Category Archives: Purgatory

MARY – The Rosary, the Relationship, and Dragons by Keith Berube – review by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Blessed Virgin Mary, Book Review, Books, Church, Communication, Death and Dying, Demons, Healing, Holy Spirit, Miracles, Prayer, Purgatory, Relationships, Rosary, Saints, Scripture, Spirituality, Women

Books are one of the true treasures of mankind.  They entertain us, they move us, they help us to grow and they are so readily available to us today.  Keith Berube’s new book (Mar 2020) on Mary is all of that and more.  This book is one of the best treasures I have found in a long time.  It did something to me that I thought was impossible.  It helped me to love the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary more than I ever had; and I am a person who says the Rosary every day and have been doing that for well over 20 years.  It has caused me to grow in an intimacy with Mary that I never had before.

There is one thing that you need to understand.  I was brought up as a Protestant (Methodist) and converted to the Roman Catholic faith when I was 25 years old.  My conversion was based mostly upon my reading of the 6th Chapter of St. John’s Gospel about the Eucharist and my study of the Vatican II documents.  One thing that I had trouble accepting was the role of Mary in the Church.  Like most Protestants, I thought that the Church overdid devotion to Mary.  However, gradually I was drawn to read more about Mary and to start praying the Rosary.   This helped me to develop a strong (at least I thought) devotion to her.  This book has brought me much closer to her than I ever imagined.  I can see her now in so many different ways.  She is not only MY Mother, but also my Queen.  She is not only an example of faith but she is THE best example of faith.  She is the Mother of the Son, the daughter of the Father and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit.   She is the Immaculate one and the one who loves to spend time with me.  She is the one who protects me.   She is the one who keeps leading me closer to God.  Keith Berube’s book helped me to know all of that with a new enthusiasm.

Keith Berube divides his book in to three parts.  The first part is all about the Rosary.  After saying the rosary daily for over 20 years, I thought that I knew it well.  This book revealed to me so much more about the Rosary that I never knew.  It especially helped me to see the Rosary as a time when I was present to a Mother who loved me so much, and earnestly desired to be with me.   The book taught me that saying the Rosary was the living out of a love story.   It was where I could meet the Mother who always wanted to hear from me.  It was where I could tell her I love her, in response to her love of me.  It was a way that I could touch her, through the tactile feel of the beads.  It was also a time where I could join her in her own mission of praying for others and leading others to her loving Son.  The Rosary is life changing to those who pray it and to those who are lifted up in its prayers.  The Rosary is something quite mystical in the way it lifts us up in to Spiritual joy.   It is also one of the strongest weapons we have to use against the evil one.

The second part of the book is entitled, “The Veiled Dynamics of the Rosary”.  In this section we hear more about Mary as woman (or girl as the author often refers to her) and the way her femininity causes not only us, but the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit to relate to her.  It shows how her being a woman affects our communication with her and her communication with us.  This femininity also shows how the Rosary is relational to us and how we in our own sexuality (male or female) relate back to Mary.   This part also talks about how we see Mary not only as Mother but also as friend and one who reveals to us the secrets of her heart and also consoles us.

The third part of the book provides a short synthesis of Parts I and II.  It helps us see that in praying the Rosary, we are giving flowers to the one who loves us so much.  Every Hail Mary that we say is also a way of saying, “I love you” to Mary.  The mysteries that we contemplate help us better understand the way God the Father has loved us through the Son and the Holy Spirit.  The Rosary itself is very scriptural and helps us to meditate on the stories of our Salvation.  It is also a time when we are joined by our guardian angel and the other Angels and Saints in prayer to God.

In the first Appendix Keith Berube includes some beautiful and moving poems.  In the second Appendix he lists some other forms of the Rosary.  In the third Appendix he talks about the CONSOLATIO MARIAE, a Private Association of the Catholic Faithful.

Throughout the book Keith Berube uses scriptures, stories and quotes from various Saints , and illustrations to enhance his writing.  You can most readily see the author’s own love for Mary.  As I said earlier, this book taught me to appreciate and form a new INTIMACY with Mary and a new appreciation of the Rosary as both a form of relational prayer and as a true weapon  to fight those “dragons” that attack us.  There is no way that this short review can tell you of the wonders of this book.  You need to experience this yourself.  Do yourself a favor and read this book.

Note:  A publisher friend of mine sent me a copy of SACRED BRAILLE by Annabelle Mosely and asked me to review that.  It is interesting that both books are about the Rosary and really complement each other.  I love God’s timing.  Annabelle Mosely did the forward to Keith Berube’s book.  I really loved her book and will post a review shortly.

