Recently I heard that an old high school acquaintance of a friend left her husband after she started researching spirituality stuff and realized he wasn’t who she was destined to be with. A long-ago friend of mine struggled in her marriage for several years and then got into spirituality training and came to the conclusion that she wasn’t “living her best life.” Her life now includes drugs, “ free love,” and annual trips to Burning Man. When I was a New Ager, I was constantly chasing some new dream as yet another unlocked step in my journey to enlightenment.
Look at the fruits of this ‘spiritual’ life! It produces a tragic wake of unnecessary suffering and broken hearts and bitterness.
As I woke from the old life and was reborn into this true one, Matthew 7:15-20 rang in my ears as I worked to dismantle years of lies:
“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. 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.”
Two takeaways from this:
(1) Everything you need is found in the Catholic Church. She is not missing anything. No energy healing or crystals needed. Sacraments and sacramentals only! Anyone who adds in what they think is missing from the faith, whether that’s New Age or some other Christian denomination or other religion entirely, is knowingly (or if they are duped by well-meaning friends, perhaps, unknowingly) committing the sin of pride, in essence saying, “*I* know more than the Church that Christ founded knows.” Yikes!
(Side note: having a negative experience with a representative of the Church does not negate the truth of the Catholic Faith. Just as learning math facts from a mean teacher doesn’t mean the math is wrong).
(2) If you have friends or family stuck in these spirituality lies, don’t give up hope! I was New Age for 15 years before I wound up as an atheist for another five. That’s twenty wayward years! Pray for them, and for those who are interested in New Age spirituality, showing them the beauty of our faith first may lead them further into the good and true. Show them the beauty and joy and peace of our life, and God willing, that will send them to the baptismal font/confessional.
Image courtesy of Unsplash.
