http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/ Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:51:22 +0000 MyBB http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-250.html Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:55:32 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-250.html WE ARE SO BLEST,
WE COVERED 4 SONGS,LEARNT ABOUT SIGN OF CROSS,GENUFLECTION UNDER THE TITLE OF GESTURES.
NEXT WEEK WE WILL DO PARTS OF MASS NOT ONLY IN WORDS BUT PICTURES TO BE COLORED IN AND CHILDREN WILL SEE AND LEARN IN A SUBTLE MANNER, FUN AND EXCITING. THANKS TO THE KIDS WHO UPLIFT ME,AND I LEARN FROM THEM.
NOT FORGETTING THE TEENS OF OUR PARISH,FEW MOTHERS WHO ASSIST. THANKS

34 CHILDREN GR 1-4 APPROX 12 IN 000 GROUP,


WATCH THIS SPACE


LOTS OF LOVE MEG]]> WE ARE SO BLEST,
WE COVERED 4 SONGS,LEARNT ABOUT SIGN OF CROSS,GENUFLECTION UNDER THE TITLE OF GESTURES.
NEXT WEEK WE WILL DO PARTS OF MASS NOT ONLY IN WORDS BUT PICTURES TO BE COLORED IN AND CHILDREN WILL SEE AND LEARN IN A SUBTLE MANNER, FUN AND EXCITING. THANKS TO THE KIDS WHO UPLIFT ME,AND I LEARN FROM THEM.
NOT FORGETTING THE TEENS OF OUR PARISH,FEW MOTHERS WHO ASSIST. THANKS

34 CHILDREN GR 1-4 APPROX 12 IN 000 GROUP,


WATCH THIS SPACE


LOTS OF LOVE MEG]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-249.html Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:41:50 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-249.html
FOR THOSE UNABLE TO ATTEND WE WILL START OUR NEW YEAR ON SATURDAY 4 FEBRUARY AT 09.00-10.00
THE TEAM LOOK FORWARD IN SEEING YOU ALL AGAIN.
AND WE WELCOME ALL NEW KIDS AS WELL
YOU WILL HAVE A GREAT EXPERIENCE

GR 1 KATHY MONDAY 16.00-+17.00
.. 3 KERRY .. .. ..
4 VIV .. .. ..

GR 2 FERDIE TUE .. ..
4 KAREN .. .. ..
5 PHILLIPA .. .. ..

6&7 TO BE NOTIFIED

GR 0 ADRIENNE SAT 09.00-10.00
1 ALEXIA .. ...........
2 SANDRO .. ...........
3 CHARLEEN .. ............
4 CHARON& LISA . ..........

MELKBOS MEL TUE 16.30-17.30


THANKS MEG]]>
FOR THOSE UNABLE TO ATTEND WE WILL START OUR NEW YEAR ON SATURDAY 4 FEBRUARY AT 09.00-10.00
THE TEAM LOOK FORWARD IN SEEING YOU ALL AGAIN.
AND WE WELCOME ALL NEW KIDS AS WELL
YOU WILL HAVE A GREAT EXPERIENCE

GR 1 KATHY MONDAY 16.00-+17.00
.. 3 KERRY .. .. ..
4 VIV .. .. ..

GR 2 FERDIE TUE .. ..
4 KAREN .. .. ..
5 PHILLIPA .. .. ..

6&7 TO BE NOTIFIED

GR 0 ADRIENNE SAT 09.00-10.00
1 ALEXIA .. ...........
2 SANDRO .. ...........
3 CHARLEEN .. ............
4 CHARON& LISA . ..........

