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If one investigates closely, one will find the Saldanhas and Josephs in every major Indian city. Being well-connected and wealthy, they exert great influence in Catholic institutions and are able to bring many Catholic religious and laypersons into their net. A study of the mind of a holistic healer will help illustrate the need for serious concern.

It contained Rebello’s book titled Aids & Alternative Medicine [first published 2000, third edition March 2003] and his magazine Amrit-Manthan, International Journal devoted to Holistic Healing. BOTH contained articles on Reiki.

In the Amrit-Manthan, he makes these claims: “It is a holistic healing method which was originally practiced by Jesus Christ and given to his 12 disciples. For some time it was lost to the world. In the 19^th century it was revived by a Japanese, Dr. Mikao Usui… Attunement is the process of opening a channel for cosmic energy to flow.

Once such a channel is established, it remains a Reiki channel for the rest of the life…” The book Aids…has a chapter A to Z of Alternative Medicine. It explains Acupuncture, Acupressure, Affirmations, Auto-suggestion, Bach Flower Remedies, Biofeedback, Chromo-[or colour] therapy, Distant Healing, Feng Shui, Gem Therapy, Guided Imagery, Homoeopathy, Hypnotherapy, Iridology, Kinesiology, Kirlian Photography, Magneto-therapy, use of Qi [Ki or Chi or Prana], Radionics, Radiesthesia, Reflexology, Shiatsu, Silva Mind Control, Surya Namaskar, Yoga, Zone Therapy, seemingly harmless ‘natural’ or ‘traditional’ methods and systems like Ayurveda, Bodywork, Energy healing, Massage, Naturopathy, Ritual Healing, Tibetan Medicine and Unani. AND REIKI.

I repeat these lists ad nauseam [taken always from different sources] in almost every report or article to show the reader that all proponents of alternative medicine unanimously agree on what therapies come under this category. 36.

It is unfortunate that some Christians who may practice any one of the above, say homoeopathy or acupuncture or yoga, will stubbornly reject the available evidence on these systems while at the same time admitting that Reiki is occult. Almost all these therapies have been listed in the Vatican document in the New Age.

Others which haven’t been specifically named will find place in generalisations in the document, such as herbal remedies etc. This writer has already dealt with a large number of them in individual articles, and the rest will follow shortly.
It must be explained why pranic healing never figures in these lists. The World Pranic Healing Foundation, through its organization of National and Regional Foundations down to the attuned pranic channeler at the local level, run a tightly knit network that ensures that certified pranic healers who, like would-be Reiki healers fork out the course fees for being ‘raised’ to successively higher ‘levels’, not only ‘tithe’ so that money is funneled continuously back upwards to the very founder, but also are strictly prevented from practising [officially at least] any other form of alternative medicine, in a sort of monogamous relationship.

Reiki however is a different story, and so is more widespread. The several Reiki organizations and even most certified Reiki Masters and Grand Masters pass on their occult anointing to anyone interested. For a fee of course.

Since Reiki [and pranic] healers have spent good money to obtain their certification and accreditation, the recovery of these investments has sparked a burgeoning number of Reiki healers, many of them additionally equipping themselves with proficiency in several of the numerous therapies that we have seen listed above. In this ministry, the writer comes across more and more such cases among Catholics, even priests and nuns.
Dr. Rebello has published works like Nature Cure and Yoga Therapy, Surya Namaskar, Homoeopathy for All, Holistic Healing, etc. The first edition of Aids… was titled Aids and Holistic Healing. Rebello postulates that yoga, ayurveda, homoeopathy, unani etc. cure Aids. He promotes what he calls ‘Dr. Leo Rebello’s Aids Vaccines’ and homoeopathic urine. He says that “Yoga is an eight-fold path of evolution from man to superman” and discusses the therapeutic effects of the various asanas complete with photographs. “Meditation is far superior to prayer and going to… churches to meet God… In the evening, when you meditate, recall whether you have done anything wrong, willy-nilly. If so, give auto-suggestion that this will not happen again”, he teaches. Like all New Agers, Rebello does not entertain the concept of sin or repentance for sin, and the solution to all unwelcome situations is in SELF-HELP. He believes that “For centuries mystics, spiritual healers and psychics have been fascinated by the ‘auras’ that surround people… Our body is composed of the seven colours of the rainbow… Vibrations from gem-stones can relieve or remove mental and emotional problems… Since Aids pushes through blood, a ruby can be worn on the right hand…

