Those who know me even a little bit will have noticed that I am very anti-religion. I see organised religion as the root of most evil - worse by far than money. In this pick’n mix age, and in our culture, I have the freedom to express that view and I have also been able to arrive at belief in an afterlife that has nothing to do with a god. Probably there are more evolved beings available to us if we reach for them, but I wouldn’t call them angels, just more developed aspects of ourselves. In many countries I wouldn’t have been permitted to reach these conclusions; my thoughts would be censored by limitations to my reading and life experience, and that would be down to religion. Even in America, the so called Land of the Free, this could happen.
With all that out front it might seem inappropriate that on Friday I dialed the number of a Catholic priest who is part of a Healing Ministry. A friend (also not religious in any way) told me about him and a little about her experience on the end of a telephone, transfixed for nearly an hour that passed in a moment. His aim is for soul retrieval, or soul healing (I can’t remember his term), in fact I’m not sure I remember much of what he said during my almost-hour but I do know I sat silent with tears pouring down my face. There have been moments of revelation since when things in my life that were mostly forgotten have become clear and I can see them in a different way. The words Forgiveness and Grace come to mind, but mostly it’s a bit beyond words.
Years ago I read Susan Howatch novels with enjoyment. Not her long family sagas that stretched over generations, but her ecclesiastical novels that took characters from the rarefied upper echelons of the Church of England. Each novel, as far as I can remember, viewed more or less the same sequence of events through the eyes of a different character. The one that captured me the most was ‘Glamorous Powers’. In that the main character, a young priest, discovers he has healing powers and wants to set up a healing ministry. He is waylaid by his ego and gets far out of his depth into very muddy waters. It fascinated me that the Churches, Catholic and Protestant, fail to acknowledge - avoid acknowledging - the existence of the supernatural whilst preaching daily about supernatural happenings 2000 years ago and promising a world beyond our own.
Somewhere amidst my rantings against religion I seem to have a core of respect for their roots. The blurring of lines between atheist and theist, agnostic and gnostic, give me hope that one day the churches will return to their roots, sloughing off all the garbage they have accrued along the way.
2 comments:
Sometimes the need to feel that there is something else up there is very strong.
I remember in my twenties, reading books which swung me back to believing in religion and made me make plans to go and work in the "missions".
I left THE CHURCH many times and always felt guilty enough to go back until a couple of decades ago.
However, the behaviour of "Catholic Church" men over the centuries has
finished me off.
I read today that The Churches are advocates of mandatory reporting. I certainly am. I lived under it in Australia and can only advise it as a norm.
Sorry Carol!
took over your blog.
Cheers Gillian
No, that's interesting Gillian. Take over whenever you like!
Really it's a scandal that there hasn't always been mandatory reporting.
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