Christmas Journey: Choir of Angels

"I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne... they numbered... thousands of thousands, singing with full voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.'" Rev 5:11-12

According to Medieval Angelology, there are nine Choir of Angels or celestial orders: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels and Angels. Each order of angels is given distinctive gifts from God. The gifts complement each other. Even though each Angel Choir is unequal in power, intelligence, and other gifts, they are equally loved by God.

The seraphim are the highest order. They are the angels who are attendants or guardians before God's throne. They praise God, singing, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:3). One of them touched Isaiah's lips with a live coal from the altar, cleansing him from sin. Seraphim have six wings: two cover their faces, two cover their feet, and two are for flying.

Cherubim rank after the seraphim. They are manlike in appearance and double-winged and were guardians of God's glory. In the New Testament, they are alluded to as celestial attendants in the Apocalypse (Rv 4-6). Catholic tradition describes them as angels who have an intimate knowledge of God and continually praise Him.

Thrones are the Angels of pure Humility, Peace and Submisssion. They reside in the area of the cosmos where material form begins to take shape. The lower Choir of Angels need the Thrones to access God (Col 1:16).

Dominions are Angels of Leadership. They regulate the duties of the lower angels, making known the commands of God (Eph 1:21; Col 1:16). They also preside over nations.

Virtues are known as the Spirits of Motion and control the elements. They are sometimes referred to as "the shining ones." They govern all nature. They have control over seasons, stars, moon; even the sun is subject to their command. They are also in charge of miracles and provide courage, grace, and valor.

Powers are Warrior Angels against evil defending the cosmos and humans. They are known as potentates. They fight against evil spirits who attempt to wreak chaos through human beings (Rom 8:38; 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; 1 Pt 3:22; 2 Thes 1:7). They work diligently to oversee the distribution of power among humankind, hence their name.

Principalities refers to one type of spiritual being whose duty is to carry out the orders given to them by the Dominions and grant blessings to the material world. They oversee groups of people. As beings related to the world of the ideas, they inspire living things to many branches of knowledge such art and/or science.

Archangels are generally taken to mean "chief or leading angel" ( Jude 9; 1 Thes 4:16). They are the most frequently mentioned throughout the Bible. The Archangels have a unique role as God's messenger to the people at critical times in history and salvation (Tb 12:6, 15; Jn 5:4; Rv 12:7-9) as in The Annunciation and Apocalypse. St. Gregory says that the Archangels “strengthen people in the holy faith, enlightening their minds with the light of knowledge of the holy Gospel and revealing the mysteries of devout faith.” A feast day celebrating the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael is celebrated throughout the Church on September 29th.

Angels are closest to the material world and human beings. They deliver the prayers to God and God's answers and other messages to humans. Angels have the capacity to access any and all other Angels at any time. They are the most caring and social to assist those who ask for help. This order includes guardian angels of mankind. 

"One of the ancient Fathers, whom we know today by the name St. Denis the Areopagite, explained that the hierarchy of angels in heaven reflects the hierarchy of the Church on earth. Hierarchy means 'sacred order' or 'sacred rule.' And God established this order, top to bottom, for the sake of service. Those who are 'highest' in rank—that is, those who have received the greatest spiritual gifts—must serve all those who are 'lower' in rank and bring them to greater knowledge of God. That is why, in the earthly Church, the pope is called 'servant of the servants of God.' He must serve you and me, and so must the most sublime among the angels" (4-Chapter 6 "A Gathering of Angels").

That is why Jesus came to serve, not to be served. He taught us that our job here on earth is to serve others. God makes all creatures to serve one another in love. Each angel and each human is created by God for the purpose of loving service. Just like the angels serve us, we must serve those who have less than us. The more we are given, the more He expects from us. If we are blessed with talents, we must put them to use for the service of others. If we are blessed with time, we must not waste it. We must ask God what He wants us to do with it and place our time at His service. If we are blessed with treasures, we must help the poor and those in need. And we will be surrounded by a choir of angels singing and praising as we join with them in angelic service.

The higher the angels are in the angelic hierarchy, the more God expects from them. The higher we are in the earthly hierarchy, the more God expects from us.

Sources:
1-The Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible
2-Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
3-"Entertaining Angels" by Mike Aquilina (Catholic Scripture Study International 2013)
4-"Angels and Saints" by Scott Hahn 2014
5-"City of God" by St. Augustine 426 AD

Christmas Journey: Angelic Comfort

"Angels around us, angels beside us, angels within us. Angels are watching over you when times are good or stressed. Their wings wrap gently around you, whispering you are loved and blessed." 

