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Christian Counseling Training: Christian Answers on Prayer and Process Theology

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Christian Counseling Training: Is Prayer Useful if God Knows the Future Anyways?

Some say if God knows what will happen, then why even pray for the outcome.
These so-called academics are merely being critical since most have little faith in God or do not believe in him at all.  They merely pose a riddle for Christians to decipher-usually young college students who are not well versed in theology to defend their faith.
The reality is prayer is useful and important and relevant.  There are four purposes of prayer.  The first simply involves adoration.  The second revolves around thanksgiving and the third involves contrition.  The final element of prayer is petition.  Petition is the element where a person asks God for a particular favor.  This obviously is the least reason we should pray but ironically the one most people find themselves using prayer for.  When things are good,  many people do not think about praying to God or adoring him, but the moment a family member becomes sick or a tragedy befalls them, people begin to pray.
While God, as a loving father, does not discourage us from asking him various favors, it is important to use prayer not as a way to get things but as a tool of communication to develop and foster a better spiritual life.
With this said, some people when in crisis will pray, but their prayer is based on a sick faith that seeks contract instead of covenant.  This form of praying hopes to bargain with God for a price.  This is the exact opposite of how Christ taught us to pray in the “Our Father” and again how he set those words to example in the garden where he offered his will to the Father.
Ultimately, during petition, while we must lay out our wishes and desires, we must also conform our will to God and accept his law.  Whether suffering or crosses result, one’s prayer should be to conform to whatever is God’s end purpose for one.  God’s ultimate end is blessings of a spiritual nature and will always answer prayers that seek spiritual growth, however, physical blessings are depended upon the will of God.  Yes, a cure is wonderful, or a material gain is a blessing, but they are not the most important things in the overall existence of oneself-and in some cases, they can be false goods that can lead to one’s own eventual downfall. Christian Counselors should emphasize this point to people.

Prayer and the Future

With an understanding of prayer and its elements, we can now move forward and answer the challenge of non-believers.  To the Christian, prayer for petition does not contradict an Omniscient God who knows the future.  Just because God knows the end result of any petition or favor I may ask, it does not mean I do not play a role in that final decision, even though already preordained in the mind of God.

Christian theology and philosophy teaches that God exists outside of time.  Time is not co-eternal with God but is a creation of God at the moment the universe came into existence.  So before the clock even ticked, there was an eternal God, the Alpha and the Omega.  With this understood, time as an existence and part of our fabric of time and space, did not co-exist with the Creator with no beginning but actually started the moment God created or released the first bit of energy that would transform the universe.
Hence, if God exists outside of time, as an Eternal and All-Knowing Being, he then sees everything in an all present prism.  The moment creation started, so did God witness the end of it.  This may seem impossible to finite beings trapped in time, but is well within the understanding of God’s being.
So when someone prays, God actually sees the prayer of the person and the eventual outcome.  He can choose to apply the petition or choose his own will over ours.  In this way, there is hardly a contradiction or an idea of fate.  The reality is that people play a role in their fate even though God knows the final end; God just merely views the process and the end at the same time.

What Is Process Theology?

While on the interesting topic of time, I would like to delve into a particular philosophy which attempts to pose as Christian but is repugnant to all orthodox theology regarding God.  Process Theology pioneered by Alfred Whitehead found the problem of prayer and fate to be incompatible.  Process Theology rejected the classical metaphysic notion that God created outside of time but that God and time were co-equals because God is a being and hence must exist in a past, present and future paradigm.
Rejecting the wisdom of Aquinas and the idea that God is greater than any force, even time, the Process Theologians created a new metaphysical philosophy.  This new philosophy taught that God as a being existing in time did not know the future since it did not happen yet.  As one can see, this was totally in competition with what Scripture taught about God knowing the future.
The true mask of this heresy was exposed when it even proclaimed that God does not act in the historical and temporal reality of man but answers prayers through inner workings and inspirations.  It was clear from that moment, that Process Theology was a merely a form of Neo-Modernism with all its attempt to “demytholoize Scripture”.
Yet, these “Christians” felt they had done metaphysics a great favor.  Now, one could pray to God and sincerely ask for his aid and help.  With God being a fellow traveler in time, he did not know the outcome and could freely bestow or withdraw his graces from the situation the prayer was involved with.
Obviously, as Christians, we understand that prayer and God’s omniscience is not a contradiction but merely a lack of understanding by temporal beings.
If you are interested in taking courses in Christian Spiritual Counseling for certification, please review the program.  Our Christian Counseling Training can help prepare for you this ministry.

Mark Moran, MA, GC-C, SCC-C

Christian Counseling: Living for Christ Now, Not Later

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Counselors Need to Encourage Youthful Commitment to Christ

How many of us find the race of life to be like the tortoise and the hare where like the hare we run across the track doing what we want except running the race correctly?  There is always tomorrow, or later, to win the race.   Christian Counselors need to encourage youthful comittment to Christ!

 

This mentality exists today.  Instead of turning one’s life over to God at a young age, people wish to experience life first then love God.  They joke that one day, they will be the old lady in Church, praying for her past sins.  Why though?  Why not live one’s entire life for Christ and gain more spiritual merit?  Also, why be caught off guard? What if we death come

s sooner and we still have not lived the life we needed to?

In the artclie below from Crosswalk.com, Whitney Hopler writes about dying young for Christ in “Die Young to Live For Jesus Now”.  This editorial is actually a report on the book, “Die Young: Burying Yourself In Christ” by Hayley and Michael Dimarco.  Below is the article.

“When someone dies young, people often view it as a tragedy – a life cut short, with wasted potential. Premature physical death can indeed be tragic. But there’s another kind of death that’s a blessing, especially when people are young: death to self.”

To read the entire article, click here

Christian Counselors need to emphasize an importance to their spiritual children, the importance of living now for Christ and not later.
If you are interested in Christian Counseling Courses for Certification, please review the program and click here.
Also if you would like to learn how to become a Christian Counselor, this site will help guide you.

Biblical Counseling Certification: How to Counsel Anger

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Biblical Counseling Certification: Counseling Anger

The emotion of anger is a double edged sword that encompasses righteousness but also evil. It can be a just reaction to evil, or serve evil in its retribution. With such a complex nature, it is important for the Christian Counselor to understand the nature of anger and also understand the basics of anger management in counseling. This is essential to Christian counseling skills.
 Since anger is such a broad and diverse emotion based upon numerous subjective and circumstantial elements, it is hard to classify when the emotion is just and when the emotion, while natural, should be curbed. Adding to the confusion is the simple fact that even when the anger is a just reaction, it nevertheless should be channeled elsewhere due to societal laws regarding retribution and revenge. With these elements, as well as the level of intensity and the individual’s mental state, it is very difficult to ascertain when an outburst can lead to violence. It is for this reason that human anger, although in some cases justified, should be channeled into good causes where no harm can be applied to the other agent.  
While the nature of anger is subjective and diverse, one can objectify a few elements of it. There are many ways anger is manifested or dealt with. In some anger is held back, in others anger it is denied, while others actively or passively direct and express their frustration. Still others face it directly instead of hiding it, while others channel their anger into other beneficial and positive endeavors. In addition to these manifestations, anger can also be classified into various categories. Terms such passive aggression, sudden anger, deliberate anger, habitual anger, depressive anger, moral anger and hatred are some examples of how anger is psychologically analyzed. In the end, as a counselor, one must realize anger can become a vice in the moral fabric of an individual and like all vices must be dealt with by prayer and good habits.

Anger as an unhealthy expression can prevented through a variety of biblical based teachings, prayers and meditations used in anger management. The virtues of patience, long suffering, forgiveness, and charity should be instilled to replace the vice of anger. In addition to religious reframing and virtue building, basic Christian counseling advice can be extremely beneficial. Teaching clients to avoid occasions of anger and to help re-evaluate their situations are helpful tools. In addition to this, teaching clients to channel their anger elsewhere, teaching self control techniques and helping them build a healthy self concept are also helpful tools when counseling someone. Perhaps the most important tool is to dig at the problem’s source. Helping a client to admit his or her anger and identify it is critical to overcoming the vice. Sometimes when a person is forced to face his or her anger and learn to express it in healthy and appropriate ways, it becomes less over bearing and less a dominant force in the person’s life.  n conclusion, anger while sometimes justified is still a negative emotion that can cause spiritual mental and physical distress. It needs to be faced, controlled and channeled properly. Through good Christian counseling, biblical principles, prayer, virtue, and the presence of the Holy Spirit, it can be controlled and give the person the peace he or she so desperately needs in his or her spiritual life.
If you would like to learn more about a biblical counseling certification, then please review the program.  A Biblical counseling certification deals with such issues as anger and how to help people find peace.

Mark Moran, MA, GC-C, SCC-C

Program in Christian Biblical Counseling: When Patriotism Becomes Nationalism and Virtues becomes Vice

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Memorial Day is Patriotism not Nationalism

The corruption of the social virtue of patriotism is nationalism.  Nationalism is  more than a ethnic group’s deep  yearning to find a homeland, but it is also an elitism that sees a homeland as only for one group.  It is not inclusive but exclusive to difference and ethinic origin.   This is apparent in both cases of Jew and Palestinian.  Both group’s hands are bloody in absolute nationalism.
If one does not realize the inherent dangers of nationalism, one needs to only see the rise of fascist regimes in Europe as Hitler utilized hate as a primary rallying cry to unify a bitter German nation.   This was also the case in Japan during the 1930s, as this tiny island imprisoned the South Pacific under its brutal dictatorship.  Nationalism seeks to poison true patriotism. Memorial Day captures the true essence of patriotism.  It seeks to remember, respect and show pride of one’s country in a healthy, conducive fashion devoid of hate.   Contrary to this, nationalism utilizes hate, vengeance and racism to push forward its social agenda.
These unhealthy ideals lead ultimately to war where good men must take up their arms to defend the defenseless and weak.  As knights, or “great men of the West” (Tolkien), previous generations have taken up the crusuade to defend society from nationsn that were intoxicated by nationalism.  Good men have declared just wars against those who would strive to destroy peace.

Just War: An Oximoron?

During Memorial Day, we commerate a violent past that involves death and war.  But we do not honor the death but the sacrifice and necessity of good men to stand up to tryants.  As stated years ago, evil flourishes when good men do nothing.The invansion of Nazi controlled Normandy is an example of just war, where brave men stand up against the tryanny of evil
Hence is the driving principle behind “Just War Theory”.  As St. Thomas Aquinas pointed out, in regards to defense and the greater good of society, nations may declare war against tyranny that would hope to eradicate justice.  Killing while unfortunate becomes self defense.  The just man does not wish to fight, fighting is the last resort.  The just man does not wish for war or the death of innocents, but ultimately in the end, the just man must take up his sword when called.  This is true bravery and is contrary to pacifisim which in more times than not correlates with cowardice against one’s duty.  Hence a Christian soldier does not contradict the teachings of Christ when he defends virtue and justice in war.
This is one reason why we honor our fallen.  The virtue of bravery or fortitude was instilled upon them to do what needed done against the armies of darkness.
So what is Memorial Day about?

Memorial Day Is About Love, Remembrance and Patriotism

Memorial Day is more than just watching war movies and cooking.  True, watching the Duke take out a small regiment of Nazis by himself or Clint Eastwood ascending to where only eagles may dare is exciting and well worth the time, one must look beyond these stories.  One must also look beyond the mere social event where families come together, cook, and have a nice “cold one” under the Summer  sun.   While swimming pools and and parties are important elements, they mean nothing if one does not understand the primary importance of Memorial Day.  It is a day where society acknowledges the grief of families who have loss their loved ones.  It is day of love and thankfulness to those who served our country so bravely.  Finally it is about true patriotism that goes beyond hate but is about love and mutual respect as an American in a global community.
If you are interested in Christian Counseling themes regarding life, please review the program.
Our Program in Christian Biblical Counseling is also available for qualified professionals who are seeking a certification in Christian Biblical Counseling.  The Program in Christian Biblical Counseling covers core courses that the professional must complete to become certified.

Mark Moran, MA, GC-C, SCC-C

Theodicy: The Problem of Evil and How to Counsel for Bad Things

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Training for a Christian Counselor: Counseling Against the Problem of Evil

How does a counselor answer the question of a mother who lost her child or explain the horrors of the Holocaust?  How can a counselor explain the explicit existence of evil in the world and at the same time speak of God’s will?  How can a counselor explain that a good and all powerful God would ever allow evil to take place?
These are all probing questions that test one’s faith and also provide a striking point for non-believers to assault theism.  However, the “problem” of the existence of evil is merely lack of understanding than a true problem.
So instead of answering these questions with pithy cliches such as “its God’s will” or “who can understand the nature of God”, I suggest philosophically answering these challenges on why a good God allows evil to exist.

The Theodicy is the philosophical study on the question of evil.  St. Augustine philosophically answered the questions of evil and found peace and balance on how a good God can co-exist in an evil world.  St. Augustine initially had fallen victim to a scandalous and heretical cult that proclaimed good and evil were the results of two clashing divine beings.  Through the prayers of his mother, Monica, he later became a great Church father and tackled the idea of evil from a Christian perspective.  St. Augustine taught that evil was not the result or will of God but a deficiency found in creation.  As darkness is to light, evil was a negation of what God’s goodness.  This deficiency was found in all sentient beings because God created man and angels in his image and likeness.  Part of being a rational creation is the ability to reason and form decisions.  Free will enabled man and angels as beings to fully reflect the image of the creator.
This gift, however, came with a huge gamble; that man and the angels could choose evil.  God in fact knew this and still bestowed this gift to man and angels despite the eventual outcome.  How important and precious is free will then to our nature?  It is so important than God permitted the chance of evil to enter into the world at its expense.  First by Lucifer and his band of followers and then later by Adam and Eve would free will bring death and suffering to mankind.
Yet, despite the evils that were byproducts of bad decisions, God also saw the beauty and goodness that free will would give angels and men to fight evil and do good.  An act of charity, worship of God or rational thought could never be uttered by simple nature, but only by sentient creatures bestowed with God’s gift of free will.  To be able to partake in the divine, we needed choice and through choice came both goodness and evil.
This evil that exists in the world while overbearing also gave man the chance to rise beyond the ashes, do good, and find merit via suffering and good works for the next life.
While some would contend evil mars God’s goodness and omnipotence, I would contend the gift of free outweighs the consequences of those who choose badly.  Through love of God, which is free choice, one can love God and share in his life.  And yet despite this, God still did not allow us to suffer the consequences of evil alone, instead he took upon human flesh and defeated evil on the cross, carrying our sins and teaching us how to suffer.
With such thoughts, pithy sayings while possibly true are not needed.  Nor are there long books about the problem of evil because ultimately the only problem is those who choose wrongly.
If you are interested in Christian Counseling Education, please review the program. If you are interested in training for a Christian Counselor, then this program can help.

By Mark Moran, MA, GC-C, SCC-C

How Can Christian Counseling and Science Find Common Ground on Creation?

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Education for Christian Counseling: Christian Counseling Can Find Common Ground for Creationism and Theistic Evolution?

The ever widening chasm between science and theology is misfortunate because it deviates from the common reality of truth. A truth that correlates between the senses and the metaphysical  realities between the one absolute truth in the universe. These divisions and arguments of thought from Galileo and Rome to evolution and creationism are not products of science and theology at odds but human error. The Christian who counsels those in doubt, whether from the pulpit, a ministry or an individual counseling session must put aside the biases of science and theology and see a universal truth of God. The truth of science and theology are not at odds because both are authored by God. The only clash is between erroneous opinions of men who misuse both sciences.

Theology as the First Science

The first premise is understanding the reality that theology is the first science because its subject is the highest and most important good which is God. Theology while divergent from scientific methods seeks an end that the senses cannot comprehend. This does not diminish theology or make it inferior to science but pushes it beyond the limitations of the finite. Science with its own methods and tools does not seek metaphysical conclusions but instead looks for ends that are within the realm of our senses. It does not seek to confirm or deny the existence of metaphysical realities, but hopes to understand the inner workings of physical manifestations and realities of the sensible universe.
With this premise understood, does true science when it seeks to discover the origins of the universe assault the theological ideals of Creationism? While creation is touched by both theology and science, one must understand the difference of scope. Theology hopes to understand the origins beyond empiricism, while science attempts to understand creation through visible manifestations. Science is limited in this endeavor because the physical traces of creation eventually lead to metaphysical realities which cannot be observed, while theology can cross over this boundary and with faith before reason begin to understand the realities that science can never proclaim or deny.
Why then do creationists become so intimidated by science? The first reason is scientific bias. Many scientists allow their atheistic philosophy push their conclusions. Many scientists are infected by Positivism or direct Empiricism that oversteps the boundaries of sciences and declares that anything not observable is non-existent. Such proclamations are not science but philosophy. Hence when science is tainted by a secular philosophy it loses its credibility. This is unfortunate.
The second intimidation creationists face at the question of evolution and science is their own radical interpretations. While Modernism has assaulted the divine scriptures, stamping historical incident as myth, many biblical Christians have held on to outdated philosophies and biblical interpretations that do not harm the sacred integrity of divine inspiration. In fact, as science has progressed in helping one to understand the creation of the world, many Christians have kept theology at war with true science by holding on to aging concepts that are at odds with truth. The ironic thing is simply that these aging concepts of biblical interpretation they hold as dogma is not an article of faith and can be interpreted differently without harming the truth of theology. There is more damage done when outdated concepts of religion obstinately defy scientific rationale. The same case was with Galileo. Religion demanded that the Earth was the center of the universe, but true science observed that the Earth revolved around the Sun. How did this concept harm the ideals of true Christian theology? It did not. The same holds true for theistic evolution.