MELKBOS MEL TUE 16.30-17.30


THANKS MEG]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-247.html Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:26:30 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-247.html love,be angelic and keep on smiling]]> love,be angelic and keep on smiling]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-243.html Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:55:24 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-243.html Please note the following dates:
Saturday Atriums- recommences on 15/10/2011
Sunday Atriums- recommences on 16/10/2011
Monday Atriums-Term ends on 26/09/2011 &recommences on 10/10/2011
Tuesday Atriums-Term ends on 27/09/2011 &recommences on 11/10/2011
Wednesday Atriums-Term ends on 28/09/2011 &recommences on 12/10/2011
Thursday Atriums Melkbos-Term ends on 29/09/2011 &recommences on 13/10/2011]]> Please note the following dates:
Saturday Atriums- recommences on 15/10/2011
Sunday Atriums- recommences on 16/10/2011
Monday Atriums-Term ends on 26/09/2011 &recommences on 10/10/2011
Tuesday Atriums-Term ends on 27/09/2011 &recommences on 11/10/2011
Wednesday Atriums-Term ends on 28/09/2011 &recommences on 12/10/2011
Thursday Atriums Melkbos-Term ends on 29/09/2011 &recommences on 13/10/2011]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-230.html Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:03:07 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-230.html Wednesday and Tuesday have 13 lessons left and 2 holidays in between,Need I say any more,but thank you for all your co-operationLots of love and Gods blessings on you all.Meg]]> Wednesday and Tuesday have 13 lessons left and 2 holidays in between,Need I say any more,but thank you for all your co-operationLots of love and Gods blessings on you all.Meg]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-229.html Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:57:17 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-229.html Retreats for the different groups are Saturday 22nd October at 8:30-approx 2:00+ for those children attending classes on a Saturday and Sunday.
29th October for those attending on a Tuesday and Wednesday at the same time1:00.Letters to follow after school holidays with more information on date of meeting with parents,God bless you all and have a safe holiday.Meg.]]> Retreats for the different groups are Saturday 22nd October at 8:30-approx 2:00+ for those children attending classes on a Saturday and Sunday.
29th October for those attending on a Tuesday and Wednesday at the same time1:00.Letters to follow after school holidays with more information on date of meeting with parents,God bless you all and have a safe holiday.Meg.]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-214.html Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:03:30 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-214.html Monday21st and Tuesday 22nd Wednesday23rd ,will end the quarter.We will resume on Monday 18th July.Have a safe and wonderful holiday.God bless.Meg]]> Monday21st and Tuesday 22nd Wednesday23rd ,will end the quarter.We will resume on Monday 18th July.Have a safe and wonderful holiday.God bless.Meg]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-213.html Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:51:46 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-213.html ]]> ]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-212.html Sun, 29 May 2011 10:26:53 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-212.html http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-211.html Sun, 29 May 2011 10:18:25 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-211.html :]]> :]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-208.html Tue, 03 May 2011 11:30:31 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-208.html
My wife & I are looking for a good Christian day mother/nanny in the Table View; Sunningdale; West Beach area. If anyone knows or can suggest someone it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Roberto]]>
My wife & I are looking for a good Christian day mother/nanny in the Table View; Sunningdale; West Beach area. If anyone knows or can suggest someone it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Roberto]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-207.html Sat, 16 Apr 2011 09:00:46 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-207.html will insert some pictures on the site so please go and peep.]]> will insert some pictures on the site so please go and peep.]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-206.html Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:37:54 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-206.html ]]> ]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-205.html Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:10:38 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-205.html Masses for Easter will be as follows:

Holy Thursday,
23 April - 7pm Mass

Good Friday,
24 April - 10:00am (Stations of the Cross, Table View)
24 April - 10:00am (Stations of the Cross, Melkbos)

Passion of Christ
24 April - 3pm Service (Table View)
24 April - 3pm Service (Melkbos)

Easter Vigil, Saturday
25 April - 8pm Mass

Easter Sunday
26 April - 8am and 10am Mass in Table View
26 April - NO 6pm Mass in Table View
26 April - 6pm Mass in Melkbos

Easter Monday (Public Holiday)
27 April - 9am Mass

Tuesday
28 April - 8:30am Mass]]> Masses for Easter will be as follows:

Holy Thursday,
23 April - 7pm Mass

Good Friday,
24 April - 10:00am (Stations of the Cross, Table View)
24 April - 10:00am (Stations of the Cross, Melkbos)