If you imagine, it can become reality… Some great vegetarians were Jesus Christ, Gautama Buddha, St. Mathew… St. Paul abhorred meat-eating and considered it as an indication of religious degradation… I too firmly believe that Vegetarianism alone can change the destiny of humankind…Raw food should be the only nourishment taken by man.” In Amrit-Manthan Rebello recommends books like Kundalini- The Serpent Power by Dr. Barin De [“the functioning of chakras… psychic centres for meditation, signs of a rising kundalini… Get hold of a copy of this book if you want to become a Superman”]; Suryanamaskar by Dr. Sharad Nayampally, National Journal of Homeopathy by Dr. Vishpala Parthasarathy, Iscador Therapy by Dr. K.N. Kasad ‘an eminent homoeopath’.

His ambition is to set up a Holistic Health Farm and a Holistic Health Hospital with an international university, homoeopathic medicine production unit, media centre to promote alternative medicine etc., “where patients will be treated with Natural and Traditional healing modalities”. Amrit-Manthan plans to institute annual awards for outstanding contributions in the fields of ayurveda, naturopathy, homoeopathy and yoga. Rebello works hard “to challenge the quackery and hegemony of a pseudo-science called allopathy, also known as modern medicine, western medicine, scientific medicine, orthodox medicine or official medicine”. He avers that allopathy “is not a science” and wages war against the “pharmaceutical mafia”. He propagates the ‘Total’ approach of Alternative medicine also known as Traditional or Complementary or Holistic or Ethno or Natural medicine.

Dr. Rebello proudly boasts that he “has not subjected” his two sons “to any inoculations or vaccinations, and except the sweet pills of homoeopathy they do not know the taste of other medicines.” His wife Kashmira has explained “the Indian lore of Amrit Manthan.” It is all about Lord Vishnu, the devtas or celestial beings, the great serpent god Vasuki Nag, the asuras or demons, Lord Shiva, the God of Medicine Dhanvantari, and Amrit, the elixir of life which Rebello offers through the use of alternative medicine. New Age leanings are revealed in Aids… [page 20] where he quotes Richard Grossinger in Planet Medicine: Man is one, and our salvation lies eventually in a mutual sharing of all knowledge. In Amrit Manthan [page 48] he recommends that we would do well to imitate New Ager Deepak Chopra who is now “marketing old wine in new bottles” which is precisely what the New Age and alternative medicine is all about!

The back inner cover of Amrit-Manthan carries two photographs of Dr. Rebello sitting under trees in the classic yogic lotus posture of padmasana.
Dr. Rebello’s comments on Jesus Christ and His Church In response to my letters and articles on New Age in The Coastal Observer, I received emails from Dr. Rebello.

Excerpts from them: “Whatever ignorant comments the Roman Catholic Church may have to offer about Alternative Medicines, New Age Movement is… NOT what the Church understands…The Church does not understand that even Jesus Christ employed Traditional or Natural Medicines [clay] in healing the sick and the diseased. The Church remains the most decadent institution, enslaving the Christian followers… If we go by the logic of Vatican’s explanation on New Age, then Jesus Christ should be the first New Ager because he… ordained us directly to pray to the ‘Father in Heaven’ without any intermediary like the Pope…” [19^th June 2003] “I was born in Bombay of orthodox Goan Roman Catholic parents. I took active part and interest in Church activities until I saw the ‘holy acts’ of ‘holy priests’! After studying many major and minor religions, I stopped going to Church some 33 years ago… I am married to a Parsi lady, Kashmira, who got distinction in Bible studies… I have NOT converted her nor have I christened my two sons…

“Clay and spittle is nothing but traditional and natural wisdom learnt by Jesus in the Gurukul… Do you know where Jesus Christ was from the age of 12 until the age of 30…? He was in the Gurukul where he learnt the secrets of nature including the highest siddhi of walking on water by yogic method. And when he raised the dead it was all powerful Sanjeevani!!… “Do you think that the old testament is different from the Vedas? Do you think that the Christian belief in the Trinity is original and not the same as the Hindu trinity? And do you think Virgin Mary is the only virgin who produced a divine child? Did you know that Zoroaster’s mother was a virgin? What about Karna’s mother who chanted some mantras in favour of the Sun God and conceived? What about Ganpati’s mother Parvati? What about wind God Maruti’s extraordinary birth?… According to me the so-called Holy Bible [etc.] are all history books…

“I think most cardinals are Freemasons… They control the Church and you follow them blindly. So it is like one blind leading the other. Time has stood still in the gargantuan slavish organization called the church.” [10^th July 2003]

The letter occupies almost a full page of The Examiner, but I reproduce here only the portion relevant to us:

“The idea of your Swasthya Suraksha Yojana is limited only towards one of the systems of medicine (western medicine – allopathy). How about having tertiary level hospitals of Ayurveda, Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Naturopathy which the government has recognized?” Letter to the editor, by Ronald Rebello, Mumbai.

