They both remind me of the Words of Jesus, Matthew 11:25 Rest for the Weary 24But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” 25At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.…
It may be my imagination; but did you ever notice in recent times how often the sign of the cross is dropped at the start of mass? it is the safe entrance gate to the Liturgy. But instead of performing the sign of the cross the priest will say good morning and talk on awhile. But the sign of the cross is never performed. This makes me very,very uneasy. 'This sign is a powerful protection. It is gratuitous, because of the poor, easy, because of the weak; a benefit from God, the standard of the faithful, the terror of demons.' St. Cyril of Jerusalem 'It is from the sign of the cross we must expect the cure of all our wounds. If the venom of avarice be diffused through our veins, let us make the sign of the cross, and the venom will be expelled. If the scorpion of voluptuousness sting us, let us have recourse to the same means, and we shall be healed. If grossly terrestrial thoughts seek to defile us, let us again have recourse to the sign of the cross, and we shall live the divine life.' St. Maximus of Turin 'Whatever may be the temptations that oppress us, we must repulse them. For this end we should make, not carelessly, but carefully, the sign of the cross, either on our forehead or on our breast.' St. Gregory of Tours
My daughter in law is Buddhist and her father is a fortune teller. That is his profession. Very important in chinese culture. They gave us as a present a statue of buddha. Awkward. I got rid of it as soon as I could for all the reasons you cited. Every room in my house has a blessed Crucifix or holy object. For years. I take no chances. Sadly my son is quite enamoured of buddhism having left the Church in college. With God all things are possible. I keep praying. My DIL is a lovely girl. Naturally good. I cant imagine what a powerhouse she would be with sanctifying grace. I pray for it.
Well Great Signs and Wonders of Grace are coming for the Church and the World. We know this from Prophesy. So there is huge hope for all. But I believe we have to wade through the blood of many Martyrs before this dawn. Before this New Pentecost. Grace is Free; but it isn't cheap.
If I may. The issue of a fortune teller is cause for alarm. However, Buddha (as you probably know) was an Indian Prince named Siddhartha Gautama. A mere mortal like us. He lived and died about 500 years before Christ Our Lord. Buddha never claimed to be divine or holy or a prophet. He simply went about teaching (and practicing) kindness, empathy, and common sense. He died of old age, probably in his early 80s. While a statue of Buddha should not be venerated (Buddha himself would NOT approve), one could be kept as a curio or akin to, say, a bust of George Washington. He was a good person who no doubt would have been an ardent disciple of Christ, if living at the time / same region as Our Lord. "Sorry" - but I've got to put in a good word for the man. I've read tons of history and poetry of Old China, Japan (ancient to current), etc.
Because 'buddha' is venerated as a deity, I would not allow a statue in my home. I also try to forbid any Nike merchandise (Nike: Greek goddess of speed, strength and victory), and anything with the starbucks symbol on it. I don't use google unless I have to and there are dozens of other examples of companies that we try to avoid because of their corporate philosophy of product testing and their corporate giving to causes that are in opposition to our beliefs. I am much more extreme in this avoidance than my children, especially my daughter. But at least she knows where I stand on this issue and why.
Understood (above two replies). And Buddha wouldn't have wanted temples or shrines erected in his honor, nor statues made. He rejected wealth and luxury to go about comforting the poor, teaching kindness, etc. I simply wanted to say that he was a good person (born 500 years before Christ) who made no claims of divinity nor of being a prophet (he had no knowledge of Judaism / Old Testament besides), and never sought veneration. All of that developed after his death. I am certain Buddha would agree with "Statues of Christ, the Virgin Mary, the Saints...not me!"
A Buddha statue may look calm and innocent, but when you bring Buddha into your home, you don't know what evil spirits may be attached to the statue. No Catholic should ever take such a risk. Buddhism is trending among the New Age movement, along with Yoga, Reiki, etc. So many people believe all of this stuff is harmless, peaceful, and good for your soul when nothing could be further from the truth. This is the work of the great deceiver.
I've never owned a Buddha statue. While I personally would not be concerned about evil spirits being attached to a Buddha statue (because of the good human that he was), I do understand and respect others' having such a caution or concern. Now statues of mythological entities (Diana, Shiva, Loki, etc.) are an entirely different matter, and could invite "attachment."
