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ecassidy
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| Joined: | Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 66 |
| First Name: | Gene | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic to evangelical Protestant to evangelical Catholic |
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Posted: Mon Oct 8th, 2007 05:15 pm |
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Hi all,
Does anyone know of any books, articles, Web sites, etc., that deal with dreams and visions in the lives of the saints?
Thanks.
Peace,
Gene
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 2521 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Mon Oct 8th, 2007 09:32 pm |
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Here’s an article, Gene, that I’ve known about for several years, written by one of our EWTN favorites on the subject of dreams. It’s keyed to biblical references to dreams.
http://www.ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/DREAMS.TXT
For a patristic view of the phenomenon of dreams, I suggest Tertullian’s work, A Treatise on the Soul.
http://www.ewtn.com/library/PATRISTC/ANF3-9.TXT
And for a classic spiritual text making use of dreams, I can suggest a popular book by St. John Bosco: Forty Dreams of St. John Bosco, available from the usual sources.
In addition, I have several theological and spiritual works that refer to dreams in a more scholarly fashion, which I can catalog for you if you think you can handle the heavier stuff.
As to visions, there are numerous sources, both on the internet and in books, readily available. Some of the most popular are the works of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. I can also recommend the diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, of St. Faustina Kowalska. In addition, most of the scholarly books I just referred to include considerable information about visions alongside their sections on dreams.
David
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ecassidy
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| Joined: | Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 66 |
| First Name: | Gene | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic to evangelical Protestant to evangelical Catholic |
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Posted: Tue Oct 9th, 2007 01:13 pm |
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David,
Thanks for all that info! Please send me the info on the heavier stuff.
Also, do you know of any Catholic material on near-death experiences in the lives of the saints or even in the lives of the ordinary faithful? In case you are wondering, something happened to me and I am trying to figure it out so all of your help and guidance is appreciated.
Grace and peace,
Gene
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CajunRick
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Posted: Tue Oct 9th, 2007 01:43 pm |
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ecassidy wrote: Also, do you know of any Catholic material on near-death experiences in the lives of the saints or even in the lives of the ordinary faithful?
As a former hospice chaplain, I have first-hand experience with some 400 people (mostly Catholic) who were preparing for death and had some phenomenal experiences. I can tell you that my expectations of the death experience have changed from something I feared to something I anticipate joyously. Some of my patients experienced attacks from Satan while most were comforted and encouraged by friends and family who had gone before. The experiences were remarkably similar, and I believe much too similar to have been coincidence or medication induced delusions. I firmly believe they were real, and they convinced me more than ever of just how much God loves us. When my time comes, I hope I don't die suddenly. I don't want to drag it on too long and make my family suffer, but I am excited by the possibilities of the last stage of my life. How glorious it will be to see angels flying around the room and loved ones coming with my Savior to welcome me home!
I should add that these were "nearing death" experiences rather than what we commonly think of as "near death" experiences. They were in the final stages of cancer or heart failure or other terminal diseases, and they did not recover. But every person of faith died peacefully and without pain, while every person without faith struggled or had to be drugged into a stupor because of pain.
If you'd like to read more about the experiences of the dying, look for a book called "Final Gifts".
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 2521 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Tue Oct 9th, 2007 06:02 pm |
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ecassidy wrote:Please send me the info on the heavier stuff.
OK, Gene. I’ll start the list with a popular work, Fire Within, by contemporary author Thomas Dubay, SM, published by Ignatius Press. This work is an introduction to the spiritual life, based on the writings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross and contains a section on locutions and visions. It is about as easy to understand as one can get, considering the subject matter, but Fr. Dubay is an uncompromising director of souls and will brook no idle interest in “scientific” knowledge of “phenomena.”
At the opposite extreme, dealing primarily with spiritual “phenomena” in a descriptive way, is The Graces of Interior Prayer, by Auguste Poulain, SJ. This book was written about a century ago and shows considerable influence from the psychological and physiological theories of the time. Still, it is a very interesting and useful study on the outward “symptoms” of deep prayer and union with God, covering such topics as God’s “felt presence,” the “spiritual senses,” ligature, ecstasy, revelations, locutions, visions, etc. The publisher of the hardbound edition I have (from the early 1980s) is Celtic Cross Books of Westminster, Vermont, which evidently no longer exists. Out of print; Amazon lists three copies available, two new softcover and one used.
The Spiritual Life: A Treatise on Ascetical and Mystical Theology is a classic, one you will find extremely useful long after you have explored the world of visions and locutions. Written by Adolphe Tanquerey, SS in the 1920s and published in English in 1930, this dictionary sized tome is actually a confessor’s and spiritual director’s manual, and it covers in handy outline form just about the whole of the spiritual life: sin, virtue, prayer, spiritual progress, mystical phenomena, etc. It’s published by TAN Books and Publishers.
A newer work (1953–55), from the pen of Fr. Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus, OCD, is a two-volume series based on the doctrine of St. Teresa of Avila, I Want to See God and I Am a Daughter of the Church. It is published by Christian Classics, a division of RCL, Resources for Christian Living. The first volume covers the spiritual life up to the beginning of infused contemplation, and the second takes it from there to the spiritual marriage. The primary focus of this series is on the growth of holiness, and it sticks to its topic pretty closely, reminding the reader that exterior manifestations are not the important part of life but more like a “shell” in which it must reside in this world, somewhat as the soul resides in the body. There is a section in volume two, however, on “Extraordinary Favors,” which discusses the role of phenomena such as locutions, levitation and visions in the life of the spirit. In actual practice, this is the Church’s recommended approach to manifestations of the Spirit: recognize it, but don’t overemphasize it.
A fifth work, more theological in character, is The Three Ages of the Interior Life: Prelude of the Eternal Life, by Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, OP, published by TAN Books and Publishers. This opus comes in two large volumes and carries a full discussion of the theological and theoretical aspects of what is covered in a more practical way by the other authors mentioned above. Again, in volume two there is a section on “Extraordinary Graces,” covering charisms, revelations, visions, locutions, divine “touches,” ecstasy, stigmata, luminous and fragrant effluvia (lights/halos and “heavenly scents”), prolonged abstinence, and what the author refers to as “morbid phenomena,” such as false mysticism and diabolical phenomena. Garrigou-Lagrange, a thoroughgoing Thomist, carries the distinction of being the doctoral mentor for the future John Paul II when he studied at the Angelicum in Rome.
These works should keep you reading for several years (and broke for about as long!). I’ll let Rick’s words on near death experiences stand; they seem to be as good as any I’ve seen. Fr. Dubay (cited above) mentions these experiences in passing in one or another of his books and appears to accept them as authentic.
David
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ecassidy
Member
| Joined: | Thu Mar 22nd, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 66 |
| First Name: | Gene | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic to evangelical Protestant to evangelical Catholic |
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Posted: Tue Oct 9th, 2007 06:28 pm |
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Thanks again, Rick and David, you always provide timely guidance!
Grace and peace,
Gene
(New York City)
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