Category: Mystical

In the late winter of 2020, I received a phone call from Stephanie Burke inviting me to become the next Director of the High Calling Program. While we discussed many topics about the Program, at one point, she paused and said, “Joe, I was just walking up the stairs in my house, minding my own… Continue reading Vocation Crisis: A Turning Point?

“James” is suffering from demonic obsessions or “demon brain.” Every couple of weeks, he goes through a spell in which his thinking is strongly influenced by demons. When this happens, he becomes despairing and suicidal. He came up with a five-step process for dealing with these demonic attacks. The five steps might be helpful for… Continue reading Exorcist Diary: 5 Steps for Dealing with Demon Brain

One of the stranger passages in the Old Testament is a command Moses received from God. The people had grumbled against God and Moses for the “wretched” manna they had to consume (Numbers 21:5). They were sick of its bland quality though it was the miracle food, the bread from heaven that had sustained them… Continue reading Strange Medicine and the Gaze that Saves: A Meditation on the Triumph of the Cross

Editor’s note: This article is part 8 of a series, “The Kingdom of Grace.”  Part 7 can be found here.  When many people hear the word charity, the first thing that comes to mind are various works of mercy such as soup kitchens, shelters, and orphanages. All such things are outward works of charity indeed,… Continue reading The Meaning of Charity – SpiritualDirection.com

Wisdom of St. Thérèse “No, there is no joy comparable to that which the truly poor in spirit experience.” Thérèse was acutely aware of the transient nature of material things and of the impermanence of this present life. Even at a very young age she understood that even those who believe themselves to be good… Continue reading Learning to Let Go with the Little Flower

By Sister Mary Scholastica, O.C.D. Are we listening? Are we really listening? It’s an important question we need to ask ourselves. In reading this, do you think about yourself, or do you automatically think of “someone else” someone else who needs to “get better at listening”? It’s interesting, isn’t it? Many of us think of… Continue reading Are We Really Listening? – SpiritualDirection.com

Editor’s note: This article is part 6 of a series, “The Kingdom of Grace.”  Part 5 can be found here.  Grace is a special gift of God’s love, different from all the blessings of nature, and God gives us his grace in order to draw us into us his own divine Life. God gives actual… Continue reading The Light of Grace – SpiritualDirection.com

A Bright Cloud of Spirituality Rising from Every Home and Every Heart (Letter of Don Dolindo to E.C., a spiritual child of his) I am writing to you in the light of the Holy Rosary, the prayer that brings us so close to Our Lord and is today the object of a feast day on… Continue reading Meditations on the Holy Rosary

An inquisitive student of mine came to ask me a string of questions one day after class. He led with this: Why did Jesus come to earth when he did? Isn’t it convenient that Jesus came 2,000 years ago when there was no technology to record him? Wouldn’t it have been much easier for us… Continue reading The Timing of Christ’s Coming

We had been “pounding away” at the demonic presence for almost two years and “M”, a young woman in her 20’s, was much, much better. The night attacks had ceased; the demonic marks on her body had mostly disappeared; she tolerated an exorcism without completely going “out;” and during the day she had many more… Continue reading Exorcist Diary: Demons Hold Onto Lies