The video below, taken from a talk by Fr. Chad Ripperger — a traditional priest, psychologist, and exorcist of some renown — has been making the rounds since last year. I’ve always intended to listen to it, but at an hour in length, I never seemed to make it all the way through.

This past weekend I had to make a long drive alone, so I finally fired it up and patched it into the car stereo.

I’m glad I did.

I think this talk touches on some important points. I think it’s something we all need to hear. I keep mentioning that I want to highlight more of the positive aspects about the Catholic Faith, not just report on the seemingly endless wave of assaults on it from within. There is a reason for that. I know it’s toxic. I can feel it. (Still, focusing on the positive is easier said than done these days.) It doesn’t mean the bad news doesn’t matter, or that we shouldn’t be informed, or even that we here at 1P5 shouldn’t cover those things.

But we must seek a balance. If we focus only and always on what’s wrong, we habituate ourselves to seeing the bad in everything, and it becomes an impediment to our spiritual growth. As Fr. Ripperger says, we shouldn’t stick our heads in the sand, but we should only pay as much attention to these things as the duties of our state in life demand.

I think there’s a lot of food for thought here. If you can make the time to listen to the whole thing — and I do recommend that you hear all of it, to get the different pieces he covers throughout — it’s worth your time.

Please remember that Father Ripperger’s talks are licensed as “Penanceware”. What does that mean? I’ll let him explain:

These media files are PenanceWare, which require that you do one of the following: (1) $1.00 via Paypal, (2) offer up a decade of the Rosary, or (3) perform some form of penance for the intentions of Fr. Ripperger (for each individual media file downloaded). The same rule applies if you copy and distribute to friends. External links, e.g. the videos from Keep the Faith, etc. are not Penanceware.

If you’d like to hear more of his excellent talks and conferences, they’re available at his website here. I’ve included the video below for convenience, but it’s an unofficial copy, and you should treat it as though the same licensing applies. So grab a seat, have a listen, and fire up those rosaries and/or donations. It’s for a good cause.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoEWGSa6bxE?rel-0