Author Unknown

This week, we lost a dear member of our family, tia Calila. She was one of my father-in-law's seven sisters. I met her 34 years ago when she and her husband Jose were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. Rafael, who was my boyfriend at the time, took me with him to the celebration. I remember that I was very nervous because I was about to meet his very large family. What I remember most about that day was tia Calila's smile and that she made me feel very welcome. I knew that I wanted to be part of the Romero family because I saw how happy they were. I was impressed by their unity and contagious joy. Little did I know then how close I would become with tia Calila's daughters, Cuqui and Lourdes.  I now tell my hubby, they are your cousins by blood but I have adopted them as mine.

I went to see tia Calila on Tuesday morning. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's for a few years. When I saw her, memories of my grandmother came rushing to me. My grandmother had also suffered from Alzheimer's and the day she was called to heaven, she looked just like tia Calila looked on Tuesday morning. Somehow, I knew in my heart that the end was near. I sat with Cuqui by her side, talking about her. Tia Calila had an incredible memory. She was an encyclopedia of poems and songs. Her favorite poems were those of Jose Marti. Even after she was diagnosed, when she no longer recognized us, she still recited her favorite poems and sang her favorite songs.

For a few minutes, I sat alone with tia Calila. I prayed for her and I talked to her. I told her not to be afraid, that papa Matias, mama Candita, her brothers and sisters would be waiting for her. I told her that the angels would lead her to them. I had no doubt that tia Calila would go straight to heaven. She was a woman of incredible faith, an amazing wife, mother and grandmother who had spent her life serving and teaching others. Like my father-in-law and many others in the Romero family, she was an accountant who worked for many years at the family lumber. She belonged to the first generation of working wives and mothers, and she leaves behind an incredible legacy in her daughters, grandchildren and one beautiful great-grandson.

When I left her house, I called my hubby and I told him, "your tia is going to heaven today." A few minutes later, Cuqui called me to tell me that her mom had passed. I told her that even though I knew it was very hard, that she had to have peace in her heart that now tia Calila was resting with the Lord.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus was in agony, He was comforted and assisted by an angel (Luke 22: 43). Jesus himself taught us to go to the angels when we need to be comforted. When we develop a close relationship with the angels, we should feel their presence. I felt that angels were present around tia Calila's bed on Tuesday. I did not see them, I did not hear them, but in my heart, I knew that they were there, waiting to take her home. 

We should not be afraid to speak with the angels. St. John did in the Book of Revelation, and the prophets did in the Old Testament. We may do this silently,  in our souls. We are spiritual beings as the angels are, and we can communicate with them through the ways of prayer. As we become familiar with them, we will be more attuned to their promptings as we go about our everyday life.

Yesterday, at tia Calila's Resurrection Mass at St. Agatha, I noticed there were two angels in the altar, one on each side of the cross, guarding Jesus. If Jesus, who is God, who created the angels and gave them whatever powers they have, allows angels to guard Him, how much more should we allow the angels to guard and comfort us.

One of the songs played at the Mass was tia Calila's favorite song, "Bendito, Bendito, Bendito sea Dios, los ángeles cantan y alaban a dios..."  (Blessed, Blessed, Blessed is God, the angels sing and glorify God...). Today the angels rejoice because they have a new member in heaven. And in the meantime, they comfort the family members that remain here on earth, cherishing the memories and the peace of knowing that one day, we will all reunite in heaven.

REST IN PEACE, TIA CALILA.

WE WILL MISS YOU BUT WE KNOWTHAT ONE DAY,

THE ANGELS WILL LEAD US TO YOU.

Christmas Journey: The Invisible Majority

“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven." Matthew18:10

Since the earliest days of the Church, Scripture scholars have concluded that there are many more angels than there are people. First, everyone has a guardian angel. If guardian angels were the only angels, then there would be an equal number of angels and humans. But guardian angels are not the only angels mentioned in the Bible. The Bible also mentions cherubim (Gen 3:24), seraphim (Is 6:2), archangel (Jude 9), thrones, dominions and principalities (Col 1:16). Therefore, we can conclude that we humans, are the minority.

In the first part of our journey, we looked at what angels are. Today, let's find out how this invisible majority came about. In Genesis, we learn that God calls "light" into existence. St. Augustine proposed that the light God created at the "beginning" was angelic. It was his angels. "The angels are included in the works of God during these six days, they are that light which was called Day" (5-Book XI-Chapter 9). "Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan" (CCC 332).

God created the angels in a state of goodness for the sake of greater love and greater acts of service. They are an important part of a creation that is vast and awesome. Like God, angels are pure spirits, immaterial. Like us, they are creatures and they are finite. They had a beginning. Though they are mighty in power, their powers are limited. Like us, the angels were made with intellect and free will. God gave them, as He later gave Adam and Eve, the power to choose freely.

