Vatican Pushes Spiritual "Exercises" designed to
induce Altered States of Consciousness
The Important thing is...Participation - Loyola (Founder of Jesuits) given
the Credit
POPE PIUS XI INITIATED SPIRITUAL EXERCISES IN THE
VATICAN
VATICAN CITY, FEB 15, 2005 (VIS) - Annual retreats for the Pope and Roman
Curia trace their origins to Pope Pius XI who, on December 20, 1929, marked
the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination by publishing the Encyclical
"'Mens nostra,' On The Promotion of
Spiritual Exercises" which he addressed to "Patriarchs,
Primates, Archbishops, Bishops and Other Local Ordinaries in Peace and
Communion with the Apostolic See."
In that encyclical, the Pope informed the faithful that he had
arranged to hold spiritual exercises every year in the Vatican, a
custom still practiced by the Holy Father and ranking members of the
Roman Curia. In the early years this retreat was held during the
first week in Advent but now takes place in the first full week of Lent.
Cardinal Achille Ratti, archbishop of Milan, was elected to the
papacy on February 6, 1922, and took the name of Pius XI. He died on February
10, 1939.
On January 6, 1929, feast of the Epiphany, Pius XI declared a
Jubilee Year to mark the upcoming 50th anniversary of his ordination and asked
the faithful to "share in the joy of their common father and to join with
us in rendering thanks to the Supreme Giver of all good."
At the end of that year, in the Encyclical "Mens nostra,"
he looked back at the "many and rich fruits" of the Jubilee and
wrote that, as a way to "express our heartfelt gratitude, ... we have
deemed it fitting ... to establish something most excellent which will, we
trust, prove a source of many advantages to the Christian people. We are
speaking of the practice of Spiritual Exercises, which we earnestly desire to
see daily extended more widely, not only among the clergy, both secular and
regular, but also among the multitudes of the Catholic laity."
Pius XI then wrote at length on the history of "Sacred
Retreats," citing the words on this subject of his predecessors,
of Doctors of the Church and founders of religious orders such as Don Bosco of
the Salesians and, most especially St. Ignatius of Loyola,
founder of the Jesuits, "whom we are pleased to call the chief and
peculiar Master of Spiritual Exercises." The Pope in fact, on July 22,
1922, had "declared and constituted St. Ignatius of Loyola the
heavenly Patron of all Spiritual Exercises and, therefore, of institutes,
sodalities and bodies of every kind assisting those who are making the
Spiritual Exercises."
He underscored the "joy" and consolation" he found in
Spiritual Exercises and announced: "And in order that we may secure
this joy and consolation, both for ourselves and for others who are near us,
We have already made arrangements for holding the Spiritual Exercises every
year in the Vatican." While highlighting the value of retreats, he
admonished: "Nor should the priests of the Clergy, secular and regular,
think that the time spent on the Spiritual Exercises tends to the detriment of
the apostolic ministry."
Vatican Abuses - Pontifex Maximus
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Teresa - Power Grab
Pope Appoints Cardinal
- Apocrypha - Donation of Constantine
1 John 1:9 is God's promise to Forgive us if we ask Him:
If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We should pray the
Prayer
of Occult Renunciation
Core Universal Rights
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief