Dissociation, Sisters of the Cross, Dimas Kanjeng, Indonesia
" ... Dissociation is a word used to describe a mental detachment or separation. It is a popular word on social media now, and it can be used to describe normal forgetfulness, daydreaming, or absent-mindedness. It also has a pathological definition, which can include amnesia, hearing voices, flashbacks, derealization, depersonalization, identity fragmentation and more.
These symptoms can be associated with experiencing trauma or significant stress. Depression, which many people suffer from and can be very difficult to treat, can encompass these pathological dissociative symptoms as well. This study sought to explore the relationships between dissociative symptoms, depression, trauma, and other potential mediating factors."
" ... Mother Nadine Brown, formerly a contemplative religious with the Sisters of the Cross, founded the Intercessors of the Lamb in 1980 because she believed she had received a call from God to bring contemplative spirituality to the mainstream. Embedded in her spirituality was a focus on intercessory prayer, using contemplative and charismatic spirituality to discern what to pray for and how to pray for it, and then to use the answers to these prayers to offer intercessory prayer for that intention. Additionally, Mother Nadine placed a great deal of emphasis on spiritual warfare and deliverance prayer, rooted in her charismatic spirituality.
The Intercessors of the Lamb was a community of hermits (religious brothers, sisters, and later priests) and laypersons (similar to a third order). Praying for priests was central to the community's mission. Over time, many diocesan priests became affiliates of the community, receiving spiritual care from the Intercessors of the Lamb through retreats and days of prayer on the community's grounds.
I initially participated in the community's prayer group as a layperson while I was a student at Creighton University. However, after attending an eight-day silent retreat at the community, I discerned a call to enter the Intercessors. I went on to spend fifteen months as a religious brother with the community.
The Intercessors of the Lamb received prayer requests from all over the world. Teams of intercessors would lift up the specific request in prayer, pray in tongues, and receive images and/or words of inspiration in prayer. The prayer team leader would piece the information together and discern how the Lord was leading the team to pray for the request, and the community would send a letter to that person with the information they received in prayer and how they prayed for the intention.
The community had stressed the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus, daily prayer, and devotion to the Eucharist and Mary. The Intercessors of the Lamb, as the name implies, had a special devotion to Jesus as the Lamb who was slain.
So far, this may sound intriguing and perhaps very appealing overall to many Catholics. However, entrenched in the community were numerous unhealthy aspects that reflected elements of a cult.
Mother Nadine Brown, a very gifted and talented person, exuded a cult of personality. Members within the community—inclusive of religious hermits and laypersons—regarded her as if she possessed divine essence and was infallible. Doing what Mother Nadine wanted was the equivalent of doing what God wanted, and vice versa. There was tremendous pressure among the religious sisters and brothers to appease her, along with equivalent pressure not to get on her bad side. Moreover, Mother Nadine did not have a spiritual director. She touted that she had the Holy Spirit as her director. In retrospect, this was a clear sign of the community's lack of both prudent direction and checks and balances.
Mother Nadine exuded significant control over the members. For example, she mandated that spiritual directors in the community divulge their directees' inner lives to her. According to Canon Law, spiritual direction requires confidentiality (Canon 246, 4) to protect the freedom of a person's discernment and spiritual life. This violation of Canon Law was one of the reasons why the religious community was eventually suppressed."
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