I received a number of comments for my post on "Why did You get this UC?". My learned priest friends and lay people appreciated my thoughts over the issue of Charismatics and how these Charismatics devour simple Catholics with a bad theology of sin, satan and sickness. Here below I publish a comment by Filomena Giese.
Dear Father,
I have read your blog in which you have described your experience with charismatic healers.
It shows the fundamental flaws in this sin-charismatic-healing movement.
It stems from a misunderstanding to the Judeo-Christian-Islamic teaching that mankind disobeyed GOD and sinned and caused the evil, suffering, and imbalance in the world. And hence you need a Savior to take away the sins of the world.
There's this strain of religion that has you constantly feeling like a sinner and promotes the idea that we must constantly be praying for forgiveness of our sins and the sins of humanity! This is the Divine Mercy cult and the apparitions of Fatima and Medugorje, and the new charismatic healing movement these days.
Did we humans get a Savior or not?
The answer is definitely YES.
This new fashion charismatic movement is forgetting that Jesus Christ came to take away our sins and He achieved this by his death on the Cross!
The second heresy that this kind of charismatic healing movement is promoting is the false belief that one's illness is caused by sin! It's a heresy in my opinion and against the great Christian belief that Jesus won us forgiveness and mercy. We believe that God is an all loving, merciful God who would never inflict illness on any living creature because he or she has committed some wrong!
It is also a false belief that some people have been given a special power to remove illness and give healing. This is what the Fundamentalist cults teach to brainwash people, and get power over innocent people and their complete submission. There are miracles and great healing miracles. But they are by very saintly people who credit the healing to God, not themselves. And great saints are compassionate toward those who are suffering. They never say that the illness is caused by the patient's sins. And great saints actually nurse ill people, regardless of their sins and even faith beliefs. They don't tell them they are sick and dying because they sinned!
Hence St. Joseph Vaz washed, fed, nursed, and often healed the abandoned victims of small pox in Kandy, Sri Lanka, for 2 years, without asking them if they were Buddhist, Christian, or Hindu and without asking them about their sins!
Please feel free to share my feedback on your Blog.
Filomena
Community of St. Joseph Vaz (1651-1711), Apostle of Kanara and Sri Lanka
Editor's Note: Dr Filomena Giese is a theologian and President of the Joseph Naik Vaz Institute, California, US. Being a great devotee of St Joseph Vaz, she had a miraculous healing through his intercession. The Institute's efforts were devoted in hastening the Servant of God, Fr Joseph Vaz's cause to a sainthood not only by spreading his devotion through gatherings, writings and a thesis on Joseph Vaz but also making the files on this holy man move in the Vatican quickly, so that he could be proclaimed a Saint of the Catholic Church. Dr Giese's many writings have been published in the Vidyajyothi Theological Journal and other reputed Journals as well.
- Olvin Veigas
11.10.2018
- Olvin Veigas
11.10.2018
1 comment:
My dear Fr.Olvin,
I'm here to place it on record my big thanks to all the people of good will, who were very generous enough in Sharing their time and knowledge, unspoken support and for the critical reviewing of your article. My sincere thanks to Dr.Filomena Giese, for her genuine comments accompanied with her gentle support.
Is suffering a punishment?
I don't understand why these stupid Charismatic group come up with the conclusion always that Suffering is a punishment. For me, straight away I say 'no' to this question. I really doubt whether these people have the real experience of God in their lives! This is like using God's name and His love in vain. I'm not worthy to quote any particular word to prove that God is a loving, kind, compassionate,caring and true' God. Because every word in the Holy Bible speaks of God's unconditional love and care. And this God of ours, can't be a God of punishment, isn't it? God gives sufferings to those whom He loves to merit His reward. With childlike simplicity, my experience with God enables me to say,"Suffering is indeed a precious gift from God." If suffering is a punishment, what about all Saints, where many of them went through these adverse events in life. Saints life is an answer to this question of suffering. When we reflect on the life of St.Alphonsa, we can see that she was in the battlefield of suffering for 36 years. She proved that suffering is not a punishment, but a blessing. Suffering is an inevitable reality in human life. God in 'human form' has sanctified it, and Saints have practiced it in their lives, though the natural tendency for all of us is to avoid it at any cost. All these adversities become a blessing and a treasure only if we have insight to gain wisdom for them. If your soul is perfect within that's all that's all what you want and that's all you need to have. Finally, my deepest gratitude to you Father, for your enough patience to bear up with those people whose job is to dishearten the Godly people with their false testimonies. Thank you very much for sharing your experience.
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