Several weeks ago, I picked up three free booklets in the back of a church I was visiting. All three have out and out heresy and other errors in them. One is published by a diocese, one by an religious order, and one by a famous Catholic press.
Do not use these meditation books for Lent. They are corrupted by Modernist heresies and errors of judgement..
Lay people, please give up secondary texts and go straight to the Divine Office, for the sake of your souls. Blessed Paul VI told us to use the Breviary. Do it!
Some of the errors are so outrageous, they indicate a really worldly, and not God-given approach to Scripture. Some of the writings show a lack of knowledge of God and His saints.
A list of some errors:
Christ did not have the love of God but had to learn this. False. He is the Perfect Man, and God, never imperfect. This idea reflects the heresy of Arianism.
Christ "healed" Pilate's relationship with Herod. False, Pilate used Christ to make political points only.
Dorothy Day is an example of a saint. No, she was a Marxist, sadly,believing in what she called "Christian communism" which is a fallacy. She was confused as to distributism.
The confusion, maybe purposeful, of liberation theology (condemned by the Church) and the theology of liberation.
Huge emphasis on me, me, me, me and my gifts. This is all false theology, as all spiritual gifts come through the sacraments, and from God, not nature. Natural gifts do not gain us heaven.
Outright denial of Christ's call to all of us for perfection and the misquoting of Christ....He did not say, "Be perfect, as I am", but "Be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect." And, perfection is demanded of all of us.
Perfection is NOT maturity or wholeness. This is a modern, psychological interpretation which is wrong. Maturity has to do with natural growth, NOT supernatural perfection.
The denial that there is a call to perfection, to holiness, is a sign of the weakening Church and the lack of holiness among the priests. Most of the homilies and sermons on holiness I have heard in the last five years have been at St. Kevin's Harrington Street, in Dublin, where there are at least three priests who understand the road to perfection, because they have done or are walking on this road. What a difference of perspective!
Wholeness is not a measure of sanctity and never has been. This term is "New Age" and has nothing to do with perfection.....see my over 700 posts on perfection and the Doctors of the Church series I have done on perfection.
Following the letter of the law is "meaningless" wrote one priest. Absolutely not...we are formed in obedience and following the law is the first step to holiness.
References to tv shows. WHY? To be trendy and encourage modern entertainment show a lack of holiness on the part of the priest. Why is he watching tv anyway? He should be using the time for contemplative prayer.
Stop calling Mary a teenager! That word did not exist until the 20th century as there was no such category in Western or Eastern society. Mary was a child but by adolescence was being trained to be married and do all the chores and duties of a married person. To call Mary a teen is ridiculously anti-historical and implies all the problems and errors of the modern teen.
Misunderstandings of the time and people in the Bible--to many to mention any.
And so on,,,,
All these books which are on "gifting" are false and from the Protestant denominations.
All our gifts come in Confirmation. Any natural talents must be perfected in the Dark Night when egotism is destroyed before they can be used and bear fruit. To concentrate on the self is to deny the author of all gifts, God.
Too much me will not get anyone to heaven...Do not rely on other people's interpretations, but learn to read Scripture yourself through the guidance of the Church-St. Augustine, and the other saintly Doctors of the Church are better than these so-called modern expert priests.