"...the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force."
-Matthew 11:12
Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say to you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. -Matthew 18:10In the Catena Aurea we learn that the Church Fathers understood this verse to mean exactly what it says, that we all have a Guardian Angel, given by God to us, to protect and guide us to union with the same Christ, our Lord.
JEROME; High dignity of souls, that each from its birth has an Angel set in charge over it!
CHRYS; Here He is speaking not of any Angels, but of the higher sort; for when He says, Behold the face of my Father, He shows that their presence before God is free and open, and their honor great.
GREG; But Dionysus says, that it is from the ranks of the lesser Angels that these are sent to perform this ministry, either visibly or invisibly, for that those higher ranks have not the employment of an outward ministry.
ID; And therefore the Angels always behold the face of the Father, and yet they come to us; for by a spiritual presence they come forth to us, and yet by internal contemplation keep themselves there whence they come forth; for they come not so forth from the divine vision, as to hinder the joys of inward contemplation.
HILARY; The Angels offer daily to God the prayers of those that are to be saved by Christ; it is therefore perilous to despise him whose desires and requests are conveyed to the eternal and invisible God, by the service and ministry of Angels.
AUG; Or; They are 'called our Angels who are indeed the Angels of God; they are Gods because they have not forsaken Him; they are ours because they have begun to have us for their fellow-citizens. As they now behold God, so shall we also behold, Him face to face, of which vision John speaks, We shall see him as he is. For by the face of God is to be understood the manifestation of Himself, not a member or feature of the body, such as we call by that name.
•Source
The ministry of these Guardian Angels consists: 1st, in warding off dangers to body and soul, 2nd, in preventing Satan's suggesting evil thoughts, and in removing occasions of sin and helping us to overcome temptation; 3rd, in enlightening and instruction us and fostering in us holy thoughts and pious desires; 4th, in offering to God our prayers and in praying for us; 5th in correcting us if we sin; 6th, in helping us in the agony of death, in strengthening and comforting us; 7th, in conducting our souls to heaven, or to purgatory to console us there. It is thus our Guardian Angles watch over us, keep us, lead us. They see in their charges, souls of priceless value sine they were redeemed by the Blood of a God.
•Source; p. 33The existence and help of the Angels is more than mere superstion, or some children's tale. Angels are real. We must seek their companionship, and allow for their protection and guidance. Although God entrusts them to us, that does not mean they have unfettered access to our hearts and minds.
Although they cannot penetrate the inner sanctuary of human hearts which God has reserved for Himself, they do all they can to help us. However, it is in our power by an act of our free will to expose our intimate thoughts to our angelic companion. And it is to our advantage for such confidence in his enlightened guidance is of great benefit to our soul. After God and our Blessed Mother, he is surely our best friend, and if we really love him, we will have no secrets to hide from him. "We do not sensibly perceive him. We hear no whispered warning in our ear. Our hands cannot touch him nor our eyes look up to him. Yet invisibly he is with us. From the first moment of life he guards us and he will not have completed his task until as we trust, we shall gaze with him in glory on the Vision of God."So pray to your Guardian Angel. Pray to ALL the Angels, Archangels and choirs of of Angels. As for their protection, guidance, prayers, and support.
CREDO quod sis angelus sanctus, a Deo omnipotente ad custodiam mei deputatus. Propterea peto, et per illum qui te ad hoc ordinavit, humiliter imploro, ut me miseram fragilem atque indignam semper et ubique in hac vita custodias, protegas a malis omnibus atque defendas, et cum Deus hinc animam meam migrare iusserit, nullam in eam potestatem daemonibus habere permittas, sed tu eam leniter a corpore suscipias, et in sinu Habrae suaviter usque perducas iubente ac iuvante creatore ac salvatore Deo nostro, qui est benedictus in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God's commandments and bear witness to Jesus. It took its position on the sand of the sea. - Apocalypse 12:17
Today, when there is such an emphasis upon peace and justice, some Catholics do not like using the terms, spiritual warfare, combat, battle, or always hearing phrases such as 'we are at war' and so on. Yet that is what the Christian life has always been, it is a struggle - an intense, knock down, drag out fight, a very real spiritual combat: To quote St. Paul,
Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. ~~Ephesians 6:10-12
The Catholic Church's most famous exorcist says more should be done to fight the devil. Father Gabriele Amorth has conducted 70,000 exorcisms for the church during his lengthy career.Social justice will only come when the forces of evil, the purveyors of injustice are defeated. We MUST PUT ON THE ARMOR OF GOD if we have ANY chance to defend ourselves in this battle. Therefore, if we go out there, looking for justice and peace, and we do not possess the ARMOR OF GOD, we are thrusting ourselves, defenseless, into WAR. A true, honest to GOD, WAR! We must treat our world and culture in this way, or we are being nothing but foolish and naive. Therefore we must arm ourselves with Truth, Morality, Love, and walk in the Commandments of God... prior to going into battle. We cannot seek Justice without those things. We can not and must not enter into battle weaponless. So how do we arm ourselves?In an interview with Italian daily, Corriere Della Sera, the 85-year-old priest said it would be worth extending the practice of exorcism."It would not be a bad idea," he told the daily. "In Italy moral decay is evident. Families are often breaking down."Do you know what I would do if I was the Pope for a moment?" he asked. "I would provide every opportunity for exorcisms. Like the Orthodox Church. There you do not need the permission of a bishop."
