From John and Maureen Remus re New Age.

It was with great sadness that we read Sister Hope's account of living within her religious order (Oct. 2005, p. 19). We would like her to know that we are aware of the dissent within certain religious orders and have written letters to various orders asking for an explanation of their New Age teaching.

I have walked through the Providence Centre in Edmonton and noticed the elderly nuns and have wondered how great their suffering must be as I see massage rooms in the centre, and posters advertising yoga as well as "light of the dhamma." I wonder, are these older nuns able to avail themselves frequently of the Sacraments or are they being deprived of them?

I have sent a copy of the Vatican document Jesus Christ, The Bearer of Living Water: A Christian Reflection on the New Age to the FCJ Centre in Calgary, where one of the nuns has a degree in Jungian Psychology from the C.G. Jung Institute in Switzerland (psychiatrist Carl Jung, by the way, was a former disciple of Sigmund Freud and held, among numerous other beliefs, that Satan was the fourth person of the Trinity). Courses are offered there with names such as "Lunch Time Labyrinth," "Dream-Work Evening," "Hero, Lover, Murderer," "Venus, Hag, Wise Woman," "Enneagram: Relationships, Do We Click or Clash ?," "Introduction to Bio-spiritual Focusing," "The Numinous Dream and the Nightmare." Our son brought home a pamphlet published by the FCJ Centre with these courses, which he found in our parish. When I contacted the FCJ Centre regarding their courses and spoke of the Sacraments and the historical fact that God became man and instituted a Church here on earth, I was told by a sister: "There appears to be no openness to dialogue. What I hear is judgement and condemnation and this is not my understanding of the Christian way of life."

Those that introduce the New Age into their religious orders and persecute those that are faithful to the teachings of Christ and his Church are really practical atheists. Recently, we heard a homily at a monastery where the priest spoke of Christians living in pagan times not unlike those of the early Christians. This paganism has infiltrated the Catholic Church in certain circles.

In the past, monasteries and convents were physically destroyed, and monks and nuns were bloodily martyred. Now the destruction of monasteries and convents in our western world is more insidious; they are not physically destroyed, but spiritually destroyed through apostasy from Christianity and embrace of paganism. The persecutors of the Church do not kill the bodies of faithful monks and nuns; they try to kill their souls.

Thus, there is a great opportunity in our times to be saints. To Sister Hope we say stay focused on Christ and unite your sufferings with his sufferings for the salvation of souls. We will pray for you and your order and all those who are persecuted by their religious brothers or sisters that you have the grace of perseverance.

Coaldale AB

Editor's note: For information about New Age, see the November article "The Church and the New Age movement" by Dr. John Shea, pp. 33-36.