There is no true religious experience without....

St. Bernadette of Lourdes

I have been pondering a few dilemmas. When discussing religion with good people, I find confusions regarding religious experience. False ecumenism has ruined the ability of good people to think rationally about the Faith. A few points.

1) There is no true religious experience without complete orthodoxy. Without complete orthodoxy, there can be no true holiness.

2) There is no true religious experience without doctrine. Experience must go hand in hand with the Revelation of the Church and the Tradition of the Church. There is no such thing as "pastoral" experience separate from doctrine.

3) Not all the writings of saints have been approved doctrinally. Some have. I have more on this on other postings. There are levels of writings. A person's holiness does not dictate that ALL their writings are without  error or interpretation.

4) There is a huge difference between personal meditation and divine revelations. The Church is clear on this. One must make sure one is not believing something is infallible which is merely the meditations of a good person, and, therefore, limited. Only papal statements from the Chair of Peter are infallible. And, as I have noted before, the various congregations in the Vatican, have authority over us, if approved and signed by the correct authorities.

5) There is no true religion experience outside a life of sanctifying grace. The Deceitful One can mock God with false experiences. The great saints warn us of this.

6) There is no true religious experience which is from God from other, arcane sources. Clairvoyants, for example, get their knowledge from demons, not God. There is no mocking God regarding seeking religious experiences outside the mainstream of the Church's teaching.

7) There is no true religious experience outside of Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. If someone denies the Trinity, the experiences must be seen as suspect.

8) The Church has the duty and right to teach and guide us regarding religious experience. If some experience is condemned, one must avoid those books, readings, sites on line on pain of losing one's immortal soul.  Following false seers is one of the most serious of sins. Obedience is key.

9) There is no true religious experience is someone is making money from such. This should be obvious.
If there are charges for talks, books, DVDs, CDs, etc., smell a rat.  Sorry, but what is freely given is free.
Industries have been made from modern religious experiences which have not been approved by the Church.  To me, this is common sense....

10) There is no true religious experience without extreme humility...........and personal holiness.