Epic Saints: Wild, Wonderful and Weird Stories of God’s Heroes by Shaun McAfee – Review by Steven R. McEvoy

Anxiety and Worry, Apologetics, Book Review, Charity, Church, Communication, Community, Converts, Death and Dying, Demons, Ethics, Eucharist, Evangelism, Forgiveness, Heresy, Holiness, Holy Orders, Holy Spirit, Life in the Spirit, Liturgy, Marriage, Miracles, Morality, Mystics, Penance and Reconciliation, Prayer, Priesthood, Pro-Life, Purgatory, Relationships, Relics, Resurrection, Rosary, Sacraments, Saints, Scripture, Service, Sin, Soldiers, Spirituality, Teaching, Trust, Vocation, Women,

I enjoy writing book reviews of books that I have read and then posting them on my website.  However, I didn’t feel comfortable writing a book review for this book since I am one of the contributors to it.  I did read the book and really enjoyed it and would recommend it to my readers.  For the review, I turned to my friend, Steven R. McEvoy and obtained his permission to post the review that he had written and originally appeared on his website:  www.bookreviewsandmore.ca  .  Steven does a great job of reviewing books and you should check out his website.  Here is his review of Epic Saints.

Epic Saints 
Wild, Wonderful, and Weird Stories of God’s Heroes

by
Shaun McAfee 


TAN Books
ISBN 9781505115123
ASIN B083Y67LD7

I love books like this one. I love reading about saints and am currently reading books from 4 different series about saints. But what a book like this does is introduce me to a few new saints, it gives me some more information and examples from saints that I am more familiar with. This was an EPIC READ that I could hardly put down. It is mostly eBook about specific saints and But there is also a lot of great information about the process of saint making, and the canon and calendar of saints. But the volume is not just the work of Shaun McAfee there are several contributors. Those contributors are:

Alex R. Hey
Sarah Spittler
Jessica Mcafee
Theresa Zoe Williams
Brooke Gregory
Deacon Marty Mcindoe
Shaun Mcafee
Laura Hensley
Mike Panlilio
Maggie Van Sciver

The essays interspersed through the biographies are:

Have Saints Always Been Canonized The Same Way?
What Is The General Roman Calendar?
Can These Stories Be Allegorical?
Are We Really Expected To Believe These Stories?
Why Are Some Saints Not On The Calendar?
What Is The Process For Canonization?
What Should We Do With Saint Narratives That Contain Errors Or Inconsistencies?
Why Are Some Canonized Quickly While Others Have Been In The Process For Centuries?
Can I Become A Saint?

And on top of that are profiles of 74 saints. Shaun and the other contributors do an amazing job or highlighting so many saints in such a short space. There are almost a dozen saints I need to go find further readings on. And my son is already looking forward to my rereading this book with him. 

In this volume there are a few tales about dragons. Saints pulling practical jokes and pranks. A bilocating death and many, many more stories of saints, of Martyrs and holy men and women. 

Though I will be honest with you, the pieces in this volume are so well written you might have a hard time picking a favorite. And you will definitely want to read more on at least some of the saints. An excellent read that I highly recommend. 

I’M CATHOLIC. NOW WHAT? By Shaun McAfee – a book review by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Abortion, Apologetics, Blessed Virgin Mary, Book Review, Church, Community, Converts, Creation, Death and Dying, Demons, Diaconate, Divine Mercy, Early Church Fathers, Easter, Ethics, Eucharist, Evangelism, Family, Fatherhood, Forgiveness, Gnosticism, Healing, Heresy, Holiness, Holy Orders, Holy Spirit, How to be Catholic, Lent, Life in the Spirit, Liturgy, Marriage, Miracles, Morality, Mystagogy, New Age, Penance and Reconciliation, Pope Francis, Prayer, Priesthood, Pro-Life, Purgatory, Relationships, Relics, Resurrection, Rosary, Sacraments, Saints, Scripture, Service, Sin, Social Media, Spirituality, Teaching, Trust, Vocation, Women, , ,

I’M CATHOLIC.  NOW WHAT?   By Shaun McAfee – a book review by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Shaun McAfee, founder of EpicPew.com, blogger at National Catholic Register, contributor to Catholic Answers Magazine and many other Catholic resources has written a new book published by Our Sunday Visitor.  Personally I think that this is the best book he has written; and I really enjoyed his other books.  When I first saw the pre-publication announcement for this book, I immediately put in an order for it.  The title and description led me to believe that this book would be a great resource for my parish RCIA program.  I have been involved in the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program for many years and know that those who have gone through it need a really good resource book to continue their journey after the time in the program has finished.  After reading this book I not only realized that the book is perfect for that, but that the book is perfect for all Catholics on their journey of living out the beauty of the Catholic faith.

The author of this book is a convert and has gone through the RCIA process to become a Catholic.  How I wish that all of the people who go through RCIA become as good a Catholic as Shaun and his wife have become.  Shaun’s overall knowledge of the Catholic faith and Catholic Theology (he has a graduate degree from Holy Apostles College) is amazing.  The way he lives out that faith with his wife and family is even more amazing.  Faith is made to be put in to action and Shaun certainly does that.  I have followed Shaun and his family on Facebook for almost six years and although I have never met him in person, I see the faith filled life that he leads.  That faith filled life pours over in to this book.  Shaun tells us all the things we need to know to be a good Catholic and he gives us personal examples of how to be a good Catholic.

