ANSWER by Mr. Joe Meineke on May 24, 2004

Dear Sandy: You may want to read Brother's post on the Charismatic Renewal. The truth about the problems with the Charismatic Renewal are discussed extensively, and then at the end of the post you will see that he points out some, but not all, of its positive aspects. Remember - Brother is not saying that nothing good comes out of the Charismatic movement or that God doesn't work through it. Be careful not to read into the text what is not being said. Rather, read CAREFULLY the words that Brother chose to use, paying particular attention to the provisional language. His words are carefully chosen, and we need to read them carefully, logically and without emotional attachment. REMEMBER - Our emotions MUST be subject to reason. As for the interior healing post, again, this is an area where we need to carefully read what is written and nothing beyond that. It sounds as though you may have concluded from reading his post that ALL interior healing has it's roots in the New Age. This is simply not what Brother was trying to convey. Interior healing is not new, nor is it some concept borrowed or in any way extrapolated from the New Age movement. Authentic interior healing is of God, and people are healed interiorly every day. In fact, in our deliverance counseling proccess, interior healing is part and parcel of the entire procedure. This interior healing flows naturally from our Loving God as we progress through the nine-step process, part of which involves of letting go of bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness. This is authentic interior healing and is not related to the New Age tainted "interior healing" methods discussed in the interior healing post. You ask the following question: "Please do define for us interior healing and if you can provide, and that is IF you can, a genuine story of interior healing that would make sense and give us a little guide to go with." Here goes: DEFINITION: Interior Healing is the process in which we, by God's grace, are healed emotionally and spiritually from offenses that were committed against us by others. In addition, it is the process by which God, in His mercy, and often in response to our contrition, heals us of our own self-inflicted wounds; wounds that are natural consequences of choosing sin over God. EXAPMLES: Where shall I begin? Interior healing is obtained in the Confessional. It is obtained through the graces received in Communion. It is obtained when we pray for healing. It is obtained when we repent and turn from our sinful ways, reject Satan and accept God. It is obtained when we forgive others, when we "let go and let God." It is obtained when we ask for it, and often times even when we do not since, as we learn in Scripture, "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; " (Romans 8:26). Now on to some specific concerns that you outline in your post: Can God not use that in his divine economy those graces metioned in that post about interior healing to help some one in need? I have heard so many good conversion and healings and saw some myself often. Were they all false out of the church's teachings? Did i understand you well on that one?? How can somethign like that become so wide spread and known. Can it be our thirst and like you said we are just puting in our mouth everything we see in this society we live in??? Yes, much of the proliferation of this movement is a result of the vast spiritual starvation that exists in this world. The question of whether or not something good can come out of something that is bad has already been answered for us: "All things work toward the good for those that love God, who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). God can, and certainly does, make lemonade out of lemons. However, we need to be careful about drawing the conclusion that since this is the case, it is okay to follow these teachings. On the contrary, it is our moral obligation to seek out Truth and, once we learn of the error, to reject the error and embrace the Truth. "I was told often in defense to things like that by others that it is the Holy Spirit that inspires different people in different groups to lead us all to one place Heaven. All have something good in them and a special revelation that is given to the world not just a group. Please correct that statement for me if you do not mind. To a certain extent not all fits in there. For i can see a lot of errors in there as well." This statement sounds like the familiar "All religions lead to God" teaching, which has become quite popular these days, and that has been condemned by the Church as an heritical teaching. Though it is true that nearly all religions have some truth, no matter how small that truth may be (I cannot think of one that does not have at least some truth in it), not all are equal, nor do all lead to God. Some are more true than others. At the zenith of Truth, we find the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. We need look no further for our answers. God bless you, Joe Meineke Assistant Director, 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