Tag: Mystical

I Believe Kneeling before the tabernacle, it seems quite natural to begin my period of prayer with an act of faith: “I do believe, my Jesus, in the reality of Your presence here.” Just then an unexpected voice intrudes itself upon my pious reflections. Perhaps it is my guardian angel who asks, “Oh, you believe,… Continue reading Choosing God in All We Do

James complained of demonic attacks. One fact especially caught my attention. I asked, “What time do they occur?” He responded, “3am.” I thought, “Ahhh, the demonic hour.” To discern if someone is possessed, we look for the well-known major signs such as occult knowledge, superhuman strength, knowledge of unknown languages, and aversion to the sacred.… Continue reading Exorcist Diary: The Demonic Hour

The Passion, which we read in the liturgy for Palm Sunday, is too long to comment on in detail, so we will only examine a portion of it here. It may be of some value to examine the problems associated with the more moderate range of personalities involved. The usual villains (the Temple leaders, Judas,… Continue reading See What the End Shall Be: A Homily For Palm Sunday

Today salvation has come to this house. (Luke 19:9) The time has arrived; Holy Week begins. For too many years I merely saw Easter as a relief from fasting and abstaining while I rushed to the freezer to thaw out my favorite chocolate candies! But as the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the soul… Continue reading Singularity of Focus – SpiritualDirection.com

Suppose someone asked you, “What’s the worst thing that ever happened in all of history?” There’s no shortage of potential answers. You might say, “the Holocaust“ or “World War II.“ If you consider the question from the Christian perspective, you’d probably agree, right away, that the worst thing that ever happened was the Passion and… Continue reading The Best Thing That Ever Happened

This week in the daily liturgy we read the Gospel accounts of Judas’ betrayal. It is ugly stuff. The Scriptures say that Judas was a thief and took money from the common purse (Jn 12:6). Moreover, he conspired with the chief priests and Temple officers on handing Jesus over to them. A real opening to… Continue reading Exorcist Diary: Was Judas Possessed?

We were wrapping up the Q&A session after my talk at an online writer’s conference. The recording had already stopped and I relaxed and stretched my legs under my desk as the moderator asked me to field a final question. It was one I’m asked frequently: How do you find time to write?  I paused.… Continue reading The Slow Years: Productive vs. Fruitful

“God doesn’t give us more than we can handle.” At least that is what many Christians say in the face of trial or loss. But is it actually helpful? And is it true? I believe it is rather unhelpful, and only partially true. I’ve written before on the importance of learning to sit with sadness… Continue reading More Than We Can Handle?

The Christian faith is built upon the admission that the human heart is in need of renewal – that we need to turn more to God. This admission is absolutely pivotal for Christianity to make sense and have a practical impact on one’s life. When we view the witness of the Blessed Mother we can… Continue reading The Renewal of the Annunciation

In the middle of summer, when the sun is hot and the days are long, the dandelions grow uncontrollably. For most adults, these pesky yellow weeds challenge our patience as we strive to keep them out of our yards. However, to children, dandelions are bright and cheery, just waiting to be plucked and given to… Continue reading Offering, Receiving Go Hand in Hand