Each angel is an individual person with a unique personality. Just like humans, each angel has a distinct vocation from God as well as distinguishing traits and qualities. Each angel is a glorious and unique creation of almighty God, just like we are. And just like us, God gave the angels the choice to love him or not. Love cannot be pre-programmed or coerced. Only a being that is free is capable of loving.

The spiritual world is distinct from the material world, but not separate from it. Spirits can act upon physical bodies. In Acts 12:7 we see how an angel causes the shackles to fall from Peter's hands. From that incident we can conclude that spirits have certain powers that we lack. It may be that God has entrusted certain forces of nature to the angels. In the Book of Revelation (7:1) we see "four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree." In the Book of Daniel, chapter 10, we meet angels who are assigned to be guardians of nations. They are described as "princes" of their respective territories: Israel, Persia, and Greece. In Revelation, angels are identified with the churches entrusted to their care. St. Paul also spoke of "elemental spirits of the universe" (Gal 4:3).

So we can conclude that just like each individual human being has an angel guide and guardian, entire nations and societies are also given over to angelic care. Every person has a guardian angel, every church has a guardian angel and every nation has a guardian angel. We are spiritually outnumbered but I couldn't be happier to know that this invisible majority is continually watching over us. God created both the spiritual and material worlds to be mutually beneficial components of his one integral creation. We were made to share our home with angels just like angels were made to share their home with us.

Sources: 
1-The Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible
2-Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
3-"Entertaining Angels" by Mike Aquilina (Catholic Scripture Study International 2013)
4-"Angels and Saints" by Scott Hahn 2014
5-"City of God" by St. Augustine 426 AD

Christmas Journey: Our Guides and Our Guardians

"Make friends with the angels, who though invisible are always with you. Often invoke them, constantly praise them and make good use of their help and assistance in all your temporal and spiritual affairs." St. Francis de Sales

Angels are the link between God and humans. Most of the books of the Bible mention stories where angels are present or which illustrate angelic activity. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). By “heavens” the author could not have intended the “skies,” as the creation of the skies comes later in Genesis 1:8. St. Augustine also taught that God’s command “Let there be light” (Gen 1:3) was actually the decree by which he made the angels. When Genesis describes the separation of light from darkness (v. 4), it is recounting the rebellion of Satan and the demons: "His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth" (Rev 12:4). This must have preceded the sin of Adam and Eve, because the first couple gave in to demonic temptation (Gen 3:1–6).

All of the stories that we find in the Bible about angels make us realize that they must be real. But before we go any further, we need to answer this question: "What is an angel?" An angel is "a spiritual, personal, and immortal creature, with intelligence and free will, who glorifies God without ceasing and who serves God as a messenger of His saving plan" (CCC-Glossary).

An angel is a spiritual being. Sometimes they may take human form for our benefit because honestly, if they were to appear to us in their spiritual form we would probably faint. "Tobias went out and found the angel Raphael standing in front of him; but he did not perceive that he was an angel of God" (Tobit 5:4). Pictures portray angels as these beautiful little cherubs but they are anything but. They are huge and scary, that is why, every time they appear to someone in the Bible in their natural form, the first words out of their mouths are usually: "Do not be afraid."

"The first generation of Christians enjoyed the service of the angels and observed a remarkable degree of familiarity with them" (4-Ch 6, pg 78). After an angel frees Peter from prison, he goes to the door of the house church. There, the congregation cannot believe it’s really Peter—but they have no trouble concluding that they are seeing his angel (Acts 12:13–15).

An angel is a personal being. Each angel is an individual person created by God. "He commanded and they were created" (Psalm 148:2-5). Angels are a very personalized expression of God's love who have intelligence and free will. Imagine how much God loves us that He has placed these creatures at our service to guide and to guard us. God wants to bring us home and He places at our command everything that we need to help us find the way to our heavenly home.

God created angels to be our guides and guardians. Every Sunday if we attend mass, we profess our faith in God who created "all things visible and invisible." We shouldn't miss out on their much needed help simply because we cannot see them. Our guides and our guardians will be walking with us on this journey to Christmas. Let's be open to their help and counsel.

Sources: 
1-The Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible
2-Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
3-"Entertaining Angels" by Mike Aquilina (Catholic Scripture Study International 2013)
4-"Angels and Saints" by Scott Hahn 2014

A Journey to Christmas surrounded by Angels

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.'" Luke 2:13-14

I had heard of "writer's block" but it had never happened to me. But in the past couple of weeks, I've gone through a dry spell. No inspirations. No great ideas to write about. I didn't think anyone would notice but my friend Anna sent me a text message on Friday: "Time for you to work on a meditation. You are overdue..."

