from the Catechism:

"Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation."

This topic immediately brings to mind my own conversion from Hinduism to Catholicism.

I am today a committed Catholic BECAUSE of a Hindu group that introduced me to the Catholic mystics. I was a nun, living very comfortably in a Hindu-based convent, where I was led to read extensively about the Catholic contemplative saints, such as Teresa of Avilla, Jane de Chantal, Francis de Sales, Brother Lawrence, Thomas Merton, and others. I had a massive conversion experience and left the convent to get Baptized and become Catholic.  It was VERY difficult for me to leave that place because I LOVED the life. I was very comfortable there. Although it was a group monastic experience, we all had a certain amount of private time to ourselves and, for me, the balance was just right, especially because of the 4 to 5 hours a day that was available for meditation, which I loved.

Through that Hindu-based group, and especially through Swami Swahananda, I was also able to attend a small meeting between Pope John Paul II and religious leaders from other religions in 1987, in which my Hindu teacher, the Pope, a Zen monk and a Jewish rabbi all delivered remarks about ecumenism and related topics. I had been invited to the meeting by my Hindu Swami, since he was one of the speakers on the dais, even though I had left the Hindu convent. He knew I was leaving to become Catholic.

I was GOBSMACKED by the suffering evidenced so exquisitely by the obviously saintly pope, who appeared to be a walking sacrifice to the Lord. God definitely introduced me to some of the finer points of the mystical life and the magnitude of the Catholic mysteries through that Hindu faith and my Bengali teacher.

Another interesting feature of this situation is that, when this group set up the convent rules and routines, they copied the Catholic convents, using them as their model for the new Hindu convent, which was established sometime around 1950, in Hollywood, I believe.

Based on my experiences, my personal view on this topic is that our great Lord is elegant in his expressions of allurements to Him. It makes perfect sense to me that He can and DOES use the vehicle of other religions to carry some of His truth. After all, is there any place in which God is not allowed to reside? Indeed, can one keep Him away?

He has certainly spoken to me through other religions. I left my religion-hating home when I was 17 and immediately began my spiritual search, going first into Scientology, then Nicheren Shoshu and Zen Buddhism, then Vedanta style Hinduism, and now, for many years, Catholicism. I have read about other religions, such as Tibetan Buddhism, without setting foot on those paths, as well.

Sometimes the Lord has "spoken" to me by discouraging me from avenues that were clearly going in the opposite direction of where He intended me to go. But sometimes He makes me work very hard for something, just to impress upon my mind how very much it means to me. For example, my road into the Catholic Church was EXTREMELY difficult because there is a tendency among some members to treat it as if it is an exclusive country club meant only for "cradle Catholics" of a certain background.

It is easy for me to believe that, for those people whose desire for the True Lord is sincere, He takes them from where they are and leads them. I do not see why those people who yearn for God would be ignored by our Blessed Lord. Surely, He loves us too much for anyone to be lost simply because they took the wrong train to their desired destination (their "desired destination" being the One True God.)

After being raised by religion-hating, immoral and unloving people, it would have been easy for me to have been tripped up by any one of a number of religions I studied or practiced. 

The outrage police would be astonished at how many similarities in thought and spiritual practice many religions share among them. Truth is, indeed, "seeded" throughout.  

So, I do hope that our dear Pope's detractors will soon find some peace of soul within themselves and stop this constant fault-finding.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose

THE CULT OF SPIRITUAL PERSONALITY - June 22, 2022

 

Lady of the Stars

by

Silver S. Parnell

(c) Copyright 1997

All rights reserved.

This topic is far-reaching and has affected my life dramatically, so this post is a bit of a ramble, and I hope you'll forgive me for that, but this IS a diary and there are days when the events of the day intersect with my chronic illnesses and the mental processes and developments that occur, on occasion, with someone given over to a great deal of mental prayer.

Not Seen but Felt

There is an unseen reality of the spiritual universe that we sense is there, even when no one has told us specifically that there is such a thing. The physical world and its goings on sometimes hint at it but my experience is that some people correctly perceive the yearning to dive into it as a yearning for God and others are more confused. They try to find God in the emoluments of the world, and this is why we are warned constantly, in all the religious traditions, really, not to look for the Divine in the transitory things and doings of the world, but to "dive deep."

I sometimes find that people whose business it is to advance the spiritual objectives of humans and who ought to be examples of holiness have personalities and habits that point in another direction. This week I've run into a few of these folks, and I'll explain later, but first I offer today's Gospel reading, which just happens to give Jesus's point of view about this topic:

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing,

but underneath are ravenous wolves.

By their fruits you will know them.

do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,

and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,

nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit,

nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down

and thrown into the fire.

So by their fruits you will know them."

~Matthew 7:15-20~

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit

Even Children with no exposure to religion, have a sensitivity to these fruits of the Holy Spirit. Goodness is obvious to their innocent souls. In fact, children often experience this world of the spirit very profoundly, and that is why we sometimes marvel at the suddenly wise things they will say, on occasion, between doing stupid things that will get them killed, of course. Even in households completely devoid of spiritual or religious thought, such as the one in which I lived, their pure hearts will be tuned in the movement of the Divine that they sense underneath everything else. They don't have the language for it, of course, but the experience is there. I remember the lovely experience of just being that comes upon us when we are quieted in nature. Eventually we are given to understand that it is God.

The Scientology Cult of L. Ron Hubbard

I seem to have been born interested in God, but I was raised by abusive people who hated religion, so of course the first thing I did when I left home was to fall into the first religion I encountered, which was the cult of Scientology. I ended up doing a "special mission" for the founder L. Ron Hubbard on the Scientology "Sea Org" flag ship that traveled between Spain and Portugal, with regular stops at the Canary Islands and  Portugal's island of Madeira.

My strongest memory of Hubbard was that he had a bevy of nubile, young "messengers" who hung on his every word and waited on him meticulously. In addition to running messages from one end of the twin-screw motor yacht to the other, they did all kinds of personal errands for him and were ready at hand when he needed his tobacco lit. 

