The Secret vs. The Passion

A good friend of mine sent this to me in response to my April 8 post on The Secret:

I was just in Borders on Good Friday to purchase the Passion of the Christ with my mother, and as we were checking out, the book/DVD (The Secret) was there on the counter.  The clerk was promoting it to us as the latest findings on how to live a happy and peaceful life.   I just laughed and said “I know what the secret of life is…and we just bought a DVD on it.”   Then she looked at me strangely and asked “Oh yes, what is it?”  I smiled and said, “Love.  And love others as you would yourself.”   The clerk just looked at me and said, “Oh.  Sure.  But the Secret has other ways of happiness and success.”  Being that we were walking out the door, and others were in line to check out, I just smiled again and said, “There are no other ways to happiness. Just others ways of distracting one from doing the real work to get there.”  Sorry to say, she didn’t get what I was saying.  And as I left, I thought as you wrote:  Another heresy for us to battle through evangelization.

Another friend who is a director of adult formation writes:

Thanks, Joe. This has gotten all kinds of discussions started today over e-mail.  I think we will be doing something at my parish on this, now that you brought it up!      

 

About Joe Paprocki 2756 Articles
Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.

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