Q. How should I answer a non-Catholic friend who says that Catholics are cannibals since they believe the Eucharist is Christ’s actual Body and Blood. I know this is a common accusation. Thank you. — B.K., Washington State.
A. One of the best refutations of this allegation came to us a few years ago from Fr. T.M. of Oregon. Here are his comments:
“Is it cannibalism, then, to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion? That was certainly not what our Lord had in mind. Cannibalism can be defined as the eating of a dead human body by other humans. If Jesus’ followers had taken His Body down from the cross and eaten it, that would have been cannibalism.
“There are two orders here, the natural order and the supernatural order. Eating His body in the natural order would mean eating His corpse and, once that was done, there would be no body left. Eating His Body and Blood in the supernatural order, however, is not cannibalism because Christ is not present in the Eucharist in a natural way, but in a supernatural way. The Eucharist we receive in the natural order has the natural qualities of bread and wine, not of a human body, although it has been changed, supernaturally, by Christ into His Body and Blood, as He did at the Last Supper.
“This corresponds with the supernatural relationship we have with Him through Christian Baptism, in which we receive a supernatural principle of life in union with Christ, with Him living in us and we in Him. All of the sacraments were instituted by Christ for this purpose, each in its own particular way, to bring about our perfect union with Him, and in this consists our sanctification.”
Q. In a Wanderer article on St. Junipero Serra, the article mentioned the suppression of the Jesuits from mission work in 1773. We visited the Jesuit who married us when he lived in the Jesuit retirement home in Los Gatos, Calif. At that time he showed us a huge map on the wall, designating all the missions in California planned by the Jesuits, a map which he said was used by the Franciscans. So my question to you is: Why were the Jesuits suppressed? — S.K., via e-mail.
A. The Society of Jesus was founded by St. Ignatius Loyola in 1534 and, over the next two centuries, became the most influential religious order in the Catholic Church in the fields of education and missionary work. By the mid-18th century, more than 22,000 Jesuits operated nearly 700 colleges and 200 seminaries.
They had powerful and wealthy benefactors, including many of the crowned heads of Europe, but they also had equally powerful and wealthy enemies who sought to prevent the intervention of the Catholic Church in affairs of state and who were successful in expelling the Jesuits from Portugal, France, Spain, and Austria. Jesuits in Italy had to renounce the Society of Jesus in order to remain in ministry. The only countries where they were allowed to function were Russia and Poland.
In 1773, anti-Jesuit forces, both outside and inside the Church, pressured Pope Clement XVI to issue a papal brief suppressing the order because of political and economic considerations. One of the motives that surely prompted these forces was the seizure of the considerable assets controlled by the Jesuits. Pope Clement said that his decree was not for any theological reasons, but was based on the grounds of prudence and the peace of the Church.
Following the French Revolution of 1789 and the Napoleonic wars, Europe was in difficult economic straits and the Church had not fared well either in their struggles with Napoleon. In an effort to rebuild Church structures and schools after the final defeat of Napoleon, Pope Pius VII reinstated the Society of Jesus worldwide in 1814. The Society eventually regained much of its former stature, particularly on the North American continent.
Q. A recent bulletin at our parish said that “the Contemplative Prayer Group will start a new course soon. ‘Centering Prayer: A Training Course for Opening to the Presence of God.’ It includes a workbook with readings and reflections as well as viewing videos.”
I know that you have said much in the past about “Centering Prayer,” but would you be so kind as to go over this again briefly? — J.K., Arizona.
A. Those interested in a full discussion of this type of prayer should consult pages 165-170 of Catholic Replies 2, which is available from www.crpublications.com. In the meantime, we can say that this method of prayer, in the words of Fr. Thomas Keating, one of its principal promoters, is “not meant to replace other kinds of prayer; it simply puts other kinds of prayer in a new and fuller perspective. During the time of prayer, we consent to God’s presence and action within. At other times our attention moves outward to discover God’s presence everywhere.”
Fr. Keating recommends using centering prayer for at least two 20-minute periods each day while sitting comfortably with your eyes closed. He suggests choosing a “sacred word,” such as Lord, Jesus, Abba, Love, Peace, and silently introducing and contemplating that word “as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.”
There are similarities between centering prayer and Eastern meditation, including the mental repetition of a word or mantra, but this type of prayer is not for everyone. True Christian prayer, said the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in its letter on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation, “is at the same time always authentically personal and communitarian. It flees from impersonal techniques or from concentrating on oneself, which can create a kind of rut, imprisoning the person praying in a spiritual privatism which is incapable of a free openness to the transcendental God” (n. 3).
The CDF said that “the love of God, the sole object of Christian contemplation, is a reality which cannot be ‘mastered’ by any method or technique. On the contrary, we must always have our sights fixed on Jesus Christ, in whom God’s love went to the cross for us and there he assumed even the condition of estrangement from the Father” (n. 31).
Fr. Thomas Dubay, in his book Seeking Spiritual Direction, said that many people are not ready for centering prayer, “while others are beyond it and would be hindered were they to try it as a daily practice.” He said that he found “somewhat unreal the promise that by a centering method one has a quick access to God, a contemplative experience of his presence. Perhaps an Oriental emptying approach may yield some sort of impersonal awareness, but this is not Christic communion; an impersonal awareness is not a contact with the living, Triune God.”
Q. A local retreat center, which has a record of teaching New Age/Eastern Mysticism, such as Yoga, Reiki, and enneagrams in their retreats, is now advertising a retreat which includes the teaching of T’ai Chi Chin, which I have never heard of. What I could find on the Internet seemed to indicate that it is similar to Yoga. Is this another New Age element used to suck Christians into performing satanic rituals? — J.V., Ohio.
A. According to Jordan Stone, the founder of T’ai Chi Chin who died at age 95, “nothing is more important than knowing how to circulate and balance the Intrinsic Energy, the Vital Force of the body, known as Chi in Chinese. The rewards in good health, wisdom, serenity, and longevity are great for the one who learns the ancient principles and applies them in a modern way.”
T’ai Chi Chin is a set of 19 stand-alone movements and one pose that can be learned in about eight classes over a period of two months. Its promoters say that “the effects of the practice are cumulative; so many health improvements take place over time. Migraine headaches lessen and even disappear. Joint pain ceases. Happiness increases. Peacefulness pervades. Blood pressure comes down and joy goes up. Everyone’s experience is different, but most report positive changes. Technically speaking, TCC allows the essential energy, or Chi, that moves within us all to circulate and balance. This in turn improves our health and sense of well-being.”
We don’t have any evidence of TCC being a way of getting Christians to perform satanic rituals, but we don’t think it prudent for Christians to involve themselves in these kinds of retreats. Stick to conventional programs that can lead one closer to Jesus.
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