The thing that alarmed me was that the young teen's uniforms were extremely tight, with derriere and décolletage nearly bursting out. It didn't seem appropriate because it pointed away from the divine and to the world of biology and crass material instead. After getting to the "heart" of that group and finding that its emperor wore no clothes, I remember thinking, "well, this isn't it!" It took me a another six months to escape THAT group. First, I had to get off the ship!

View from El Dorado Hills

California, 1995

(c) Silver S. Parnell

All rights reserved.

Cults and Sexual Perversions

I also got a chance to watch friends and acquaintances make some unusual choices over the years. When I was in my early 20's, I worked for an attorney from an office on his property. He and his family were marginally involved with an old Indian man whom everyone called "Father" who had 7 young American "wives" that he had conned into buying his  self-serving, sexually perverted version of "Hinduism." It was a tiny little cult and it was weird. I happened to see that old man lay a big French kiss on one of his young "wives" and it revolted me. I remembered thinking, "I've gotta get OUT of here." Shortly thereafter, my boss died in a bizarre auto accident, and I moved on.

All Religions Subject to Clericalism

Something that all religions had in common, no matter the degree of legitimacy or cultishness, was the tendency for the devotees to practically worship every authority figure.  This was regardless of whether or not the spiritual celebrity warranted it, i.e., whether or not he or she actually followed the precepts of the faith and met general expectations for being a good human.  This sort of thing happens in every organized religion.

I have seen a certain degree of it recently in the Catholic Church, though "clericalism" has, admittedly, become a little less prevalent than it was before the pedophilia scandals.

Swami Swahananda

Hollywood Temple 1980's

(c) copyright Silver S. Parnell

All rights reserved

Meeting a Legitimate Saint

When one has known a person of legitimate spiritual bona fides, it is easier, later on, to identify the wolves in sheep's clothing when you meet them. On my spiritual journey, I have gotten to know people whose spiritual character was a wonderful example to others and who more than deserved the devotion that many of us had for them. One such person was Swami Swahananda. He seemed always to be absorbed in the Divine. Even when he was telling a joke, I would see him drop back into it quickly. By "it" I mean that vast unseen reality that I had been aware of since I was a kid. He would tell his silly joke and enjoy the laughter, and you could see it in his eyes, that he "returned to zero." He was wonderful to be with because he never tried to drag me into conversations of things that did not matter, such as what the other women would often do. While the nuns were absorbed in whether or not I would lose weight before entering the convent, for instance, he could not care less.

Nothing in the perceptible world missed his notice, of course. He wasn't blind. It's just that he was so established in the enduring reality of the unseen spirit that he wasn't going to waste his time dealing with things that were transitory. How much my body weighed was not on his list of stuff that matters because my body was the least interesting thing about me. He saw my nature, and I saw his, and we had a wonderful friendship. Every once in a while he would imitate the pinched face of one of the nuns as she delivered her scathing criticisms of me, and we would both be overcome with the giggles, despite the fact that I was being positively roasted by the good lady nun. It drove them mad that I did not take their criticisms of me in a serious vein.

Swami at the beach, Kali Puja Immersion day

Ignoring his spiritual stature and only watching the way a close handful of people clung to him, a jealous woman used to speak disparagingly about the swami. She represents the other side of the coin of the cult of personality because she ALSO judged him on the basis of something other than his character, but in her case, she disparaged him, whereas most people obsessed with personality instead of principles almost deify their leaders, while ignoring their wretched moral and ethical behavior at the same time.  Same coin. Two sides.

"An honest witness does not deceive,

but a false witness pours out lies."

Proverbs 14:5

Every religious tradition I am aware of has a prohibition against lying, except perhaps the Scientologists. I seem to remember some written policy that says that if a lie is going to protect the survival of Scientology, it is OK to tell it. I don't believe in that idea for the preservation of any religion, but I also do not consider Scientology a religion because, while I was in it, they were talking about how ludicrous it was to suddenly start talking about God but that they had to do it in order to get a tax-free status. "God" played an extremely minor part in their philosophical discussions. The existence of God was acknowledged but I never heard a discussion of Him. He was in the background somewhere, I suppose.

One's moral and ethical behavior, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are the calling cards of the soul. They tell you everything you need to know about a person. Swami Swahananda's ethical and moral life was beyond reproach. I have almost no criticisms of him, and none of the ones I DO have are important.

It is sad, really, that the beauty of the Lord is right here for the taking, and people waste their time on externals and petty egotistical squabbles. Jesus said that the kingdom of Heaven is among us, and I think that he was trying to get our minds off the gross stuff of the physical world and establish us in the spiritual world with HIM because Heaven is among us when HE is among us. He is among us when we incline our minds in his direction. It is very simple, really.

Balancing Body and Soul

It's a balancing act between body and soul. Humans have too much attention on the gross and not enough on the subtle planes.  We ARE body and soul, but a lot of people behave as if the only thing that matters is the physical plane.

The physical world has to be dealt with, of course. I think it is in this physical universe that we are meant to demonstrate the spiritual lessons, and it is important for that reason. If the world was completely unnecessary, God could have simply made us and kept us in heaven with himself. We are made to learn something in this world, but we are not meant to think of it as the be-all and end-all of existence. We are here for some time, doing what we do, and then we return to Him if we don't ruin ourselves here. 

By the way, all of this, the way I have expressed it and my perceptions about it are my own and do not represent any official religious interpretation of scriptures, theology or anything established by any church. I am only describing what I have experienced but I am not setting myself up as an authority for anyone else.

Meditation is Common Among Many Religions

While I have studied and experienced many religions, I was lucky to have stumbled across Vedantic Hinduism because everything was different after that. The meditation practice is really wonderful, and I was lucky to have had a relationship with someone established in the spiritual reality who deserved to be lionized a bit.  I feel grateful to have been his student and to have taken Sannyas (monastic) vows at his feet (many years after leaving the group.) After learning from him, it became easy for me thereafter to make an assessment of other spiritual personalities and people in general.

