AboutBro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM, L.Th. Expertise I am a Catholic apologist, catechist, spiritual director, and spiritual warfare/deliverance counselor holding a degree of Licentiate in Theology. Questions dealing with the Catholic Faith will be answered according to official Church teachings, where such official teachings exist, and according to solid principles taught by the Church and the saints on areas where there is no specific Church teaching. I am a one-hundred-percent loyal and obedient to the Pope and Magisterium of the Church. If you want to know the TRUE SCOOP of Church teaching, here is the place to get it.
2) Apologetics and Catechesis primarily offered through a Catholic Q&A (plus volunteering on expert.com); and
3) Deliverance and Spiritual Warfare: involving many things ranging from investigating "haunted houses," to counseling with demonized people, to dealing with spiritual warfare issues in our society.
Experience I was a Baptist preacher, Bible teacher, and evangelist for 15 years before converting to the Catholic Church in 1992.
As a Catholic I have been teaching Bible, Catechetics, apologetics, and evangelism for 14 years. I also have 24 years of pastoral counseling experience and 14 years experience as a Catholic Spiritual Director.
I have been in deliverance ministry since 1986 as a Baptist. After converting to the Catholic Church I continued the spiritual warfare work including counseling, writing, consulting, and teaching workshops, and training Deliverance Counsellors.
In 2002 we began a new apostolate called the St. Padre Pio Center for Deliverance Counseling. This agency offers counseling to those persons who are demonized, and offers training for people who feel called by God to become Deliverance Counsellors. As director of the St. Padre Pio Center I was featured in a series of interviews on Spirtual Warfare on Ave Maria Radio.
Award: Recipient of the prestigious Kaltenborn Foundation Grant.
Organizations In Religion: Catholic Society of Evangelists, Institute on Religious Life, Adoremus: Society for the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Coming Home Network, The Blue Army of our Lady of Fatima, Apostleship of Prayer, Confraternity of Mary, Queen of All Hearts (Montfort Fathers), Confraternity of the Brown Scapular
BR> In Counseling: American Counseling Association, Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling, the International Society for Mental Health Online, and the former National Psychiatric Association. Brother is also currently working with two other counselors to form a new association called the American Nouthethic Association of Catholic Counselors. This association is not yet operational.
In Website Design: HTML Writers Guild, the International Webmasters Association, and the Good News Web Designers Association.
In Creative Writing: Academy of American Poets, the Association of Authors and Publishers, and is listed as Editor and Publisher of St. Michael House Press and Writers House Press in the International Directory of Small Presses and Little Magazines and the WritersNet Online Directory
Publications Religious Book Publications include: +"Regula Sanctus Michaelis" (The Rule of St. Michael) +"Three Secret Strategies of Satan and Other Essays" +"St. Michael's Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog" +"Hope, Help, Victory: A Spiritual Warfare Workshop" +"St. Michael’s Deliverance Counseling Manual" +If God Wants This of Me: The Story of a Baptist Minister Turn Catholic Friar" (forthcoming)
Poetry Publications and Credits: Book: "Only Silence is Shame" Magazines & Readings: published in various magazines and conducted numerous readings
Listed: "Who's Who is U.S. Editors, Writers, and Poets" and the "International Authors and Poets Who's Who" out of London in the 1980s
Other Publications: Book: "The Wilder Letters" (book of essays)
Book: "The Falling Torch: Our Democracy in Crisis"
Question I know this may seem very childish of me to ask, but it's in my mind now and I can't seem to stop thinking about it. Is there a special place for animals in God's Kingdom? I have had some special pets in my life that I believe I made a special connection with. Two of these were dogs that died in not so kind circumstances. Friday, my mother put the family cat to sleep. I don't have a single memory of life before Sammy. I know this seems so childish, but for heaven to be as wonderful as I hope for it to be, Sammy would have to be there. My mom just told me about it yesterday so obviously I wasn't there for his last days or even his last minutes and I can't help but feel guilty for not getting to comfort him. I was one of the people in our family that loved him extensively. Even though this question seems simple, can you help me out?
~Angela
Answer Dear Angela:
Animals are a beautiful part of God's creation. Although we do not know, there may be animals in heaven as part of the overall beauty of Creation.
As for Pets going to heaven all we know is that animals do not have an eternal soul which would imply that animals do not "go to heaven."
But this is not the loss that we might think. The reason we have Pets is to fill a need for companionship or to fill some other need. In heaven we will have all that we need.
We will be in the presence of God and consumed by the light of God. All the pleasure and companionship and love that we could possibly imagine or want will be filled to overflowing.
But, God can do as He wishes and He can certainly bring our animals to heaven if He wishes, but based upon the Theology that God has revealed to us, there is no indication that animals will go to heaven, and there is theological reasons to say that they won't.
But do not fear, God will fill you with all the love of 1 million pets and more. And who knows, maybe we will met our pets in heaven.