Who is Ronald Rebello who wrote to the Prime Minister copy to The Examiner, asking for "tertiary level hospitals of Acupuncture" etc.? At the time of writing that letter, Ronald Rebello was just 21 years old.

He died on February 23, 2007, aged 25. He was the son of Dr. Leo Rebello. Who is Dr. Leo Rebello?

Dr. Leo Rebello is a lapsed Catholic, a leading New Ager and fanatic promoter of New Age Alternative Therapies.

Dr. Rebello wrote me that both their sons, Ronald and Robin were never subjected to any inoculations or vaccinations, and, excepting homoeopathy, have never used any allopathic medicines, under their dad's "professional" care.

It is therefore very sad to hear of Ronald Rebello's 25 days of high fever which remained undiagnosed or refused to reduce, resulting in his untimely and unnecessary demise.

It is my sincere belief that Ronald Rebello would be alive today if his father had not denied him vaccinations, inoculations and allopathic treatment in favour of homeopathy and other dubious alternative medicines about which he has written so much in the books that he has authored. And this is the grave danger in what The Examiner is doing with issues concerning the health of its subscribers and readers as I have demonstrated in my many articles.

For example, The Examiner, March 1, 2008, "Cancer Therapy" Letter to the Editor by Dr. Neville S. Bengali, the doctor recommends magnet therapy claiming that it checks cancer in its initial stages; he also suggests "a judicious co-ordination of different systems (like allopathy and/or homoeopathy with magnet therapy)."

Following such advice can prove fatal for patients who depend heavily on alternative therapies.
Misuse of the name and reputation of Mother Teresa to promote New Age Alternative Medicine 1. By Dr. Leo Rebello and his organization

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The back cover page of Amrit-Manthan has photographs of Rebello posing with Vajpayee, K.R. Narayanan, Giani Zail Singh, Morarji Desai, Swami Agnivesh etc. But at the very top of the page is a picture of him with Mother Teresa! The letter dated January 8, 2003 from the Nobel Committee in Stockholm proposing Rebello’s name for a Nobel award refers to “his poem on Health which Mother Teresa recited from 1989 till her death.”

Though this ‘Prayer For Health’ to the “Heavenly Father’ is apparently innocent, it ends with the words “Amen, Amin, Om!” and even if it did not, it is highly improbable that Mother Teresa would have used this prayer even once.

2. By the Indian Institute of Alternative Medicines [IIAM], Kolkata This matter was first brought to the attention of the Church in February 2000 when I submitted several reports to my Auxiliary Bishop on pranic and Reiki healing, along with the relevant photograph. The IIAM is affiliated to the Indian Board of Alternative Medicines [IBAM] and the Open International University for Complementary Medicines. IBAM is affiliated to East West University of Holistic Health Sciences, USA; World Federation of Holistic Life, Italy; Vedic Institute of America; Indiana Institute for Complementary Medicines, USA; Nizhoni Institute for Global Consciousness, New Mexico; Therapeutica Mystica, Mexico; and organizations in Japan, Brazil, Malaysia, Holland, S. Africa, New Zealand etc. all of which promote New Age therapies.

The IIAM offers 1 year Diploma and 2 year Certificate Courses in dozens of alternative medicines and therapies including acupuncture and acupressure, electro-homoeopathy, feng shui, vaastu, pranic healing and Reiki. Every year, the Seva Chakra award instituted by the Board is conferred on some important dignitary. One year it was presented to Robert Muller, former UN Asst. Secretary-General and one of the world’s leading proponents of New Age goals, who greatly contributed to propelling the UN in that direction. [He is mentioned in my earlier write-ups].

On 9^th April 1995, at a ceremony held on the occasion of World Health day at the Institute’s centre, the Board’s “highest honour”, the Seva Chakra was presented to Mother Teresa!

As in the case of Amrit-Manthan, the promotion brochure of IIAM/IBAM sports over 20 photographs of Indian and World leaders with the founders of the Institute. But the ONLY photograph displayed on the FRONT page and TWICE AS LARGE as the others, is that of a beaming Mother Teresa receiving the award.