Twelve Bad Marriages at Once

I first heard about contemplative monastic life when I was 11 and, in a real fluke, started corresponding with a convent of Catholic Carmelite sisters. My mother had an absolute fit and objected, and that was the end of THAT. I stuffed my desire for monastic life until much later, when I discovered Vedanta and really fell in love with Vedantic meditation. 

A perverse person stirs up conflict, and

a gossip separates close friends.

~Proverbs 16:28~

It wasn't long before my monastic inclinations rose up again, and I found myself in the convent, after a grueling period of hazing by the nuns. I just could not understand their antipathy. If only there were spiritual personalities like Swami Swahananda in the convent, I might have stayed forever, but those nuns tormented me with a constant stream of petty criticism, gossip and superficial nonsense. I hadn't a moments peace.  It was like 12 bad marriages at once, and it shocked me because I expected at least a minimum of the divine attributes. I was not expecting it to be like returning to high school. It was mind boggling. No matter how hard I tried, they continued to torment me.

An example of someone's behavior being the opposite of what one would expect of a holy person:

I hurt my back working for them, and one of the nuns marched down to the swami to inform him that I was "faking." It was a lie, of course, but I cannot honestly tell you what this was all about. Why did she do that? Why did she even think such a thing? Why, after decades in a convent, does a senior staff member make something up out of whole cloth, and why, for the love of God, did she not have a speck of love or compassion in her for someone who was suffering? I was in a LOT of pain and had to be in a wheelchair half the time. 

Today, I am fully disabled, with chronic pain and debilitating arthritis. A lot of what I suffer is due to the hard work I did in that convent and the arthritis that began during that time. Clearly, I wasn't "faking" it, as the X-Rays tell the whole story.

Lies and gossip are signs of suspect motives for joining a religious group:

One funny story:  Apparently, they were telling all the devotees that I was eating all the chocolate in the pantry, and then the snootiest nun went on vacation and the chocolate just sat there. I had NO idea any of this was going on because I don't like chocolate very much and will only eat it if I am having a very strong urge for something sweet and my choice is either nothing or chocolate. They never spoke to me about any of this and I had been told I wasn't allowed to speak to the devotees, so none of them told me that the nuns were spreading rumors about me.  All I knew was that there was this roiling underlying tension and energy all the time which literally made me ill.

Lies and Gossip Follow Their Target for Years

When I left the convent, I was very lonely. I had spent years living with people who behaved with hatred toward me, so I soon thereafter started dating one of the local men, and, before I knew it the nuns were saying that I had been secretly dating this man while I still living in the convent! A complete lie. I am not capable of this, nor have I done anything similar to it at any time in my life. Whoever started the rumor knew it was a lie. They knew that it was something they had invented. Lies are just the worst.

I often tell folks that THIS habit of women toward jealousy, gossip and lies is why men are in charge of the world.

Being Alone With God is Sometimes The Only Route to Take

Hearing about those lies, years later, was validation for my having left the convent. When you go to place so that you can get closer to God, and all the people living with you are immersed in lies and ill-will, it becomes impossible to do the very thing you came there for to begin with. Living now as a hermit, I have much more spiritual companionship than when I lived in that place, surrounded by supposedly holy women - or at least women who had presented some sort of good intention when they arrived.

After leaving the convent, one of them admitted to me that they had all been afraid that I would "rule the convent from the bottom" because I was close to the Swami. They hounded me out of the convent due to that jealousy and fear but none of it had anything to do with me. It is a terrible shame because I loved convent life, but after 20 years as a hermit, I recognize now that the solitary path is probably my destiny, if not what I wanted for myself.

Many of these circumstances led to my going to the Catholics. I thought SURELY Catholic organizations are better ordered. But now I am not so sure. I think perhaps people are the same everywhere and that the saints are just those people who actually follow the religion.

All these experiences taught me a LOT about human beings in religious institutions. So YOU get to benefit from my distressing experiences. I bring a lot to the table in this regard.

Swami Swahananda

making a point during class

(c) Silver S. Parnell

All rights reserved

Motives for Joining an institution or profession Vary

Something that happens in spiritual life and in politics is that callow individuals seeking the status of celebrity and the power that comes along with it, will pursue advancement in convents, monasteries and other institutions and they use the credibility of those institutions to paint themselves in a more respectable light than what they would typically earn on their own. The problem with this is that these people damage the reputations of those institutions that they use in this way. 

We have examples of this in many fields. For instance, in politics, we have a cynical con man in Donald Trump, who has destroyed the reputation of the Republican party. In the spiritual field, the first thing that comes to mind are the many pedophiles that have used the Catholic Church as "cover" for their vile activities.  People have been known to murder for profit, and then hide behind religious robes, a police uniform, or a political position.

The many saints that I write about in this blog have our respect because of their spiritual character. They are reliable witnesses to the faith in what they do and say. Wearing a costume or having a title is irrelevant. They are called "Saint" because of what they do and say and not because they wear a religious garb.

Farmland in Placerville, CA

(c) 1995, Silver S. Parnell

All rights reserved.

Choosing to be Intentional When Choosing One's Associates

We live in an era in which wolves in sheep's clothing have multiplied dangerously. We have to watch people very carefully and do not give them our allegiance or lend them even our attention until we have ascertained that their character warrants it. Are they truthful? Are they kind? Do they follow the commandments of their faith? We need to be more deliberate and intentional when allowing people into our lives, hearts and minds.

Obviously, I am not saying that perfection is required but with respect to LIES, in particular, there is no way to accidentally "lie" because when you invent a lie, you know that you have done this deliberate thing (unless you are insane, which is a different problem!) When a person lies, they are choosing to do evil. I think this is why it is said in the Bible that Satan is the father of all lies.

Perhaps this is why lies bother me so much. The person knows it is not true, but they say it anyway.

Generally speaking, the person's actions should typically tend toward the attributes described as the "fruits of the Holy Spirit" in St. Paul's letter to the Galations, which are: 

Love, 

Joy, 

Peace, 

Patience, 

Kindness, 

Generosity, 

Faithfulness, 

Gentleness, 

and Self-Control.

