The Guardian Angels
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of the Guardian Angels. This week, the kids in school will be asked 34 questions on angels. Here are a few of the questions:
1. To be a Catholic, is it required to believe in angels? Yes, it is a De Fide teaching.
2. Do angels have bodies? No, they are spirits.
3. Do angels have a great intellect and intelligence? yes
4. What is the name given to bad angels? devils or demons
5. When we die, do we become angels? no, they are a different species! When we die we will be resurrected in our bodies, angels don’t have bodies, it’s not their nature.
6. Does each person have a Guardian Angel? How do we know? ⇒
.
Well, in the gospel today, Jesus assures us that we have a guardian angel. Referring to children, Our Lord says, ‘I tell you, their angels in heaven always behold the face of my Heavenly Father.”
.
Also from scripture, remember when St. Peter had escaped from prison, and was standing at the house knocking? They said, ‘it can’t be Peter, it must be – ‘his angel.’ So we know of our Guardian Angel from scripture, and also the tradition we inherited from the Jewish people.
.
Padre Pio saw his guardian angel often. A man had met Padre Pio and was complaining about his troubles. He says: Padre Pio was looking at something, right next to me; he had a wonderful look on his face, and he asked me: ‘Do you believe in your guardian angel?’ I said, ‘I – I’m not sure. It was then that Padre Pio shook me and said ‘Look! He’s close to you, he’s beautiful!!!’ He could see angels. So could other saints like St. Gemma.
.
Padre Pio’s Guardian Angel once said to him: ‘I am always close to you. I watch over you always; my affection for you will not end even when you die.’
.
St. Josemaria had a practice, of when he met a person, to first greet that person’s guardian angel. One day in 1972, the retired archbishop of Valencia, along with his secretary, went to visit St. Josemaria. They were good friends, so that when they met, St. Josemaria, to have some fun with him, asked him: “Marcelino, let’s see if you can guess – whom did I greet first?” The archbishop replied, “You greeted me first.” “No,” said the saint, “I greeted the VIP first.” The Archbishop was perplexed; he said, “But of the two of us, my secretary and me, I am the ‘VIP’.” St. Josemaria replied: “No, the VIP is your Guardian Angel.”
.
Every single person is important to God; so important, that God gave each of us an Angel; a powerful and lovely angel whom we should greet often, during our day.
St. Padre Pio
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Padre Pio.
Many pilgrims go to San Giovanni Rotondo in Italy to venerate the tomb of Padre Pio. But there is another place to visit, it is his tiny hometown, Pietrelcina. Some years back I went there, and as we walked through that village in the winter air, I began to feel a sort of wistful longing in my heart, a longing and memory of childhood. Pietrelcina was small, like the town I was born in, but – that did to explain the feelings I felt. As I inhaled the crisp air, I suddenly identified the cause: Coal! The air had a strong smell of burning coal. The homes were heated by coal furnaces; growing up I had smelled the same in our neighborhood, and that smell brought flooding back happy memories of childhood.
.
My own feelings aside, I pondered the spirit of Padre Pio that was certainly there. One got a living sense of the enormity of God’s plan for each person. As a child, what could little Francesco have known of God’s plans for him. Plans of great graces, and sufferings.
.
As a little child the future Padre Pio enjoyed playing and joking, but he had a reserved character, and a studious spirit. His friends would watch in amazement through the window to see him doing his homework, nobody did it! He was a sensitive child, always wanting God’s will to be done.
.
At age 15 he entered the novitiate of the Capuchins, taking the name Pio. He was ordained a priest in 1910. Eight years later, while praying, he received the stigmata, the wounds of Christ on his hands, feet. He is the first priest to receive them. The doctor who examined Padre Pio could not find any natural cause for the wounds. The blood had an odor described by many as similar to that of flowers.
.
