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Dear Shoshana:
Thank you for your question.
The answer to your question is no, the labyrinth, when used without superstition, is not a 'sacrament' of a pagan ritual. It has been sanctified by the Church, just as the wedding ring (which also has pagan origins) has been sanctified by the Church. The pagan meaning has been stripped away and has been replaced with Christian truth.
There must be more than a mere similarity between something in the Church and something that is pagan for us to come to the conclusion that the practice is wrong. In other words, we would need to clearly demonstrate that the Christianized action is fundamentally non-Christian or anti-Christian. We cannot make this conclusion with the Labyrinth since, when used as a vehicle for Christian meditation, and when used without superstition, it is truly no longer pagan any more than the wedding ring which, it may surprise you to learn, also has pagan origins (As do Easter eggs, Christmas trees, mistletoe, candles, carols and gift giving rituals, the holly wreath, the yule log and yes, even the names of the days of the week, which the pagans assigned to different gods and which are still in use to this day).
In order to conclude that something is incompatible with Christianity, we would need to show that there is more than a connection or even a similarity between the two things. Rather, we would need to demonstrate that the two things are fundamentally incompatible. This is what Brother Ignatius has done in his answer to the question on Tai Chi.
I suppose this begs the question, Could Tai Chi ever be Christianized? To answer this, I will quote a previous post from Brother Ignatius the subject of Tai Chi:
"Even if you can find an instructor that teaches Tai Chi WITHOUT the underlying philosophical presumptions and worldview (which is VERY hard to do), I still advise great caution since the design of the movements of Tai Chi facilitate a false idea of the world and of God."
Bro. Ignatius commented on the Labyrinth in a previous post that you may want to read: Labyrinths
As for the second part of your post:
"I cannot comprehend why we (the people in the Catholic Church) need to use these as a means of walking closer to God. We only need to read any of the Early Church Fathers or any of our great Doctors of the faith, etc to have a 'means' of deeper spirituality. "
The wonderful thing about the Catholic Church is that there are many means by which we can glorify, worship, pray to, and draw closer to God. Some favor the Rosary. Some favor Eucharistic Adoration. Some follow a particular spirituality of a particular saint, some find growth in reading the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and so on. Just as a good parent provides for the needs of their children based upon the unique requirements of each child, so to does the Church provide for the unique spiritual needs of her children.
As for your statement, "Why must we rely on these pagan movements? I realize, if someone is innocent of the roots of any such action, God will still use that to bless that person anyway. But when the person becomes aware of the pagan root, would not that person become responsible?"
I am aware that the wedding ring on my finger has paganism to thank for its origin. Am I therefore guilty if I do not stop wearing it since I know of its pagan origins? The answer is no, because the wedding ring has been sanctified by the Church; that is to say, the pagan meaning behind its use is has been completely replaced by Christian truth.
Perhaps the best illustration of this can be found in the following scripture passage:
"About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' 'Surely not, Lord!' Peter replied. 'I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.' The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' " Acts 10:9-15
If the Church is the voice of Christ on this earth, then what She declares clean is, in fact, clean.
I hope that this has helped.
God bless you,
Joe Meineke
Intake Counselor, SPCDC
For Assistance with Spiritual Warfare problems please go to our How We Can Help You page. For a direct link to sample Spiritual Warfare prayers see our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog
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