These fruits of the Holy Spirt are shared, in other forms, with the philosophies of Buddhist and Hindu faiths, as well as others. 

There is a nice article about these at the following link:

FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

It occurs to me as I write this that it would not be a bad idea for me to list these 9 fruits and post them somewhere prominently to remind me, in my daily self-examination, to compare my behavior and thoughts to this list. Taking this list in hand and comparing the actions of supposed leaders and "holy" people is a pretty good idea also.

Another thing to watch are those infernal memes on Facebook and elsewhere. Don't absorb these obnoxious, simplistic maxims unthinkingly. Many times, the person to whom a quote is attributed has not had those words come out of their mouth or their pen. Sometimes, the quote makes no sense outside of the larger document to which it belongs. Most of the time, these pat little memes get their energy from some type of criticism of others that is toxic. Many times, the memes appeal to an underdeveloped ego that looks to make itself feel superior to other humans, and if we take these ideas on board, it will be deadly to our spiritual development.

A few days ago, I read a long quote from a supposed homily of Pope Francis that a nun living in a convent had published to the internet, with her own enthusiastic recommendation for the supposed wisdom of the words. Immediately, I could tell that it was a fake. It spoke in a way that was not our Pope's manner of speech, and the underlying ideas were "New Age" in some spots and Calvinistic in others. A quick Google search proved my suspicions were accurate It was an heretical post. Memes like this are spiritual poison for the soul.

Pope Francis recently meeting with Buddhists

I attached a link to the post of a journalistic article about this spurious "homily" and sent a private message to the sister, asking her to please remove the post because it was fake. What she did instead was to immediately remove me from her "friend list" without a word in response. I was unable to communicate further with her. I suspect that a religious who behaves this way has perhaps chosen her vocation for the wrong reason.  Who knows? In any case, her behavior was wholly inappropriate.

It used to surprise me when people behaved in this way. If I was told I had published a fake quote to the internet, I would have THANKED the person and removed the post. I would be grateful to have the truth.  But for some people, the truth is not something in which they have much interest. Other things, like their ego needs, are more important to them.

You find this sometimes with people who start groups online as well. They use the groups to satisfy ego needs that have not been met. Today I joined a group modeled after Bede Griffith's ashram-style Catholic institutions. Bede wrote  some WONDERFUL books, and I felt a great kinship with him when I left the Hindu convent to become Catholic, but the one comment I made on a meme in today's Facebook group was met with such rudeness and snotty arrogance that I immediately left the group. (It wasn't Bede Griffiths that did this. He died years ago. It is some man with whom I have no experience except his rude response to a comment I'd given considerable thought. .) I wanted so much to talk with people of like minds, but everywhere is pretense and posing instead of authentic spiritual interest.

Fr. Bede Griffiths, a Catholic Sadhu

I took the same type of vows and wear the

same color, when it is available.

Bede Griffiths books are just wonderful. He is a very deep thinker, and anyone interested in contemplative life will find him interesting, I believe. On the following link, there is a clip of a lecture of his:

Fr. Bede Griffiths

With regard to fake memes on Facebook: 

Many years ago, a former friend with monastic aspirations posted an even more noxious meme that ALSO had a picture to accompany the fake story. The picture was of some other person and not the "pastor posing as a homeless person outside his church" that the fake "true story" claimed. The meme targeted Christianity and made the point that Christians are hypocrites. While some Christians ARE hypocrites, I am sure, it is not right to negatively paint the entire faith with a lie.

Here is an article about the fake meme that she used:

PASTOR JEREMIAH STEEPEK HOAX

This is the photo from the fake meme. It is

supposedly "Jeremiah Steepek" but is

actually a photo of an English homeless man

When I approached that former friend about the lie she was perpetrating, she became extremely hostile, called me names, made up stories about me and my supposed motives, and was generally vile. It does not matter how polite, how correct, how loving the method by which you approach these kind of people because approaching them about their dishonesty enrages them. At least, that has been my experience - and the reaction is particularly strong if the person has some kind of monastic aspiration or has a yearning for another type of celebrity.

While we have to watch these people carefully, and avoid internalizing whatever dishonesty they are peddling, I wouldn't walk through life with suspicion. That would be exhausting and of little or no benefit. I would just say to continue to behave with respect and deference toward ALL humans but to just be very careful about what ideas you take on board. Guard your soul from trojan horses filled with toxic dogma.

I have witnessed circumstances in which philosophical concepts that are allowed to sink into our soul without challenge or examination can wreak havoc down the line. A LOT of people believe fervently in a few popular "New Age" theories that directly contradict the Catholic faith, for instance, and they are unaware of it. I am not saying you cannot have an independent thought. I am suggesting that you ought to KNOW that it is an independent thought!

As far as the spurious memes that are endemic on Facebook, you may decide to do what I have decided to do, and that is to curtail my Facebook activity. I'm not joining any more groups, because you never know who is sitting at their computer creating these "Catholic" groups without having any bona fides to back up their "leadership." And I am going to resist the urge to make comments on other people's posts, unless it's about animals or art. I can't go too far wrong there.

The final comment on which I want to end is to turn around all the negative experiences and reframe them in the positive which will be obvious, but I feel that I am not doing my job if I am not pointing toward the Divine, rather than the absence of the Divine - because that is EXACTLY how I have learned to cope with all the negative experiences I have had around this topic, with people who should have loved me but worked to make me miserable instead.  

Here is what I want to say: even if there is no one in your arena who exhibits the fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is perfectly fine because we ourselves can turn this around and do my favorite thing, and that is "incline the mind to God!"

We can get going with our mental prayer and turn this into a 9-day novena and meditate on one fruit of the Holy Spirit each day. Isn't that a good idea? By meditating on the fruits of the Holy Spirit, it will help each of us develop those characteristics within ourselves, and we can radiate it out to the universe. 

As usual, all situations devolve into a call to become better ourselves, and I hope you join me in the effort. Let me know how this works for you, if you decide to try it, won't you?