He had the gift of bilocation, and the ability to read the hearts of the penitents who came to confession. In 1956 he founded the House for the Relief of Suffering, a hospital that serves 60,000 a year. Though he went through many trials of accusations and skeptics at high levels of the Church – though he was restricted from public view for some ten years, he was obedient to his superiors. Vindicated, the miracles and cures continued, and he has become loved by millions.
.
A blind man was taken to Padre Pio once. His eyes were like shriveled peas in his head. On his knees, he begged that he would heal at least one of his eyes. ‘Only one eye’ said the Padre. I’ll pray for you, take courage. The grateful man returned later, and with tears of happiness – for he had been cured in his eye. ‘Only one eye cured? Said the Padre. Let that be a lesson to you, never put limitations on God, and he was suddenly healed in both eyes. He said: Always ask for the big grace.
.
We always underestimate the plans God has for us, the gifts he wants to give us. Let us follow the advice of Padre Pio, and often ask God for the big grace.
Don’t Waste Time
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
‘And seeing them in the marketplace he said: ‘Why do you stand here idle all the day.’
.
Friends in Christ, wasted time, idleness, is the enemy of the spiritual life. St. Bernard says,[i] ‘nothing is more precious than time, yet people see it as very cheap.
.
Life is short. We are given a short amount of time in this world. The Book of Wisdom says, ‘Our life passes away like traces of the clouds, scattered in mist.[ii] Compared to Eternity, this life is very short – ‘Man is like a mere breath,[iii] say the scriptures; he comes forth like a flower, and then withers.[iv]
.
‘Why do you stand around here idle all the day?.’ God is asking us.
It is true, that some people waste their time in laziness, frittering away the hours on internet or tv or gossip, or games – this is the weakness of some. But there is another way we waste our time –
We see people going a hundred miles an hour in their life; ‘I have too much to do’ ‘I’m too busy,’ they say. But if we look at what they do, we may see that they are inventing needs that aren’t necessary. Silly things become urgent tasks, a way to avoid the more difficult thing that should be done. They may be busy, but they are not using their time well.
.
Using our time well might mean caring for a sick person, or helping a child with homework, or taking time with our spouse; some say, ‘those are not important tasks compared with what I have to do.’ But in reality, acts of charity are a very good use of time.
.
Using our time well is central to a life rooted in Jesus Christ. St. James[v] says, people make all sorts of plans for next month or next year, but we don’t know what will happen even tomorrow ….we should rather say, If the Lord wishes me to do this, [today], I will do it.’
.
If we use our time doing what God wants, we are walking the path to heaven. But if we waste our time, then we are walking the dark path.
Wasted time is a cancer in our daily actions.
.
Recall in the Book of Samuel, how Abigail[vi] saved her family; it was because she went right into action; as it says, ‘she wasted no time.’
.
Time is a blessing only for this life. Those who are in hell, say over and over: ‘If only I had one more hour, I could have used it to save my soul.’ Those in Purgatory weep over the time they wasted. Those in heaven cannot be sad, but if they could, it would be over time they lost, by which they could have obtained a higher place in heaven.
.
St. Alphonsus tells us that people will say, ‘I’m not doing anything wrong.’ Really? Is it not wrong to spend your time at shows and useless activities, for hours upon hours? Is it not a waste of the time God has given?
.
The devil wishes us to either waste time thinking about the past, or waste time worrying about the future. He wants most of all, to keep us from living the present moment. Most troubles come from wondering about the future:[vii] fear, greed, lust, ambition, worry – these all look to the future.
.
The devil knows, our life is short; therefore he looses not a moment of time in tempting us. The Book of Revelation says: ‘The devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that the time is short.'[viii]
.
We see people in malls, or coffee shops, speaking on useless or obscene subjects for hours and hours. If you ask them what they are doing, they will say, ‘We are passing the time.’
We might see a gambler, spending nights and days gambling;[ix] if you ask him what he is doing, his answer is: ‘I am passing the time.’
By wasting time, we lose many days, days that will never return.
.