Passion of Christ
24 April - 3pm Service (Table View)
24 April - 3pm Service (Melkbos)

Easter Vigil, Saturday
25 April - 8pm Mass

Easter Sunday
26 April - 8am and 10am Mass in Table View
26 April - NO 6pm Mass in Table View
26 April - 6pm Mass in Melkbos

Easter Monday (Public Holiday)
27 April - 9am Mass

Tuesday
28 April - 8:30am Mass]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-201.html Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:42:20 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-201.html ]]> ]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-200.html Sat, 26 Mar 2011 10:05:01 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-200.html :)FR DAVID WE OFFER YOU UP IN PRAYER TO ALMIGHTY GOD.PLEASE TAKE IT EASY]]> :)FR DAVID WE OFFER YOU UP IN PRAYER TO ALMIGHTY GOD.PLEASE TAKE IT EASY]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-199.html Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:57:33 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-199.html ]]> ]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-198.html Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:54:29 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-198.html ]]> ]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-197.html Wed, 23 Mar 2011 10:05:13 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-197.html http://www.usccb.org/doctrine/Evaluation...009-03.pdf

GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING REIKI AS AN ALTERNATIVE THERAPY
Committee on Doctrine
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
1. From time to time questions have been raised about various alternative therapies that are often available in the United States. Bishops are sometimes asked, "What is the Church's position on such therapies?" The USCCB Committee on Doctrine has prepared this resource in order to assist bishops in their responses.

I. HEALING BY DIVINE GRACE AND HEALING BY NATURAL POWERS
2. The Church recognizes two kinds of healing: healing by divine grace and healing that utilizes the powers of nature. As for the first, we can point to the ministry of Christ, who performed many physical healings and who commissioned his disciples to carry on that work. In fidelity to this commission, from the time of the Apostles the Church has interceded on behalf of the sick through the invocation of the name of the Lord Jesus, asking for healing through the power of the Holy Spirit, whether in the form of the sacramental laying on of hands and anointing with oil or of simple prayers for healing, which often include an appeal to the saints for
their aid. As for the second, the Church has never considered a plea for divine healing, which comes as a gift from God, to exclude recourse to natural means of healing through the practice of medicine.1 Alongside her sacrament of healing and various prayers for healing, the Church has a
long history of caring for the sick through the use of natural means. The most obvious sign of this is the great number of Catholic hospitals that are found throughout our country.

3. The two kinds of healing are not mutually exclusive. Because it is possible to be healed by divine power does not mean that we should not use natural means at our disposal. It is not our decision whether or not God will heal someone by supernatural means. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church points out, the Holy Spirit sometimes gives to certain human beings "a special charism of healing so as to make manifest the power of the grace of the risen Lord."2
This power of healing is not at human disposal, however, for "even the most intense prayers do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses."
3 Recourse to natural means of healing therefore
remains entirely appropriate, as these are at human disposal. In fact, Christian charity demands that we not neglect natural means of healing people who are ill.

II. REIKI AND HEALING
A) The Origins and Basic Characteristics of Reiki
4. Reiki is a technique of healing that was invented in Japan in the late 1800s by Mikao Usui, who was studying Buddhist texts.4 According to Reiki teaching, illness is caused by some kind of disruption or imbalance in one's "life energy." A Reiki practitioner effects healing by placing his or her hands in certain positions on the patient's body in order to facilitate the flow of
Reiki, the "universal life energy," from the Reiki practitioner to the patient. There are numerous designated hand positions for addressing different problems. Reiki proponents assert that the practitioner is not the source of the healing energy, but merely a channel for it.5 To become a Reiki practitioner, one must receive an "initiation" or "attunement" from a Reiki Master. .

