Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Notice to Television Executives, et al.
You are likely playing with fire (read: eternal fire (read: damnation)) with programs such as Medium and others!

The Liturgy of the Hours today has a selection from Leviticus, which prompted me to do some biblical research and to open the corresponding section of the Catechism. Leviticus 19:31 reads:

"Do not go to mediums or consult fortune-tellers, for you will be defiled by them. I, the Lord, am your God."

The Catechism goes on to develop this divine injunction:

"Divination and magic
2115 "God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.
2116 "All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future.48 Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
2117 "All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others—even if this were for the sake of restoring their health—are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity."

So, consider yourselves warned. Do not seek power apart from God Himself and do not have recourse to "forces" other than a confident, filial trust in God's providential care for us, His children.

No comments: