Charles D. Fraune's Blog, page 9

Today in the Octave of Christmas - Second Day - Feast of St. Stephen

Today is the second day of Christmas in the Octave (eight days) of Christmas.  Today is celebrated with a similar solemnity to Christmas Day.   

Imagine:  where are those humble shepherds, who had been surprised by the angel late on Christmas Eve?  They likely returned to tend their flock, but, knowing that this divine child was nearby in Bethlehem, with His holy parents as well, perhaps they left their sheep again to greet Him on this second day of His birth.  Who could stay away after beholdin...

"Slaying Dragons" Reviewed by the National Catholic Register!

Please pass this along!   This is a great acknowledgement of how much this book is benefiting people.  Remember, it is self-published, so I am humbled that it made it this far in only one year simply through spreading by word of mouth.
May God be praised. And what a nice title... Spiritual Warriors Have a Field Manual in 'Slaying Dragons'
 
 

Beautiful Spiritual Warfare prayer from Fr. Gabriele Amorth

I was just reminded today about a beautiful prayer by Fr. Gabriele Amorth. It is in Fr. Ripperger's great book of prayers as well:  Deliverance Prayers For Use by the Laity *buy here*
 I was unaware of the origin of the prayer but, according to this article, it was written by Fr. Amorth. You can read the article about it here: https://www.beautysoancient.com/prayer-every-evil-exorcist-father-gabriele-amorth 
 Since it appeared there, I will also re-post it here, but...

Podcast: On Prayer + Our Lord's Love for Us + the Power and Need for Grace!

Prepare for Advent with this great podcast I did recently with The Frontline with Joe and Joe! Advent is a time to ramp up our prayers and prepare our souls for the power of the Incarnation. We discuss my first book, Come Away By Yourselves: A Guide to Making a Retreat, which is a guide for busy Catholics to learn how to find the time that actually IS available in our days, despite how things may appear.
It contains practical reflections and suggestions on how to see this time, seize it, and cons...

The St. Andrew Novena - Longing for the Sacred Midnight

The Saint Andrew Novena is a beautiful prayer and a beautiful way to keep a proper focus on the coming of Christ at Christmas.

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment
in which the Son of God was born
of the most pure Virgin Mary,
at midnight,
in Bethlehem,
in the piercing cold.
In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God,
to hear my prayer and grant my desires through the merits
of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother.
Amen.

The moments in the life of Christ do not have a merely historic...

Supporting Small Businesses - Slaying Dragons and The Retreat Box

Many of you are unaware that I also have a (very) small business, which began shortly before I wrote Slaying Dragons.  
This business was our first attempt at supplementing the income I receive as a high school Theology teacher.  We then began to attend conferences as a vendor to sell our products, eventually launching our website:  www.TheRetreatBox.com
We have a lot of different products, from Bibles to books I wrote, Saint Story CDs for kids and music from nuns, chewable Rosaries for babies, an...

New Podcast Appearance - The Storyteller's

I was recently on "The Storyteller's" with Tony Agnesi to discuss my youth and conversion and the importance of Slaying Dragons in the process of bringing me to a more complete conversion as an adult.
Take a look!
Also, a hint regarding some exciting news about Swords and Shadows is in the episode.
God bless you.Please share! 
 ~~~~~Support this Author's Work!~~~~~

Get your copy of Slaying Dragons: What Exorcists See & What We Should Know.  Available on Amazon.com, including Audible, and soon to be a...

Visited By A Soul From Purgatory - a True Story - Re-Post

This story was posted a year ago, the dream having occurred All Saints morning, 2019.

There is a personal story that I am compelled to share which must somehow be connected with the new work I have begun, and with the research and associated spiritual work needed in order to write and publish Slaying Dragons: What Exorcists See & What We Should Know .  If that is actually the case, it would make sense to me.  The story is that, as it seems, Our Lord has permitted me to experience a visit by a...

Halloween vs. The World

Every year, as a teacher, when Halloween approaches, I have struggled to thoroughly answer the question, “What do you think of Halloween?”  Every year, then, I would research the traditions and history of Halloween and get closer to providing a more complete answer. 

My wayward youth of enjoying Halloween for evil purposes, which was tied to the depression and anxiety that plagued that period of my life, conditioned me, after my conversion, to see many aspects of the American Halloween experien...

Don't Celebrate Hell This Halloween

For those who were not brought up in an authentically Catholic cultural environment, Halloween can easily take on the character of a death festival.
Ghouls, vampires, witches, devils, eye-ball soups, depictions of demons and murder on front lawns (I saw a realistic hanging scene on someone's front porch the other day - shocking)... Death for the sake of death - what is the merit in that?  I would not advise trying to imagine what is going through the minds of people who litter their yards with bo...