CNS Rome bureau: Catechism, yoga, Zen cannot open people's hearts to God, pope says:  http://t.co/utL2Y7geou #CNSstory
— Catholic News Svc (@CatholicNewsSvc) January 9, 2015

I cannot agree more with this little article, as a person who tried all kinds of ways in my younger adulthood to be healed and connect with...SOMETHING...I tried Buddhist meditation, EFT, Reiki, even pagan moon rituals. Nothing led me to the Love of God. The moment of my "resurrection" or conversion experience had absolutely nothing to do with my own effort. It was the Holy Spirit, a shaft of light piercing the darkness that had become my inner world, and the Spirit showed me the Heart of Jesus on fire for me. For me! 

I'm not talking down to Buddhists, pagans, Yoga and Reiki practitioners, or anyone else... I know that those practices come from the same desire to be loved and to love. My own experience is that those are limited forms that do not do the "trick," and only God can move us in our deepest selves. I'm sure there are those who might be offended by this, and for that I would be deeply sorry, for I don't wish to offend. But I have to agree with the Pope because it's the truth as I've experienced it and know it deeply. As I read St. Augustine's Confessions, I have to smile because I am constantly saying to myself "Yeah, me, too!" In other words, this movement of the Spirit isn't a one-off type of revelation; it's how God operates.

I also think Pope Francis' words about Jesus' disciples having hardened hearts are very pertinent - because even those who walked with Him and ate and lived with Him every day were hardened by what Pope Francis calls "religious narcissism." By this I understand he means those who think to themselves "yup, I'm all set, I'm good, I'm doing everything I'm supposed to" and therefore that's it, that's all that's required. In reality, God wants us to ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts to Him. It's a constant waiting for us to turn to Him, and He is ever ready to help us open ourselves to Him. It's not about dotting the i's and crossing the t's - in other words, we don't work out our own salvation. We instead invite Him to heal us, change us - into what? Into Himself, to become divinized in Him, the living God.

Studying Catechism is a fine thing, but intimate prayer such as St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross (and many others) taught is the way to open ourselves to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus, Himself, taught us to go into our rooms, shut the door, and pray to the Father in secret. That's a very intimate form of prayer, isn't it? This intimate sharing between us and God, and frequent reception of the Eucharist are what's necessary. But even for non-Christians who don't receive the Eucharist, opening yourself and asking the Holy Spirit to pray in you, and asking God to meet you in your deepest self will prepare the garden of your soul for God to cultivate. It's not about what you "do" for yourself, it's about asking God to embrace you, as He so longs to do!