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As Christians we know that love is the answer to all of our ills, as regrettably cliché as that may sound. Ultimately it is the love of God and the love relationship with Jesus that heals and transforms. But how do we make that a reality? How do we put it into practice and get results?
 We are so excited to make available to you a life changing spiritual classic. Described as “a personal retreat based on the writings of St. Therese of Lisieux”, I Believe in Love is a must read for anyone struggling with pain, loneliness or despair or anyone wanting a deeper love relationship with Our Lord.
I Believe in Love is now available in our online store. We can’t recommend it highly enough! Click here to order. And then let us know what you think!
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by Susan Brinkmann
Everyone wants to be healed. Anyone who has ever attended a healing Mass can attest to the crowds that flock to the altar of the Lord to receive his healing touch. Unfortunately, there are plenty of imitations available in the so-called "New Age" movement. One of the most popular is Reiki, with a variety of close cousins such as "healing touch," "therapeutic touch" and "hands of light." Those alternative therapies are among practices that Catholics are cautioned about in a Vatican document, "Jesus Christ: The Bearer of the Water of Life — A Christian reflection on the ‘New Age,’" issued in 2003 by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. In their warning, the councils note that in such New Age therapies, "the source of healing is said to be within ourselves, something we reach when we are in touch with our inner energy or cosmic energy."
According to Moira Noonan, a former Reiki Master and author of a memoir, "Ransomed from Darkness," that is, indeed, what Reiki teaches. "Reiki is a method of healing through the transmission and activation of a person’s spiritual energy," she writes. "This therapy looks somewhat like the Christian laying-on of hands, but this is deceptive. The symbolism of Reiki is deeply influenced by Buddhist traditions and invisible spirit guides. These spirit guides are specifically invoked by name to confer their healing powers."
There is discrepancy in what is said to be the true history of Reiki. For instance, organizations that are involved in selling the concept to the largely Christian West either downplay or deny its association with Buddhism. However, disinterested parties, such as academic centers for religious studies, seem to agree on certain key facts about Reiki: First, it was said to be rediscovered in the 19th century by a medical doctor named Mikao Usui. Second, Usui rediscovered Reiki during a 21-day retreat devoted to studying Buddhist Tantric texts. Tantric Buddhism involves the use of spells, incantations, complicated rituals and magical powers to achieve enlightenment.
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 By Msgr. Charles Fink
As it is through Jesus that we most perfectly know God, so it is through the Church Jesus founded that we most perfectly know him. He made us and knows us inside out, and so knows perfectly well that we need more than just a book, even one as splendid as the Bible, and more than his spiritual guidance—we so easily hear ourselves when we think it’s Jesus—to keep us on the straight and narrow path.
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Are You A Catholic therapist?
"Remain in me as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on it own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him, will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing." - John 15:4-5