Category: Mystical

We live in an “on-demand” culture.  Lattes at lightning speed; 24/7 package delivery; and digital meetings any time, any place.  What we want, we can get, and in a hurry. Except with God. Our God is not an “on-demand” God.  Our God is a demanding God.  He desires to bless us, and His compassionate Heart… Continue reading Waiting for God’s Best – SpiritualDirection.com

We have established the principle that man is made principally for the vision of God. This requires an elevation of our human powers, that man might realize this purpose. It is essential to remember that human nature is not neutral with respect to God. By the very fact of having an intellect, the spiritual being… Continue reading Grace Explained: Preparation for Grace

Miraculous Healings The most rigorously investigated miraculous healings are those that are submitted as evidence for beatification and canonization. As we have seen, for a healing to be considered miraculous, it must be spontaneous, instantaneous, complete, lasting, and unexplainable by modern medicine. All of the material related to the purported miracle is first studied by… Continue reading The Catholic Guide to Miracles: Miraculous Healings

It has become apparent to me that I have a hard time welcoming the human experience of anger and figuring out what to do with it. That becomes quite a setup for struggle and heartache – especially during years like this past one! As I look around and observe other humans all around me, I… Continue reading Learning to Listen to Anger

In the midst of sessions, the demons often diss us, especially the exorcist. They try to tear us down, even using sacred symbols. In the past they have criticized me for many things: “You don’t say Mass every day” (I missed a few days); “Some of you here did not go to confession today” (the… Continue reading Exorcist Diary: Whose Voice in Your Head?

The closing stage directions of Samuel Beckett’s famous existential drama Waiting for Godot capture the entrenched fear, doubt, and despair of modernity.  One disaffected drifter, Estragon, says to another, “Well, shall we go?” “Yes,” his counterpart, Vladimir, affirms, “let’s go.” Stage direction: “They do not move.” Nor will they move. Ever. Beckett’s bums, pathetic as… Continue reading To Lower Our Nets – SpiritualDirection.com

I sometimes have parts of a favorite litany rolling around in the back of my mind. One of those prayers is the Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. The entire litany pounds into my heart how much Jesus personally loves me: fully, unconditionally, and without limits. It also reminds me that He loves… Continue reading Like Father, Like Son – SpiritualDirection.com

 A priest I went to college with was on Pints With Aquinas recently. He became a Benedictine after college, and I knew him to be a truly humble, holy, and sensible guy. He spoke of the history of Benedictine monasticism and how St. Benedict had “an appreciation of the limits of our humanity.” Before I… Continue reading The Underrated Virtue of Moderation

Recently, my two youngest stood on the church steps following Mass to pose for a picture. My daughter posed like a princess and my son contorted his features into a striking semblance of a howling warrior– squatting, fists raised, ready for battle. Our family has taken dozens of similar photos over the last twenty years… Continue reading Revival of Apostolic Men – SpiritualDirection.com

Carlo, Our Little Hero In each generation, heroes of the faith, whom the Church recognizes as saints, emerge. They have understood that holiness is not about imagining past holiness or dreaming about a better world; rather, it is living their present lives as disciples of Christ. Therefore, holiness takes place in the here and now.… Continue reading A Millennial in Paradise: Carlo Acutis