To begin a new series of catechesis on the virtues and vices, Pope Francis spoke about the necessity of understanding the dynamics of evil and temptation and why it is so important to guard the heart against the wiles of Satan.
Photo courtesy of Wikicommons images, Valder Beebe Show, CC BY 3.0 DEED)LM writes: "I listen to your show as often as I can. I am concerned though that I may not be doing the right thing watching a show called The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel."
CH writes: "My son who is in 8th grade just told me about a horrible Demonic thing some kids are doing called 'Gate of Hades'. I don’t know if you ever heard of this, but I Googled it and was disgusted by what I saw. I would like to share this with you so you can warn other parents about this."
We have had numerous questions about a Dominican priest named Father Nathan Castle who claims to minister to souls who get “stuck” after death and are unable to adjust to the afterlife. Is this even possible?
CZ writes: "A woman who used to minister at our local Catholic retreat house recently died. Her obit talks about having spent the last ten years in teaching “the New Cosmology.” What is that? Just from the sound of it, I am sure it is not in accord with Catholicism and church teaching."
MP writes: "I need some advice about 'foot detox.' I think it is snake oil but can’t convince my daughter it is a hoax."
AD writes: "Can you tell me about The Five Agreements? I have found out the author is a nagual shaman and it originates with the Toltic religion and culture. To me this is very New Age and someone close to me is encouraging me to buy into this."
As all regular readers of this blog know, we get many questions about children's books in which the characters use sorcery in one way or another. In an effort to help Christian parents learn how to discern whether or not this content is suitable for their children, I would like to post insights from Michael O'Brien's book, Harry Potter and the Paganization of Culture (www.studioobrien.com) which I hope you'll find useful.
CS asks: "What can you tell us about herbs and plants that are supposed to help certain ailments, like fish oils, omega 3's and things like that?"
Susan left this comment on our blog: "I’ve been reading these posts for a while and I’m wondering how vulnerable, sick people who realize they need help are going to get the help they need when health care and self-help have become a minefield of New Age practices/products. . .
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