Happy Feast of Saint Francis! As you can imagine, this is always a big day in these parts, and if I have time today, I’m hoping to slip off to the Portiuncula Chapel, up on campus to get my plenary indulgence … which is probably a topic we should talk about someday. But not today, as this week’s newsletter is all about Halloween. I have received several questions on it as of late, and I decided to just answer all of them in one longish newsletter. In addition to sending out the print version, I also decided to record an audio version of this essay (something I always do for the full subscriber only essays), as I thought that might be useful. Here it is!
As always, if you are finding these newsletters useful, I would so appreciate you upgrading your subscription and becoming a full subscriber. They are free to read, but they are definitely not free to write, and it is the full subscribers—and the full subscribers alone—who make what I hope is a little island of sanity on the Internet possible. None of these newsletters would exist without them (and if you are a full subscriber, thank you!)
Five Fast Things
If you have a little one preparing for Confession or asking questions about sin and forgiveness, I have a book for you! My third children’s book, Lord Have Mercy, based on Scott Hahn’s book of the same name for adults is available for pre-order starting today. I am so excited to get this book—which focuses on God’s merciful love for us—into your kids’ (and my kids’!) hands. The official release date is November 7, (and yes, I will be selling signed copies before Christmas), but if you place an order for the book now, you’ll get some extra goodies when it comes out!
As mentioned above, this week’s episode of Visitation Sessions looks at the proliferation of celebrity exorcists and features our favorite expert on spiritual warfare, Dave VanVickle, weighing in on pressing questions about how much attention we should pay to the demonic, whether or not generational curses are actually a thing, and how we can best protect our families from evil (hint: it’s not by praying deliverance prayers).
I found out last Monday that Beautycounter will be having a special sale for everyone this November. I may have danced a little jig all around the kitchen. I shared this news with clients right away, but just in case you missed the email, I’m sharing it again here. This isn’t a reopening announcement. It will still be a while before Beautycounter comes back. But this short-term sale will allow everyone to restock on some of their favorite products. I don’t have any more details yet, not even the dates. I only know that you will need a link to shop the sale. I’ll be providing that here (and via email, text, and Instagram) once I have it. Stay tuned for more info.
Ryan Anderson’s sober look at the state of the pro-life movement in post-Dobbs America is probably this week’s must read. I quibble with a few things, but overall, he is (unfortunately) dead right.
Speaking of spooky shows, one of our family’s favorite cartoons is the Disney classic Lonesome Ghosts. I am pretty sure the movie Ghostbusters was based on it. You can see the full length version on Disney+. There is a shorter version on YouTube, but it is missing some of the best parts.
In Case You Missed It
“Food and the Feminine Genius” (Free for all)
“The Devil and All His Works: On Demons, Deliverance, and Celebrity Exorcists” (Full Subscriber Only)
“Stupid Is As Stupid Does: On Politics, Prudence, and Priorities” (Free for All)
Thinking Like a Catholic About Halloween