Many church candles in yellow transparent chandeliersHumani Generis: A Revolutionary Document

Before many of my fellow Christians seek to reject me as a liberal which is amusing since there is far from a liberal ideal in my body, I would like to contend that mainstream Christian teaching has held the possibility of a theistic evolutionary option of belief in contrast to literal creationism. This has been now for some time an option and is far from a novel ideal. Pope Pius XII in “Humani Generus” pointed out a variety of Christian options in response to evolution; Far from a modernistic text, this encyclical of the 1950s, condemned atheistic evolution or any defamation of Scripture as not divine in origin or as a collection of mythological stories. In fact, Pope Pius XII denounced any ideas that spirit evolves from matter as Pierre Teilhard De Chardin proposed, or any speculation that the creation of the soul was not a direct intervention of God in the unfolding evolutionary process. The Pope merely remarked that it is plausible that God utilized evolution as a means of unfolding his creation and at the direct and precise moment, took a man and woman and infused into them a divine soul that was made in in his image and likeness. The Pope also pointed out that heretical ideals regarding the story Adam and Eve were to also be disregarded. Among them including ideas that the story of Adam and Eve were mythological tales to understand creation and that Adam was not a true historical figure. The Pope also condemned any notion that the idea of Adam as not an individual but instead a name for a tribe of people that had evolved was to be completely labeled as incompatible with Christian doctrine.
Christian spiritual directors who may be uncomfortable with this but prefer a more literal interpretation of Genesis can still find peace in that the Pope nevertheless remarked that while these new scientific ideas could be plausible, they are still nonetheless are not infallible statements and could possibly be erroneous. With this in mind, he still advocated an equal argument for the idea of creationism. The primary point to take from this is that Christians can still remain orthodox and share the same ideals of God’s creation but differ on the method and physical way God created the universe. The primary requirements as Christians is to believe God created everything and that Adam and Eve were created in a special state of grace that spared them the natural world and its elements. Whether their initial matter evolved over millions of years is irrelevant. The relevant issue is that Adam and Eve were made in the image and likeness of God and after their fall, were expelled from paradise to exist in the natural world.
Still it is my conviction that many literal interpreters of Scripture will find fault with an open acceptance of theistic evolution. This does not proceed from faith but a lack of theological understanding of scriptural exegesis. The faith of those who accept theistic evolution is as strong as those who accept creationism, but the difference arrives in how one interprets Scripture. Is it to be interpreted literally, symbolically, poetically or in a simpler language for the time? While it is obvious some books are prophetical, wisdom or historical literature, one must ascertain what type of book is Genesis? To boldly proclaim Genesis, especially regarding Adam and Eve is purely an intense day by day historical narrative would seem to be missing the point of creation. Genesis is primarily a theological book with ideas written by men, yet inspired, in how to explain creation. If the author or authors chose to use symbolism and analogy for an ancient audience, how then can we dare to infallibly proclaim it is a historical narrative? While it is possible, I would contend nonetheless that this is the wrong path to follow.

A Christian Bad Word-The Big Bang?

As science shows more and more evidence for the “Big Bang”-yes that bad word all Christians shutter to hear-one starts to come to the conclusion that Genesis while completely true from a theological perspective, nonetheless, is being misinterpreted when one views it as historical narrative. It is as if one reads a certain type of map that gives information about resources, but instead uses the map as a guide to understand the political division of countries. Yes the map is showing us true reality, but we are reading it for the wrong information that we need. It essence, the map is fine, it is our use of that map that is wrong. The same is true of Genesis. Genesis and the creation of Adam is far from fiction or myth, but it is more concerned with conveying to an ancient audience the creation of man, not a day by day narrative from a modern historical perspective. Of course, Adam did exist. Of course they existed in a state of perfection. Of course Satan tempted Eve. Of course Adam and Eve were expelled and needed a Redeemer to save them. But-was the Genesis of the world completed in Seven Days? Did God look like an old man in the Garden? Did Satan truly manifest as a snake? Was Eve’s sin of disobedience due to the eating of a certain fruit? These points are irrelevant in the overall theme of the historic incident of Adam and Eve.

