I'll be back.

Jesus, I surrender myself to you,

take care of everything.

What is Theosophy?

A new importance of these teachings in modern thought is due to the school of Modern theosophy dating from the foundation of the Theosophical Society in New York City by Madame Blavatsky in 1875.

"In of a Christian ethical phraseology, theosophy in reality is a form of pantheism, and denies a personal God and personal immortality. Its appeal to the spiritual in man, and its striving after union with the Divine are based upon a contradictory metaphysic, an imaginary psychology, a system of ethics which recognizes no free-will, but only the absolute necessity of Karma. No evidence or proof is given for its teaching except the simple statements of its leaders. The denial of a personal God nullifies its claim to be a spiritualistic philosophy. Judging it as presented by its own exponents, it appears to be a strange mixture of mysticism, charlatanism, and thaumaturgic pretension combined with an eager effort to express its teaching in words which reflect the atmosphere of Christian ethics and modern scientific truths." - Catholic Encyclopedia

The Enchanted Mysticism of Jean Vanier.

So why is understanding Vanier so important for me?

It's because, as a layman, he modeled holiness for me.  He accompanied the outcasts and marginalized.  He prayed and seemed to exemplify a contemplative spirituality in the world.  He did great good, no doubt.  I stand by my opinion that he did not fall from grace in the same way a man struggling with living a chaste and celibate life can fail, sometimes seriously and for a length of time, only to repent and continue to strive for holiness and continence.

Vanier and P. Philippe on the other hand, developed a 'mystical theology of sexual consciousness', as it were.  Their acts were somehow justified in their holistic spiritual direction - it was sacramentalized - Vanier's action were sanctioned by the spiritual director, and his brother priest, Dominique.  Were they deluded?  Not necessarily, since they were deliberate in developing a system, a school of spirituality.  I keep repeating, this is not normal, this is not ordinary mysticism - it is not Catholic.  Likewise, they didn't just 'trip up', falling prey to their appetites, their lust.
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Anyway, I discovered today Fr. Longenecker's article titled, Witchcraft, Sex Magic and Jean Vanier.  I thought to myself, 'at last he really gets it!'  I think rather than pointing out all the 'isms' (Communism, Marxism, 'homosexulism', etc.) for all the strange falls of cardinals, bishops and priests - along with their proteges, be they members of the order they founded, or co-workers, or spiritual children, we need to look for what allowed such misconduct.  We need to understand what allowed them to justify their behavior, to live without guilt.  How could they live a spiritual life, celebrate the sacraments, profess fidelity to the Church, unless they 'moved beyond the institutional forms, boundaries'?

Anyway, Fr. Longenecker is onto something, and I hope he pursues it and develops it without sensationalizing it.  This is not a crackpot theory by any means.  An excerpt from Fr. Longenecker:

WITCHCRAFT, SEX MAGIC AND JEAN VANIER

More information is now emerging about the manipulative sexual behaviors of John Vanier and his spiritual director Rev Thomas Philippe. The independent investigation on his actions reports:

“The relationships … are described as emotionally abusive and characterised by significant imbalances of power, whereby the alleged victims felt deprived of their free will and so the sexual activity was coerced or took place under coercive conditions,” the report stated.

One victim said Vanier told her: “This is not us, this is Mary and Jesus. You are chosen, you are special, this is secret.”

Vanier’s method of sexually grooming women he was spiritually advising and telling them that the sex was a religious action echoed what Philippe was accused of. One woman told the investigators she went to Philippe to complain about Vanier’s actions, and Philippe sexually assaulted her. “It started with him, the same as with Jean Vanier,” the woman said. “He was not tender like Jean Vanier. More brutal, no intercourse, same words to say that I am special and that all this is about Jesus and Mary.”

My friend Kevin O’Brien wrote a perceptive email about this sort of behavior on Sunday. Kevin was critical of some of Christopher West’s Theology of the Body teachings because there was a mystical aspect to sex integrated into the teaching–that somehow the sexual act could

“bring about esoteric enlightenment, and claiming that a man could indulge in behaviors others would consider sinful, once he was spiritually mature. That’s the game, you see.  Philippe and Vanier would claim,”that when one arrives at perfect love, everything is lawful, for there is no more sin.”  (That quote is from the L’Arche report.)  And so it’s OK to have sex and pretend to be uniting with God Himself in the process – because you’ve arrived at “perfect love”, see?”

Finish reading here.

From Pope Benedict on his way to Fatima 2010:  "In terms of what we today can discover in this Our Lady's message, attacks against the pope or the church don’t come just from outside the church. The suffering of the church also comes from within the church, because sin exists in the church. This too has always been known, but today we see it in a really terrifying way. The greatest persecution of the church doesn’t come from enemies on the outside, but is born in sin within the church. The church thus has a deep need to re-learn penance, to accept purification, to learn on one hand forgiveness but also the necessity of justice. Forgiveness does not exclude justice. We have to re-learn the essentials: conversion, prayer, penance, and the theological virtues. That’s how we respond, and we can be realistic in expecting that evil will always launch attacks from within and from outside, but the forces of good are also always present, and finally the Lord is stronger than evil. The Madonna for us is the visible maternal guarantee that the will of God is always the last word in history." - NCR

Link:  Brief Formulations of New Age Ideas. 