St. Lawrence Justinian said, ‘What is more precious than time? By it, we can purchase heaven.'[x]
Being disorganized in our work, or incomplete is not worthy of God. Lounging in bed, taking hours for meals, wasting our life. If we waste 7 minutes every day, in a year, that’s an entire work-week that is lost.
.
Cardinal Manning says, For everyone, there is a seed-time and then harvest time. Our daily work is the seed-time, the reward is the harvest time. If through waste, we lose the seed-time, we lose the harvest. It is true, God may give us another seed-time, but it’s another one. That which is lost, is lost forever.
.
‘Why do you stand there idle all the day?, asks the Lord.
Today Jesus gives us hope. Even if we HAVE wasted time, it is not too late to go to work for God. Jesus is teaching, that if we begin new, today; and decide to work in his Kingdom with our whole heart – if we give up our idleness, and give our heart to Christ in our daily work – well the Lord is ready to reward us for our diligence, even if we get started late in the game. We can start today.
.
A man told me, he became convinced that praying Mary’s Rosary would change his life. He decided to pray as many Rosary’s as he could each day. He found himself not only using the beads, while driving to work or at home, but also praying in his head while crossing the parking lot, or waiting in line at the store; counting Hail Mary’s in his mind while dressing or combing his hair.
He said: ‘Father, there is so much wasted time each day, but now none of it is wasted, because I’m always praying in the gaps.’
.
What effect did this have on that man? It changed his life. Sins he struggled against, bad thoughts, temptations – faded away.
Mary wishes us to be perfect disciples of Jesus Christ.
She wishes to help us;
and so by praying and using our time well, how beautiful if we could say,
today, I did not waste any of the time God gave me.
.
[Entrusted to the prayers of St. Mary Magdalene]
[i] Preparation for Death, p. 119.
[ii] Wisdom 2:2-4
[iii] Psalm 143:4
[iv] Job 14:2
[v] James 4:13
[vi] 1 Samuel 25
[vii] Screwtape Letters, Letter XV
[viii] Revelation 12:12
[ix] Preparation for Death, p. 119
[x] Mirror of Priests, p. 180
St. Januarius
Beloved in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Januarius. Januarius was the bishop of Benevento, Italy in 305AD. During the persecution of Diocletian he went in disguise to visit some Catholics imprisoned for their faith, but he was found out, and brought before the governor.
.
Loaded down with heavy chains, they made him walk humiliated, in front of the chariot into town. At the amphitheater, he and three others were thrown to the wild beasts, but not one of the savage animals would touch them. The people were astounded at this, so the authorities beheaded these courageous martyrs.
.
Some time later the relics of Januarius were brought to Naples. Many miracles occurred by prayers to this great martyr. Today, in the Cathedral at Naples, is preserved some of his blood, in a small glass vial.
.
Also there, is the preserved head of Januarius. The blood in the vial, is dried, and of a solid, dark color. Every year, on this Feast day, the vial is brought out by a priest and placed on an altar near to the saint’s head. Prayers are offered, and during this time, the priest begins to turn the vial. If the miracle occurs, the dark mass of dried blood liquefies and turns red. Songs are sung, processions commence, and the priest announces, ‘ il miracolo è avvenuto.’ ‘The miracle has happened.’
.
This event has been studied by countless experts probably more than any other miracle, yet it cannot be explained.
The facts are these: The blood has been sealed in this (60ml) vial for hundreds of years. The solid, coagulated blood does liquefy. This is certain. A change in weight is also said to occur, (of some 27 grams.)
.
The speed of liquification of the blood does not correlate with temperature, sometimes liquefying quickly, even at low temperatures. This event has occurred every year, with rare exceptions. Popular tradition holds, that the liquefaction is a sign that the year will be preserved from disasters. In fact, amazingly, in 1939, the blood did not liquefy – and then we had World War II.
.
Early this morning I checked the news, and I am happy to report, that the blood did liquefy today.