May God bless us all!

Silver Rose

PRAY FOR THE LIARS

Wanted:

"The one whose walk is blameless,

who does what is righteous,

who speaks the truth

from their heart;

whose tongue utters no slander,

who does no wrong to a neighbor,

and casts no slur on others.

Psalm 15:2-3

It disturbs me to see what seems to be an increase in the willingness of people to lie in order to further their own ends. We see this happening in Washington with that governmental circus of professional prevaricators who have honed blatant dishonesty to the level of high art and use bald faced lies to cement control and wield power, but, to be fair, I find deception to be heavily represented throughout society in day-to-day life, even among people whose professions lead one to expect much different and better.

My original draft of this blog post had three paragraphs of stories about several different liars in my orbit and how they lied to, about, or near me over the years and this week, but I realized that this problem is so common that I needn't provide those stories. I am quite sure that you all have enough of your own tales of the mendacious.

I have watched all sorts of people lie over the years and I find myself having a spine-chilling visceral reaction to it. I can almost feel Satan brushing up against me. It is an ominous and unnerving sensation.

Most "modern" people do not believe in Satan, but I usually tell them not to worry about it because Satan believes in them.  HE will keep the relationship going. I say this to them in a joking way. No one wants to be such a downer as to bring up hellfire and damnation in polite conversation!

But even I don't necessarily believe in the personification of evil that is the personality of a being named Satan. For me, "Satan" is shorthand for primal evil and its movement in our lives. And, while it is common for people to opine about whether or not God will assign them to Hell when we die, it is my understanding that it is with our own behavior that we demonstrate that resting place in which we are most comfortable and most familiar.

We walk around in our own personal acre of heaven or hell and carry it around with us as we move through life. If we establish our mind in the Heavenly place, Heaven is most real for us. The Kingdom of Heaven is among us!

The condition of our mind is determined by where we place our attention. It is as simple as that. Concentrate on Heaven, and Heaven is most real for us  But please don't assume that, because I KNOW this, that I have a "lock" on the process. No. Not at all. I struggle like everyone else....and perhaps MORE than everyone else, due to the PTSD that assaults me daily. It takes work to continually redirect the mind to the feet of the Lord when it has become distracted.

Our prayers and meditations have a dual purpose: first, to establish ourselves in the Divine, and second to intercede for others who have wandered away into lies and other obstructions that stand in the way of their vision of God.

"Self realization" isn't enough. We need to include all beings in a unitary vision.

Jesus admonishes us to pray for our enemies. Satan is the biggest enemy of all, and all lies originate with him. He is the father of all lies, and we need to fight him by fighting dishonesty because dishonesty is his calling card, and when it appears, HE is lurking nearby.

This is exactly why a good percentage of us are somewhat exercised by current affairs. The presence of Satan upsets people who are possessed of refined sensibilities. We are like the canaries in the coal mine. When you see a bunch of us flapping our wings and chirping dispiritedly, then falling over in a dead faint, it is a cue to get out of the mine. Get out of whatever societal situation in which we are mired and seek out the fresh air and sunshine. Meditation and prayer are the fresh air and sunshine for the soul.

Our current situation has encouraged me to double down on my meditation and prayers and I encourage you to do the same. Think of this: all the blog posts on Facebook, the newspapers, the magazine, the videos that bring each falsehood to light are fine vehicles of information, but are unable, by themselves, to stem the tide of the very real damage that is caused by malicious disinformation.

As people of faith, we have to do this. The fetid material being belched into the environment from the professional liars has to be counteracted on the spiritual plane, as well as the material, and we must hold fast to our compassionate prayer for those who are seduced by the continual stream of disparagement, calumny and toxic fabrication in which we are awash.

But, even if you are on the other side of things, and you believe every word from the current rulers, you surely must also follow my advice since the Lord will only cooperate with good and would not do evil just because a bunch of people ASKED him to! You know He couldn't do that.

Our mutual faith in Him draws us together. Across the divide, we may hold hands in the common belief that God brings all things to the good and that the words of Jesus, to love our enemies and pray for them, can only bring good. To unite with one another and place ourselves at the feet of the Lord who is Truth personified, and to beg for Truth to prevail, can only result in Truth!
                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Please join me in my prayers for Truth and Justice. Whatever is True and Just will be strengthened thereby. Whoever is True and Just will be strengthened. We do not need to name them or decide who they are, in advance (although we all probably believe that we know the "who" of things!)

I send love to you all and ask you to join me under the common sheltering roof of the absolute.

Silver Parnell
Sannyasini Kaliprana

P.S. I also remind you that my Paypal button still works, just in case you'd like to help me purchase some eyeglasses or dental work, neither one of which are paid for by Medicare!

GOD IS TRUTH

"The Devil was a murderer from the beginning,

not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in

him. When he lies, he speaks his native language,

for he is a liar and the father of lies."

~ John 8:44 ~

Christians with even the slightest Christian education know that lying is a terrible sin and that God is Truth in the ultimate sense. In the Ten Commandments, there is the admonishment not to give "false witness," there is the story of Annanias and Saphira, who were struck dead on the spot for lying to the Apostles, and most directly in the quote I have provided from John 8, we are told that Satan is the father of all lies. While the Lord is all truth, all goodness, all light, Satan is the opposite, and where you find a plethora of lies is exactly where you have found Satan, because Satan is the original author of every lie that is ever told.

The liar and those who repeat lies will have to answer for it on judgment day. Every lie that is told and willfully repeated without any effort to determine the authenticity of it is an occasion on which the "Christian" has said "yes" to Satan, the father of all lies, and "no" to God, thereby violating their baptismal covenant with Jesus, and establishing themselves as a servant of the dark one.

I realize the language sounds a bit archaic, but matters of heaven and hell often do.

Satan whispers into the ear of Jesus

We have a president who has told the American public more than 10,000 lies since coming into office. These lies are proven. These lies are not even hidden. There are copious videos that prove his lies.

