More than 130 Catholics of all ages gathered on the Soboba Indian Reservation Oct. 5 to reflect on their call to environmental stewardship.
It was the third straight year the Diocese, through its Laudato Si Committee, has sponsored a day to experience the local natural environment while reflecting on Church teaching about care for the earth. Laudato Si is Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment. The Bishops of California issued a pastoral statement, “God Calls Us to Care for Our Common Home,” in June to emphasize the local application of Laudato Si.
As with the previous two Care for Creation Day events, Catholic Native American spirituality was emphasized in the opening Prayer of the Four Directions and in a purification ritual using sage. The day was held at The Oaks, a picturesque natural backdrop of oak trees, cacti and other native plants, with rolling foothills in the distance.
Following the opening prayer, attendees walked through the natural area and visited six stations representing the six days of creation from the Book of Genesis. Facilitators connected each day to an environmental resource: air, water, land, living creatures, plant life and the atmosphere. The groups of participants who visited each station were then invited to share thoughts and questions about what they had heard.
Ray Burnell, Director of Education and Environmental Stewardship for the California Catholic Conference, attended the event and offered remarks on “God Calls Us to Care for Our Common Home.” He praised the Diocese of San Bernardino as being innovative in promoting the California Bishops’ message and setting an example for prioritizing the Church’s environmental teachings.
Bishop Gerald Barnes was on hand to accept an award given to the Diocesan Pastoral Center for its solar energy project, which was finishing up construction in October. Bishop Barnes offered closing remarks for the event, encouraging attendees to reflect on what they had learned at Care for Creation Day and think about how they can live more harmoniously with God’s creation.
Full story at Inland Catholic Byte.
I love the psalms, many point to the awe and power of Almighty God. Which those who don’t believe miss. All creation sings His praise and point us to The Creator.
I am happy they added the days of creation exhibit, hope this brings people closer to God and not to worship nature.We are warned by Him to worship Him alone and not His creatures. Many spend more time focused on nature then God. Nature is to draw us to God. We must not forget.
“a purification ritual using sage.”
This sounds like a religious ceremony, but I can’t say I’ve ever heard of any such ceremony in the Catholic religion. I take it, then, the bishop was in attendance at a pagan ritual?
Again with pagan belief and practices
Yes, and the pope allowed it in the Vatican Gardens and inside St. Peter’s. Can’t follow pagan practices folks, even if Francis likes it.
I am not sure about the rules– but from antiquity, pagan cultures that convert to Christianity are allowed by the Church, to keep some of their customs and rituals. We use holy water and sacred incense, for purification rituals, in our Church– and many Native American tribes use sage. Not sure of Church rules on this! We have some outstanding Native American Saints– including St. Juan Diego, and St. Kateri Tekakwitha. God made all Creation, and we must respect it, and live carefully and respectfully of His Creation, (including ourselves, and our own bodies!) while on earth– everything belongs to God, not to us!
Don’t mix Catholic faith with paganism. Pagan rituals (customs) were never accepted by the Church. The Church exists to purify us from all forms of paganism and to bring us to the Lord. And as for Native American Saints- they were Saints because they converted and left paganism and fought against it. As for respecting God’s creation – how about starting with respecting the part of creation most deserving of respect because it is made in God’s image – babies in the womb?
Frankincense Bible
Sage Pagan
What exactly are we trying to do with sage? Are we burning sage in a pagan ritual of purification? Or did we take the sage and removed all of the pagan meaning behind the burning of sage? It does not seem that the pagan meaning behind this sage burning was removed. In case anyone is tempted, idols can never be de-paganized. They remain idolatrous. They remain demons…
Again– I am not sure about Church rules, for pagan converts! Anyway– many years ago, when young, I worked on an Indian reservation one summer. It was so sad! A culture once great, nearly destroyed! The young had no hope! Many were sadly dying of alcoholism! One day, I was asked to deliver a letter to a poor young Indian girl, sadly abused, suffering from alcoholism. Her illegitimate baby was to be soon adopted by a white married couple. She cried and cried! I felt so badly for her! I and others saw some of the traditional rituals– with both Catholic and Protestant clergy there. A Mormon missionary and an anthropologist were each doing research, and writing books. I went to daily Mass– and wondered what God could do, to help end the sufferings of these poor and desperate people!
Oh– the Indians had no idols, at their ceremonies. Sometimes, they would talk about the glories of Christ, at these ceremonies.
Well, this is why we need to pray for the Church, as well as the Pope (but not to follow his practices). Yes, paganism is alive and well in the Vatican, and among the many bishops in the world. Is Catholicism even practiced today by the institutional Church? We have butchered our own glorious history, settled for a poor liturgy as a way to worship Christ, re-written the sacraments (?? why ??), and dumbed down the Faith so much that few even know about the Real Presence of Christ at the altar. Do not spend one moment on such craziness; ask God for His mercy for our heathenism.