These illustrations reveal not only the extent of ignorance in the Catholic Church about the realities of New Age and Alternative Medicine, but that these organizations, which propagate philosophies and practices that are diametrically opposed to those of Christianity [stated quite openly in the case of Dr. Rebello], do not hesitate to [mis]use eminent Catholic personalities to further their goals. This is exemplified by the continued support received from the Bishops and the CBCI by ‘Catholic’ organizations like CHAI and the DHARMA BHARATHIs and the HOLISTIC CENTRES that propagate esoteric books, pranic healing and Reiki, New Age ideologies, study of scriptures of world religions by Catholic school children, yoga and meditation, mantra chanting etc. This despite the fact that this writer has submitted in-depth analyses and reports on these issues to many senior Bishops and to the office-bearers and concerned commissions of the CBCI for over 4 years now.
CATHOLICS ON REIKI 1. Fr. Clemens Pilar COp in [Appendix II, Some practices correlated with esotericism] Esoteric Practices and Christian Faith, An Aid to Discernment, includes Reiki along with pranic healing, homoeopathy, yoga and others.
2. Fr. Benedict Groeschel CFR, another writer and speaker against the New Age, who was recently critically injured when he was mowed down by a car, in an article appropriately titled Humbug!, in The Priest, wrote about his visit to “a seminary building of a religious order that had been turned into a retreat centre because of a lack of vocations” and was now offering the “art of Reiki”. His comments: “In a book I don’t recommend, An Introduction to the Art of Reiki, the author Ronni Johnson tells us that Usui discovered ‘a way to re-create the healing miracles performed by Christ and Buddha’. Usui received ‘an epiphany’ that led him to understand the deeper meaning of ancient texts, including the Bible and the books of other religions.

Like anyone operating without the Christian faith, Usui denied that salvation comes from the grace of Christ, the divine Son of God. Despite the evidence, he seems to have missed the reality of original sin and the need for salvation.

It is not my business if people want to get involved with reiki or examine the entrails of a dead chicken by the light of a full moon, but these things should not be done under the auspices of the Catholic Church…

Some clergy ought to realise that if you can’t find a tabernacle in the chapel but instead you get directed to the reiki room, somebody has been humbugged. With an appropriate nod to P.T. Barnum, are we running a Church or a circus?”

Do repentance and forgiveness have a role in healing? Is the Reiki view of ‘universal energy’ a rejection of God as the source of healing and salvation? In his August 2003 CHARISINDIA article A Catholic Understanding of the New Age, Errol Fernandes lists some of the “practices/therapies associated with it – enneagrams, reiki, feng shui, Zen, pranic healing, yoga, T.M. and so on”. 39.

In the April 1998 Divine Voice from Muringoor, by Vijay Martis, himself a former New-Ager. Arguing that the Word of God defines three spirits: the Holy spirit, the human spirit and evil spirits, he says that for Reiki to be acceptable to Christians, it must be from the Holy Spirit and therefore should lead its practitioners to the Truth [John14:17, 15:26, 14:6]; but in reality one can receive and practice Reiki irrespective of one’s religious beliefs. He concludes thus: “This makes Reiki an experience (being a spiritual one) something a Christian should seriously think about before getting into… The answer to whether a Christian should practice Reiki is ‘no’. Any Christian practitioner of Reiki has placed himself in a dangerous position and should approach steps of reconciliation with God. Take it from a brother in Christ who was lost for over six years in New Age…” Martis also mentions Reiki as an alternative medical practice in his articles What New Age is Really About, May-June 1999 Charisindia [repeated in February 22, 2003 The Examiner] and in The Dangers of New Age, January 2002 Divine Voice], and Who Needs the New Age, July-August 2001, Charisindia.

He says “We are warned that in the last days a false religion of marvellous power will subvert the faith of many people using the same powers as the magicians of Egypt [2 Timothy 3:5-8]. Reiki is… a satanic attempt to keep people from worshiping the Blessed Trinity”.

As in yoga, the Chakras or assumed energy centres located in the assumed etheric body play an important part.

Additionally, to what can be seen as Eastern philosophical understanding, Usui developed the Five Principles of Reiki which are to help to attune people so that they could assume responsibility for their own well-being: Just for today I will count my many blessings. Just for today I will let go of my worry. Just for today I will let go of my anger. Just for today I will do my work honestly. Just for today I will show love and respect for every living thing. Much of Reiki teaching relates to the release of accumulated emotions which form a negative block that should be released… and to the same degree as the release of emotions, bodily well-being will be experienced, which may vary from relief of pain to total cure of some sicknesses.