...begin to pray - to really pray - prepare yourself for trials. Whenever you embark upon anything good in the spiritual life, the combat begins. Sometimes that can be a sign to "do even more" as St. Paul says. Frequent Mass and the sacraments - especially confession. And use sacramentals - especially wearing Our Lady's livery: The Scapular of Mt. Carmel along with the shield of the Miraculous Medal, and keep the very best weapon of the Rosary with you at all times. These are tools, weapons, Our Lady herself has given to her children through the saints. These are not foolish devotions or superstitious.
As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.The world HATES you. Say itout loud right now... 'The World Hates ME!'
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love.
"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.You are my friends if you do what I command you.I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.
"If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.
-John 15:9-19
With the Feast of the Holy Archangels taking place tomorrow (September 29) and the Feast of the Guardian Angels coming up on Thursday (October 2), I thought that it might be helpful to give a short catechesis on the angels. Unfortunately, most people’s understanding of the angels is not very good because they only know what they get from Hollywood or contemporary art rather than from the Church. This is unfortunate because the angels can be tremendous allies for us during our pilgrimage here in Earth.The original post can be found here:
The Church says that the angels “are purely spiritual creatures, incorporeal, invisible, immortal, and personal beings endowed with intelligence and will. They ceaselessly contemplate God face-to-face and they glorify him. They serve him and are his messengers in the accomplishment of his saving mission to all” (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 60). They really do it all for us, serving as our guides, companions, protectors, and helpers. Despite the popular practice of depicting angels as little babies with wings sitting on fluffy clouds, it’s certainly not how they are described in Scripture. Typically, they are described as those who are endowed with great power and intellect. When they took human form in Scripture, it was usually for the purpose of delivering some message from God. The word “angel” in fact comes from the Greek work meaning “messenger.” As messengers, they can reveal to us the Will of God.
Three angels in particular are named in Scripture and those are the Archangels, St. Michael, St. Raphael, and St. Gabriel. The Book of Revelation tells us of the war that broke out in Heaven and how St. Michael and his angels battled and defeated Satan (cf. Rev. 12:7). St. Raphael appeared to Tobit as his guide, servant, and mentor. St. Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary bringing to her God’s message that she would be the Mother of God (Luke 1:26-38). A guardian angel is one assigned by God to care for a human being. St. Jerome says that our belief in the guardian angels is a testimony to the great dignity of the human soul that one would be assigned to guard it from its very beginning. Now who wouldn’t want these angels on their side? Angels are mighty warriors in the fight against the devil, and we would be wise to call on them everyday especially during times of trial and temptation. Sometimes, all it takes for us to avoid falling into sin and giving into a temptation is a guardian. Certainly this is part of the mission of our guardian angels.
Our belief in angels reminds us that we are never alone. Jesus says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20). They are also citizens of Heaven who perpetually see and adore the face of God. They are present with us wherever Mass is celebrated. Take this beautiful prayer from the first Eucharistic Prayer: “Almighty God, we pray that your angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in Heaven.” The preface of the Mass (the prayer immediately before the Sanctus or the “Holy, Holy, Holy”) always speaks of praising God in union with the angels. It reminds us that the Mass that we celebrate here on earth is united with the perpetual worship of Christ in Heaven where the angels continuously adore Him (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1326).
Finally, I would like to encourage everyone to make the prayer of St. Michael part of your everyday prayer. It used to be that this powerful prayer would be recited at the end of every Mass. Pope Leo XIII composed the Prayer to St. Michael for protection against the attacks of the devil against the Church. Even though this practice has been suppressed, Pope John Paul II urged the faithful to personally pray it daily. Far from mere literary devices, the angels can be mighty allies for us on our road to Heaven – a road that can be littered with many obstacles. May the Holy Angels always be for us our constant companions.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Acervo