From a different perspective, perhaps not a correct one, but well within my right as a believing Christian as I have shown forth, I would like to point out how I felt after watching the Science Channel on the Origins of the Universe. As I sat there and scientific data performed its purpose of collecting observable data the more I became convinced that God did indeed use evolution as his recipe for creation. The moment of the Big Bang was described as a moment of intense heat and density that suddenly imploded upon itself unleashing every seed for what one sees in the universe today. Yet the scientists could not explain how nothing became something. Within their set of tools, they could not and never can. They do not possess the metaphysical tools to go beyond the moment of something into nothingness where the uncaused cause of creation, which is God, exists. As they portrayed the “Big Bang” and its ultimate explosion, I saw the finger of God, as in Michelangelo’s epic painting of creation, unleashing his divine energy upon the universe. Is this not what science is about? Attempting to in an unbiased way understand how God created the universe?

If one just for a moment thinks deeply about it, even small parts of the “Big Bang” point to Scripture. In the beginning God said “Let there be light”. Light without stars? Yet the light of creation existed before the stars. Again, and God found order in the chaos. Immediately following the “Big Bang”, there was complete chaos as protons clashed with one another and matter and anti-matter exploded in a murky soup. Yet order came from that chaos. A design emerged.
This article is not intended to insult creationism. In fact, I openly declare that creationism may still be historically true because evolution technically was never observed by its own scientific criteria. My only point is that Christians should not fear true science but embrace its efforts in understanding the universe. It is also time to for Christians to understand that literal interpretation or lack of it does not make a Christian bad. Ideas of symbolic interpretation existed during the time of the Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas.
In these regard, how do Christian Counselors view evolution and how do they speak of it during sessions with clients? Do you represent a literalistic view, a scientific view, or a mixture?
If you are interested in Christian Counseling Education, please review the program. Education for Christian Counseling can be found here.

By Mark Moran, MA, GC-C, SCC-C

Counseling Tips To Being A Good Husband

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Christian Counseling Certification: Counseling “Boot Camp” for Good Husbands

We all know in Scripture, Paul says for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the Church

Below is a short article that adds a few ideas to this on how to be the husband God wants men to be to their wives.

Stormie Omartian in “Five Ways To Be The Husband God Wants You To Be” writes about this topic.  The article is from crosswalk.com

“In the Bible, God commands, “All of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be ten­derhearted, be courteous” (1 Peter 3:8). Paying heed to these five directives can change your life and your marriage and make you the man and husband God wants you to be. It’s definitely something well worth praying about.”

To read the full article, click here

In the end, being a good husband is about being willing to lay one’s life down for his wife and family.  Counseling sessions should emphasize the love and devotion a husband must have for his family.  Ultimately, are husbands imitating St. Joseph?  Was it not St. Joseph who best cared for the Holy Family putting his own life on the line to defend it?
If you are interested in Christian Counseling Education, please click here. Our Christian Counseling Certification is offered to qualified professionals.  To achieve Christian Counseling Certification, one must take the core courses offered at AIHCP.

Certification In Christian Counseling: The Seven Joys of Mary and Counseling

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Certification in Christian Counseling: Counseling for Joy in the Life of Mary

So many times in Christian theology, we focus only on the sorrows of Christ, Mary, and the saints.  In this short article, I would like to focus instead on the some of the joys especially during the Easter season.  In particular, since in previous articles we looked at Mary’s seven sorrows, I would like to look at her seven joys.  Catholics as well as Protestants can find some

common ground in professing joy during counseling sessions.  As Christians we can all share in joyous moments of Jesus and Mary.  Joyous moments that will one day be shared in Heaven.
This Christian tradition of documenting Mary’s joys is hundreds of years old.  The first joys involve Mary at the Annunciation, the Nativity, and the adoration of the Magi.  Some traditions include the Visitation to Mary’s cousin Elizabeth as one of Mary’s joys.
Mary’s later joys include the Resurrection of Christ, the Ascension, Pentecost, and her entry into Heaven.  In Catholic circles this involves the dogma of the Assumption and the Coronation.  This is obviously a debate within Protestant theology since Protestants do not accept the Assumption.  However, all Christians could concur that Mary is in Heaven and Jesus has placed his mother in high esteem.
These joys of Mary can be looked at in numerous ways.  It shows that despite the many sorrows that Mary endured on Earth, that God wants all his people to experience happiness here as well.  This world while fallen still reflects the goodness of the Creator and should be enjoyed.  There are many moments on Earth we will all remember when in Heaven.  These joys should be cherished as Mary’s seven joys are warmly remembered.
If you are interested in Christian Counseling Training, please review the program.  Our Certification in Christian Counseling is an excellent way to help others as a Christian Counselor.

