New Age Movement

Traditionally, educators work on five areas: virtues, intelligence, physique, sociability and aesthetics. As a Catholic Diocesan school, Shung Tak cannot be satisfied with doing just these five areas. In fact, all Christian schools should work on the spirituality dimension as well.
Rev. Fr. Thomas Kwan offers a "Spiritual Education" program for secondary schools. This is a most welcomed move for us. The program is an outgrowth of a spiritual theology course Fr. Kwan was preparing for a post graduate program in the Chinese University. It dawned to Fr. Kwan that instead of serving a few elite graduates, it would benefit more people if the materials were disseminated into secondary schools. However, in doing so, he has to tune down the religious aspects to make them into arousing inner consciousness instead. So far, so good. But there lies the danger of luring teachers and students into gnosticism. As a priest who has gone through rigorous theological trainings, Fr. Kwan is able to guard himself against this danger. However, for teachers and students who have no such theological background, it is another story.

I was not aware of this until one day I read one of the proposed major concerns of our school. It reads "To help students achieve spiritual enlightenment to lead a healthy life." It looks innocent enough. But "spiritual enlightenment" is pregnant with New Age ideas which are incompatible with Christian faith. Unwary school administrators would inadvertently incorporate heretical practices into the school policy. It is a murky story and I have no intention to handle it here. Way back in 2003, the PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR CULTURE & PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE had already issued a document, a Christian reflection on the "New Age" to encourage pastoral workers to meet this new challenge. Interested readers should take a look and read it patiently.

Today, 4 colleagues and I attended a workshop conducted by Fr. Kwan to work out the teaching plan for the new academic year. One of the colleagues shared with me that it is impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of what we plan to do. We have no way to decide whether the improvement shown by students is the result of the implementation of "Spiritual Education" or the result of natural growth. This reminds me of a passage in Hosea.
And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished upon her silver and gold which they used for Baal (Hosea 2:8).
God instructed Hosea to marry a prostitute who went after other lovers. This marriage was a symbol of the relationship between God and Israel who turned to idolatry. Though Israel was unfaithful to God, God would not forsake her.
and I will sow him for myself in the land. And I will have pity on Not pitied, and I will say to Not my people, 'You are my people'; and he shall say 'Thou art my God.' (Hosea 2:23)
Therefore, when we implement "Spiritual Education" in our school, we cannot leave God out of the scene.

Dear Lord, guide our steps so that our students may grow in greater awareness of Your loving grace. Amen.