While there is much talk in Reiki about spiritual development, nowhere is there a clear indication what such a ‘development’ would consist of. There is much talk of emotional release and mental realignment of the personality, but nowhere is there an explanation of what the essence of human happiness really represents. There is one clear message: Reiki knowledge does not embrace the belief in a personal Creator-God.

“Although there is much talk of negative energy blocks, nowhere is there an understanding of personal human SIN. Both these facts are alien to the Christian message of RECONILIATION with GOD as the basis for our happiness.

Spiritual healing through REPENTANCE and emotional healing through FORGIVENESS are not found in Reiki.

Our Christian understanding is that both can lead to physical healing if the root cause of the sickness is in the spiritual or emotional area of a suffering person. It appears that all so-called NEW AGE methods in search of human health and happiness are devoid of the basic Christian understanding of repentance and forgiveness. One could call those New Age methods pre-Christian.

Someone could turn round and ask ‘So what is wrong with using pre-Christian methods? Aren’t they a help for healing the body? One does not have to accept the philosophy behind it all!’

(You will find this a familiar argument when talking about yoga exercises!)

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If those methods would claim to be physical only, but the fact is that they offer essential wrongly-assumed spiritual pre-requisites. Many involve occult beliefs which are diagonally opposed to Christian faith and the Catholic Church’s teaching.

“Much of what is offered today in the parcel called New Age be it Reiki, crystal healing… are in essence nothing less than temptations for man to believe the very same lie with which satan deceived Eve: that we are ‘God’, that we do not need our Creator if we follow any of those methods leading us to Self-Realization.

Today, for the first time in human history, not only those yogis or gurus but millions of ordinary people worldwide are misled to mystically look within themselves. There, in what ought to be the Temple of the true God, they seek to discover their alleged ‘higher self’ which is equal to God, which is God. The deification of self is the original sin- the original rebellion. Any method, be it acclaimed thousands of years old or newly found, which offers to lead to human happiness but which leaves God and our repentance unto Him out, is especially bringing danger of loss of faith in God with it. Why do we Catholics tend to search so far afield? Did not St. Augustine already teach that ‘our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee, O God’? Does not Jesus warn us [Matthew 5:30] ‘…It is better for you to lose one part of your body than to have your whole body go into hell’? In our context, when investigating esoteric or occult methods of healing [such as Reiki] which endanger our Christian faith, we should be aware that HEALING AT ANY COST or HAPPINESS AT ANY COST can never be a Christian approach.”

The FIVE PRINCIPLES OF REIKI listed above are not as straightforward as they appear to be.

For instance, anger is seen as a “very disharmonious energy”, and “worry is a thought pattern that results from a feeling of separateness from the ‘I AM’ consciousness”. The monistic belief that ‘all is one and one is all’ underscores the principles. “Through the study of physics, we now know that we are all a collective energy from the same source.

There is truly no solid matter, only different levels of vibration… As a result, any positive energy, whether directed at any animal, plant and mineral is included in the whole. To show love and respect to all others is to love and respect ourselves and our mother earth.” “To be in gratitude is to know at the core of your being that all is one. Many people live in this consciousness of separation from the Absolute –that which embodies all that is.”

Quotes extracted from Reiki, T.N. Indira.

It is the testimony of Severin Menezes*, a Catholic lady from Chennai, a personal friend of the writer, who was a highly trained practitioner of New Age therapies, and having a successful commercial clientele.

She was initiated into Reiki by a nun, the director of the Catholic Holistic Healing Centre in Chennai mentioned earlier, and graduated to the seniormost echelons of the pranic healing Foundation after her intense study of Theosophy, yogic meditation, crystal healing, kriya shakti, psychic self-defense, mantra chanting, and the highest form of pranic healing known as Arhatic yoga, the knowledge of which is limited to a very few exponents.

In her own words, “I was in… diabolical bondage. I could not let go.” But she learnt the truth about the source of the power behind Reiki and the other ‘New Age’ healings, and found that she could ‘serve only one Master’; and let go she did, only with the help of His grace, as she reveals in her moving testimony. The very same Jesus [Hebrews 13:8] is there for all those of us who may find themselves in a similar situation. “The Truth shall set you free” [John 8:32].

