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LOVE: The Lord’s Fidelity To The Soul, by Gertrude of Helfta
From The Herald of Divine Love Injuries inflicted by a friend are usually harder to bear than those inflicted by an enemy, as the psalm has it: “If my enemy had reviled me, I would verily have borne...
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REFLECTION: In Search Of A Dream
I love Advent. This much. I love it, I think, because of its diversity. You can, literally, go anywhere you want to spiritually in Advent. Just think of Advent calendars. Why just last year, in...
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SPIRITUAL WARFARE: Handling Demons, or, the art of the broom
I’ve spent my life straddling two worlds. And, to be honest, it has, on the whole, been annoying. Really, really annoying. Working with God all these years has sharpened that expression of my brain...
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ANGELS: A Tree Full of Angels, by Macrina Wiederkehr
From A Tree Full Of Angels My morning stroll has taken me farther than I had intended. Sauntering up the hill, wading through the autumn leaves, I breathe in the crisp morning air. It is just dawn....
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LOVE: Failing To Give Jesus My Pain
I remember as a girl hearing about the three tests a man would give his potential bride in Russia. One of them was to untangle a ball of yarn. And I remember thinking, What a wonderful test. I...
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A LITTLE FLOWER: About The Apparition Of The Seraph And The Imprinting Of The...
From The Little Flowers Of Saint Francis Regarding the Third Consideration, that is, the apparitions of the Seraph and the imprinting of the Stigmata, you should know that when the Feast of the Cross...
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SAINTS: The Visions Of Perpetua
Carthage, 203 A.D. Among a group of Christians sentenced to the beasts in the arena is a wealthy young Roman mother. While awaiting execution, she begins a diary that is completed by a witness who...
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SATURDAY READING: Flight Of The Spirit, by Teresa of Ávila
From The Book of My Life One night, I felt so ill that I had to excuse myself from the communal practice of silent prayer. I took my rosary with me so that at least I could occupy myself with vocal...
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MYSTICISM: Overcome By The Power Of The Spirit, by Sarah Pierpont Edwards
Uncommon Discoveries Of The Divine Perfections And Glory From The Life of President Edwards, by Sereno Edwards Dwight On Tuesday night, January 19, 1742, I felt very uneasy and unhappy, at my being so...
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HEALING: Listen, or approaching unforgiveness
It was a direction that came during my evening contemplative prayer. The time of prayer in my day that I had been dedicating to “working” on an unresolved anguish. Listen, he said. The directive did...
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GOD 101: The Mechanics Of Love, or playing against type
“So, Joan,” he begins, leaning an elbow against a quasar. “I’ve got this absolutely fantastic idea.” But he didn’t speak to Joan directly, did he? Instead he sent three luminous angels. Saints,...
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HOLY SPIRIT: The Spirit As The Origin Of Visions, Revelations, And Wonders,...
From 2 Corinthians (in A Biblical Theology of the Holy Spirit) In 2 Corinthians 11 – 12, Paul finds himself bullied into a corner by the boasting of his rivals and feels compelled to fight folly with...
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SPIRITUAL WARFARE: When Prayers Harm
It wasn’t anything I ever expected to find in my visions. It started out fairly normally. I kept being shown that there was a great concern in the world. A lot of people had the same prayer on their...
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MYSTICISM: Vision Seven—The Devil, by Hildegard of Bingen
Then I saw a burning light, as large and as high as a mountain, divided at its summit as if into many tongues. And there stood in the presence of this light a multitude of white-clad people, before...
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POETRY: The Darkness by Angela of Foligno
When I enter that darkness I cannot recall a bit about anything human, or about the God-man, or anything owning specific form. Nonetheless, I see all and I see nothing. As this that I have spoken of...
View ArticleEVIL: Love And Inadequacy
A little while ago, during a vision, I happened upon something. Not intentionally. Or, at least, I don’t think it was intentionally. I raised my eyebrows at it and decided that I didn’t want to know...
View ArticleTALES FROM BEYOND THE HORIZON: Orange, Chocolate, Milk
It was the first time I received that command: Eat orange, chocolate, milk. I was a young woman. With long hair. A car of my own. I had graduated from Berkeley. Was working somewhere. I lived in a...
View ArticlePOETRY: Seeing Things by Seamus Heaney
I Inishbofin on a Sunday morning. Sunlight, turfsmoke, seagulls, boatslip, diesel. One by one we were being handed down Into a boat that slipped and shilly-shallied Scaresomely every time. We sat tight...
View ArticleMYSTICISM: First Vision—On The Oright Of Life (1) by Hildegard of Bingen
From: Hildegard of Bingen’s Book of Divine Works, With Letters and Songs And I saw within the mystery of God, in the midst of the southern breezes, a wondrously beautiful image. It had a human form,...
View ArticleMYSTICISM: First Vision—On The Oright Of Life (2) by Hildegard of Bingen
From: Hildegard of Bingen’s Book of Divine Works, With Letters and Songs I, the highest and fiery power, have kindled every spark of life, and I emit nothing that is deadly. I decide on all reality....
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