Some Reiki teachers explain that one eventually reaches the realization that the self and the "universal life energy"
are one, "that we are universal life force and that everything is energy, including ourselves" (Libby Barnett and Maggie Chambers with Susan Davidson, Reiki Energy Medicine: Bringing Healing Touch into Home, Hospital, and Hospice [Rochester, Vt.: Healing Arts Press, 1996], p. 48; see also p. 102).
3 ceremony makes one "attuned" to the "universal life energy" and enables one to serve as a conduit for it. There are said to be three different levels of attunement (some teach that there are four). At the higher levels, one can allegedly channel Reiki energy and effect healings at a distance, without physical contact.

B) Reiki as a Natural Means of Healing
5. Although Reiki proponents seem to agree that Reiki does not represent a religion of its own, but a technique that may be utilized by people from many religious traditions, it does have several aspects of a religion. Reiki is frequently described as a "spiritual" kind of healing as opposed to the common medical procedures of healing using physical means. Much of the
literature on Reiki is filled with references to God, the Goddess, the "divine healing power," and the "divine mind." The life force energy is described as being directed by God, the "Higher Intelligence," or the "divine consciousness." Likewise, the various "attunements" which the Reiki practitioner receives from a Reiki Master are accomplished through "sacred ceremonies" that involve the manifestation and contemplation of certain "sacred symbols" (which have traditionally been kept secret by Reiki Masters). Furthermore, Reiki is frequently described as a "way of living," with a list of five "Reiki Precepts" stipulating proper ethical conduct.
6. Nevertheless, there are some Reiki practitioners, primarily nurses, who attempt to approach Reiki simply as a natural means of healing. Viewed as natural means of healing, however, Reiki becomes subject to the standards of natural science. It is true that there may be
means of natural healing that have not yet been understood or recognized by science. The basic criteria for judging whether or not one should entrust oneself to any particular natural means of healing, however, remain those of science.
7. Judged according to these standards, Reiki lacks scientific credibility. It has not been accepted by the scientific and medical communities as an effective therapy. Reputable scientific studies attesting to the efficacy of Reiki are lacking, as is a plausible scientific explanation as to how it could possibly be efficacious. The explanation of the efficacy of Reiki depends entirely on a particular view of the world as permeated by this "universal life energy" (Reiki) that is subject to manipulation by human thought and will. Reiki practitioners claim that their training allows one to channel the "universal life energy" that is present in all things. This "universal life
energy," however, is unknown to natural science. As the presence of such energy has not been observed by means of natural science, the justification for these therapies necessarily must come from something other than science.

C) Reiki and the Healing Power of Christ
8. Some people have attempted to identify Reiki with the divine healing known to Christians.
6 They are mistaken. The radical difference can be immediately seen in the fact that for the Reiki practitioner the healing power is at human disposal. Some teachers want to avoid this implication and argue that it is not the Reiki practitioner personally who effects the healing, but the Reiki energy directed by the divine consciousness. Nevertheless, the fact remains that for Christians the access to divine healing is by prayer to Christ as Lord and Savior, while the essence of Reiki is not a prayer but a technique that is passed down from the "Reiki Master" to the pupil, a technique that once mastered will reliably produce the anticipated esults.
7 Some practitioners attempt to Christianize Reiki by adding a prayer to Christ, but this does not affect the essential nature of Reiki. For these reasons, Reiki and other similar therapeutic techniques cannot be identified with what Christians call healing by divine grace.
9. The difference between what Christians recognize as healing by divine grace and Reiki therapy is also evident in the basic terms used by Reiki proponents to describe what happens in Reiki therapy, particularly that of "universal life energy." Neither the Scriptures nor the Christian tradition as a whole speak of the natural world as based on "universal life energy" that
is subject to manipulation by the natural human power of thought and will. In fact, this worldview has its origins in eastern religions and has a certain monist and pantheistic character, in that distinctions among self, world, and God tend to fall away.8 We have already seen that Reiki practitioners are unable to differentiate clearly between divine healing power and power that is at human disposal.

