Guardian Angels

September 28-29 2019: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Guardian Angels

We owe much to our Guardian Angels, who most of the time guard and protect us without our knowledge.
"See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 18:10).  
October 2 is observed in the Catholic Church as the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels. In 1670, Pope Clement X established this day in the universal calendar as a day to honour the angels who protect us each day.

While most of the attention this day is given to personal Guardian Angels, it is a tradition in the Church (taught by theologians such as Saint Thomas Aquinas) that all countries, cities, dioceses, and parishes have their own Guardian Angel.

They are fascinating creatures of God, shrouded with great mystery. On occasion newspapers will report on miracles when someone is saved from an accident by a mysterious figure, often never seen again.

We owe much to our Guardian Angels, who most of the time guard and protect us without our knowledge. They intervene quietly, fulfilling their task as humbly as possible.

 


1) Every person in the world has a Guardian Angel (whether Christian or not)
It is believed by theologians and is confirmed in the YOU-CAT that "Every person receives from God a Guardian Angel" (n. 55). This is consistent with Sacred Scripture, the teachings of Saints Thomas Aquinas, Basil and Jerome as well as experiences from non-Christians who believe they were helped by a Guardian Angel.

Mike Aquilina writes about such an experience from a friend he knew in his book Angels of God:

"A friend of mine, a noted Harvard-trained philosopher, was an unbeliever as a young man. One day he was swimming in the ocean, and the undertow swept him away. He knew he was drowning, with no hope of rescue, when suddenly a strong arm grabbed him and towed him to shore. His rescuer was a big muscle-bound guy. When my sputtering friend tried to thank him, the guy laughed at him—and then vanished. This marked a milestone on my friend’s road to conversion."
 
2) Guardian Angels are appointed at the beginning of life

As the Catechism explains, "From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and inter-cession" (CCC 336). This statement leads some to believe (Saint Anselm for example) that angels are appointed at the very moment of the union of body and soul in the womb. If true (it is not dogmatically declared and is therefore up for debate), it would follow that women who are pregnant have two Guardian Angels watching over them and their child.


God had a Guardian Angel in mind for you when he created the world.

3) Guardian Angels have names, but God gives those names to them
 


The Catholic Church has instructed us that,
"The practice of assigning names to the Holy Angels should be discouraged, except in the cases of Gabriel, Raphael and Michael whose names are contained in Holy Scrip-ture." (Congregation of Divine Worship and the Sacra-ments, The Directory of Popular Piety, n. 217, 2001)

4) Guardian Angels are here to help us
The Catechism describes a Guardian Angel as a "shepherd" who is meant to protect us and lead us into everlasting life. Their chief goal is to help us get to heaven, and we are en-couraged to pray to them on a daily basis, asking their help in every need.
 
The Church provides an excellent prayer that can be prayed by the young and the old:


Angel of God, my guardian dear, To whom God’s love commits me here,
Ever this day, be at my side, To light and guard, Rule and guide. Amen.

 

Philip Kosloski, Aleteia, October 2, 2016

Padre Pio encourages us when we keep losing our tempers

September 21-22 2019: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Padre Pio encourages us when we keep losing our tempers

One can wonder if we try even half as hard as he did to vanquish our bad habits.

Keeping a calm temper is a challenge no matter our state in life. Parents of small children might especially know the struggle, but it is a difficulty that sneaks into every stage and vocation.

Even Padre Pio had to work on it, but seeing him put so much effort into gaining this virtue, and finding some growth in the process, is encouraging. We might ask ourselves if we give so much effort to growing in virtue, or do we resign ourselves to our bad habits?

He writes:
My one regret is that, without wanting to or noticing that I am doing it, it happens sometimes that I raise my voice a little in matters touching on correction. I know this is a reprehensible weakness, but how can I avoid it, if it happens without my noticing it?

And yet I pray, groan and complain to Our Lord about it; he has not yet answered me fully. Even though I keep a vigilant lookout for this fault, I some-times do what I loathe and want to avoid doing.

And also, in a note to his spiritual director:


That fine lady, sweet-temperedness, seems to be doing a bit better; but I’m not satisfied. I don’t want to lose heart, however. I have made many promises to Jesus and Mary, my Father! Through their help I desire to practice this virtue; and in exchange, other than keeping up the other promises I have made them, I have promised to meditate faithfully on this same virtue and to talk to souls about it.

You see, Father, that I am not indifferent to the prac-tice of this virtue. Help me with your prayers and the prayers of others.


Kathleen N. Hattrup, Aleteia, Sep 17, 2019

***********************************

Simple advice from Benedict XVI on how to be a better mum or dad

The vocation to love is a wonderful thing ...
"Pray often for the help of the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph, that they may teach you to receive God’s love as they did."

