[Magdalen] Curse on Masons

[Sally Davies]

I'm also astounded by this Grace - i.e that the so called "curse" is a real
thing attributed to some functionary of the RCC. It sounds madder than Dan
Brown.

I suppose that if he's a Bible Believer you could invite him to find New
Testament Scriptures that give Christians permission to curse people
(trees, we can debate). I do know of a scripture that says "Bless and do
not curse".

So if whoever said the curse was doing it in direct contravention of God's
holy law, including (or especially) the New Testament Covenant of love,
then how can it possibly stand? The merest child could overturn it by
calling on the Name of Jesus.

The rector of our former parish St Martins Bergvliet, Fr Trevor, believed
that he had a special ministry to (ex) Masons and had done a lot of
research. He also considered Masonry to be evil and unhealthily occult for
the most part, but not entirely and he didn't think it was a cult. I would
say it was on the same level of disapproval as, say, Spiritualism?

The church itself was full of Masonic symbolism as it was built by
returning soldiers after WWII and at that time masonry was strong in the
upper echelons of the (English) military. Some people wanted to take out
e.g. The rose Window, some of the other stained glass and so on, but Trevor
took a stand against that.

The construct of long lasting involuntary curse bearing  is one of the most
destructive and abusive of the mental manipulations that fundamentalist
churches engage in. I've been taught in the past that curses attach to
anyone who has messed with the occult (and sometimes their children), and
to those who allow "soul ties" to be formed through having sex with the
wrong people. Amongst other things. Strong themes of sex and satanism, but
much less "teaching" about engaging in things that the New Testament
condemns much more clearly such as hatred, lying, envy, bitterness,
stirring up strife and so on.

I didn't even want to think about having kids for a long time, partly
because I believed that my mother's words, spoken in anger and
bitterness:  "One day you'll have children and you'll find out what it's
like", represented a true and inescapable prediction or type of curse.

But instead, one day, a kind therapist asked me about my plans in this
respect (whilst apologizing that it might be her concern not mine), and out
tumbled this long forgotten but influential piece of crap - duly dealt
with. After that I felt free to make up my own mind. That's grace - taking
the curse and putting a blessing in its place.

If Jesus was "made to be a curse" for us then the Freemasons or whoever are
in good company?

I would be interested to know what ideas this concerned parishioner might
have about a) blessing anyone he happens to know who still is a Mason or
whose ancestors were Masons (that's me as well BTW, my beloved Grampa was a
dedicated FM).

OR - more pertinently - what he thinks we as a Christian community might do
to fill the gap left by the fading away of the Masons and other community
organizations who used to bring people together, raise funds and manage
projects. I'm not a club person myself but I do think that the loss of
these organizations has had very real effects - much as I personally
dislike the sexism and elitism that went with all that.

Sally D

On Tuesday, 12 January 2016, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com> wrote:

> Well, maybe, if I can figure out what/how to teach. This person doesn't
> hear different points of view very well. Hates Muslims, thinks Yoga is of
> the Devil. And I guess, now that I've seen all the stuff that's out there,
> I'm not sure how to approach it. Saying, "I don't believe that stuff."
> isn't going to cut it.
>
> > On Jan 12, 2016, at 12:25 PM, Lynn Ronkainen <houstonklr at gmail.com
> <javascript:;>> wrote:
> >
> > I hope and pray that this request can be a gateway for a teaching
> moment...
> > Lynn
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> >
> > On Jan 12, 2016, at 10:51 AM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com
> <javascript:;>> wrote:
> >
> > Knowing the vast amount of knowledge in this group, I've been meaning to
> > pose a question put to me by a parishioner a few weeks ago.  this
> morning I
> > googled it--and was horrified at what I found.
> >
> > The parishioner, a well-meaning and sincere man in his late 70's, is
> always
> > very concerned about deliverance from evil spirits and that kind of
> > thing--was  involved in that kind of ministry when he was a member of
> Truro
> > Church in Fairfax, VA, some years ago.
> >
> > He wanted to know if I knew of anyone who would know how to banish the
> > curse placed on Masons and their descendants by the Catholic Church. I
> was
> > completely clueless, had never heard of that, said I didn't know of
> anyone
> > offhand, and in any case, I doubted that the curse, which was apparently
> > put in place generations ago, would still be in effect. But I did tell
> him
> > I'd see what I could find out.
> >
> > Well, there are dozens of links to this topic, and some of it gives me
> the
> > creeps. Indeed, the curse was to be generational, and descendants of
> Masons
> > need to be prayed for, or, if necessary, pray certain prayers for
> > deliverance themselves,  There are even prayers to pray for each of the
> > "layers" of Masonry folks might have risen to.
> >
> > I think my parishioner was hoping there was a general prayer of
> deliverance
> > that would remove the curse from everyone who had ever been a Mason, but
> I
> > didn't find anything about that.  Frankly, I didn't read very far in any
> of
> > the links.
> >
> > Anyway, now that I have had some of my questions answered, I'm still
> > curious as to whether anyone here has had experience with this.
> >
> > I was so stunned at the time that I didn't think to ask about his
> specific
> > concern--whether it was for a family member or himself.  I had the
> feeling
> > it was more generic--he wants all the folks who might have been living
> > under the curse to be delivered from it.  I suppose if it's personal, I
> > could offer him those prayers and sit with him while he prays them...but
> > the whole thing is just weird, IMO.
> >
> > --
> > Grace Cangialosi
> > Ruckersville, VA
> >
> > *We must cry out against injustice or by our silence consent to it.
> > Dorothy Day*
>