The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. 

It was almost three A.M. on a summer night in 2007 and I was wide awake.

So I passed the long sleepless night on the computer, drifting from one website to the next, until I stumbled upon a bible passage I knew by heart. 

The 23rd Psalm.

I remembered how I had committed this psalm to memory as a child and how I used to recite it before bed from time to time in the years that followed. So I said the old familiar passage right there over the keyboard and then I set aside my laptop and fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning with a sense of excitement I hadn’t felt in what seemed like forever. 

I didn’t usually remember my dreams, but I remembered this one. It was detailed and magical and absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. 

Heart pounding, I turned on my laptop and captured my journey through the night as quickly as I could.

Aside from the headings and a few minor edits, what follows is the account of the dream, as I typed it out that morning.  

Part I: The Hospital

As the dream opens, I’m approaching a big hospital. I’m working as a nurse again and this is the first day of a new job and I’m not sure where to go (a common problem in many similar dreams). I go to several outside doors and find them locked. Finally, at the last door I find an elderly woman on the ground in severe pain. She tells me that she has had two difficult surgeries and that she will die before she goes back to the hospital again.

I don’t know what to do or say, so I go in through the door. I’m looking for the emergency room and at first I am lost. After asking for (and not understanding) directions (another common work dream problem) I wander onto an elevator. There is a young doctor in a brilliant white coat inside the elevator. I tell him what has happened, and he gets off and goes with me to see the woman and her relatives, who are there with her. He tells them that she doesn’t have to come into the hospital if she doesn’t want to and they take her away.

I am at a brightly lit a nurse’s station. I have the feeling that I’ve been working here for some time. And that there are no bad feelings associated with that (which has never happened to me in dreams about nursing or in my nursing career in general). The young doctor is at the station too, looking at charts. After a moment, he stops and says that he has to move away soon and that he needs to learn the route by traveling it. He suggests that we all need time away from our work and that we should go on an adventure together.

Part II: The Journey

We take two cars. There is an odd assortment of women (presumably nurses). One is very beautiful. Her eyes are a bright vivid blue and her face is high-boned and delicate. She wears a layered gown of shimmering blue silk and I find her very exotic. Around her neck hangs a deep blue sapphire necklace and some of the bluest lapis I have ever seen.

There is an older woman, as well. She looks like a woman I know in real life. She is sweet and lost and seemingly lonely, just like her real-life counterpart. There are several other women. One is young and withdrawn; the others have already faded. As it turns out, this is a journey of discovery. There are moments of awkwardness because I don’t know anyone well, but there are other moments that seem almost euphoric.

We are on a train and I spend time alone. I am sitting in a day car with many windows. The car is rushing through a sunny countryside though I am more aware of the streaming sun than I am the scenery. As I sit, an idea for a book overtakes me. The images and characters and dialogue are vivid. And they stream through my mind so quickly it is all I can do to write them down. The story is about a man involved with two women. One is young and beautiful, but she is also married and in the end, he chooses the one who is unencumbered. The manuscript flashes by from beginning to end. Somehow I capture it.

A lot of different things happen. Sometimes we’re on the train and sometimes it seems that we have disembarked along our way. We are in a jewelry store. I see many lovely things. I look at a small locket depicting a traditionally Catholic guardian angel with children, but it’s small and drab - nothing like the beautiful pieces worn by the woman in blue. I sense that it is all that is available to me but I don't buy it. In another scene, the women and I decide to swap clothing. I have a single article of clothing I’m proud of—some sort of gold and red top. I offer it to the woman in blue and she accepts it.

Part III: Our Destination

It seems that we have arrived at university or school. The woman in blue shows me a sort of screen that is not a television but a bright flowing blue divided into many different shades which appear as if pressed between two panes of clear glass. The screen swivels like an old-fashioned chalkboard and the many shades of blue swirl together in changing breathtaking patterns. It is vividly blue and has a shine to it that is almost metallic. It reminds me of a sand art item I saw once in a variety store but much, much better. Its beauty and the spectrum of blue is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.

The women and I are together in a classroom. A book review or lecture is being delivered. A man is showing us pictures from a book he has written. At first the content seems Buddhist and then it’s something else, but I don’t remember clearly just how it is different. We’re all moved by his presentation and find it very inspiring. For some reason, we know all about him and are surprised he’s become so spiritual. It seems that he was famous in some way earlier in life and that he had a bad reputation at that time.