This 335 page book consists of 100 chapters that give us a lot of information on the Catholic Church and why we do the things that we do.  I find it very refreshing that he takes the times to not only tell us the things that we should be doing to be a good Catholic, but also tells us why we do those things.  He often refers to the Holy Scriptures as well as the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  He also uses stories from the early church Fathers and the Saints to explain.   Besides that, he gives us plenty of personal examples from his own life.  He covers just about everything that you can think of that speaks of Catholicism.  He not only covers different topics but also gives us things to do.  For example, not only do we learn about Baptism, but he also gives us ideas on how to celebrate our Baptism day.  He talks to us about the priesthood and then encourages us to invite a priest over for dinner.

Shaun’s section on BEING A MODERN CATHOLIC has so much richness to it when discussing evil, relativism (a must read), marriage, sexuality, abortion, euthanasia, immigration, gossiping, giving, and consumerism.  His discussion of the current sex abuse scandal and cover up is enlightening.  He deals with all of the current issues in the Church today.  His way of facing these issues clearly shows the HOPE that we as Catholics are called to have.  Shaun ends his book with a section on EVANGELIZATION: IT’S FOR EVERYONE.  The chapters in this section remind us of our calling as Catholics to share the Good News that we have received.  He explains the “New Evangelization” and encourages us to reach out to those around us, especially to our children.

I highly recommend that ALL Catholics read this book.  The book covers serious subjects but is very easy to read.  It is informative as well as interesting.  It is a wealth of information on the Catholic faith.  This book is not only for those who have just recently come in to the Church, although it is great for them, but it is for all of us on our journey towards Jesus in His Church.  We can all benefit from the explanations and the suggestions that Shaun makes in this book.  As I write this, we are approaching the LENTEN season.  I highly suggest that every Catholic get this book and read it and study it and live it out for Lent.  It might be the best thing that you ever did for Lent.

Tepidity by A.J. Avila

Anxiety and Worry, Evangelism, Healing, Holy Spirit, Prayer, Purgatory, Relationships, Sacraments, Scripture, Spirituality

There’s a show on television called Air Disasters, and some time ago they ran a segment on the September 25, 1978 PSA crash in San Diego.
I remember that day very well. Like everybody else, I saw the news coverage on television. On approach to the airport, the PSA jet had collided with a Cessna flying in the area. The jet’s right wing caught on fire, and both planes crashed. Everyone on the planes, along with seven people on the ground, perished.
[SIDENOTE: The photo above is of the actual plane going down. The collision was so loud it was heard on the ground, and a photographer aimed his camera upward and took that picture.]
But what I didn’t know, until my sister phoned me, was that a friend of mine had been on board the PSA jet. He was only 26 and was on his way to San Diego to open a photography studio.
I debated whether or not to record the Air Disasters show. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what my friend went through those last terrifying seconds of his life. After I did record it, it sat in my DVR a couple of days before I got up the courage to watch it.
A lot of things, I saw, went wrong that day. I discovered several factors had contributed to the crash. For example, an imminent collision alarm had gone off in the control tower but was ignored because the alarm had been sounding when there was no problem. The PSA pilot had seen the Cessna but then had lowered his seat, which took it out of his line of vision. The Cessna was flown by a student pilot who was learning to operate by instruments only, and so he was wearing a helmet that allowed him to see nothing but the control panel. And for some inexplicable reason, he had changed course. The radio transmission from the PSA pilot was a bit garbled, but it sounded to the air traffic controller like the pilot had said he had already flown past the Cessna. The combination of these incidents led to a terrible disaster.
Something else went wrong that day, horribly wrong. It wasn’t something that caused the crash. It was something that happened after the crash, or rather, something that didn’t happen after the crash. As ashamed as I am to admit it, not once did it occur to me to pray for the soul of my friend.
I had been raised Catholic, attended Catholic elementary school, and in fact was teaching in a Catholic high school at the time. I knew about Purgatory. I knew how important it is to pray for our deceased friends and relatives.
Why, oh why did it not occur to me to pray for my friend? You’d think all the news coverage, including a photo of the plane going down, wing afire, on the cover of Life magazine, (yes, that picture above is the one) would be enough to kick-start me into a rosary, at least. Yet somehow, it wasn’t. Why not?
Well, I’ll tell you why. That is what happens when you become a tepid Catholic.
If you’d asked me back then, I would have told you I was a great Catholic. I put in my hour at Mass every Sunday. I put money into the collection basket. Hey, I even taught in a Catholic school!
Yet the rest of the time I pretty much ignored God, except, of course, when I wanted a personal favor. My rosary was packed away in a drawer. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been to Confession.
In Luke 17:10 Jesus has some harsh words for those who do the bare minimum, calling them unworthy servants. In Revelation 3:16, He even states that He spits lukewarm souls out of his mouth. (The Douay-Rheims version uses the word “vomits” instead of “spits.”)
I thank God that He eventually wacked me over the head with a spiritual 2 x 4, and I finally came to my senses. Prayers and Masses were offered for my friend and other souls for whom I should have pleaded.
I don’t know if such things work retroactively. But, if my prayers were too late for my friend, I am certain they were applied to other members of the Church Suffering.
Let’s not forget those who have passed on before us. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7) And let’s be useful, not worthless, servants who live our faith daily through prayer and sacrifice.

The original post can be found at:  Reflections On My Catholic Journey