Going beyond the institutional Church...

Going beyond the institutional forms.

I've been pondering a few things since first learning of the investigation into Pere Thomas Phillipe and Jean Vanier. There is a certain security Catholics believe they have from a spiritual director, whom they esteem and who may have a great reputation in the spiritual life. I have known 'mystics' convinced of their mystical experiences, affirmed by a spiritual director, who have been gravely misled. (Although not sexually abused.)

I know others who move 'beyond the teachings of the Church, as well as authentic Catholic tradition, seeking a greater freedom of spirit. Many people today follow the teaching or 'spirit' of Richard Rohr, for instance. Even Jesuits have been known to write glowingly of some of these spiritual directors... What?

Yet there are bad spiritual directors, as we all now know. Have you ever heard people boast, that this priest or that monk is my spiritual director? They seem to think they have a guarantee that whatever they say or write has an instant imprimatur/nihil obstat, if you will.

Discarding old religious forms and re-creating our spiritual and sacred world.

Being spiritual but not religious encompasses all of that, as well.  Institutional religion is sidestepped or outright rejected.  There is no religious order, no one spiritual direction, no set of doctrine, no dogma, no authority, no one set of rules - it is non-binary.  It is permissive of everything... relatively speaking.  One cannot harness the wind.  Sometime ago, I wrote about these things, and discovered what seems to be a source which shed light on the source of some of the 'new' forms of spiritual direction and mystical experience, adopted by spiritual directors and directees, who chose to go beyond 'institutional forms'.

The spiritual director, author, William Bloom who combines a long-standing interest in New Age approaches to spirituality with an identity focus in international relations, wrote:

"We are in changing times. Our culture and technology are continually transforming, and the intellectual certainties of the last few hundred years are no longer secure…It is our need to find a new authenticity in our spiritual lives — to bring back fully into our consciousness — the sacred dimension of life, but we want to do this in a way that honours personal freedom and personal growth. In essence, then, we are turning to the teachings and experiences of what is called the ageless wisdom, but we are doing so with completely new attitudes."

A key element of our changing culture is that we are discarding old religious forms and re-creating our spiritual and sacred world. - Theosophical Order of Services

I'll leave it at that for the moment, but I want to close with a quote from Fr. Geiger, OFM Conv., which may explain how the going beyond the institutional forms happens.

"The desire for union with God sometimes leads individuals to attach themselves to extraordinary manifestations of the “spirit,” but in such a way that weakens their attachment to the Church."

  

Let's get really realistic about Vanier.

May he find mercy in abundance through the blood of Christ, 

may the good he did be credited to him, by the merits of Christ crucified,

and by the power of His resurrection, may he rest in peace.

So what level of depravity were you looking for?

Many people online are starting to call out those of us who are disturbed by the Jean Vanier investigations revealing sexual abuse of adult women who worked along side him in l'Arche. Fr. Longenecker* says we need to be more realistic about those we put on pedestals and admire, noting they are human beings with weaknesses, just like us. Indeed.

A friend posted a quote on my site along the same lines as Fr. L's admonitions. He posted:

"If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" - Solzhenitsyn

It is a quote that is very true, very philosophical, albeit a tad dismissive in this context. These discoveries of another's 'sin' reveal the mystery of our being, our fallen human nature. In fact, after the initial shock of the stories, I for my part, am able to examine my own conscience and find examples of duplicity and hypocrisy. It reminds me of my own need for continual conversion and the forgiveness of my many sins.

This post isn't a 'yes but' deflection, nevertheless the disturbing aspect of the Vanier story, viewed alongside the case of his spiritual father, P. Thomas Philippe, as well as his brother, P. Dominique Philippe, is there was a 'method' to their abuse. The grooming involved, their presentation of a 'new' form of spiritual direction and mystical experience, involving/using sexual touch and acts, presented to the victim as a means to find healing, and to grow spiritually and find union with Christ and Our Lady.

Delusion.

The abuse is so deliberate, so manipulative as to propose a sort of theology of abuse. This 'program' negates the idea that the sexual abuse perpetrated by the 'directors' was simply a fall from grace, or a weakness which trips up a 'wounded healer' otherwise trying to live chastely. This is exactly why such actions are seen as criminal, not just a moral failing. It is not simply human weakness or an act of desperation from a person 'addicted' to sex - it's intrinsically evil. It's not at all normal.

After one acknowledges that, as well as genuine concern for the victims, perhaps then, one can say - without being dismissive - 'there but for the grace of God, go I.'

*If we therefore, have this realistic understanding of human nature we will not be so disappointed, outraged and indignant when we hear that Jean Vanier was a sinner. We will not be so angry and dismayed by the scandal and heartbreak of abusive, corrupt and immoral pastors and priests. We will not be surprised because we were realistic about human nature from the beginning. - Longenecker

Beware of spiritual directors

and exorcists who are

a little bit too

realistic about human nature

and sexuality.