There are also countless articles listing, demonstrating, and linking to proof that Trump is continually lying. His lying is EASILY proven. He constantly misrepresents himself and others, yet some self-described Christians repeat his lies. All they would have to do is watch the videos, read the articles and, most especially, read the Mueller Report if they want to learn about the most egregious lies and how they figure into his multiple crimes.

I am not telling you for whom you should vote. Voting is a political calculation. For instance, I have some friends for whom making abortion illegal is all they care about. They'd put their money on a barn-sour nag if they thought it would make abortion go away. Many of them will say, "all politicians lie," ignoring the fact that no one lies to the massive degree that Trump does. He is a world class, bald faced, unrepentant liar. In fact, he is the most prolific liar EVER.

You vote for who you vote for - but you don't have to repeat and perpetuate lies. That's what I'm talking about: THE LIES.

Instead of being a tool in the hand of Satan, check your statements with nonpartisan, reliable arbiters of fact. In the public sphere, that would be

FACT CHECK

SNOPES

POLITIFACT

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

There is no excuse to remain ignorant of the Truth, particularly if you are repeating the lies that are being employed to advance a political agenda.

I have a feeling that some Christians are repeating the lies and hatred of Trump and his cronies because they think that they have to do that in order to be considered a supporter of his and thereby a supporter of the hobby horse that made them vote for him to begin with.

Though the cognitive dissonance of supporting your hobby horse on the one hand and decrying the lies and dishonesty on the other may drive you mad, welcome to the club. I support the social justice platform of the democrats but I dislike the amoral engineering, such as when they talk about abortion being "health care" or act like it is some kind of positive good, which I find bizarre.

Neither party is suited to a Christian worldview, and that's just a fact. We are all trying to do the best we can to vote for what appears to be the least injurious platform, in a holistic sense, without losing our souls in the process.

Support what you find that is good but don't perpetuate the lies. Don't take on the sins of Trump and his minions or you will suffer for them personally.

Silver Rose

Satan is the Father of all Lies

I never used to be very interested in politics, but since the alt. right is promoting the lie that Trump is Christian and that his policies are Christian, I feel I have to jump in, now and then, and defend the faith. Trumpian values are the opposite of Biblical values.

I know it must be very satisfying for religious folk to imagine that our country is finally being run by a God Fearing, Bible believing Christian instead of those Godless commie liberals, but it is all a sham. Donald Trump claims to be Christian, but the church to which he says he belongs has never seen him in the five short years he has claimed membership with them. It looks very much as if Trump joined the Christian club in a cynical effort to coerce religious people to vote for him.

Why aren't Christian Trump supporters more invested in Truth? Most of them seem to just believe whatever Trump, Fox News commentators, and various "religious" outlets say about him, and the messaging is cohesive from all those sources. (Sometimes, Trump lies about things he himself has said on video previously and which can be verified, and STILL his supporters refuse to acknowledge the lie. It drives me nuts.)

Meanwhile, legitimate journalists provide reams of proof, in video and in writing, consistently presenting the actual facts, but Trumpists don't typically read anything that doesn't have a positive slant on Trump. (Personally, I read everything and then fact check all of it.)

Most concerning at the present time is Trump's insistence on bleating out fantasies that contradict everything our intelligence agencies are saying, and then criticizing those agencies in his infernal tweets, in a blatant effort to get his base to avoid any information that will reveal the truth.

As time goes on, and Trump's enemies list grows, his slanderous statements find targets in all the agencies upon which Americans have, until now, depended for the administration of justice. His vulgar taunts are leveled at judges, senators and even the wives and children of people he hates.

If I were to list all the dangerous, repulsive, treasonous, NON-Christian activities and statements that Trump is making on a daily basis, I would have to write a book, rather than a blog. All I can do is plead with people to please, for God's sake, PLEASE, do some actual research, and stop mouthing the slogans and fake stories invented by the Alt Right for the purpose of inflaming its base. Don't be a tool in the hands of anyone else.

With regard to researching factual matters, the most important thing to do is evaluate one's sources. Opinion is not news. This blog is not news. Why? "News" is the presentation of facts. Who, what, when and where are factual. "Why" is not factual. It is commentary. While some commentary is often necessary to put facts into context, the "why" of a thing must not be presented as factual without specific proof of causality. Proving causality is no simple matter.

One of the classical fallacies of logic (which, apparently, is not widely taught in American schools) is "post hoc ergo propter hoc." The translation is something like "before, therefore because of." The meaning is this: Just because something happened just prior to another thing does not mean that the first thing caused the second. In its more ridiculous form, it would appear thus: "I ate a banana for the first time this morning, and this afternoon I had my first auto accident, therefore bananas cause auto accidents."

Everyone's opinion should be based in fact and truth. If it is based on anything else, you are standing on shifting sand, and anyone interested in the Truth is not going to give you any credibility at all.

Things to keep in mind:

1. Anecdotal stories are not proof of larger statistical issues. If you knew one disabled person that you suspected of cheating the government, that does not mean that a lot of people cheat the government. If you read a story about an "illegal alien" committing a crime, it doesn't mean that illegal aliens commit crimes to a greater degree than American citizens. As a matter of fact, it has been proven, over and over again, that undocumented folks commit appreciably fewer crimes than citizens! (Don't believe me. Check it!)

2. "News" programs produced by religious or philosophical or political groups are biased in nature, do not adhere to accepted journalistic standards, have no oversight and are explicitly partisan. Watch them all you want, but think of them as entertainment rather than purveyors of fact. They should be honest, but frequently aren't, skewing the "news" to suit philosophical wishful thinking. EWTN, CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network), Church Militant, Lifesite News, The Heritage Foundation, and other organizations that exist to support and promote a particular point of view are included in this category of biased programming and writing.

If you are really concerned about "fake news" - stick to the actual news, rather than a political, religious or philosophical organization.

Just because a television program expresses opinions that reflect your own does not mean that those opinions are  based in fact. You're just listening to yourself talk.