What is the difference between burning sage (a bush) for purification and burning frankinsense (a tree) for purification?
Tell me, YFC.
https://adoremus.org/2012/02/15/holy-smoke-the-use-of-incense-in-the-catholic-church/
sage goes well with chicken,
and maybe a little white wine
but what does this have to do with
religion?
When very young, I worked one summer on an Indian reservation. Tragic! A once great indigenous culture, nearly destroyed! I and other workers saw some of their rituals. A Mormon missionary and an anthropologist both were writing books, there. Most Indians were Catholic. I went to daily Mass, and wondered how God could bring these poor, suffering people a better life! They were so destroyed by crime, poverty, and alcoholism! With no hope! One day, I had to deliver a letter to a poor, young, abused teen alcoholic Indian girl– her beloved illegitimate baby was soon to be adopted to a well-off white family. Oh, I felt badly for her! She cried and cried! Not sure of Church rules for them– but they suffer a tragic fate, and need our prayers!
When young, I had a close friend who was of mixed European and Cherokee Indian ancestry. She and her family all qualified as legal members of the Cherokee tribe, being of at least 1/4 Cherokee blood.
Abp. Charles Chaput is our first Native American Archbishop– he also is of mixed ancestry, and is a legal member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe, from his mother’s side. His French-Canadian father was descended from St. King Louis IX!!
Not sure– but I think Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego, in a manner familiar to him– clothed as a glorious, noble Aztec princess– and also spoke to him, in his own Indian language. Her apparition resulted in many miraculous healings, and millions of Indian conversions! I bet Abp. Chaput would be an excellent source for correct information, on Church requirements for Native American conversions.
St. Paul faced similar issues in his ministry.
I think we should not conflate mundane things like traditional dress to pagan religious practices. One is morally neutral the other is evil, goes against divine law.
the sage advice of the
traditional Catholic Church
goes up in smoke – again !
After the Pachamama abomination, I recommend the type of incense used in the Jewish Temple where the Lord Jesus Christ attended — Frankincense, myrrh and types used at the Traditional and Eastern Rite Masses. One can get it at good Catholic supply stores for home use.
Best to ask a trustworthy priest before buying. I have bought things without realizing they had pagan connotations, had to get rid of them and wasted money. Always ask the meaning of unknown symbols on merchandise before buying. I recently bought two items with symbols for charities that give to Planned Parenthood. Will be more careful.
Church incense of the type I recommended is not used for any type of purification as far as I know. It is used as an offering to God during a mass, or for the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and altar of sacrifice, or to incense Christians because their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Some use it during home prayer time, thus reminding them of the Book of Revelation where incense going up to God represents the prayers of the saints
Incensing toward the four directions is a pagan practice, not a Christian one.
I like sage, though, and I want to thank the Native American Tribes for giving it to us. There will be plenty of it in our Thanksgiving turkey dressing. We will also have plenty of people from native American tribes, both north and south at our family table, and we will not be burning sage incense at the churches to which we belong, some Catholic, some Protestant.
God bless all and a Happy Thanksgiving ahead of time.
I would add that there is nothing wrong with burning sage if one just likes the odor in ones place of residence or outdoor environment. In that incidence it seems to be no different from using home fresheners like Glade or Airwick.
“The theory behind this burning ritual is that the smoke will attach itself to negative energy and as the smoke clears away it takes the negative energy with it, releasing it into another space where it can then be recycled into positive energy.” This quote is from a website instructing on how and why to burn sage following ancient traditions both Native American and Druid (so claimed.) Danger zone! Pachamama lite! No, actually not just danger, the practitioners of ritual sage burning are violating the First Commandment, unless they are invincibly ignorant of that Commandment. Negative energy? Positive energy? Nonsense. Trust in God, worship Him alone, ask Him alone for spiritual remediation.
Abp. Vigano is correct– the desecrated Vatican needs to be purified, due to the “Pachamama” scandal!
Along with purification of the desecrated Vatican, due to the idols– I think the Pope owes it to the Church and to the world– to highly extoll and praise the Christ-like celibate, male priesthood– and likewise, extoll and praise the role of Our Blessed Mother, for all Catholic women to look up to, and emulate.
From the USCCB:
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/cultural-diversity/upload/Two-Rivers-On-Catholic-Native-American-Culture-and-Diversity.pdf
Certainly the bible neither tells us to burn incense or to not burn incense. There are stories in the Bible of fire purifying things though. One could believe the byproduct of fire, smoke, therefore violates nothing. It would be a sin however to believe spiritual power exists in smoke (despite smoke being used to signal a new pope) or likewise in crossing oneself. Burning incense and crossing oneself are similar things.
If one wants to “smudge” pick a Psalm and repeat it outloud as you smudge away. You can bless your home without incense too.
Leave your doors and windows open!