Photo by Bermix Studio on UnsplashWe recently had a complaint from someone who works in a public school about the way BrainPOP, an animated educational site for children, is presenting material to students, particularly a video about the Mexican Day of the Dead that promotes paganism at the expense of the Church.
Photo by Bee Felten-Leidel on UnsplashYes, there is such a thing as a ghost. Disembodied souls can and do appear to humans at God's command, but what about ghosts that appear to mediums and during seances?
JL writes: “I recently read that Meghan Markle is involved in something called ancestral healing. Is this something Catholics can do?”
ML writes: “Someone just told me that you can lay on the grave of a saint to receive their anointing. They said it’s the same as what Catholics do with their relics. Is this true?”
A few months ago, Bishop John O. Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Center wrote a compassionate but firm letter to his flock warning them about the dangers of visiting mediums to contact their dead.
RM writes: “I used to love the Long Island Medium show because Teresa Caputo seems so real, but my friends say she’s a phony who uses typical tricks to fool the audience into thinking she’s connecting with their deceased loved ones. Is this true?”
The same network that hosts The Long Island Medium has decided to venture further into their whimsical misrepresentation of mediumship by launching a second reality show based on the dark art, this one called “Mama Medium.”
JMT writes: “Could you please give a simple explanation for why it’s okay for Catholics to communicate with the dead but it’s not okay for mediums to do the same thing.”
DN writes: “Lately my kids & I have come across white feathers in odd places that I know I’ve cleaned in my house. My mom (all Italian) says this is someone from Heaven? Is this true?”
A reader sent this email to our blog: “My therapist has a strong Catholic presence throughout her clinic and plays EWTN for me while I work out on the treadmill and bicycle. She attends daily noon Mass. She "sees" my deceased aunt hovering behind me and said Aunt I. has a concerned look on her face. I showed her several pics of deceased relatives and she picked out Aunt I. Once when talking to me during a rest period she excused herself and walked out of the room for a few minutes...like she had to recover from what she ‘saw’ around me. I was too scared to ask and she did not volunteer any information. Should I continue working with her or do you think she is new age?”