Then I am outside with the young doctor. He asks me about my parents and I tell him something. briefly, without going into detail. He letters a sort of monument to my father (in cobalt blue). He invites me to letter the one for my mother myself, but his lettering is perfect and I have terrible handwriting (in dreams and in life). So I ask him to do it for me and he does. The monument only has my parents' names. Or I think it does because I don’t recognize the characters or letters. The monument includes no information about who they were or what they did. But it seems complete as is.

My mother’s monument transforms into an ornament made out of clear glass with deep blue lettering. I know that I’m supposed to hang it in a tree at our family homestead and, all at once, I am there. It’s not the big main farmhouse where my mother grew up but something similar to the smaller house that she lived in before my grandfather inherited the farm. There is something about the tree having been cut back in preparation. I hang the ornament on a branch and leave.

Part IV: The Return Trip 

I find myself back on the train and discover an old book. The cover is a work of art—old fashioned, intricate, tooled leather. It is dusty and a bit worse for wear, but still handsome. I’m very impressed with it. I open it and see I have written it. I’m surprised but, at the same time, I remember.

Finally, we’re at the end of our journey. We sit at a big table and talk about how we have changed. I’m wearing a sparkling red ruby or garnet bracelet. We decide that we should exchange jewelry as souvenirs of our trip.

I don’t want to give up my bracelet, but I offer it anyway, secretly hoping that the woman in blue will give me some of her lapis. Instead, she gives her jewelry to the older woman (who has nothing to offer her in return). I feel disappointed but understand that this is the right thing to do. Although my desire for the beautiful blue gemstones is strong, there is no associated envy or bitterness. I feel strongly that all is as it should be.

The young doctor thanks us and tells us that he now knows the route he should take to his new home. He does not return to the hospital and I am not sure if the women return either. I have a sense of parting. It is bittersweet, but I know it feels right and I have no regrets.

Part V: Back to the Beginning

Finally, I am back at the hospital. Someone is holding a funeral for the woman who was lying in pain just outside of the door when I first arrived. The funeral is being held on the other side of the large parking lot. It is far away, at the edge of the lot, but I can see a seated effigy draped in red and understand that this effigy represents the woman who has died.

I am now inside the hospital. A patient on the floor where I work has passed and I remember that he was the man who taught us when we were away. I know his history, so I’m not surprised that he died alone. I’m not sad about it either because I remember his lecture and know that he was at peace.

As I am leaving his room, or perhaps the floor, a young girl comes in and asks for the man. She says that she is his granddaughter and I tell her he is gone. Surprisingly, I find the right words. I tell her that it’s alright, that he has changed, and for some reason her tears are cathartic for both of us. We leave the hospital together and I have the feeling that everything has come full circle.

Afterward 

I finished typing out the dream and turned off my laptop.

I was sitting on the same couch I’d slept on, wearing the same sweat pants and t-shirt I’d worn the day before. The room was still small and cluttered, and the stereo from the house next door was already blasting.

But everything had changed.

_________

This post is excerpted from my upcoming book The Spirit Dream.

It was originally published here on the blog thirteen years ago under the title Dreaming of Sapphires.

© 2024 Barbara Graver. All rights reserved.

About The Spirit Dream 

A Closer Look at the Cover

There was a time when I was fascinated with cemeteries.  They were once my favorite place, in fact, for recording EVPs and taking spirit photos.  

A Paranormal Memorial Day

Back to the Cemetery 

Today marks the one year anniversary of a good friend's passing. And I have been thinking of him even though our friendship ended many years ago.

We said goodbye apparently for good in 1984 when he was making plans to leave the area and I was making plans to marry someone else.

Naturally, a great deal has happened in the intervening years.  So it's not surprising, or in anyway indicative of my feelings, that it had been a long time since I'd thought of those days at all.

But three weeks ago I had a dream.  And my friend Tim was the leading character.  He was young and handsome in the dream and taller than I remembered.  There was a remarkable brightness about him.  And I know that kind of brightness.

He looked different but I recognized his energy.  Sensing it as if I was standing next him, stepping back in time to re-experience the soul vibration of a person I once loved.