Regarding this, Cardinal Sepe, the bishop of Naples said, “It is a remarkable sign which shows the Lord’s closeness and fondness for his people.”
So. — Many different miracles in the Church of God, reminding us that he has never left us, but walks with us each and every day.
Misery leads to Confidence
Friends in Christ, today we encounter in the Gospel this great scene of the Penitent woman, anointing the feet of Jesus. Tradition has it, that this is Mary Magdalene, the sinner, who has, with confidence, sought out the mercy of Christ.
.
The Pharisee that is there, he is at a loss to understand Jesus’ attitude toward her. But the lesson is: the more one has been forgiven, the more grateful a person will be. Let’s face it; if we have committed a very serious sin, it is then, after Confession, that we feel the most love and gratitude to God.
.
St. Francis de Sales says,[i] ‘You have asked me if a soul who is aware of his own misery can go with confidence to God. I reply, that not only can that soul have great confidence in God, but that UNLESS it has this knowledge of it’s misery, it cannot have true confidence in him. For it is true knowledge and confession of our misery that brings us to God.’
.
If we are trying to be great disciples, daily, then there are times when we – well, we just feel so bad about our past sins and present sins. This is the misery that St. Francis is speaking of, that can drive us into the arms of God.
.
He says, ‘The more miserable we know ourselves to be, the more that we have to confide in God, since there is nothing in ourselves that we can trust.
.
It is true that our frequent sins and faults should make us feel some shame, before the Lord. It is natural to feel embarrassment over our sins, before Our Heavenly Father. But we must not remain that way. That shame should propel us with confidence into the forgiving arms of our Savior.
.
If we feel sadness or anxiety, then this is pride, because we are upset that we are not perfect; ‘how could I have committed this sin?!!’ it is pride.
.
Even if we do not FEEL confidence, we should continue to make acts of confidence: ‘Jesus, I have no hope except in your goodness, therefore I abandon my self entirely into your hands.’
.
Like Mary Magdalene, if we are acutely aware of our misery, it will lead to total confidence in our Savior. As St. Peter said, ‘Lord, to whom else shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’
[i] The Art of Loving God, see chapter 1.
St. Cornelius and Cyprian
Friends in the Lord, today we celebrate the Memorial of St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian. St. Cornelius was one of the many early Popes, martyred for the Faith. St. Cyprian, of Carthage, was also martyred. We possess still today, many of the writings of St. Cyprian, and these writings along with others, serve as clear proof that the early Christians most certainly were living none other than the Catholic Faith.
.
St. Cyprian wrote a great deal, and so his work is very important for those who study the history of Christianity. Here are a few examples of what he taught.
.
Writing in the year 251 AD he says that those who confess their sins to a priest in a straightforward manner and in sorrow, making an open declaration of their conscience, remove the weight from their souls and obtain a saving remedy for their wounds, no matter how small or slight they may be.’
.
‘I beseech you brethren, he says, let everyone who has sinned confess his sin while he is still in this world, while his confession is admissible, for satisfaction made through the priests is pleasing before the Lord.[i] Clearly, the early Christians believed in confession of sins to the priests.
.
Also, writing in the year 256 Cyprian explains the teaching authority of the Pope: He says, ‘Christ gives the command to feed the sheep; Primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair of Peter. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he deserts the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?
.
The writings of the early Christians prove that they were, just as we are: Catholic. This is why it is said, ‘to be an honest student of history, is to become a Catholic.
.
St. Cyprian was a courageous witness to the True Faith. Ultimately, he was brought before the governor. ‘You are against the gods of the Empire,’ said the governor; ‘you are now commanded to honor the Roman gods. Cyprian: ‘I will not do so.’ The Governor read the sentence: It is decided that Thascius Cyprian should die by the sword. Cyprian said: ‘Thanks be to God.’ Seeing his courage, many other Christians said they would also join him.
.
When the executioner arrived, Cyprian told his friends, ‘Give the man 25 pieces of gold.