III. CONCLUSION
10. Reiki therapy finds no support either in the findings of natural science or in Christian belief. For a Catholic to believe in Reiki therapy presents insoluble problems. In terms of caring for one's physical health or the physical health of others, to employ a technique that has no scientific support (or even plausibility) is generally not prudent.
11. In terms of caring for one's spiritual health, there are important dangers. To use Reiki one would have to accept at least in an implicit way central elements of the worldview that "Alignment with your Self and being Reiki is an ongoing process. Willingness to continuously engage in this process furthers your evolution and can lead to the sustained recognition and ultimate experience that you are universal life force" (The Reiki Healing Connection [Libby Barnett, M.S.W.],
Diane Stein summarizes the meaning of some of the "sacred symbols" used in Reiki attunements as: "The Goddess in me salutes the Goddess in you";
"Man and God becoming one" (Essential Reiki Teaching Manual: A Companion Guide for Reiki Healers [Berkeley,
Cal.: Crossing Press, 2007], pp. 129-31). Anne Charlish and Angela Robertshaw explain that the highest Reiki attunement "marks a shift from the ego and self to a feeling of oneness with the universal life-force energy" (Secrets of Reiki [New York, N.Y.: DK Publishing, 2001], p. 84).

Without justification either from Christian faith or natural science, however, a Catholic who puts his or her trust in Reiki would be operating in the realm of superstition, the no-man's-land that is neither faith nor science.
9 Superstition corrupts one's worship of God by turning one's religious
feeling and practice in a false direction.
10 While sometimes people fall into superstition through ignorance, it is the responsibility of all who teach in the name of the Church to eliminate such ignorance as much as possible.
12. Since Reiki therapy is not compatible with either Christian teaching or scientific evidence, it would be inappropriate for Catholic institutions, such as Catholic health care facilities and retreat centers, or persons representing the Church, such as Catholic chaplains, to promote or to provide support for Reiki therapy.
Most Rev. William E. Lori (Chairman) Most Rev. John C. Nienstedt
Bishop of Bridgeport Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Most Rev. Leonard P. Blair Most Rev. Arthur J. Serratelli
Bishop of Toledo Bishop of Paterson
Most Rev. José H. Gomez Most Rev. Allen H. Vigneron
Archbishop of San Antonio Bishop of Oakland
Most Rev. Robert J. McManus Most Rev. Donald W. Wuerl
Bishop of Worcester Archbishop of Washington
9 Some forms of Reiki teach of a need to appeal for the assistance of angelic beings or "Reiki spirit guides." This introduces the further danger of exposure to malevolent forces or powers.
10 See Catechism, no. 2111; St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae II-II, q. 92, a. 1.]]> http://www.usccb.org/doctrine/Evaluation...009-03.pdf

GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING REIKI AS AN ALTERNATIVE THERAPY
Committee on Doctrine
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
1. From time to time questions have been raised about various alternative therapies that are often available in the United States. Bishops are sometimes asked, "What is the Church's position on such therapies?" The USCCB Committee on Doctrine has prepared this resource in order to assist bishops in their responses.

I. HEALING BY DIVINE GRACE AND HEALING BY NATURAL POWERS
2. The Church recognizes two kinds of healing: healing by divine grace and healing that utilizes the powers of nature. As for the first, we can point to the ministry of Christ, who performed many physical healings and who commissioned his disciples to carry on that work. In fidelity to this commission, from the time of the Apostles the Church has interceded on behalf of the sick through the invocation of the name of the Lord Jesus, asking for healing through the power of the Holy Spirit, whether in the form of the sacramental laying on of hands and anointing with oil or of simple prayers for healing, which often include an appeal to the saints for
their aid. As for the second, the Church has never considered a plea for divine healing, which comes as a gift from God, to exclude recourse to natural means of healing through the practice of medicine.1 Alongside her sacrament of healing and various prayers for healing, the Church has a
long history of caring for the sick through the use of natural means. The most obvious sign of this is the great number of Catholic hospitals that are found throughout our country.

