Category: Mystical

Editor’s note: This article is part 5 of a series, “The Kingdom of Grace.”  Part 4 can be found here.  Grace is a special gift of divine Love, different from all the blessings of nature, and stands out from them all. God has loved us excessively and poured out himself upon us. He gives us… Continue reading The Life of Grace – SpiritualDirection.com

I remember the day when I was in fifth grade when some of the more mischievous boys, not generally inclined towards academics, nonetheless took a sudden interest in science. They would get up and go to the potted plants on the windowsill, and using the magnifying glass, would study them intently and at length. This… Continue reading Mary and the Magnifying Glass

Do Penance 1. “Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It was thus that “Jesus began to preach” (Matt. 4:17). And thus, already before Jesus had, St. John the Baptist proclaimed in the desert to those who came out to hear him: “Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”… Continue reading Frequent Confession – Fr. Benedict Baur

Editor’s note: This article is part 4 of a series, “The Kingdom of Grace.”  Part 3 can be found here.  God is Love. In his very great love for us, God gives himself to us. He opens up his inner Life to us, and gives us his Son and Spirit. In so doing, he proves… Continue reading The Graces of God – SpiritualDirection.com

Guard Your Senses We are beings of a composite nature, made up of body and soul. And although these are, in a certain sense, quite distinct from each other, they are nevertheless intimately joined together, one acting upon the other, one strongly affecting and influencing the other. The sense-impressions naturally are the more powerful ones… Continue reading Christ and the Powers of Darkness

Our intellect is our greatest strength and one of our greatest blessings, yet almost nothing gets us into as much trouble. Our strength is also our struggle. We think we know a few things, and indeed we do—a very few things. The greatest intellects, if they have wisdom and humility, know this. St. Thomas Aquinas famously… Continue reading Don’t Think, Look! A Meditation on the Need for the Mystical

Mary is assumed because of spiritual physics and her literal holiness. In the Fall, humanity chooses self over God. That Original Sin is passed down to every person ever born and it is an illness that we live with. Even after being wiped clean from Original Sin in Baptism, we feel the effects of the… Continue reading Jesus’ Place in the Assumption

Editor’s note: This article is part 3 of a series, “The Kingdom of Grace.”  Part 2 can be found here.  Many people speak of the graces of God, but first, let us ponder the God of grace. Scripture and tradition tell us that grace is first of all a gift of God’s love. But how… Continue reading The God of Grace – SpiritualDirection.com

“I Just Can’t Pray” John looked out the window. Streetlamps and windows in neighboring homes lit the darkness of the approaching night. His gaze dropped to the desk before him. There, a few inches before his hand, lay the Bible. Normally at this time, he read from it for ten to fifteen minutes. Tonight, nothing… Continue reading Struggles in the Spiritual Life

On a February evening, at bedtime, I received a text from an unknown number. At first, I thought it might be a scam. Then, as the possibility of the message being real sank in, I shared it with my husband. “There has been a rafting accident involving your son Evan in Guatemala and he is… Continue reading There is no “Deserve” – SpiritualDirection.com