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This homily by rebel priest Fr. James Altman—one of my heroes—is from May 2020 but as timely now as it was then. He makes the comparison between himself and billionaire televangelist Joel Osteen (who, by the way, teaches a Law of Attraction-type of spirituality that, if you look up one of this videos, will probably ring very familiar to you).
I found this homily especially important because it shows you the difference between the "prosperity gospel" that Osteen preaches and the real message of the Gospel that Fr. Altman preaches—that we must strive for heavenly rewards instead of earthly rewards. What good will it do us if we get that dream job, dream house, dream vacation, etc. and forget to accumulate the kind of riches that will get us into Heaven? As Jesus said, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38)  Let me explain the Law of Attraction to you. It won't take long. To sum it up in six words: There is no Law of Attraction.
Here is the brutal truth. There are two kinds of manifestation. The first one employs the will power, visualization skills, and mental focus of the manifestor. "The Will and the Word," as they say. Who is they? Practitioners of magick. The second kind of manifestation employs the same elements, yet it is totally different. The one ingredient that transforms it into something else is God. You can manifest without the help and blessing of God. That's called sorcery and witchcraft. Or you can manifest with the help and blessing of God. That's called prayer. So what's the difference? Intention and attitude. 1. Sorcery/Witchcraft Intention: My will be done. Attitude: Anything goes. In the type of manifestation that is actually sorcery and witchcraft, you intend to bend reality to your own will. The attitude is, "Anything goes." Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law, as infamous black magician Aleister Crowley stated. That's also the line of the Dark Side, by the way. Do this one small thing, and you can have anything you want. Whenever you hear this line, I don't care from whom, run as fast as you can in the other direction. It's what Satan told Jesus during his temptation in the desert: "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 'All this I will give you,' he said, 'if you will bow down and worship me.'” (Matthew 4:8) Almost all books on the Law of Attraction will tell you that you are an immensely powerful being. Some, like Neville Goddard's books or The Secret, will even tell you that you yourself are God. Again, whenever you hear that, run. The Dark Side attempts to trick you into losing your soul by using your own pride, vanity, and your desire for recognition against you. God will never flatter you. God will never tell you that you're special and immensely powerful. The way you are special in God's eyes is because you are his beloved child. He wants you to join him in Heaven one day... and Satan is trying anything to prevent that from happening. The shocking fact is that the way things are currently going in our world, billions of people are headed for Hell. It's very easy to fall into the devil's traps because a lot of what he says sounds awesome. Tolerance, reproductive autonomy, feminism, sexual liberation... what's not to like? Look deeper for the actual truth, and what you find will shock you to your core. To learn discernment, read the Bible to find out what God actually says about things. 2. Holy Manifestation Intention: Thy will be done. Attitude: Serve God and save your soul. In the type of manifestation that is based on prayer and alignment with God's will, the intention is, "Thy will be done." The attitude is, "God, you know better what I need than I do. I also realize that short-term, earthly rewards should not be my first priority." Amazingly, when you act upon this, you will get what you always wanted. Love. Joy. Satisfaction. The truth is that most of us have a God-shaped hole in their hearts, which creates a void that we try to fill with the things of secular life—money, "having a good time," inanimate objects, even relationships. The problem is, nothing can fill that emptiness inside of you except for the thing that's missing: God. Without turning to him, you'll be like a bucket without a bottom. You can pour into it as much as you want, but nothing will ever be enough to fill it. God is always taking the long view. Remember, his big-picture timeline spans not only millennia, but billions of years. A human lifespan to him is like the blink of an eye. To him, our lives look like what a fruit fly's life looks to us. Here today, gone tomorrow. And he wants us to be safe for when it really counts. When you pray, "Thy will be done," he may not give you everything you want. He may not even make your life particularly easy. But his end goal is always the purification of your soul so that you will rise up to meet him in the end. Without him, we're lost forever. That's what Jesus is for. He died on the cross for our sins, and he is waiting for you with open arms so you can come through him to the Father. As he said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." All you have to do is ask. And here we get into manifestation again. In many places in the Bible, it is stated that all you have to do is "ask and you shall receive; knock and the door will be opened unto you." It's true; as a trained manifestor, it will be easier for you to effectively communicate with God for the fulfillment of your needs. Just remember that unlike in the first type of manifestation—sorcery and witchcraft—the fulfillment of your material needs should be secondary and the fulfillment of your (and others') spiritual needs should come first. In other words, think carefully about what to ask for. That doesn't mean you should be penniless and starving. In itself, asking for material things or good health isn't wrong. But once your immediate physical needs are met, consider these requests:
 I've been talking to God a lot recently, and we got a nice little conversation going. Whenever I have a question or concern, I'll get the answer in the form of a Bible verse. Either I will randomly stab my finger into a physical copy of the Bible, or my Bible app does the job for me.
Somehow the daily verses that pop up on my cell phone's lock screen seem to match exactly what I'm currently thinking (or fretting) about. I received the Bible verse in the image above when I asked God how to communicate with my manifestation fans many of whom, no doubt, are more of the New Age persuasion than the Christian one. I thought this Bible verse—which popped up on my phone literally a minute later—basically says it all. Manifestation in itself is not an evil thing, but the keyword here is, "according to his will." God loves us more than anything in the world, and like any good father, he wants to sustain us. He has no interest in us walking around dressed in rags, homeless, and starving. But it's a far cry from asking him for the things that sustain us when we try to manifest frivolous things that are selfish wants rather than needs. Also, when we think of sustenance, we need to keep the spiritual sustenance in mind. We're only here on Earth for a little while, but the afterlife is eternal... and you better have a plan for that. What I'm trying to say here—probably pretty awkwardly—is that it's much more important to ask God for things that are important in the bigger picture, rather than objects that won't have more than fleeting value. Things that you should ask God for every day:
It's funny how we all scramble to find happiness, but true happiness is actually really close at hand. All you have to do is stop obsessing about yourself and your life, and start thinking of others instead. You'll find that everything you need and want for yourself will then naturally fall into place. This may be the most important information you'll hear all year... or, like, ever. A true must-watch for anyone who would prefer not to go to hell. |
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