In the dream, we met by chance.  I was living alone in a big sunny apartment and he was working at a nearby market.  We bumped into each other at his work and he asked if he could see me. Later on, standing in my dream apartment he told me he'd wanted to contact me before but that he was afraid that doing so would stir up old half-forgotten feelings. 

And then he explained what he had felt so very long ago and the hows and whys of what he did, and didn't, do.  The information was new  but surprisingly coherent, fitting in neatly with events I had wondered about but not fully understood at the time.  Seeing our history in this new light changed things.  I no longer felt responsible.  My old remorse lifted. 

After we had finished talking, we set out together on a wide boardwalk with long strings of golden lights on either side.  There was some kind of festival happening around us and I was happy in a way I'd almost forgotten.  I told him that he was right about the emotion.  "I can feel it," I said. "Can you?"

He didn't answer or if he did, I don't remember.  There was a knowing that our time was ending and that he had brought me back to where I was supposed to be.  When I woke up and considered the brilliance and the clarity of the dream, I knew that he had passed. 

Thank you for remembering me, as I remember you.

_________

This post is adapted from my upcoming book The Spirit Dream. ©2024 Barbara Graver Wilder. All rights reserved.

As someone who grew up with undiagnosed autism and certain amount childhood trauma, I’ve had to do my share of  healing. While I always saw emotional healing as a journey, however, it didn’t occur to me that it was a hero’s journey until I read this passage in The Spirit of Healing (affiliate link) by Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madrona.

All of the healers that I worked with emphasized that you have to present your wish to be well in such a way that the spirits would admire you, that the spirits would be impressed, that the spirits would say, wow you’re someone I really want to help. In short, you have to become a hero. You have to create a heroic journey for yourself toward wellness, from sickness. And everyone loves a hero. Spirits are no exceptions. Whatever your heroic journey is, the more impressive it is, the better for you. - The Spirit Of Healing by Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD

As a Catholic, I might not think of spirits in the same terms as Dr. Mehl-Madrona, but I do believe that saints and angels intercede for us. And I love the idea of becoming the kind of person a saint or angel might actually want to pray for.

But I didn’t share this quote because of what it says about spiritual beings or their intercession. I shared it because of what it says about us. 

Healing IS a hero’s journey – so if we want to make that journey, we have to be heroic.

On Heroism

Because I felt I needed to really understand what Dr. Mehl-Madrona is saying here, I looked the word heroism up in Merriam-Webster. The synonyms provided included words like bravery, courage, daring, fearlessness, gallantry, heart, moxie, nerve, prowess, valor, and virtue.

These are the kind of traits that most of us think about when we think about being heroic. But the actual definition (or the definition I liked best) of heroism didn’t really talk about character traits. It talked about “heroic conduct exhibited in fulfilling a high purpose or attaining a noble end.”

To me this means that in order to be heroic we have to (a) know where our journey or quest is headed and (b) be willing to actually do things in order to get there. I think this way of looking at heroism makes a lot of sense.

Where Are You Going?

When it comes to inner healing no two people will have the exact same destination or goal.

Some of us want to be better parents or spouses or humans. Others want to feel better or achieve a specific vocational objective. There may even be several different goals. But I think it helps to narrow it down to one or two.

So I prayed and journaled on my goals and thought about where I want to end up. The next step is to figure out how to get there. To me, that’s where  courage comes into play.

How Courage Looks

For most of us, the kind of courage healing calls for doesn’t look like anything special.

It might, for example, simply look like going for a walk when the weather’s bad. Or working in the garden when we’re afraid of snakes. Or putting things right when the weight of what needs to be done overwhelms us. Or participating in things when people just don't get us.

And in 2024 courage is going to look like all those things for me. For you it may look like something totally different, but I’m willing to bet we have this in common. When somebody sees us gardening or showing up or taking part, it probably looks pretty ordinary.

Very few would even realize that what we’re doing takes courage – or that it’s part of an epic, hero’s journey to healing.

But it is.

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.  Right now I'm reading Catholic exorcist, Fr. Chad Ripperger's 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 some 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)

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.

About Today 

I didn't really think about the significance of starting the blog on August 22nd back in 2010. But I am very aware of it now. 

