Not everyone in the U.S. is on board with Thanksgiving and I understand that. Every year in fact, I think about whether our family should celebrate it or not. This year however we did. Not because we're not aware of the issues surround this day but because we really are grateful for all that we have.
New Age and the Occult in the Mainstream
- A professional organization to which I belong, the American Holistic Nurses Association, promotes numerous new age modalities.
- The first tier of meditations on my FitBit app are by Deepak Chopra.
- Popular health and wellness resources focus on new age, Eastern and even occult practices.
- YouTube searches for wellness or relaxation or related topics almost always return a host of new age results.
The Good News
All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king. - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of The Ring
I'm participating in the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing) for the first time this year. For those who aren’t familiar, the challenge of NaNoWriMo is to write a complete, 50,000 word novel during the month of November. And I've reached the halfway point and while I am struggling I'm also learning a lot about writing.
I didn't blog much during November or work on my etsy shop and, while I did manage to get to Mass and say the Rosary most mornings, my focus on my home definitely slipped. So, I'm happy to go back to writing at my previous pace.
But the main issue that came up for me during NaNo is the conflict I'm feeling about writing any kind of popular fiction. Before I came back to the Church I had no issues. Now, I sometimes feel that I'm writing things that conflict with my Catholic faith.
This is not to say that Catholic authors can't write genre fiction because, of course, they can. J.R.R. Tolkien managed it. And lots of people in the Catholic Writers Guild seem to be managing it too.
So maybe I'm over complicating it.
I may just need to read more Catholic fiction. And I'm going to be addressing it in prayer, as well.
Vision is a German film that chronicles the life of the 12th century Christian mystic St. Hildegard von Bingen. The film begins with her early childhood and covers all of the known major events of her adult life. It is subtitled but moves at a readable pace.
St. Hildegard's Visions
Because angels appeared to St. Hildegard in her visions, she gave a lot of thought to the relationship between angels and man. The saint foresaw an apocalyptic future giving way to a new heaven and a new earth as described in the book of Revelation.
Direct translations of St. Hildegard's visions may be found in Hildegard von Bingen's Mystical Visions which I have not read. But hope to read soon.
St. Hildegard attributed most of her accomplishments (including her incredibly beautiful musical compositions) to her visionary experience. But she remained modest throughout her life, giving all glory and honor to God as shown in the following letter to another religious leader:
A wind blew from a high mountain and, as it passed over ornamented castles and towers, it put into motion a small feather which had no ability of its own to fly but received its movement entirely from the wind. Surely the almighty God arranged this to show what the Divine could achieve through a creature that had no hope of achieving anything by itself. ~ St. Hildegard's letter to Abbot Philip
St. Hildegard and Holistic Wellness
To me, fact that the Physica must be read critically (like all historical medical treatises) doesn't detract from its value. As one of the three female doctors of the Catholic Church, St. Hildegard's medical and visionary writings may be taken seriously.
St. Hildegard's Legacy
About The Image
The image above is "Saint Michael" by Italian master Guido Reni (1575–1642). This image is featured on the St. Michael printable prayer card available in my Etsy shop, Catholic Book And Card. For the card, I tinted the original paint to the vivid blue associated with Saint Michael.
About Saint Michael
Saint Michael, is one of three archangels the Bible mentions by name (the others being the saints Raphael and Gabriel). Saint Michael is mentioned four times - twice in the Hebrew Bible, and twice in the New Testament.
The first reference is in the Book of Daniel. In Chapter 10 St. Michael comes to comfort Daniel after he has had a vision, and promises to be his helper in all things. In Daniel 12, St. Michael is called "the great prince who standeth for the children of Thy people."
In these references St. Michael is shown to support Israel during the seventy years of the Babylonian captivity. In writing about St. Michael Daniel, strove to show his people that God had not forgotten them, and remind them that even in bondage they had a royal champion. In St. Jude 11, we are told that Michael disputed with the devil over the body of Moses - an episode not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible.
In the Revelation (Chapter 12) we find the most dramatic reference to St. Michael. Here St. John recounts the great battle in Heaven, when the wicked angels under Lucifer revolt against God. In this passage, Michael, leading the faithful angels, defeats the hosts of evil and drives them out.
This scene been painted by many artists, and the poet Milton, in book 6 of Paradise Lost, recounts the famous struggle. Because of this victory, St. Michael is revered in Catholic tradition and liturgy as the protector of the Church.
In the Eastern Church, as well as among many theologians in the West, St. Michael is placed over all the angels, as prince of the Seraphim. He is the special patron of the sick, police officers, mariners, and grocers. In Asia Minor many curative springs were dedicated to him. Michael's emblems are a banner, a sword, a dragon, and scales.
St. Michael's name is a variation of Micah, meaning in Hebrew, "Who is like God?"
The St. Michael Prayer
The Saint Michael Prayer is an amazing prayer for spiritual warfare. The abridged version (below) is short and easy to memorize and it can be said anytime you are feeling in need of spiritual protection. The prayer was written in Oct. 1, 1884 by Pope Leo XIII following a disturbing mystical experience at Mass.
The Pope had just finished celebrating Mass when he suddenly stood transfixed in front of the altar as if in a trance, his face drained of color. Once recovered, he went to his office and composed a prayer to St. Michael. He told his staff the prayer should be offered throughout the Church.
Pope Leo told others that he had heard two voices which he believed to voices of Our Lord and of Satan. The Pope heard Satan boast that he could destroy the Church in 75 or 100 years, if given the opportunity. Then he heard Our Lord give Satan permission to make the attempt.
The prayer was recited after Low Mass in the Catholic Church from 1886 until it was discontinued in 1964. Thirty years later, in his Regina Coeli address, Pope John Paul II said, “Although the prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass, I ask every one not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness and against the spirit of the world.”
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host - by the Divine Power of God - cast into hell, Satan and all the evil spirits, who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
To purchase the St. Michael printable prayer card (75¢ US) please check out my Etsy listing here.
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