Of Light and Dark

My Experience with Light and Dark   

I've toggled between light and dark enough, over the course of my life, for it to become a theme for me.  And angels and demons are part of that theme.  

Largely because I believe that I've had experience with both.   

I believe that I've felt the influence of my guardian angel on a few occasions.  And I'm quite sure that I dealt with the demonic, directly and repeatedly, during my time in the occult.

I have tried to write a full account of those experiences.  But I've failed to finish that book.

So, I decided to put a condensed version up here on the blog.  That may well be the end of that particular story.  But my interest in light and dark persists.  

Learning About Angels and Demons

I've been reading about angels and demons ever since I came back to the faith.  My reference, right now, is Catholic exorcist, Fr. Chad Ripperger's excellent book Dominion (affiliate link).

In Dominion, Fr. Ripperger breaks down the teachings of renowned "angel saint" (and flat-out genius) Thomas Aquinas on the topic of angels and demons.  And Ripperger does so in a way that sacrifices nothing.

Or that's my sense of it anyway.  I can't really know for sure because I find the writings of St. Thomas difficult.  Dominion on the other hand is perfectly readable.  (Which is not the same thing as saying the book is a breeze).

For me, reading Dominion is a little like reading a textbook and, as with many textbooks, the only way I can really be sure I'm not missing anything is by taking notes as I go.  This way of working through a book is slow going, however, and my wrist has been hurting lately - so I had set Dominion aside.

Then an interesting thing happened.  

Talking About Angels

This week, I received a Facebook message from someone I had done a bit of Internet radio with when I was still in the New Age and occult.   In the message I found a series of questions about my current beliefs. One in particular stood out.

"Do you still work with the angels?"  

I responded as best I could - basing much of what I said on what I'd learned from Fr. Ripperger's book.

I should get back to that book, I thought, and maybe I would have.  Or maybe not.

Then, as luck or providence would have it, I finished writing out my response and went for a walk.  I was only a few blocks from the house when I noticed a book lying on the pavement in front of me.  It was a Chicken Soup for the Soul book.  

I'm not really a huge a fan of the series but the title did catch my attention.  

"Believe in Angels."

I already do, I thought, though probably not in the way this particular book suggests.  

Later that day I shared a picture of the Chicken Soup angel book with the woman who'd sent the questions.  She felt certain I was meant to read it.  But it's my practice at this point in my life to stick with books that are true to the faith.

So I went back to Dominion, sore wrist and all, and began to take notes.

_______________________

To purchase Fr. Ripperger's book on Amazon, please click here: Dominion (affiliate link)

If you want to know more about my time in the New Age and occult, please visit check out my abridged online Testimony right here on the blog (no email required). 

UPDATE: I went back to the testimony, and it is almost finished. Sign up for my elist to be updated on release (and get my blog posts and podcasts via two emails a month).

Please note, this post contains Amazon affiliate links.  If you buy a book through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.