Angelology in The Books Store

Since the outward manifestations of benign and malign possession were indistinguishable, a highly ambiguous set of bodily features and behaviors were carefully scrutinized by observers. Attempts to make decisions about individuals who exhibited supernatural powers were complicated by the fact that the most intense exemplars of lay spirituality were women, and the "fragile sex" was deemed especially vulnerable to the snares of the devil. Assessments of women’s spirit possessions often oscillated between divine and demonic interpretations. Ultimately, although a few late medieval women visionaries achieved the prestige of canonization, many more were accused of possession by demons. Caciola analyzes a broad array of sources from saints’ lives to medical treatises, exorcists’ manuals to miracle accounts, to find that observers came to rely on the discernment of bodies rather than seeking to distinguish between divine and demonic possession in purely spiritual terms.

Brush of an Angel's Wing vividly chronicles angelic "sightings." Through stories from his own life, Charlie Shedd gives us a glimpse of what a brush with an angel looks and feels like, describing nick-of-time rescues, impossible feats of strength, supernatural perceptions, and divinely orchestrated situations--all of which can only be ascribed to the wisdom and service of angels.