Sumeet Sharma in All You Wanted to Know About Reiki: There is no logical proof, nor can the Reiki energy be physically seen or measured. One can only experience the healing effect that it has upon the channel. [page 134]

*see http://www.ephesians-511.net/documents/TESTIMONY_OF_A_FORMER_HOLISTIC_HEALTH_HEALER.doc

HOLISTIC HEALTH The 3^rd February 2003 Vatican Document on the ‘New Age’ deals with this issue in several places, especially in

n 2.2.3*, 2.2.4*. *sections on “Health: Golden living” and “Wholeness: A Magical Mystery Tour”.

The subject has been explained in almost every report or article produced by this writer. Channel News Asia airs two programmes weekly, one called Alternate [sic. they mean Alternative] States, the other on Chinese Medicine.

They reveal just how contrary to Christian beliefs the philosophies that underlie these therapies are.

In a recent programme, a practitioner explained that the only remedy for perfect holistic health of body, mind and soul is for man to reconcile with and be one with nature, which is the purpose of Chinese Traditional Medicine [CTM].

Christianity however teaches that ultimate wholeness is reconciliation and unity with God. It is however not the god that CTM (which is based mainly on Taoism [nature = god] and again on Buddhism) has raised.

“Holistic Health suggests two things. Negatively it would mean an absence of such a state of health i.e. a brokenness of health. Positively, a situation of wholeness or health, or a search for it. Correct diagnosis of the problem is therefore essential before treating each case. Is brokenness of health the root cause of the disease that leads to absence of wholeness, or is it the symptom of some deep-rooted malaise? In order to understand the difference, one needs to ask these questions:

What does one mean when one talks of wholeness or holistic health?

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Is it just an absence of disease or good health which is manifested by way of dynamic activity, or does it also include a mental state of tranquility and wellbeing which is not attained by any material or chemical catalyst?

It is in this search for a perfect state of health that we could reach ideological levels and Christians could be entering into a web of deception. We could blindly run to New Age gurus, yogic institutes, practise Reiki, following a stringent diet and exercise regimen. A self-centred unwholistic life, thought there may be moments of wellbeing in the exercise. The Christian mind is set on God while the carnal mind is set on the flesh and is in enmity with God [cf. Rom.8:5-8]

This is the decisive point in our search for holistic health as Christians. Is eternity the centre of our lives or is immediate wellbeing the goal? By not making health the centre of our lives, we will be ordering our lives on a right priority i.e. it is not health that should get priority in our lives, but the Giver of all health should have the first place.

Practically, how does one embark on this path? First, through correct diagnosis of man’s problem.

The Scripture diagnoses our problem as our being cut off from the life of God [Rom.3:23], due to which we experience the symptoms of constant conflict in our whole being. I want to do good but I end up doing evil, and I don’t want to do anything evil, but I end up doing it [Rom.7:14f]. The treatment recommended by the Word of God is not symptomatic relief but is aimed at rooting out the problem. The treatment then is this: Be reconciled to God [2 Cor.5:20].

Our situation demands reconciliation with God through repentance, and faith in His saving grace offered through Jesus’ death on the cross [2 Cor.5:17-20].

It is through reconciliation with God and with one another that God’s life is poured into our lives. A life that does not lead to disintegration, degeneration and intranquility but that which is abundant and leading to peace [Jn.10:10, 14:27, Eph.2:14]. It is the life in the Holy Spirit. If we allow Him to work in our lives, then His Living Water [see Vatican Document on the New Age] will well up and we will experience health even unto eternal life [Jn.4:14].

Besides, He will, even as we surrender ourselves totally to His will, help us to attain the stature of Christ who enjoyed the fullness of life and health and could therefore give to others the same life and health.

Further, through his resurrection He still lives with us in the Sacraments of the Church.

So get practical, and don’t adopt any shortcuts to wholistic health.”

by Brian J. Kopp, DPM Published by The Wanderer Printing Company, March 8, 2001

However, our western understanding of God's creation has no place for powers or energies freely floating around for us to tap into, use and manipulate. Western tradition has a simple word for the tapping into and manipulation of energies or life forces. That word is "Magic." Magic, in the western Christian world view, is a forbidden art. 

God did not make energies freely floating around into which we may tap and which we may manipulate by our will, like some cosmic Star Wars "Force." Any religion or "medicine" that promises its adherents such power is a dishonest or sinister one, for such is forbidden by God. Such "knowledge" is Gnostic, or forbidden or hidden knowledge, and it is antithetical to Christian belief.            

