ST. MICHAEL CENTER

MSGR. ROSSETTI'S BLOG

Q: Why are you having a Holy Hour on Halloween, and is the time allotted from 11 pm-12 am a special time? A: What a great question. One that needs a bit of background to answer adequately. For many years, my husband and I celebrated Halloween as a secular holiday with all its eerie and enchanting allure. The truth is, we don’t know what we don’t know until we do! It was not until a profound reversion to the faith in 2008 that the truth of what we were aligning ourselves with

["The Return of the Prodigal Son," Pompeo Batoni, 1773] We were making good progress in liberating a woman from the Evil One. But then the progress stalled. It turns out that she was harboring a great deal of resentment toward her angry in-law, a dabbler in witchcraft, who was intentionally cursing her and her husband. The couple was stuck in an ugly, enmeshed, evil relationship with her. I have witnessed this time and again. Unforgiveness completely blocks liberation

Triumph of the Christianity Over Paganism by Thommaso Laureti I recently returned from a week in Rome. As a Catholic, I always find myself drawn to Rome as a kind of spiritual home, where I feel close to the heart of Christ and the graces of His Church. Each time I go, I try to see something new. On this trip, there was a painting I hadn’t noticed before. In fact, my sister was the one who pointed it out to me. Inside the Vatican Museums, there is a series of rooms known as t

(As opposed to the Seven Tortures of Hell revealed to St. Faustina) [Beatific Vision, Gustave Dore, 1832-1883] The Seven Tortures of Hell were revealed to St. Faustina. These joys of heaven stand in contradistinction to the tortures of hell and are based upon the Sacred Scriptures, the teachings of the Church (CCC#1023-1029), and the writings of the great doctors and saints: 1. Beatific Vision of God (as opposed to “Loss of God”). “They will look upon his face, a

Q: Respectfully, why wasn't the Archangel Uriel included in the recent Novena to the Archangels from St. Michael Center? A: The short answer is that Uriel is not officially recognized by the Catholic Church as an archangel to be venerated. The archangel names Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael all appear in Scripture and are recognized as divinely inspired, but Uriel does not. The most prominent mention of Uriel is found in the Book of Enoch, which is an ancient Jewish text presen

[Eucharistic adoration in Lucca, Italy over tomb of St. Gemma. Photo by author] An exorcist learns not to trifle with evil. While we recognize and know firmly that Jesus is Lord, we do not underestimate what Satan can and will do if given the chance. If given an opening, he will inflict as much damage as God allows, which can be considerable. And if an exorcist gives Satan an opening in an exorcism session or, God forbid in his own life, it can get quite ugly very fast.

["The Raising of Lazarus," Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1310-1311] At the beginning of the exorcism session, the woman’s face looked awful. It was old, wrinkled and pale. It appeared as a kind of death mask. Just awful. But when the session ended, her face looked like she had been reborn. It was clear and bright. She had a lovely smile and she looked years younger. The change was striking. Her face actually glowed. The young woman was not completely liberated at that point

Saint Augustine and Saint Monica, Gioacchino Assereto c. 1650) Q: As the father and spiritual authority over my family, what is the best way to approach my child (13) who is often overly anxious and agitated regarding prayer and most things religious and no longer wishes to participate in prayer or sacraments? A: As a parent, I empathize with the ache of a parental heart. It is so painful to watch the suffering of our children, especially when it involves them turning away fr

In the deliverance and exorcism ministry, sacramentals are a staple! We see time and time again the efficacy and power of the sacred against the malevolent forces of evil. One of the most significant examples of this was the consistent feedback received from our clients after the house blessings provided by the SMC priests and deacons. The demonic harassment was significantly tempered, and a sense of peace overshadowed the home. We all strive for and desire this in our own ho

["The Last Communion of St. Jerome," Domenico Zampieri, 1614] In my previous post: “Why is hell so horrible?” I wrote: “For those who have definitively rejected God and have chosen the darkness even the slightest grace or ray of Divine light is an incredible suffering.” A person resonated with this social media content and publicly shared his story: “I was a fervent satanist and I somehow felt what I think Satan feels in the presence of love (on a lower level but it was sti

