Carver Alan Ames - Modern Mystic

We have quite an amazing individual in our midst.

In 1993, Carver Alan Ames (known commonly as Alan Ames) had a conversion experience that would rival that of some of our greatest saints. The Vatican has not made a pronouncement on his authenticity. However, his bishop, Archbishop B.J.Hickey, has given him permission to speak and to pray for healing. The Archbishop also appointed a spiritual director to investigate and watch over what was happening and to guide him in his work for God. Today, Alan enjoys the continued support of Archbishop Hickey who encourages him in his work.

In 2007, Alan was interviewed in great depth by famed mariologist René Laurentin. Click here for that interview.

Laurentin describes Alan's startling conversion:

Alan Ames, 54 years old, violent during his youth. He gets married very young to Kathryn at the age of 20 and have 2 children. He quietens down his life. He migrates to Australia where he becomes a talented sales manager. There he becomes more and more addicted to alcohol and drugs. This restarts his violence.
At the age of 40 an angel warns him: "Change your life, pray".
During the first months of his conversion he is physically and morally attacked by the evil one. At the beginning he asks himself if he is going mad but St. Theresa of Avila confirms to him what is happening and says: You are going to hell unless you change! He changes his life, his wife converts to Catholicism.
He receives messages from ... the Trinity, Our Blessed Mother and the saints. He published 16 books. He is supported by his archbishop from Perth. He travels all around the world where his conferences gather big audiences. He has the charism of conversion and healing. He lives painfully the Passion of our Lord, more often without visible stigmata but blood is shed rarely.

During the interview, startling details of his many and regular encounters with up to 100 saints came to light.

Here are some excerpts from that interview, any emphases mine:

Laurentin. You live in great union with God, but there are moments or lights where you feel the presence, have you also moments of night where you feel nothing?
Ames. No.
Laurentin. You are always in the transparence?!
Ames. From the first time I received the Eucharist never have I not experienced the presence of God. Never, every day since 1993/94, every day, all day.
Laurentin. Because this happens frequently, the night can be very profound. Don’t you suffer from ordeals and temptations of evil. In these moments what do you feel, don’t you feel that God is far away when you are attacked by the evil one?
Ames. When these attacks occur, I see them as a blessing because when they happen I turn to God, I ask for his help and give myself totally to Him and trust completely in Him. The evil one is stupid because every time he attacks me it turns more to God. There have been several times when I thought I would die. Once I was in Rome, I was in convent near St. Peter's. I thought I would be safe there, I was asleep and I was woken up in the middle of the night being strangled. I thought I was going to die, my back was arching, I could feel the veins in my neck were about to burst, I thought I would take my last breath: I am going to die, so I said: - Jesus if this is Your will, I accept it and I give You my soul. From the moment I said that, the attack stopped. And it’s always the same. So it’s why I say that the attacks turn me more to God even though at the beginning sometimes I am terrified because some of them are horrible, always it turns me to God and it’s a great blessing.

I will write more about Alan Ames and his many profound messages in upcoming posts.