Well, I suppose we will have to go agree to disagree. I am of the opinion that the statue represents a spiritual path that is inconsistent with Catholicism. A statue of a political figure has no ideologies or spiritual practices associated with it, but the Buddha statue does. If it would be offensive to God to place a statue of Buddha in a Catholic church, or garden, why would I want that statue in my home?
In the very room in my home where I am typing, we have a statue of Mary, a San Damiano crucifix, pictures of the Two Hearts which were hung on the wall when we consecrated our home to the Sacred Heart, a copy of a painting of St. Therese, and a picture of a Monstrance taken during adoration back in the 1990s. All of this is good! But back around 1990, my family was part of a prayer group whose spiritual director was a holy Franciscan by the name of Fr. Regis Rodda. He was presenting a three-part teaching on the First Commandment and shared with us the following testimony. There was a family with a young child who developed a mysterious sickness that doctors were unable to diagnose. She continued to get weaker, in bed for the most part, at home. The parents were very upset and asked Fr. Regis to come pray with the child. Before doing so, he was prompted to ask if they had any statues in their home. They had a few crucifixes, I believe, but informed Fr. Regis of this. When he asked, "Are you sure?". the Mom mentioned a statue of St. Joseph in the sick girl's closet. When he asked why it was there, the Mom explained that her aunt used to burn incense to it and had given it to them. They had never really done anything with the statue. Fr Regis was suspicious and explained it would be best to destroy it. The family were puzzled but desperate, so they gave him permission. He took it out of the home, destroyed it, and then prayed prayers of deliverance in the home especially in the girl's bedroom. She fully recovered in three days! Fr. Regis explained that what the aunt did was a form of worship and that an evil spirit had still been attached to the statue! God have mercy on the Vatican for all these pagan images present in churches of Rome! O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
Where a reference to a 'god' is not meant to venerate the idolatrous being in question, but rather to emphasise the quality behind it, I would think there is little difficulty involved. For example, we would hardly denigrate the achievements of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin simply because their expedition was named after the Greek god, Apollo. Neither would we abandon the use of the days of the week, although Wednesday is named after the Norse god, Odin/Wodin and Thursday after Thor. If the company Nike has adopted its name because it refers to the quality of speed, this is not the same as having a statue of Buddha or any other pagan icon in one's house. It is a matter of intention. Personally, I'd wear the shoes, but destroy the Buddha statue (throwing it in a bin runs the slight risk of someone else getting their hands on it). Starbucks is different. I can't see any qualitative connection between that disturbing symbol and the coffee it promotes. It seems gratuitous and exists for a different, likely occult, reason.
Having (sadly) spent time in my youth fascinated by Eastern religions and new age and having encountered something NOT of God I am exceedingly careful to have NO religious items apart from blessed statues and crucifixes. Seriously we must be very very careful in these days. These things are not harmless.
I seem to recall a person who went to confession to Padre Pio. He told her she had to go home and remove the Buddha statue in her house then come back and he will hear her confession. She did not realize she had such a statue and found one in her drawer. She returned and was given absolution. I would not have any statue in my home unless it was Christian and blessed, which is what I have on my shrine.
I had a buddha statue in my home for years, was given to me by a foster sister.One day I decided it had to go, so I tossed it into the wood stove. Shortly after I reverted to the Catholic faith.
I believe it! I have heard many stories about these statues. I have struggled with family members who purchased Buddah statues because they were 'cute'. If they do not like to hear my warnings so be it, I care about their souls so I will not be silent.
The only nike product I have to allow is the shirt for my son's team, but I don't like it because the swoosh is near where the heart is. When I fold this shirt, I always trace the sign of the cross three times over it with my thumb. Also since I have learned more about freemasonry I don't like to carry dollar bills anymore, the symbolism on them makes me want to avoid them. I mentioned that this is extreme and I know that, but I also have read the Old Testament and out of an abundance of caution not to offend God, I have decided to exclude certain things from out of my home.
How about stitching a small Miraculous Medal under a patch on the other side of the emblem. Or into the hem. A blessed Miracous Medal is a powerful sacramental.
