Best-selling Catholic Book Explores Reality of Ghosts: Do the Dead Really Visit Us on Earth?
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November 02, 2010 - 9:11 PDT
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Charlotte, NC (November 2, 2010) - Do the souls of the dead ever come to earth? Yes, says Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg, Ph.D., parapsychologist and author of the international bestseller "Hungry Souls: Supernatural Visits, Messages, and Warnings from Purgatory." The dead do sometimes visit us. They come to warn loved ones to reform their lives, and to beg prayers for themselves. And they can leave behind burn marks and other signs of their presence.
It's a sensational claim, but one with a long pedigree for Catholics. In "Hungry Souls," Aardweg explores reports of ghostly apparitions in the lives of the saints. He finds a long record of such appearances stretching back to the earliest days of the Church. Saints and blesseds as varied as Thomas Aquinas, Catherine Emmerick, Padre Pio and Faustina Kowalska all recount visits of souls from Purgatory - a state of purification after death in which the dead are corrected and made perfect before entering Heaven.
Aardweg doesn't limit himself to the written record. His investigation takes him to the "Museum of Purgatory" in Rome. The Museum is a fascinating collection of books, clothing and other objects with burn marks - often in the shape of hands or fingers - said to have been left during apparitions of ghostly souls. Says Aardweg of these paranormal bits of evidence: "They bear the signature of souls who have appeared from Purgatory to ask for mercy, revealing something about themselves and their condition of suffering and doing penance."
Though Aardweg accuses modern culture of neglecting Purgatory, his book is a surprising hit. Shortly before Halloween "Hungry Souls" was the #1 best-selling Catholic book on Amazon. Publisher TAN Books is planning a Spanish edition for next year.
A video trailer for "Hungry Souls" received over 1,000 views within hours of posting. The trailer contains footage of some of the paranormal evidence from the Museum of Purgatory in Rome.
"There is a long tradition of witness to contact between this world and the next," says Conor Gallagher, Vice President of Publishing for TAN Books. "Spirits are real. "Hungry Souls" tells us who those spirits are and what they want from us."
"These accounts of visits from the suffering souls put a vivid, experiential point on the doctrine of Purgatory," continues Gallagher. "Readers of "Hungry Souls" cannot help but be stirred both to help these poor souls and as much as possible avoid the sufferings they endure."
About TAN Books
TAN Books publishes hundreds of books of Catholic theology, philosophy,and prayer and spirituality, as well as books about miracles, apparitions, and the lives of the saints.Known for beautiful reissues of Catholic classics such as "Introduction to the Devout Life" and "Story of a Soul", TAN also publishes new books representing and drawing from the best of Catholic Tradition. Established in Rockford, IL in 1967, TAN Books was acquired by Saint Benedict Press of Charlotte, NC in 2008.
Contact
Saint Benedict Press, LLC/TAN Books
https://www.youtube.com/StBenedictPressTAN
NC, 28273 US
Lauren Rupar - Marketing Assistant/Publicist, 704.884.3265
Keywords
Purgatory, All souls, Holy Souls, ghosts, apparitions, Padre Pio, Faustina, saints
Category
Apparitions
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