“Mystical encounters abound, but they are not always from God. The Church takes these experiences seriously and thus provides guidelines for our discernment. Sometimes the Church rules in a definitive way regarding their validity, but often there is no ruling or no need for one.
In my own life, I have encountered a number of mystics, some of whom I perceived to be authentic and others of whom I perceived to be false mystics. False mystics are easy to spot. Their revelations often point to how special they are and how important they are. Sometimes they are simply self-decieved, but sometimes their deception comes from a more dangerous source.
In one case, I provided spiritual direction to a person with dramatic manifestations that the individual perceived to be reflective of the heights of prayer as illustrated by St. Teresa of Avila. As I began to draw the individual into the heart of the Church, these manifestations were revealed to be demonic and dramatically changed into a nightmarish torment.
So it is with private revelation and mystical experiences that the Church admonishes caution, discernment, and no obligation to believe. Even with the officially “approved” apparitions like Fatima, the Church does not require belief, but only proposes that it may be beneficial (and often it is).” Read on via Spiritualdirection.com | Catholic Spiritual Direction | A Mystical Encounter with God Catholic Spiritual Direction.
Category Archives: All Things Catholic
Melissa Francis: I was silenced by CNBC
The Mouth that Keeps on Giving- ObamaCare Sale’s Pitch Hitting the Fan
ObamaCare architect mouths off again, as videos cause problems for Dems | Fox News.
"The mouth that won’t stop giving — and that has Democrats and the Obama administration cringing — has been caught shooting off yet again on video, this time bragging how the Massachusetts health care system he helped design worked by ripping off millions of dollars from the federal government.
On top of that, another video has surfaced from Vermont showing him mocking a critic of single-payer health care, comparing him to an "adolescent" child.
The latest videos of Jonathan Gruber come after House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi claimed Thursday she didn’t know who he is. Though Pelosi actually cited Gruber’s analysis — repeatedly — several years ago to boost the passage of ObamaCare, her office continued to insist he played no real role in the crafting of their bill.
Yet video after video has emerged of Gruber boasting about the behind-the-scenes crafting of the Affordable Care Act, and how law-writers supposedly took advantage of the "stupidity" of the American voter.
The latest videos pertain to state health overhauls, in Massachusetts and Vermont.
One video, from a January 2012 forum, shows Gruber discussing the Massachusetts overhaul under then-Gov. Mitt Romney. He explained how the state was able to bilk the feds over hundreds of millions of Medicaid dollars.
"The dirty secret in Massachusetts is the feds paid for our bill, okay?" he said. "In Massachusetts we had a very powerful senator you may know named Ted Kennedy. … Ted Kennedy and smart people in Massachusetts had basically figured out a way to sort of rip off the feds for about 400 million dollars a year."
“The Hell You Say”
You may be comforted by realizing that Hell is a state of being and not a place, but I for one find little comfort in being in a state of affairs where life- support, ”being”, begins and ends with God and all I’m left with of my life, is my “Hell, NO”.
Time Magazine, “The Hell You Say?” by Dr. Gregory Popcak
“Well, nothing exists without God or outside of God. When we die, we will be utterly dependent upon God for our continued existence. Being utterly dependent upon the one being you have spent your life hating, ignoring, and rejecting and simultaneously having nowhere to run, no way to hide, and no way to reject at least a minimum of his presence, represents, to my mind the fires of Hell: a constant torment of being surrounded by the flames of an all consuming love you cannot recognize, cannot accommodate to, and cannot escape.
St. Augustine was once asked what God does to the souls in hell. His reply? “He loves them.” The above represents my attempt to make sense of his reply.” Read on:Time Magazine, “The Hell You Say?”.
Passion
Bloody sweat,
Pillar and scourge,
Bloody body,
Crown of thorns,
Bloody head,
Bloody face,
Hammer and nails,
Cross,
Bloody hands
Bloody feet,
Pain upon pain,
Thirst and abandonment,
Death and sword,
Broken heart,
Pierced heart,
Blood and Water,
All that Blood,
Washing me.
©2013 Joann Nelander
Chaplet of St. Michael – Audio Post
Entreat at and engage the heavenly help and protection God provides for our souls through the ministry of His Angels.
The Chaplet of St. Michael
O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, etc.
[Say one Our Father and three Hail Marys after each of the following nine salutations in honor of the nine Choirs of Angels]
1. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Seraphim may the Lord make us worthy to burn with the fire of perfect charity.
Amen.2. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Cherubim may the Lord grant us the grace to leave the ways of sin and run in the paths of Christian perfection.
Amen.3. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Thrones may the Lord infuse into our hearts a true and sincere spirit of humility.
Amen.4. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Dominations may the Lord give us grace to govern our senses and overcome any unruly passions.
Amen.5. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Virtues may the Lord preserve us from evil and falling into temptation. Amen.
6. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Powers may the Lord protect our souls against the snares and temptations of the devil.
Amen.7. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Principalities may God fill our souls with a true spirit of obedience. Amen.
8. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Archangels may the Lord give us perseverance in faith and in all good works in order that we may attain the glory of Heaven.
Amen.9. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Angels may the Lord grant us to be protected by them in this mortal life and conducted in the life to come to Heaven.
Amen.Say one Our Father in honor of each of the following leading Angels: St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael and our Guardian Angel.
Concluding prayers:
O glorious prince St. Michael, chief and commander of the heavenly hosts, guardian of souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits, servant in the house of the Divine King and our admirable conductor, you who shine with excellence and superhuman virtue deliver us from all evil, who turn to you with confidence and enable us by your gracious protection to serve God more and more faithfully every day.
Pray for us, O glorious St. Michael, Prince of the Church of Jesus Christ, that we may be made worthy of His promises.
Almighty and Everlasting God, Who, by a prodigy of goodness and a merciful desire for the salvation of all men, has appointed the most glorious Archangel St. Michael Prince of Your Church, make us worthy, we ask You, to be delivered from all our enemies, that none of them may harass us at the hour of death, but that we may be conducted by him into Your Presence.This we ask through the merits of
Jesus Christ Our Lord.Amen.
Be Holy! 