3. The two kinds of healing are not mutually exclusive. Because it is possible to be healed by divine power does not mean that we should not use natural means at our disposal. It is not our decision whether or not God will heal someone by supernatural means. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church points out, the Holy Spirit sometimes gives to certain human beings "a special charism of healing so as to make manifest the power of the grace of the risen Lord."2
This power of healing is not at human disposal, however, for "even the most intense prayers do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses."
3 Recourse to natural means of healing therefore
remains entirely appropriate, as these are at human disposal. In fact, Christian charity demands that we not neglect natural means of healing people who are ill.

II. REIKI AND HEALING
A) The Origins and Basic Characteristics of Reiki
4. Reiki is a technique of healing that was invented in Japan in the late 1800s by Mikao Usui, who was studying Buddhist texts.4 According to Reiki teaching, illness is caused by some kind of disruption or imbalance in one's "life energy." A Reiki practitioner effects healing by placing his or her hands in certain positions on the patient's body in order to facilitate the flow of
Reiki, the "universal life energy," from the Reiki practitioner to the patient. There are numerous designated hand positions for addressing different problems. Reiki proponents assert that the practitioner is not the source of the healing energy, but merely a channel for it.5 To become a Reiki practitioner, one must receive an "initiation" or "attunement" from a Reiki Master. .

Some Reiki teachers explain that one eventually reaches the realization that the self and the "universal life energy"
are one, "that we are universal life force and that everything is energy, including ourselves" (Libby Barnett and Maggie Chambers with Susan Davidson, Reiki Energy Medicine: Bringing Healing Touch into Home, Hospital, and Hospice [Rochester, Vt.: Healing Arts Press, 1996], p. 48; see also p. 102).
3 ceremony makes one "attuned" to the "universal life energy" and enables one to serve as a conduit for it. There are said to be three different levels of attunement (some teach that there are four). At the higher levels, one can allegedly channel Reiki energy and effect healings at a distance, without physical contact.

B) Reiki as a Natural Means of Healing
5. Although Reiki proponents seem to agree that Reiki does not represent a religion of its own, but a technique that may be utilized by people from many religious traditions, it does have several aspects of a religion. Reiki is frequently described as a "spiritual" kind of healing as opposed to the common medical procedures of healing using physical means. Much of the
literature on Reiki is filled with references to God, the Goddess, the "divine healing power," and the "divine mind." The life force energy is described as being directed by God, the "Higher Intelligence," or the "divine consciousness." Likewise, the various "attunements" which the Reiki practitioner receives from a Reiki Master are accomplished through "sacred ceremonies" that involve the manifestation and contemplation of certain "sacred symbols" (which have traditionally been kept secret by Reiki Masters). Furthermore, Reiki is frequently described as a "way of living," with a list of five "Reiki Precepts" stipulating proper ethical conduct.
6. Nevertheless, there are some Reiki practitioners, primarily nurses, who attempt to approach Reiki simply as a natural means of healing. Viewed as natural means of healing, however, Reiki becomes subject to the standards of natural science. It is true that there may be
means of natural healing that have not yet been understood or recognized by science. The basic criteria for judging whether or not one should entrust oneself to any particular natural means of healing, however, remain those of science.
7. Judged according to these standards, Reiki lacks scientific credibility. It has not been accepted by the scientific and medical communities as an effective therapy. Reputable scientific studies attesting to the efficacy of Reiki are lacking, as is a plausible scientific explanation as to how it could possibly be efficacious. The explanation of the efficacy of Reiki depends entirely on a particular view of the world as permeated by this "universal life energy" (Reiki) that is subject to manipulation by human thought and will. Reiki practitioners claim that their training allows one to channel the "universal life energy" that is present in all things. This "universal life
energy," however, is unknown to natural science. As the presence of such energy has not been observed by means of natural science, the justification for these therapies necessarily must come from something other than science.