Mark Moran, MA, GC-C, SCC-C

Counseling Through the Confusion of Catholic Marriage Laws

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Counseling Through the Marriage Laws of the Catholic Church

Confusion is the most common element when it comes to the Canon Law of the Catholic Church concerning its marriage laws.  Especially for counselors who hope to counsel those through it.  Protestant counselors in this regard can release a sigh of relief in

that they are not concerned with such legalistic matters, however, Catholic counselors will need some education in the confusing and murky waters of the Church and its marriage laws.
In studying these legalistic issues, one should not be too intimidated, these rules only caused Henry VIII to break from Rome and is also the cause for most Catholics in leaving the faith!  With such pressure of properly interpreting these ideals, the Catholic counselor should have a firm understanding of these regulations.  If any Protestant counselors wish to also attempt to understand these rules, buckle up for this crash course in Canon Law.
There are two primary premises of Catholic Theology regarding marriage and maybe understanding this can somewhat help others at least understand why the Church is so protective of matrimony.  First, the Church believes in the unbreakable union of marriage.  Echoing in the back of this theology is Christ’s words that “what God has joined together, no man can put asunder”.   Christ even emphasized that if a man put away his wife and take another, he commits adultery.  With such scriptural references, the Catholic Church has always defended the vow of marriage.  The second premise of Catholic theology regarding marriage is the sacramental nature of the vow.  In the Catholic Church, marriage is considered a sacrament.  Christ at Cana elevated this social

contract to a holy union between a man and woman.  As a vow before God, a sacred covenant is permanent.  The nature of a vow and its sacredness and indissolubility are characteristics that make a vow permanent.  Hence divorce or a breaking of a valid vow is impossible within Catholic Canon Law.
While divorce is permissible in Protestant circles, it is strictly forbidden in Catholic circles.  Hence as a Catholic counselor, one cannot encourage the remarriage of any person bound by a legitimate sacramental bound.  Any marriage thereafter would be considered adultery and illegitimate, even if conducted in another church.
While this idea is simple enough, Catholic ideas on marriage become more complicated as different situations arise that surround the nature of vows and intent.  The subjective element of one’s intellect and will can play a major role in the validity of the vow and hence the entirety of the sacrament’s validity.  With these things in mind, what is necessary for a vow?  Obviously to make any vow, a person must be free from cohesion or outside pressures.  They must have a full understanding and comprehension of the nature of the vow and the competency to carry it out.  Furthermore, in a vow such as marriage, there must be full transparency of intents between both parties.  These subjective elements would include a variety of examples that could nullify a vow.  For example, if someone was forced to marry against their will or a person made false promises or hid their true identity.  In these cases, the vow is not “pure” and the sacramental nature of the vow cannot manifest.  Keep in mind, these subjective elements are all preliminary to the vow and not after it.  For example, when one makes the statement for “better or worst”, one refers to incidents after the vow and not prior.  To nullify, invalidate, or annul a sacramental vow, the deficiency must be a priori.  The seed of the issue must exist prior to the making of the vow.  This is the primary reasons annulments are granted for people who discover dark unknown secrets after the vow.  Full disclosure was not given or true intents were not shared prior to the marriage.
However, if bad things occur after the marriage, such as a moment of weakness via infidelity, the Church will not grant an annulment; Of course, if that infidelity can be tied to prior unknown feelings, it could be used as grounds for an annulment but not if it was merely a moment of weakness or a mistake that was never intended or anticipated.  However, this does not entail that one must continue to live with such a person.  In cases of infidelity, a person may indeed separate but not remarry.  A more serious issue would be abuse.  Usually cases of abuse, however, are granted because abuse is usually a seed prior to the vow and not something that developed after the taking of the vow.  In cases of abuse, the spouse is encouraged to leave the abuser at all costs.
Hence an annulment is not a divorce.  An annulment is merely an a priori deficiency before the vow that invalidates it.  Hence in all reality there was no sacramental marriage contract.  While this may seem like a loop hole to some, it actually represents a thorough understanding of the subjective element of man and also the requirements of a vow.
In addition to these regulations, there are also cases of invalid marriage prior to sacramental marriage.  In these cases, the man and woman are not seen as married in the eyes of the Church and hence eligible to marry within the Church after civil divorce to another person.  The reasoning behind this is that the Church does not consider certain marriages to be valid.  Within this circle, one can find any civil marriage without a religious figure.  If a man and woman are married before a justice of the peace, then that marriage is considered invalid.  In fact, the Church would view such a marriage as merely living together in sin.
Other examples include unbaptized individuals who may marry, or if a Christian married an unbaptized non-Christian.  In these cases, the sacramental form cannot manifest and the  marriage is invalid.  Non Catholics who are Christian who may marry within their own denomination, however, are considered valid unions in the eyes of the Catholic Church.    In some cases though, if a Protestant man divorced his wife and sought to marry a Catholic woman, the Catholic Church would forbid such a union because they would consider the man to be married to the previous woman.  Of course, this union is until death, in which case, if the one of the spouses died, then remarriage is again possible.
In regards to Catholics, a Catholic can marry a baptized person of another Christian denomination with permission from his or her bishop.  In which case a dispensation is granted that ensures the spiritual guarantee that the Catholic spouse will remain Catholic and all