That's because today, August 22nd, 2022, isn't just my birthday or the blog's. It's the feast of the Queenship of Mary.  The Queenship of Mary falls on the octave (8th day) after the Assumption and celebrates the coronation of Mary Queen of Heaven. 

I was walking around my home town on Assumption Sunday 2 years ago when I took this picture.

Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Print in my room.

“Each one of us, even the poorest of the poor, has angels watching over him. The angels are glorious, pure and splendid, but they have been given to us as companions along the way of life. They have the task of watching over you all, so that you do not stray away from Christ, your Lord.” - Pope Pius XII, October 3, 1958 

Praying Alone 

I have a print of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane hanging in my bedroom. And even though the trials I face are nothing compared to His, on a level, I can identify.

While Jesus prayed, on the eve of His crucifixion, his disciples slept. He knew what it was like to pray without human company. And, so do I.

I do understand, of course, that God is always listening. Just like I know He is always there when we pray. Sometimes I feel His presence and sometimes I don't. And when I don't, I can't help wishing that there were other people there to pray with me. 

Unfortunately, there are no family prayers in our house and no immediate possibility of them either. Or so I thought.

Because now, thanks to the Opus Sanctorum Angelorum (Work of the Holy Angels), I'm starting to see prayer in a different way. 

My New Course of Study

The Opus Angelorum (or OA) promotes devotion to the holy angels through Church approved spiritual formation. The Order offers a 12 month home study course with access to priests and religious if needed, various retreat locations, a nice selection of books and media, and a path to consecration at a nearby OA event.

Everything I've received from the OA so far is wonderful. This includes monthly Formation Letters, prayer cards and related books and booklet. Some of which are pictured below.

I'll be sharing more on what I'm learning in future posts. But in this one I want to talk about something I heard in a video by OA associated Fr. Matthew Hincks. 

The video explains the 12 ways you can grow with the angels. While all 12 suggestions were excellent, there was one that really stuck with me.

A New Way to Pray

I'll write out the 12 suggestions in my next blog post because it is my intent incorporate all of them into my life. But this morning I'm focusing on number eight, which I have already tried.

Pray with your Holy Guardian Angel.

Note the wording here. Fr. Hinck does not say that we should pray to our guardian angel (though we certainly can pray to him - provided we understand the difference between angels and God). Instead, Father is telling us to pray with our guardian angel. 

Fr. Hinck goes on to remind us that when two or three are gathered together in His name, Our Lord is present. For me, the idea that my guardian angel can serve as a companion in prayer was a revelation. So this morning, when I prayed the Rosary, I asked my guardian angel to pray along with me and then I asked the angels of various family members to join in. 

By the time we got to the Salve Regina, there was an entire company of us, there in my room praying. And I felt myself to be in wonderful company.

You can get Fr. Hinck's full teaching on this topic (Twelve Steps to a Living Friendship with the Guardian Angel) on the Opus Angelorum website for $4. I just picked it up and have already listened to it twice!

Material from the OA.

Where I Got My Saint Benedict Medal 

About The Jubilee Medal of St. Benedict

Origin and Explanation of the Medal

The Letters on the Other Side of the Medal 

 
It was Mary who first called me to the Church and Jesus who called me back in early 2020. One of the first things I did after returning to the faith, was to look for a statue of the Blessed Mother to replace the two I had given away.  

I bought my first replacement Mary statue on eBay and was excited to have found an exact replica of the old chalkware statue I had given up.

Unfortunately, when the statue arrived the beautiful face of Our Lady was completely smashed!  At first I was upset, and even started to wonder if this was some kind of sign that coming back to the Church was a mistake.  But the more I thought about, the more determined I felt to continue in the Faith.

I decided to repair the statue.

It was tedious, painstaking work, but as I reconstructed the statue my attention was drawn the snake that Mary was standing on.  I knew that the snake represented Satan. 

I thought about the many negative influence in my life - influences that included my fear of snakes and the presence of many garter snakes in our new year. And I started to feel that somehow Mary might help me to face that fear.  I wasn't sure how that would happen exactly but I was willing to believe that it was possible.

Enter St. Kateri 

A little later that year, a DNA test confirmed that I had a distant American Indian ancestor.  While I have no direct connection to the indigenous culture, I've always been interested in Indian spirituality.  Now  I began to learn a bit more. As I did, I started think about what I was learning had to say about my lifestyle and my relationship to the land.