A friend sent me a chain of videos on social media where Catholic content creators were debating the efficacy of prayers and instructing followers on how they need to be praying. I realized how easily prayer can become a source of scrupulosity and anxiety for many people. One of the great gifts that the Catholic Church gives us is the many different ways to pray, some of which follow a formula, while others are at the liberty of the person. Liturgical prayer is the worship of

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, an extensive reference work summarizing the richness and wisdom of our Catholic faith, tells us that “The Christian home is the place where children receive the first proclamation of the faith. For this reason, the family home is rightly called "the domestic church," a community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity.” (CCC 1666) The Domestic Church, also known as the Ecclesia Domestica, is not just a catc

Since the release of The Conjuring in 2013, this supernatural horror franchise has sparked a lot of interest not only in Ed and Lorraine Warren, but in paranormal activity altogether. The Conjuring is listed as one of the most profitable horror movies in history, which led to a whole series of films related to the Warrens and their cases, including Annabelle, The Nun, and three other Conjuring films. This cultlike fanbase has brought its fascination into the real world with v

["The Transfiguration," Raphael, 1516-1520; Note: The transfiguration is a symbol of the future transfiguration of our humanity with the Divine presence in heaven.] By all accounts, hell is a horrible, horrible place. It might seem that God, whom we proclaim to be merciful, is anything but. On several occasions, Jesus himself spoke of it as a place of "weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Mt 8:12, 13:42, 13:50, 22:13; 24:51, 25:30 and Luke 13:28). And while individ

[The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena, Giovanni di Paolo, 1460] A woman came to me who had practiced witchcraft for a dozen years. She had started her own coven and had all the paraphernalia including a large cache of books on the occult. The first thing that struck me was the dark cloud around her and the gloom on her face. When I mentioned it, she said she was aware of it and agreed that it was likely the result of her life in the occult. She said the practic

As I was scrolling through Instagram this week, a video of a Christian content creator caught my attention. The woman described a recent medical study which reported measurable scientific benefits from Reiki. Her takeaway was that Christians should embrace this alternative healing method as a way to follow in Jesus’ footsteps of healing. So, what is Reiki? The term Reiki comes from the words Rei (meaning universal) and Ki (life energy). It is a Japanese form of energy healing

I’ve spent the last five years managing social media for Catholic priests and apostolates. There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit is using social media to bring Christ and His Church to those who need it most, but there is also a danger. We spend countless hours consuming content, debating strangers online, and filling our minds with a thousand voices, yet rarely making room for God’s. Although we may consume nuggets of beauty and truth online, the never-ending feed of conten

[Good Angel of Death, Evelyn De Morgan 1880] At the moment of death, some people have reported being tempted and harassed by Satan. A famous case was St. Martin of Tours. At his death in 397 AD, he saw Satan present and he exclaimed: “Why do you stand there, you bloodthirsty brute? Murderer, you will not have me for your prey. Abraham is welcoming me into his embrace.” With that, he died and passed on to the Kingdom of God. Not uncommonly, people also report receiving

["Blessing Herself with Holy Water," Paul Seignac, 1826-1904] I often pray at night when all the world is dark and silent. It is easier to find some extended time to pray when all are asleep. Blessed Conchita, Mexican mystic, author and mother of nine, would wait until all her children were asleep to pray and write. She was amazingly prolific. But a recent night's prayer was unusual. Rather than being a time of peace, I felt greatly agitated, for no obvious reason. I c

Like many of you, I opened my phone yesterday morning to the news that the beautiful town of Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the place where alleged apparitions of Our Blessed Mother have been taking place since 1981, was devastated by an act of gross vandalism in the darkness of night. The statue of our Blessed Mother was defaced, and the outdoor sanctuary behind the beloved Church of St. James was set on fire. Last year, our St. Michael Center team traveled to Medjug