C) Reiki and the Healing Power of Christ
8. Some people have attempted to identify Reiki with the divine healing known to Christians.
6 They are mistaken. The radical difference can be immediately seen in the fact that for the Reiki practitioner the healing power is at human disposal. Some teachers want to avoid this implication and argue that it is not the Reiki practitioner personally who effects the healing, but the Reiki energy directed by the divine consciousness. Nevertheless, the fact remains that for Christians the access to divine healing is by prayer to Christ as Lord and Savior, while the essence of Reiki is not a prayer but a technique that is passed down from the "Reiki Master" to the pupil, a technique that once mastered will reliably produce the anticipated esults.
7 Some practitioners attempt to Christianize Reiki by adding a prayer to Christ, but this does not affect the essential nature of Reiki. For these reasons, Reiki and other similar therapeutic techniques cannot be identified with what Christians call healing by divine grace.
9. The difference between what Christians recognize as healing by divine grace and Reiki therapy is also evident in the basic terms used by Reiki proponents to describe what happens in Reiki therapy, particularly that of "universal life energy." Neither the Scriptures nor the Christian tradition as a whole speak of the natural world as based on "universal life energy" that
is subject to manipulation by the natural human power of thought and will. In fact, this worldview has its origins in eastern religions and has a certain monist and pantheistic character, in that distinctions among self, world, and God tend to fall away.8 We have already seen that Reiki practitioners are unable to differentiate clearly between divine healing power and power that is at human disposal.

III. CONCLUSION
10. Reiki therapy finds no support either in the findings of natural science or in Christian belief. For a Catholic to believe in Reiki therapy presents insoluble problems. In terms of caring for one's physical health or the physical health of others, to employ a technique that has no scientific support (or even plausibility) is generally not prudent.
11. In terms of caring for one's spiritual health, there are important dangers. To use Reiki one would have to accept at least in an implicit way central elements of the worldview that "Alignment with your Self and being Reiki is an ongoing process. Willingness to continuously engage in this process furthers your evolution and can lead to the sustained recognition and ultimate experience that you are universal life force" (The Reiki Healing Connection [Libby Barnett, M.S.W.],
Diane Stein summarizes the meaning of some of the "sacred symbols" used in Reiki attunements as: "The Goddess in me salutes the Goddess in you";
"Man and God becoming one" (Essential Reiki Teaching Manual: A Companion Guide for Reiki Healers [Berkeley,
Cal.: Crossing Press, 2007], pp. 129-31). Anne Charlish and Angela Robertshaw explain that the highest Reiki attunement "marks a shift from the ego and self to a feeling of oneness with the universal life-force energy" (Secrets of Reiki [New York, N.Y.: DK Publishing, 2001], p. 84).

Without justification either from Christian faith or natural science, however, a Catholic who puts his or her trust in Reiki would be operating in the realm of superstition, the no-man's-land that is neither faith nor science.
9 Superstition corrupts one's worship of God by turning one's religious
feeling and practice in a false direction.
10 While sometimes people fall into superstition through ignorance, it is the responsibility of all who teach in the name of the Church to eliminate such ignorance as much as possible.
12. Since Reiki therapy is not compatible with either Christian teaching or scientific evidence, it would be inappropriate for Catholic institutions, such as Catholic health care facilities and retreat centers, or persons representing the Church, such as Catholic chaplains, to promote or to provide support for Reiki therapy.
Most Rev. William E. Lori (Chairman) Most Rev. John C. Nienstedt
Bishop of Bridgeport Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Most Rev. Leonard P. Blair Most Rev. Arthur J. Serratelli
Bishop of Toledo Bishop of Paterson
Most Rev. José H. Gomez Most Rev. Allen H. Vigneron
Archbishop of San Antonio Bishop of Oakland
Most Rev. Robert J. McManus Most Rev. Donald W. Wuerl
Bishop of Worcester Archbishop of Washington
9 Some forms of Reiki teach of a need to appeal for the assistance of angelic beings or "Reiki spirit guides." This introduces the further danger of exposure to malevolent forces or powers.
10 See Catechism, no. 2111; St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae II-II, q. 92, a. 1.]]> http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-196.html Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:06:36 +0000 http://www.resurrection.co.za/forum/thread-196.html ]]> ]]>