The three temptations of Jesus are familiar to all of us – the temptation for sensual satisfaction, the thirst for power, and the desire for worldly recognition – but, as the Spanish exorcist Father Jose Antonio Fortea explains, these temptations become much more subtle and dangerous when they are imposed on the devout.
Author Archives: Susan Brinkmann
Goldie Hawn Pushing TM and Buddhism in Public Schools
(Photo courtesy of Wikicommons Images, Nadja Amireh, CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED)
Did you ever notice how the separation of church and state never applies to any religion except Christianity?
Beware of Phony Coronavirus Cures
As the coronavirus continues to spread across the world, the fake cures, hoaxes and conspiracies theories are popping up almost as fast as new cases. The bottom line is simple: don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.
Don’t We All Have Psychic Abilities?
MN: “Don’t we all have psychic power? How else can you explain what happens when a mother instinctively knows her absent child is in danger? Is this just a ‘sixth sense’? How is this different from what psychics do?”
Wiccans
MK writes: “I was told Wicca people aren’t involved in witchcraft, that they are just people of the earth. They respect the earth and are into herbs, natural things. I thought I heard they are with the new age. What do you know about them?”
Time for Lent? There’s an App for That!
Eastern meditation apps might be all the rage, but when it comes to helping Catholics get the most of out of Lent, sitting in an empty void is not the way to go. If you really want an authentic Lenten experience, America’s number one Catholic prayer app, Hallow, has just what you’re looking for.
Centering Prayer vs. Authentic Christian Contemplation
While searching for a parish for her son who is in the military, MB was happy to find a parish near his military base. However, while browsing through the parish’s most recent bulletin, she noticed a recommendation by the pastor about a presentation on centering prayer given by a Trappist monk named Fr. William Menninger. MB asks: “Does the Catholic Church condone this ‘prayer’? I wonder if [the pastor] has investigated this action before recommending it to his flock? . . . At any rate, I will not recommend this parish to my son.”
Why is Discerning God’s Will So Hard?
Even though all of us were created by God to do Him some definite service in this world, the reason why some of us find it so difficult to discern what that service is supposed to be is because we have a tendency to over-complicate the discernment process. Maybe this Lenten season is the time to get rid of that bad habit.
Is the Sedona Method New Age?
We have had several questions recently about the Sedona Method and if it’s okay for Catholics to use it. Few may want to do so after learning about its origins.
Superbrain Yoga
Jackie sent us a link about SuperbrainYoga® “I know you have spoken on your broadcast before about how dangerous yoga is and how all the positions reflect some sort of praise to a false god. Does that include this Superbrain Yoga®? Or are they just calling this yoga, but it’s really just an exercise for the brain. I would love to try it, because I have a lot of trouble with my memory and focusing, but I don’t want to try it if it is only a gate into spiritual darkness.”
