What is this sorcery at the Assembly for the LCWR?

One of my fellow Cathobloggers, The Crescat, brought this to my attention.  Presently, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR . . . because saying "Religious Women" is too mainstream) is having their annual assembly in St. Louis, MO.  The LCWR is for Catholic sisters and nuns.

Go on - guess what the theme for the assembly this year is.  "Meeting Christ's Challenge for Holiness?"  "Working to Establish His Church?"  Even "We Are Brides of Christ?"

Nope - it's "Mystery Unfolding: Leading in the Evolutionary Now."  And its keynote speaker is Barbara Marx Hubbard.

Barbara Marx Hubbard ("BMH") leads the Foundation for Conscious Evolution.  Conscious evolution "is the evolution of evolution, from unconscious to conscious choice. While consciousness has been evolving for billions of years, conscious evolution is new. It is part of the trajectory of human evolution, the canvas of choice before us now as we recognize that we have come to possess the powers that we used to attribute to the gods."

Confused?  BMH explains further:


"Conscious evolution can also be seen as an awakening of a ‘memory’ that resides in the synthesis of human knowing, from spiritual to social to scientific. Indeed, all of our efforts to discover the inherent design of life itself can be seen as the process of one intelligence, striving to know itself through our many eyes, and to set the stage for a future of immense cocreativity."

Huh?

Well, if you are still confused, you can buy the truth for the low, low price of $497.  Because it seems that there is going to be a "planetary Birth Day" on December 22, 2012 (hey, wait, didn't the Mayans already reserve the Earth for that day?).  What's going to happen on that day, besides Christmas shopping?

This day will help us shift beyond fearful separation toward a global sense of oneness, symbolically marking the start of a new era in human development.

And you can be a part of it (become a powerful catalyst of conscious evolution and play a role in one of  the most exciting events ever envisioned) through BMH's 12-module Agents of Conscious Evolution training.

The Agents of Conscious Evolution (ACE) training will offer you an in-depth understanding of key “mother memes” for the new worldview, designed for a new era (and an evolving you).

It will train you in the skills necessary to catalyze transformation within yourself and others. It will prepare you to play your perfect role in the Birth 2012 events next year. And it will connect you with a global community of change leaders who are here to light the way forward.

The ACE Training is designed to awaken your full creative potential, empower you in your “vocation of destiny,” give you a template for joyful co-creation, and provide a path for manifesting your heart’s desires.

And it will help you find your authentic leadership in the collective shift now underway.

But does it get you a ticket for the spaceship that's coming, too?

But wait!  There's more!  Act now and you get this ready-to-frame piece of paper, authenticating your qualifications as a CERTIFIED AGENT OF CONSCIOUS EVOLUTION

I have criticized the liberal religious women in their defiance of Church teachings before on this blog, and noted the underlying theme of "I can do what I want, when I want, and it's still Catholic!" The ACE training with its "path for manifesting your heart's desires" feeds this attitude, so perhaps it is no wonder that BMH was chosen as the key note speaker instead of someone, well, more Catholic.  

I wonder how many of the assembly attendees are signing up for this course.  I wonder if BMH is offering them an assembly discount.  I wonder if the sisters are also buying BMH's NOW watch:

Only $18.95 in BMH's online store.

What is all  claptrap?  Perhaps the LCWR needs to be reminded of a phrase at the beginning of The Lord's Prayer, which is not a petition, but an affirmation:  thy will be done.  What is God calling you to do, Sister - let that define who you are.  

I notice that New Age merchandise is all centered around the notion that you are imperfect and the purchase of a book, a course, a piece of jewelry will bring about a "new" you that is more "evolved," or "centered," or "clear," or "self-realized."  It is ego-driven and self-centered, and seeks to establish the self as one's own Personal Jesus, to borrow a song title.