[i] The Faith of the Early Fathers, Jurgens, p. 219.
Our Lady of Sorrows
Friends in Christ, today is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. It is a day to consider the sorrows that were part of the life of the Blessed Virgin.
.
The Book of Genesis says that after the Fall, Eve and other women would have pain in childbirth, and so it has been. Nevertheless, when it comes to the case of the Blessed Virgin, the Fathers of the Church tell us that Mary did not have pain.
.
St. Bonaventure says, ‘without travail she has brought Christ forth.’ St. Gregory of Nyssa says, ‘the birth was immaculate, the delivery without pain.’ And St. John Damascene says, regarding the birth of Christ, ‘As pleasure did not precede it, pain did not follow it.’ The Fathers are near-unanimous on this, along with St. Thomas Aquinas and others.
.
But let us see that, despite what these venerable fathers say, Mary did have a painful childbirth.
.
The belief of many saints, as well as private revelations tell us that along the way to Calvary Mary stopped to meet Jesus; In Jerusalem, there is a Church at that place, (Our Lady of the Spasm) and we meditate on this in the 4th station of the Cross: Jesus meets his sorrowful Mother.
.
‘O Mother of Sorrow, exclaims St. Bonaventure, ‘all was braved by thee, because thy heart was filled with a mighty sorrow.’
.
‘To what shall I compare thee; or to what shall I liken thee, O virgin daughter of Jerusalem? For great as the sea is thy distress. A sword of sorrow hath pierced thy soul, And hath filled thy heart with bitter pain.’
.
This sorrow of Mary came to its height at the Cross. But at that point of her maximum suffering, what does her Son say to her? ‘When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved, he said, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.”
.
All scripture scholars will attest to the fact, that this Beloved Disciple in John’s Gospel represents us. We are Christ’s beloved disciple, and it was at the Cross, that she became our Mother; it was at the Cross, that she gave birth to us.
And so we are able to see, that although Mary had no pain in bringing Jesus into the world. It was only through many sorrows, by which we were born to Life.
Exultation of the Holy Cross
Beloved in Jesus Christ, today is the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Rarely does this feast fall on Sunday, and so let us today take a look at the origin of this Feast.
.
For this, we must go back to the year, 313AD. Before then, the Church was persecuted. Red with the blood of martyrs, 24 of the first 32 Popes, were put to death.
.
The pagan gods were the official gods of the Roman Empire, and it was illegal to be a Christian, so the Mass was in secret, usually in homes.
.
But by the 4th century, the Empire was in turmoil. Rival Caesars vied for control, and those in power demanded more blood of Christians. The holy monks of the desert came out into public, offering their own lives in witness to the Faith.[i]
.
In the midst of this turmoil, competition for Royal power finally came down to two men: Constantine against Maxentius. Now although both were pagans, Constantine did not persecute Christians, but Maxentius was bloodthirsty.
.
Constantine met with his officers in the winter, in Alsace: can we win? Can we win this, he asked? Their response was ‘no: Maxentius had crushed many stronger armies.’ Yet for Constantine, his instinct was to strike.
.
So, although his army was far inferior, he marched rapidly into Italy in the spring of 312. Approaching Rome at the Milvian Bridge, they faced an army over 4 times their strength, his men were afraid.
.
But that night, Constantine was to look into the sky, and see before him a great Cross, with the words: ‘in hoc signo vinces.’ By this sign, you shall conquer. He was immediately transformed by this experience.
.
Though he was a pagan, he had the sign of the cross painted on every man’s battle shield.
And as with a dexterity never seen before, his troops outflanked the elite Preatorian guard, Maxentius was driven back in a route. Fleeing over the Milvian bridge in panic, it collapsed, sending him in his armor down into the water.
.
The gates of the city were opened; they entered Rome in triumph. The Edict of Milan granted full toleration for Christians throughout the Empire. There was rejoicing through the streets; churches opened, and thousands who had been afraid to be Catholic poured into the Church.