What of so-called healings brought about by practitioners of eastern or New Age mysticism based medicine? Are there other "powers" by which we may be healed? The only force or power in the universe is the power of God.

However, we cannot conjure up God by an act of our own will or by ritual or incantation or transcendental meditation.

Therefore, in the Catholic understanding of reality, these healings can at best only come from forces which God never intended us to understand or attempt to manipulate. Two thousand years of Christian thought and proper scientific investigation have not revealed any such powers. At worst, and more likely, they come from demonic forces, and magic is always and only the conjuring of demonic forces. Even when a "cure" is documented in alternative methods, the nagging question remains, "What profit it a man to gain the whole world yet lose his Eternal soul?"   

Reiki is a subject most readily identified with New Age. Reiki (pronounced ray-kee), a technique claimed to heal various ailments and conditions. How should a Catholic look upon Reiki?

Are its stated principles compatible with the Catholic faith? Does repentance and forgiveness have a role in healing?

Is the Reiki view of “universal energy” a rejection of God as the source of healing and salvation?

Usui early in the 20th century. Some stories claim that Mikao Usui was a professor in a Christian seminary and was trying to find out the power by which Jesus healed, and so discovered Reiki (hence the ridiculous claim by some that Jesus healed by using Reiki!). Reiki practitioners who have written articles and books on the subject differ in their recounting of the origins of Reiki. Generally, it is held up as a rediscovery of the ancient and universal practice of some “healers”.

Using the far eastern paradigm of the “chakra system” taught in Yoga, the Reiki “healer” is said to receive an initiation that allows him or her to “heal”.

Similar to acupuncture and Yoga, Reiki teaches that unseen “energy” paths exist throughout the body that need only be charged with positive energy to restore each network of pathways and to restore health to the body. According to a web site dedicated to its promotion, “Reiki heals by flowing through the affected parts of the energy field and charging them with positive energy. It raises the vibratory level of the energy field in and around the physical body where the negative thoughts and feelings are attached. This causes the negative energy to break apart and fall away. In so doing, Reiki clears, straightens and heals the energy pathways, thus allowing the life force to flow in a healthy and natural way.”

Neither “healing” nor “energy”, Reiki is actually a manifestation of Tantric magic studied by Usui during a prolonged Buddhist retreat and fast during which time he reportedly studied a Buddhist Tantric text.

Tantra is a form of Yoga in which sexual “energy” is manipulated for a variety of purposes — from seeking a magical union of lovers to attaining “union” with God or with the “Supreme Self”.

In essence Reiki, and the New Age paradigm in general, seeks to change our bodies and minds, which are meant to be temples of the Holy Spirit, into dens which spirit guides may inhabit, control and guide.

What can be done to remove Reiki, the most pervasive of popular occult techniques, from Catholic institutions where it is an established presence?

1. We can “tear off the veils” of deception through dissemination of this kind of literature. (“I will tear off your veils and rescue my people from your power, so that they shall no longer be prey to your hands. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord.” – Ezekiel 13:21)

2. We can sponsor true “centres of healing” in hospitals, colleges and retreat houses that include programs in:

the sacrament of reconciliation; Eucharistic adoration; anointing of the sick and prayer for healing; orthodox spiritual direction for those in crisis; restoration of those affected by New Age involvement.

by Clare McGrath Merkle Clare McGrath Merkle www.catholicculture.org

The Cross and the Veil INDEX http://www.crossveil.org/page2.html Publisher & Date: The Cross and the Veil, Unknown

Description: An article about the occult, New-Age practice of Reiki and how it has infiltrated into Catholic hospitals disguised as a healing technique.

The International Center for Reiki Training has a comprehensive web site for understanding the practice of Reiki (pronounced RAY-KEY) at http://www.reiki.org. According to the site, Reiki is defined as a specific kind of universal healing energy that was rediscovered by a medical doctor, Mikao Usui, in the 19th century. The following excerpts are taken directly from the web site. Following each quote is The Cross and The Veil's commentary.

"Dr. Mikao Usui, or Usui Sensei, as he is called by his students in Japan, is the founder of the Usui System of Reiki.

He was born August 15, 1865 in the village of Yago in the Yanagata district of Gifu prefecture, Japan. It is thought that he entered a Tendai Buddhist school on or near Mt. Kurama ("Horse Saddle Mountain") at age four. He also studies kiko, the Japanese version of qigong, which is a health and healing discipline based on the development and use of life energy.

