Photo: Cardinal Ivan Diaz lighting lamp/incense, before Hindu deity, Ganesha - an elephant headed god. (More photos at Tradition in Action. I was unable to find a more recent photo I came across, showing another Bishop performing a similar function in honor of a pagan deity, not that it matters. Although at one time, martyrs gave their lives rather than make sacrifices to idols.)On Pentecost, St Joan of Arc had Tibetan monks chanting during Mass - it was a mystical experience for some.
"The resonances of this chant stirs me on the level of insight. It envisions the deep stirring of oneness and, dare I say, the divine groanings. So please enter into the chants with a new listening." - Fr. DeBruycker, St. Joan's pastor.
An event such as this is not so unusual however. Several years ago, St. Paul Seminary had chanting Tibetan monks in the sanctuary of the chapel (one sat lotus position on the altar) for a prayer service. Lately, Bishops have been photographed lighting incense to Asian deities, etc. Traditionalists lamented the International Assisi inter-religious conferences where pagans worshipped alongside Catholics - performing pagan rituals in Catholic sanctuaries. And one ought not to forget the Beatification Mass of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, with Hindu-esque dancers during the Offertory.
This stuff hardly seems news-worthy any longer.
"By means of shrewd lies, unremittingly repeated, it is possible to make people believe that heaven is hell — and hell heaven. The greater the lie, the more readily it will be believed." - Some fellow with the last name of Hitler.
(Thank you Ray for the lead on this story.)
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