At that point, I was spending most of my time inside.  I got very little exercise and my diet was terrible.  My participation in the family vegetable garden was minimal and I had let my own medicine wheel herb garden go. I felt bad about that but the worse the garden got, the harder it seemed to turn it around. 

Then I found out about the St. Kateri Conservation Center.   According to the website, anyone could transform a yard, garden, school, farm, or parish into a Saint Kateri habitat.

Even people, I thought, who live on busy streets and are afraid of snakes - or maybe even those people especially.

Where I'm at Right Now

Right now, I'm busy working with my son in our backyard. We haven't got to the medicine wheel garden yet but we are making progress with we are working hard on getting our three raised beds ready for planting.

The Mary Garden is still in the planning stages and I am still snake phobic but I wanted to write this post to hold myself accountable.

The image above is of medicine wheel garden not long after we put it in.  It is badly overgrown now and needs a lot of work.  But I hope to posting on my progress very soon!

I also want to learn more about the medicine wheel and related aspects of American Indian spirituality.

About the Medicine Wheel

The Medicine Wheel, sometimes known as the Sacred Hoop, has been used by generations of various Native American tribes for health and healing. It embodies the Four Directions, as well as Father Sky, Mother Earth, and Spirit Tree—all of which symbolize dimensions of health and the cycles of life.

The Medicine Wheel can take many different forms. It can be an artwork such as artifact or painting, or it can be a physical construction on the land. Hundreds or even thousands of Medicine Wheels have been built on Native lands in North America over the last several centuries.

Movement in the Medicine Wheel and in Native American ceremonies is circular, and typically in a clockwise, or “sun-wise” direction. This helps to align with the forces of Nature, such as gravity and the rising and setting of the Sun. - Excerpted from "Medicine Ways" on the Native Voices Website

When I read about the medicine wheel garden and what it means, I can why I let mine go and why I must return to it.

____________

My journey back to the Church was a long one.  You can read about some of it in my post The Long Way Home.   

About This Image 

The image above is a colorized version of "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 (as shown above).

Saint Michael in the Bible

Saint Michael, is one of three archangels the Bible mentions by name (the others being Saints Raphael and  Gabriel). Saint Michael is mentioned four times - twice in the Old Testament, and two more times in the new.  

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 9, 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. 

Because of this victory, St. Michael is revered in Catholic tradition and liturgy as the protector of the Church. 

Michael's battle against the rebel angels has been painted by many artists (one such painting serves as the main banner of this blog). It has been written about various writers, as well, including the poet Milton in book 6 of Paradise.  

In the Eastern Church, St. Michael is placed over all the angels, as prince of the Seraphim. And, in Asia Minor, many curative springs were dedicated to him.

St. Michael is a powerful figure in spiritual warfare. He is considered to be the special patron of the sick, police officers, the military, the state of Israel and the Catholic Church.  St. Michael's emblems are a banner, a sword, a dragon, and scales. 

St. Michael's name is a variation of Micah, which asks (in Hebrew), "Who is like God?"  It is the same question posed by Moses in Exodus 15:1-11. The passage, also called the Song of the Sea, is thought to be a very old section of Scripture that can still be heard today in the Mi Kamocha of Jewish worship:

Who is like You among the gods, Adonai? Who is like you? Glorious in holiness, awesome in praises...

About Michaelmas

Today September 29th is St. Michael’s feast day. During the middle ages this day - known as Michaelmas - was a holy day of obligation.  

In 1969, the Novus Ordo Calendar added combined the feasts of St. Gabriel and St. Raphael with St. Michael's and discontinued the individual feasts of the archangels. Traditional Latin Mass congregations using the pre 1962 liturgical calendar keep the original dates for all three feasts.  So, for me, this is St. Michael's day alone.

The SSPX (Society of St. Pius the X) devotional newsletter suggests that today is a good day to read the proper of the Mass of St. Michael, as found in the traditional missal.  The newsletter also encourages us to "pray to St. Michael when temptations arise, especially those related to abuses of the internet, radio, and telephone." 

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.”

I'm happy to say that, at the SSPX Chapel I attend, the priest leads the faithful in the prayer to St. Michael after each and every Mass!

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 power of God - cast into hell, Satan and all the evil spirits, who roam about 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.