The young Usui found that these healing methods required the practitioner to build up and then deplete his own life energy when giving treatments. He wondered if it were possible to do healing work without depleting one's own energy. He went on to study in Japan, China and Europe...his curriculum included... fortune telling, which Asians have long considered to be a worthy skill... Usui Sensei was also a member of the Rei Jyutu Ka, a metaphysical group dedicated to developing psychic abilities. In 1914 Usui's personal and business life was failing. As a sensitive spiritualist, Usui Sensei had spent much time meditating to the power spots on Mt. Kurama where he had received his early Buddhist training.

So he decided to travel to this holy mountain, where he enrolled in Isyu Guo, a 21-day training course sponsored by the Tendai Buddhist Temple located there...it was during the Isyu Guo training that the great Reiki energy entered his crown chakra. 43.

Reiki practitioners who have written articles and books on the subject differ in their recounting of the origins of Reiki. Generally, it is held up as a rediscovery of the ancient and universal practice of the same “healing power” possessed by the prophets and Jesus Christ. Using the eastern paradigm of the “chakra system” (see article on yoga), the Reiki “healer” is said to receive an initiation that allows him or her to “heal”. Similar to acupuncture and yoga, Reiki posits that unseen “energy” paths exist throughout the body that need only be charged with positive energy to restore each network of pathways and to restore health to the body.

“Reiki heals by flowing through the affected parts of the energy field and charging them with positive energy.

It raises the vibratory level of the energy field in and around the physical body where the negative thoughts and feelings are attached. This causes the negative energy to break apart and fall away. In so doing, Reiki clears, straightens and heals the energy pathways, thus allowing the life force to flow in a healthy and natural way.”

Neither “healing” nor “energy”, Reiki is actually a manifestation of Tantric magic studied by Usui during a prolonged Buddhist retreat and fast during which time he reportedly studied a Buddhist Tantric text. Tantra is a form of yoga in which sexual “energy” is manipulated for a variety of purposes – from seeking a magical union of lovers to attaining “union” with God or with the “Supreme Self”. Tantra is one of the most powerful forms of yoga (tantric yoga) and involves secret practices and ceremonial rituals including group sex. Lovers visualize each other as “manifestations” of the male or female aspect of God and attempt to achieve ecstasy and a melding together of souls with or without physical union.

Reiki Attunement and the Reiki Master

“What is Advanced Reiki Training?” “This is a one day intensive. It includes:

The Usui Master attunement which increases the strength of your Reiki energy.

The Usui Master symbol which increases the effectiveness of the Reiki II symbols and can be used for healing. Reiki meditation that strengthens the mind and expands consciousness.

Advanced techniques for using Reiki to solve problems and achieve goals.

Using Reiki to protect yourself and others.

The use of crystals and stones with Reiki.

How to make a Reiki grid that will continue to send Reiki to yourself and others after it is charged. Reiki psychic surgery that allows you to remove negative psychic energy from yourself and others and send it to the light.

A guided meditation that introduces you to your Reiki guides wherein you receive healing and information. Finally, an exercise will be given for those planning to take Reiki III/Master training.

You must take ART if you want to take Reiki III/Master. This class is often taught with Reiki III as a three day intensive. Cost, $210.00”

Much like other forms of “New Age healing” techniques, the following characteristics are common of Reiki: 1. The technique is promoted as special and unique but obtainable via weekend workshops;

2. Reception of power comes through a lineage of masters; 3. The power is controlled via a supernatural power, whether divine, angelic or universal;

4. It is a spiritual power operating through a quasi scientific metaphysical & mechanistic paradigm;

5. Psychic powers accompany the reception of the healing power;

6. “Healers” may charge money for their services.

Usui was said to have originally descended the mountain from his retreat with healing powers and the desire to heal the masses. He lived in the slums of a city for several years, performing seemingly miraculous healings on the poor without charge. Then, after a time, these same “patients’ who had been healed returned to him, having lost their “healings“. Usui meditated on why this was so and how he could remedy the problem. He decided that his patients became ill again because they did not sufficiently value the healings they received, and so he began to charge money for his services. Like most New Age healing techniques, practitioners and schools of Reiki vary their practice and combine it with other practices such as the use of crystals, magical incantations for protection, “psychic” surgery, group energy channeling, and spiritualism that includes the taking over of the body by one’s “guide”. 44.