.
Along with this stunning victory, and seeing the transformation in her son, the mother of Constantine, Helen, also became Catholic.[ii] Her Faith was unshakable.
.
Helen spent her life building Churches, strengthening the Faith, and helping the poor. She would become a saint: St. Helen.
.
Still, at 80 years of age, she set off for Jerusalem to find the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified. The site of the Lord’s Passion had long ago been covered over, but a Jewish man, whose name ironically was Judas, came forward to Helen. His grandfather had told him on his deathbed, where the Cross was buried. ‘Here,’ he said, pray at this spot.’ And so they prayed; the earth rumbled and a sweet smell came forth from the ground. Judas clapped his hands saying: ‘In truth O Christ, you ARE the Savior of the World,’ and he himself was later baptized and became a bishop.
.
When the site was dug up, THREE crosses were found. But which was the True Cross?
They placed them in the center of the city and prayed; now around 3pm, there happened by a funeral procession of a young man, being carried to the grave. Judas halted the procession. He held the first cross over the body; then the second – nothing. Then the third cross, and the dead man immediately came back to life; more such miracles occurred – this was the True Cross. It was September 14th.
.
Today is the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and if we think about it, we make this sign – the Sign of the Cross, very often.
.
The ancient writer Tertullian said, in the 2nd Century, “In all our travels, in our coming in and going out, in putting on our shoes, at the bath, at the table / in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever occupies us, we mark our forehead with the sign of the cross.”
.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem said, Let the cross, as our seal, be boldly made with our fingers upon our brow and on all occasions over the bread we eat, over the cups we drink / when we are on the way and when we are still… let the cross be our seal.
.
St. Basil taught that the sign of the cross was a tradition which has come down to us from the apostles themselves.[iv]
.
But the Cross is not only an outward sign, it is inside of us. Many today say there is no point in suffering, there is no point to the cross. but that would mean that God’s suffering on the cross was meaningless for us. Suffering – is central to the mystery of salvation.
.
In his beautiful encyclical on the Mystical Body of Christ, here is what Pope Pius XII says: ‘Our Savior does not rule the Church directly, in a visible way. He wants to be helped by the members of His Body in carrying out the work of redemption.[v]
Christ wills that our sanctification be due to the action of the Church [and her members]. This is a deep mystery, …, that the salvation of many depends on the prayers and penances which the members of the Mystical Body offer.[vi]
.
Jesus is living in us. When we suffer, and offer our crosses to God, we are being other christs, participating in the Redemption of the world.
.
I was with a woman who was discouraged by her suffering. In tears, she asked why she must suffer. so I posed to her a question: what if someone you love will make it to heaven only because of the suffering you offer? Then what would you say?
.
She immediately said: ‘Then I would be very happy to do it.’ But this IS what’s happening. Through our own cross, we are being other christs, helping in the salvation of the world.
.
The Holy Scriptures say: God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.
St. Bonaventure replies, that this may also be said of Mary: That she so loved us, that she gave her only-begotten Son.
.
At the cross, Mary could have defended Jesus, spoken on his behalf;
the words of a dear Mother would have had much influence on Pilate, who was already inclined to free him.
But no. Mary did not utter one word in favor of her Son to prevent his death, because Jesus needed to be on the Holy Cross, to save us. +
.
[Entrusted to the prayers of St. Paul]
.
[i] Antony of Egypt himself, emerged from the prayer of the desert, and daily offered HIS life, which the bloodthirsty officials dared not accept. The Founding of Christendom, p. 526.
[ii] Butler’s Lives of the Saints (1961, under St. Helen)
[iv] whenever an Exorcist begins his work, he begins with the words Ecce crucem Domini:’ Behold the Cross of the Lord.
[v] This is not because He is weak, but because He wills it, for the glory of His Spouse [the Church].
[vi] (In this, all the faithful…..cooperate in these offerings to the Savior, as though they were His associates.’)