3. News outlets that hold to traditional journalistic standards are generally the most reliable. Usually, these outlets require that facts have more than one corroborating witness. This isn't to say they are perfect. Nothing is perfect, and mistakes are made by everyone, but generally speaking, these outlets are reliable, since they specifically intend to present the truth, as opposed to outlets that intend to present a philosophy. The Atlantic Magazine, CNN, The New York Times, and other reputable journalistic endeavors that I will list below, can usually be relied upon to tell the truth. To be clear, I am talking about the facts they present. I am not saying that commentary needs to be believed, except insofar as that commentary is built on truth.

Identify the relevant facts in every article, analyze the source(s) and fact check the claims on Politifact, Snopes.com, or Factcheck.org. Reuters is also a great source. For the longest time, news agencies got their news, initially, from Reuters. Reuters does not do "commentary."

4. Compare journalistic outlets to one another to assess the truth. I include Fox News in my collection of news sources, but I often find that its "news" disagrees with all the other outlets, and I dismiss them as a result. Here is why: It is irresponsible and illogical to think that hundreds of thousands of people involved in all the other news outlets are somehow in cahoots to tell lies and present a false narrative. The philosophy behind "Akim's razor" holds true here. The simplest explanation is usually the "right" one.

Another way of looking at this is with the saying that "when you hear hoof beats, think horses, not zebras. Conspiracy theories are fascinating zebras and are titillating to imagine might be true, but rarely rarely are.

5. The further away from primary sources, the less reliable the information. If I read an article in some tiny little "newspaper" or blog that has an "anonymous" source, but that anonymous source is not pinpointed as a member of a group that has first-hand information, I ignore it. For example, if an article references a source "that works in the Justice Department," I will give it more credibility than a source that is just "anonymous."

6. Fact check your sources. If you read an article that seems a bit too inflammatory, check it with politifact, snopes.com, factcheck.org and/or Reuters to make sure that the writer is not just trying to get more internet 'clicks.'

Here is a list of news purveyors I read or watch daily:

• Network news programs: ABC, NBC, CBS
• The Atlantic Magazine (Published for more than 164 years)
• New York Times
• L. A. Times
• Albuquerque Journal
• Washington Post
• USA Today
• Huffington Post
• The Guardian
• PBS:
• Democracy Now
• BBC World News America
• Amanpour & Company
• PBS News Hour
• New Mexico in Focus
• To the Contrary
• Nightly Business Report
• Washington Week
• Report from Santa Fe
• Firing Line
• The Open Mind
• Focus on Europe
• Rachel Maddow
• Face the Nation
• CNN News
• The New Yorker Magazine
• EWTN
• Fox News
• Keith Olberman
• MSNBC

There are more, but I can't recall them right now. Remember to add:

FACT CHECKING SITES:

• Snopes.com
• Factcheck.org
• Reuters
• Politifact

Don't take my word for anything. Research for yourself. I feel confident that, once everyone is educated on the facts, we will all be closer in opinions than we are currently.

God bless us all

Silver "Rose"

COSMIC POO POO

My living room shrine table

Silver Parnell

copyright (c) 2018

I am politically schizophrenic. I fall on the "progressive" side when it comes to protecting the rights of the vulnerable, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and being kind to the prisoner, but I fall into the "conservative" camp when it comes to abortion, euthanasia, and the strength of the family as the crucial pin upon which all the cogs of society are attached.

I am not at home on either side of the progressive/conservative divide, except in regard to specific policies. My fractured political leanings are informed by my very cohesive and deliberate religious orientation. I try, to the best of my ability, to adhere to the commandments of Jesus. Whatever Jesus said was a positive good is what I vote for. It can be a challenge, as should be obvious.

My friends and associates are every color of the rainbow, but one thing has made itself obvious. Both conservatives and progressives have developed x-ray vision when it comes to the thoughts and motivations of other people. Isn't that remarkable? (Sarcasm.)

I read a conservative post this morning in which a conservative claimed that "the Left" hates the Constitution and basically wants to destroy America. All lefties are commies. Every progressive cause is funded by George Soros.  I don't know who he is, but will someone tell me his email address so I can get my check? Seriously. I want my check. If you know this topic well enough to be so sure that he is funding all the progressives, you'll have his email address.

A conversation by mostly left leaning people, on the other hand, claimed that the motivation of conservatives is that conservatives want to stop abortions, for instance, because they want to control women! It is all about the subjugation of women. Excuse me, but I know that to be crap. Just crap. Of course, there ARE personalities in the world who like to control others, but that's a different topic. 

In my experience, conservatives want to outlaw abortion because they want to save babies from being killed. They are coming from a position of love, though claiming love as a motive while excusing cruel governmental policies at the same time puzzles progressives. It seems hypocritical. I don't know the answer to that one because this is a complex issue.

At any rate, each side believes the other has evil motives and intentions. This is ridiculous and it has to stop.

I DO know of a few sociopaths who would be delighted to destroy the world, or just enough of it to ensure that only they and their servants are left. That does happen. (I have one in the family, and she scares the crap out of me.) It isn't that these type of people don't exist, it's just that their numbers are small, thanks be to God.

Devotion to the truth, alone, should dissuade us from imputing evil motives to half the population of America. My personal experience, with both the left and the right, have convinced me that nearly everyone wants the best for America. We disagree on method and particular vision.

So, how did this happen? It is probably due to political messaging. Politicians energize their base by stoking animus against their opponents. They claim evil motives. They throw some lies in there to excite our fear or loathing about the other candidate, and we fall for it.

If you only talk to or listen to people who already share the same ideas about the methods of best running the country as you do, you're just sitting in an echo chamber. It might feel good to have your views echoed back to you all the time, but it isn't good for you. 

So, what do we do? Well, I suspect that the first thing is that everyone who is attached at the hip to a particular politician or party needs to attach themselves to Truth instead. Truth has gotten a terrible beating over the last few years, and I'm not just talking about all the gibberish that comes spilling out of Donald Trump's mouth. Truth is not always readily evident, and we have to invest some energy in digging it out from all the social noise. Don't just listen to one radio station or one personality or one group of people.

