Mea Culpa--Latin for "I goofed"

Dear Blog readers,

 A couple of concerned readers wrote to me today about a cross-post from the blog of Melanie Jean Juneau on Thursday. Melanie was using the example of Agnes Sanford to explain her belief that former Protestants in Heaven are now part of the Church and can intercede for us. Apparently, Agnes Sanford was know for her New Age views. Neither Melanie nor I was aware of this when the post went up.

Melanie writes:

"I am posting a clarification here and on my blog. Someone is concerned that Agnes strayed from Christianity in her later years.

"The point of this article is that faithful Christians, who accept Jesus as their Savior but do not believe in Catholic doctrine, discover that the Catholic Church was right after they die!

"I am proclaiming the powerful truth that the Communion of Saints is true. All of us are an intricate part of this communion between the living and those who have gone before us.

"I do not study this woman, I casually read a couple of her biographies 25-30 years ago. I am not promoting her as a role model. I am sharing how God taught this convert the truth about her [Melanie's] prayerful relationships to the saints."

 I [Connie] am ultimately responsible for all the material posted on CSBN. I should have done more research on Agnes Sanford before cross-posting this piece, but I, like Melanie, was focusing on the reality of the Communion of Saints, not on Sanford herself. I apologize to any blog readers who were confused.

As one who practices Carmelite spirituality, I am vividly aware of the mistakes some people make in not distinguishing between true and false mysticism. I have written about this at my own blog, Contemplative Homeschool. I want readers to know they can trust the spirituality they find at CSBN. So I am going to make an act of reparation by interrupting the planned posting schedule for this week. On Monday I will post a piece from my blog on the difference between Christian prayer and Eastern meditation.

Please pray for CSBN and all our members. We are all striving to live by and write about the truth, but we do sometimes make mistakes, and Satan will try to use those to his advantage. And always feel free to correct anything on this blog that appears in conflict with the truth. I will not be offended. Only do it charitably.

I thank Melanie for her gracious acceptance of this correction. Many (if not most) people in her place would have been offended at being challenged as she has been.

Humbly yours,

Connie Rossini