I  talk about the paranormal and paranormal investigation on my Paranormal page. But I'd like to share some specific recommendations here, as well. 

A Word on Ghosts 

While the Church has no definitive teaching on ghosts, many Catholics (including Church sanctioned exorcists and demonologists) believe that human spirits can contact the living - with the express permission of God - in order to ask for prayer or to make simple amends.

And this is it.

If a spirit tries to feed you information, initiates a relationship or attempts any kind of ongoing communication it is ALWAYS demonic. 

For more on the topic, I recommend the book Purgatory Explained By the Lives and Legends of the Saints by Fr. F.X. Schopppe, S.J. (affiliate link) which bears an 1893 Imprimatur.  This book shares many stories of souls in purgatory who asked the saints for prayer.  While ordinary people rarely get such requests, it does happen.

Spirits may appear in dreams, visions or as dark shapes or shadows.  There may be a strong feeling of being watched, unexplained sounds or any other phenomena for which there is no apparent explanation.

Paranormal investigation may lead to an increase in this kind of activity because investigators may unintentionally attract evil spirits.  I do not recommend it.

A Catholic Friendly Approach

If you feel you've had a visitation or have encountered a presence in your house, get the house blessed by a Catholic priest (or the faith leader of your denomination).  If phenomena persists or reoccurs, it's a good idea to contact that priest again.

Initiating contact with spirits is NEVER a good idea.  Consider the following as an appropriate response to any unusual phenomena you experience:

1. Make a good confession, go to Mass and receive Holy Communion. 
2. Ask you parish priest to bless your home or location.
3. Utilize the prayers from Fr. Chad Ripperger's Deliverance Prayers for the Laity (affiliate link) as recommended in the book.
4. Put blessed holy objects in every room and hang a blessed crucifix over all outside doors.
5. Utilize sacramentals like holy water and exorcized salt.
6. Pray the Rosary daily in a central part of the house. Aloud if possible.  If you understand Latin, pray at least some of the Rosary in Latin.*
7. Play Gregorian chant (sung by actual Catholic monks) in your home. Playing this softly in your room at night is also helpful.
8. Pray for the departed loved one you may have encountered and the Holy souls in purgatory. Arrange for a Mass for that loved one if possible.

Please note.  You do NOT have to be Catholic in order to pray for the Holy souls in purgatory.  Demons are always looking for a way to tempt us (often by making us feel special or popular or privy to some sort of secret knowledge).  

Given half a chance they WILL outsmart us.  

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*If you're interested in learning the Rosary in Latin, I have Latin-English Rosary printable trifold in my Etsy shop for $1.25 USD. You can see it here. 

Please check out my podcast on the dangers of the paranormal featuring an actual EVP I recorded when I was a paranormal investigator here.

Please note, this post includes Amazon affiliate links.  If you make a purchase using one of my links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

I decided to invite my guardian angel to pray with me after watching a video by Fr. Matthew Hincks of the Opus Angelorum. In the video, Father shares 12 ways that we can deepen our friendship with the angels. 

The first suggestion is especially important so I'll have more to say about that below! 

The 12 Ways We Can Deepen Our Friendship with the Angels (per Fr. Hincks' video)

Why Suggestion #1 is Critical

Being in a state of grace when attempting to deepen our friendship with our guardian angel is the first suggestion given for a reason. It is very important!

When we are in a state of sin we are especially vulnerable to evil spirits and their deceptions. During my time in the New Age and occult, I practiced divination (a first commandment sin). This opened a door to the demonic. As a result, I believed I was connecting with God's angels when I was not.

But divination is not the only sin that can affect us. All sin muddies the water of our intellect (as stated by Fr. Chad Ripperger and others) and makes spiritual discernment difficult if not impossible. 

Fortunately, there is a solution.

The sacraments of the Catholic church can return us to a state of grace. 

The sacraments are baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance and reconciliation, the annointing of the sick, matrimony and holy orders. For me, confession and receiving the Eucharist are particularly powerful!

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• To get Fr. Hincks' two part conference "The Guardian Angel and Our Spiritual Life" (which includes the full teaching on 12 ways to deepen our friendship with the Angels), please click here.
• To read about my experience praying with the angels, please see Praying with the Angels!
• For more on the Opus Angelorum, please see their website here.