This is an exhortation from a homily of Pope Benedict XVI at the 2012 World Meeting of Families. It’s worth reading a second time.

Pray for the grace, he says, to learn — not how to do great things or accomplish perfect plans — but how to receive God’s love.

Simple, but transformative.


He went on to say: "Your vocation is not easy to live, especially today, but the vocation to love is a won-derful thing—it is the only force that can truly trans-form the cosmos, the world."
The pope also spelled out some "paths for growing in love":


— maintaining a constant relationship with God and participating in the life of the Church, — cultivating dialogue,
— respecting the other’s point of view,
— being ready for service and patient with the failings of others,
— being able to forgive and to seek forgiveness,
— overcoming with intelligence and humility any conflicts that may arise,
— agreeing on principles of upbringing,
— being open to other families, attentive towards the poor, and responsible within civil society.

"These are all elements that build up the family. Live them with courage, and be sure that, insofar as you live your love for each other and for all with the help of God’s grace, you become a living Gospel, a true domestic Church."

Kathleen N. Hattrup, Aleteia, Dec 31, 2017

Ask God to send his Church holy shepherds who truly lead their flocks closer to him.

September 14-15 2019: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Pray for holy priests with this prayer of Benedict XVI

Ask God to send his Church holy shepherds who truly lead their flocks closer to him.


The Catholic Church is always in need of priests, but more importantly, the Church is in need of holy priests. The Church needs true shepherds who strive to lead their people in imitation of the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for his flock.

The spiritual generation is always one degree less intense in its life than the one who begets it in Christ.

Here is a short prayer composed by Pope Benedict XVI for priests, asking God to send his people good, holy priests, capable of leading by example.


Lord Jesus Christ, eternal High Priest, You offered yourself to the Father on the altar of the Cross and through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit gave Your priestly people a share in Your redeeming sacrifice.

Hear our prayer for the sanctification of our priests. Grant that all who are ordained to the ministerial priesthood may be ever more conformed to You, the Divine Master.

May they preach the Gospel with pure heart and clear conscience.

Let them be shepherds according to Your own Heart, single-minded in service to You and to the Church and shining examples of a holy, simple and joyful life.

Through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Your Mother and ours, draw all priests and the flocks entrusted to their care to the fullness of eter-nal life where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever
 Philip Kosloski, Aleteia, Sep 10, 2019

***********************************

"I have to tell you, little brother, that we don’t under-stand Heaven in the same way. You think that, once I share in the justice and holiness of God, I won’t be able to excuse your faults as I did when I was on earth. Are you then forgetting that I shall also share in the infinite mercy of the Lord? I believe that the Blessed in Heaven have great compassion for our miseries. They remember that when they were weak and mortal like us, they committed the same faults themselves and went through the same struggles, and their fraternal tenderness becomes still greater than it ever was on earth. It’s on account of this that they never stop watching over us and praying for us.

St Therese of Lisieux to Maurice Belliere, White Fathers seminarian, 10 Aug 1897, in Patrick Ahern, Maurice and Therese, the Story of a Love, (Darton Longman and Todd, GB ’99 pp209-210)

***********************************

Another Filipina up for Sainthood

September 7-8 2019: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Another Filipina up for Sainthood

Mother Francisca Del Espiritu Santo De Fuentes, Founder of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena
Pope Francis has put another Filipina nun on the path to sainthood by declar-ing her ‘venerable’. The pope recog-nized that Mother Francisca Del Espiritu Santo De Fuentes, founder of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, lived the Christian virtues in a heroic way.

The Vatican announced the pontiff’s decision on July 6, 2019. It marks the first major step on the path to saint-hood for the nun who died in Manila in 1711.

The pope would have to recognize a miracle attributed to the Mother Francisca’s intercession in order for her to be beatified, the next step toward sainthood.

The process of becoming a saint is lengthy, often taking decades or centuries to complete.

After the beatification, another miracle would be needed for canonization.


Mother Francisca’s path to sainthood started as early as December 2002 when the Vatican had been petitioned to open the Cause of the nun.

In March the following year, the petition was granted by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.


 The Decree of Validity on the Diocesan Inquiry was granted in June 2007 which allowed the writing of the "positio" on the life, virtues, and fame of sanctity of Mother Francisca.

The completion of the positio was in 2012. The Mother Francisca Commission received a copy of the positio in December 2014 with the favorable evaluation from the Historical Experts of the Vatican.

Mother Francisca was buried in the Church of the Collegio de San Juan de Letran. Her tomb was over the steps of the main altar on the gospel side.

Last month, Pope Francis also granted a Dominican nun the title of venerable after recognizing the heroic virtue of Mother Maria Beatrice Rosario Arroyo.


 Born in Iloilo, Arroyo is the founder of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Holy Rosary. She died in June 1957.



JULY 08, 2019 ROY LAGARDE