There is something uniquely peculiar in the case of Fox News, for instance. Donald Trump watches hours of television every day, and he reacts with twitter rants as a direct result of whoever is talking on Fox at the moment. Sometimes, he even announces policies in response! Before the shutdown, he had agreed to sign a funding bill that had already passed the House and the Senate, but when someone criticized him for it on Fox, he reneged on his agreement. That's why we have a shutdown.

Meanwhile, many of his supporters ALSO watch only Fox News and they don't read newspapers - so there is this echo chamber of ideas bouncing around inside that little bubble. Fox is not just "biased." It barely qualifies as news. It is telling the president of the United States what to think. It is telling his supporters what to think. Fox News is running the country.

The odd thing is that what happens on Fox is not reflected on the rest of the news outlets. Some conservatives say that all the journalists in those outlets can't be trusted because they are "biased" and therefore not truthful. Upon examination, it is obvious that this CAN'T be true. You're talking about millions of people having to be "in on" the conspiracy to report something OTHER than the real news. It's just not feasible. And some of the newscasters that Trump says are "liberal" are actually conservative, but they disapprove of his many questionable activities.

I am not saying you should stop watching Fox. I watch it, selectively, but I can't say I get much factual information from it. Most of it seems to be a cheering section for Donald Trump and the Alt Right. Just remember that "news" consists of who, what, when and where. If the outlet is giving you a lot of "why," it is commentary, not news.

I watch many different newscasters, including Fox, and I read quite a few newspapers daily. You may not have the time for quite as much as that, but you can develop your own version of absorbing information across the spectrum.  One day soon, I will write an article about my research techniques. I DO truth-test just about everything I post on Facebook, for instance. 

In the meantime, I suggest that, instead of pretending to be Madam Zelda with the crystal ball who knows the motives and thoughts of millions of people, take the time to talk to someone in the opposing party - not with the idea of converting them, but just in the interest of information gathering.

Now, this will be difficult, because most of us are so angry now that we often fall back onto griping about the other side. I would suggest asking the person what they want for America. What is their vision? Ask people about their motives. Don't assume. Ask.

I will be so glad when this phase has dissipated and I can take some attention off the topic of politics. If the right wing hadn't crowned Trump with the (false) crown of Christianity, I wouldn't be doing this now. It has put a crimp in my peaceful meditation time, and I look forward to eliminating the distraction, but I just can't stand idly by while Jesus is misrepresented so heinously.

I just encourage all of us to devote ourselves to Truth with reverence and discretion, and behave accordingly.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose

PLEASE DON'T JUDGE JESUS BY THE "CHRISTIANS" WHO SUPPORT TRUMP

Even though Donald Trump's outrageous lies are easily unmasked by watching a video of him speaking his own contradictions or of eye witnesses, experts and professional testimony and photographs, some people choose to believe Trump and his lies.

They believe the lies of his lackeys and sycophants, such as Jeff Sessions, when he claims that jailing children at our borders is Biblical because God has installed our leaders, relying upon a text-twisted Biblical reference divorced from its moorings and rendered opposite in its meaning by removing the surrounding text that directs and defines it.

The idea that all the policies of all heads of government are holy because God installs all the leaders is another version of Nixon's comment that "if the president does it, it isn't illegal." This idea, if followed to its logical conclusion, would mean that all actions of every dictator and despot in the world are a positive good from God. This is patently ridiculous. It is neither legal nor Biblical.

Unfortunately, when Trump apologists cite the Bible and Christianity as authorities for their actions, they make claims about Christianity that are completely false. For instance it is the antithesis of the Christian message to behave in a cruel way toward immigrants. The Old and New Testaments are very clear on this. Jews and Christians alike are told to be kind to strangers, for once we were also strangers. Dire warnings are given for those who fail to do this.

Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you

accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his

angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was

thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me

no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in 

prison, and you did not care for me.

~ Matthew 25 ~

The Bible consistently affirms that Satan is "the father of all lies." Many Christians are saying that it doesn't matter that Trump lies continually because "all politicians lie." Excusing Trump's lies because someone else has lied would excuse Hitler from murdering millions of Jews because some other leader killed someone at some time. "They all do it."

Shall we excuse all the murderers from prison because someone else, somewhere, in some way, killed someone?

If we justify Trump's continual lies because, supposedly, "Hillary did it," should we then adopt all of Hillary Clinton's actions as our model to follow? Should we follow the worst behavior of other people, or should we uphold Biblical values?

If so-called "family values" Christians think it is fine that Trump has brought with him a legion of women who are suing him for various assaults because he is, supposedly, a "baby Christian," then how much more forgiving would they be of Clinton and the two women who sued him? Right? No?

Sometimes I worry that the "Christian" support of Donald Trump has obliterated the possibility of bringing the Gospel message to non-Christians. Today, we do not have a prayer of gaining converts, unless they are people who are devoted to principles that are the OPPOSITE of Biblical principles. Neo Nazis, white supremacists, sociopaths who blackmail voters by tormenting children, and pathological liars would feel at home in the "Christianity" that is being advertised by the Trump administration. Jesus weeps!

Having studied and been a part of many different religions in my lifetime, I can tell you that people come to religion for a variety of reasons, not all of them honorable. Every religion has its hypocrites who neither follow the religious precepts nor advocate for them. Each of them has a certain number of people who use the religion to get things they want on earth, or simply to make themselves feel good.

Religious institutions are full of people - and people are very flawed. A good portion are sincere and make a good faith effort to live their faith. The rest are either coasting or perverting the message to their own ends.

Jesus knew this would happen. He said that, in the end, people would cry to Him, "Lord! Lord" and He would reject some of them, saying, "I do not know you."

This is why I do not judge a faith by any of the people that fail to live up to it. I would not want the Christianity that approves of the sins of Donald Trump and his people. THAT "Christianity" is abhorrent to me and to every Christian who knows the message of Christ. Thanks be to God, I do not belong to that Christianity.

I can only pray that people inclined toward true Christian values do not turn their backs on Christianity because of this vile circus that is being played out in our halls of so-called "justice."

Silver Rose