I've been thinking the entire weekend, "what can I write about?" Then I changed my question into a prayer: "what do You want me to write about?" After all, I'm just a pencil in God's hand. It's His message, not mine. I just have to let Him use me. But sometimes I'm very stubborn and I don't want to obey Him.

For the past couple of weeks, I have been struggling with Him. Ever since my last meditation about "angels" I've been feeling God gently moving me in that direction. The day after I wrote about "angels," I went to a mini retreat at St. Augustine Catholic Church. The guest speaker was Scott Hahn, a Catholic theologian, author and speaker. He has published numerous books. I've only read one, "Rome Sweet Rome," which is his personal conversion story from Presbyterian to Catholicism. He has also written many of the Bible studies I've attended at my Parish so when I found out he was in town, I signed up right away. He gave us three talks and the last one was about angels. I felt God talking to me directly through Dr. Hahn.

We are two months away from Christmas. I tend to prepare very well for Easter but my Christmas preparation leaves much to be desired. I'm great at gift buying and decorating. But my spiritual preparation tends to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the season. I try to prepare spiritually but there is always so much to do externally, that I end up feeling overwhelmed and my spirituality gets buried deep under all the material gifts. I have a feeling that the same thing happens to a lot of people.

This year God wants me to prepare for Christmas the same way I prepare for Easter... from the inside out. And He has been coaxing me to write about angels. And I've been fighting Him because seriously... angels? Yes, I believe in angels but how many people out there truly believe in angels? I guess I'm about to find out.

I am extending an invitation to you to join me on this journey to Christmas. We will prepare for the birth of baby Jesus with the help of the angels. Let's place the true reason for the season at the forefront. Instead of concentrating on all the glitter and sparkle that will surely blind us, let's search for the inner light that will brighten the way to our hearts, so that this year we can truly discover the meaning of Christmas. And maybe, just maybe, there will be room in our inn to allow Jesus to be born like a King.

Our journey to Christmas will begin on Sunday, October 25th. You may sign up on my blog to receive the meditations by email.

May angels guide you every step of the way. And if you have an angel story that you would like to share, please send it to me by email (mcromero@bellsouth.net). Let me know if you allow me to post it on my blog and of course I will give you credit by name unless you specifically request to remain anonymous.

I Believe in Angels

"If you seek an angel with an open heart... You shall always find one." Anonymous

As I was walking this morning on my regular exercise routine through my neighborhood, I caught sight of a bright light traveling across the sky. Thanks to the advantage of technology, I snapped a picture right away. I had no idea what it was. Could it be a rocket? Aliens? Angels?

Today is the feast of the guardian angels. A couple of years ago I took a class in my church about angels and demons. It was a very interesting class. In this class I learned that each of us is assigned a guardian angel at the moment of birth and this angel stays with us until we die.

Most of us learned the prayer to the guardian angel when we were children: "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, to rule and guide." I knew it in Spanish because my mom and grandmother taught it to me in Cuba. And I in turn taught it to my children. But as we grow older, we stop praying and many times, we stop believing in angels. 

Guardian angels appear in various passages of the Old Testament. "I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared." Exodus 23:20. And angels in general are mentioned numerous times in the Bible. "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Hebrews 13:2

Everyone that was taking the class had at least one angel story. I have shared mine before but I'll repeat it for the benefit of those that are reading my blog for the first time. We were on the outskirts of Paris, running very low in gas. We parked on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere, trying to figure out what to do. My husband decides to try to find a gas station walking and as he starts to head in one direction, a lady shows up. I tried to communicate with her in my limited French and she answers me in English. She led us to a gas station which was very close from where we were. When I looked for her to say thank you, she was gone. I have always believed that she was an angel that came to our rescue.

Angels do not always assume the appearance we expect. According to St. Augustine: "Angels are spirits, but it is not because they are spirits that they are angels. They become angels when they are sent. For the name 'angel' refers to their office, not their nature. You ask the name of their nature, it is spirit; you ask its office, it is that of an angel, which is a messenger."

So this morning, I was very excited that maybe I had finally seen an angel in its spiritual form. A few of the ladies that took the class claimed to have had angel encounters in all its glory. I have not had that privilege. And we all love the supernatural. I remember a few years ago, there was a claim that an image of the Holy Family had appeared in a cloth in the chapel that held the Blessed Sacrament at St. Brendan. Chaos soon followed. Masses of people were rushing to St. Brendan to witness the miracle. The news media was present. Many waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the image. Eventually, the news died down and the Blessed Sacrament was left alone once again. When in reality, that is where the miracle truly lies. But we need signs and fireworks.

Even though my vision turned out to be a rocket, not an angel, I still believe in angels. And as I did when I was little, I have once again picked up the habit to pray to my guardian angel.