children will be raised Catholic.  If this is not agreed upon or approved by the local bishop, then the marriage would be invalid.  Also if a Catholic wishes to marry in a non-Catholic Church to a Protestant spouse, one again can gain permission from the local bishop but without this permission, the marriage would be invalid.  Finally, if two Catholics marry outside the Catholic Church, the marriage is always invalid.  This is even the case, if the Catholic leaves the Catholic Church.
As one can see, there is a host of situations that canon lawyers and the tribunal deals with on a daily basis regarding Catholics and re-marriage.  However, it is critical especially if a Catholic counselor, to understand the teaching and rules of the Church when counseling people who are seeking marriage or remarriage.
If you are interested in Christian Counseling Educational Courses, please review the program.

Mark Moran, MA, GC-C, SCC-C

The Spiritual Aid of Angels in Counseling

Posted on by Dominick Flarey

Spiritual Aid of Angels in Counseling

Made in the image and likeness of God, angels too share in the glory of God in an intimate way that only creatures blessed with free will can.  As man, they too were tested, and as man, some failed.  Yet the good angels who did not fail became integral parts in the history of mankind.  They became our spiritual elder siblings who care for their younger sibling.  The spiritual director or counselorshould take special consideration of their love for humanity and plead for their intercession and guidance in counseling sessions.  The spiritual aid of angels is an enormous help to any counselor.
The angelic hosts consist of Nine Choirs.  The highest choirs of the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones are angels that partake in constant adoration of God, while other choirs also deal with interactions with man and God’s creation.  These other orders include the Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels and basic angels.   These angels perform a two-fold purpose in their interaction with humanity.  First, they act as messengers from God and second, they act as intercessors and protectors.  All of the angelic hosts possess great intellect that far surpasses human nature but fortunately, these holy beings only desire the will of God and have a great love for humanity.
With such holy friends, it is of great benefit to ask these heavenly beings to intercede and protect us from evil.  Angels are only too happy to aid mankind in any way towards his eventual salvation.  This is in particular true of guardian angels.  Every person is given a guardian angel

that watches over, protects, directs and prays for us.  Our guardian angel is our greatest and best friend.  This being is chosen from the dawn of time to become our closest companion on earth.  In this, one should hope to cultivate a close friendship with his or her guardian angel and make this heavenly being part of one’s spiritual daily life.  Counseling sessions should also invoke the guidance and intercession of guardian angels to help one overcome sin or struggles.
While guardian angels are our primary helper of the angelic choirs, archangels and the other choirs also can help with particular issues of virtue or holiness or protection.  St. Michael the Archangel is more than willing to protect and bless one’s home from the assault of the fallen angels.  Christian Counselors should utilize this powerful angel in any demonic or occult encounters.
In conclusion, one’s spiritual life and its progression is greatly enhanced when one has the love and aid from our angelic friends in Heaven.  These older spiritual siblings love us deeply and wish to share in the Beatific Vision with us for eternity.
If you are interested in Christian Counseling Education, please review the program and see how it applies to you.
If you want to learn how to become a certified spiritual christian counselor, then please review the program.

By Mark Moran, MA, GC-C, SCC-C