Christmas Journey: The angel who crawls

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God say, "You shall not eat from any tree in the garden?" ' The woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die." ' But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' " Genesis 3:1-5

In the Book of Genesis, we see that "God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being" (Gen 2:7). Christian theologians refer to this as "original justice" or "original righteousness." It is the condition of existing in grace, which means "living through the divine life in intimacy with God, from the first moment of existence" (5-Lesson 5). 

When we hear that our Blessed Virgin Mary was "immaculately conceived," we are claiming that she existed in this state of grace from the moment of her conception. On the other hand, all other human beings born after the fall of man are born with "original sin," which means we lack God's grace. "Living without grace means living in a state unfit for God's true intentions for us" (5-Lesson 5). It means that we are slaves to the material world and that is not what God wants for us. But without grace, we are limited to living within the boundaries of a merely material existence.

This is what the two trees in the Garden of Eden represent. The Tree of Life represents life in grace or in complete covenant with God. We can live in this world which was founded on love, or we can live in a different world. That different world is represented by the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It is a world of materialism and paganism which promotes a culture of death and consumerism. And the serpent is its primary spokesperson.

Another image that represents the devil in the Bible is the serpent. "Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy. Scripture and the Church's Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called 'Satan' or the 'devil'" (CCC 391).

The serpent in the Garden suggests to Adam and Eve that God doesn't have humanity's best interests at heart. He claims that God is self-centered and wants to control human beings for His own purposes. And so, the cunning serpent, seduces them into sin, with devastating consequences for all of us.

Thanks to that "original sin," we now live in a world where power struggles are the norm, where selfishness is the order of the day and where most people have turned their backs away from God. The serpent persuaded humanity to reject the world of Love and Life and to choose instead a culture of death. This is the "pagan" view and the struggle against paganism has become the primordial struggle for humanity since the beginning of time. The serpent "crawls on his belly and eats dust" which is the very stuff out of which humanity was created. Like the dragon we met on our last meditation, the serpent seeks to destroy us from the moment of our birth. 

The world created by the first sin is a broken world, imprisoned by death. And it is the world the serpent tempts us to accept, just like it tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden. But we have a choice. We do not need to accept this world of consumerism and materialism as our reason for living. We can choose a world of love, which emerges entirely out of the goodness of God. As we enter into Advent, let's think about ways where we can make this Christmas different from previous ones. Let's not get distracted by all the external lights that blind us and let's make room in our hearts for God's light to truly shine from within. And as we do that, we will crush the serpent and God will once again reign in our world.

  

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-"Angels Throughout the Ages" by Dr. Richard Bulzacchelli (Catholic Scripture Study International 2013)

Christmas Journey: The angel who devours

"The dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne." Revelation 12:4-5

My favorite Disney movie as a little girl was "Sleeping Beauty." It was the first time I recall going to the movies and I was obsessed with the three fairy godmothers. I was also terrified of Maleficent and the scene when she turns into a dragon was vividly imprinted in my mind. Since then, I always associate dragons with evil.

In the Book of Revelation, Satan is represented by a dragon: "The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world" (Rev 12:9). In our last meditation, we learned how much Satan hates us and how he will do everything possible to keep us from loving and obeying God. This primordial enemy of God and humanity is the personality behind all the darkness and evil to which human beings find themselves bound. He seeks to destroy us from the very beginning of time and in the very first moments of our individual lives.

He hates us so much because he realizes that humans were created by God with the potential to be higher than he was (Hebrews 2:6-8). Because of his sick, twisted and unsound thinking, Satan has taken on the role of being an adversary against those seeking to love and obey their Father in heaven. Writing to the people of God, Peter cautioned, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Just as God has ministers of righteousness, Satan has “ministers" who influence humans to sin. Jude describes these fallen angels or demons as “angels who did not keep their proper domain” and who are now “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day” (Jude 1:6).

As much as Satan hates us, he hates Jesus even more. "The dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born" (Rev 12:4). This appears to be a historical reference to King Herod’s effort to destroy Jesus as a young child by ordering the deaths of all male children from two years old and under who lived in and around Bethlehem (Mat 2:13-18). But an angel had warned Joseph to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus to keep the Child from being destroyed (Mat 2:13).

Even though Satan’s attempt to destroy Jesus when He was a child failed, the devil did not give up. Prior to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Mat 4:1). During this temptation, Satan tried to get Jesus to worship him instead of God. The devil offered Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” (Mat 4:8) if Jesus would worship him. But Jesus did not do so.

When Jesus’ ministry was fulfilled and it was time for Him to give His life as payment for humanity’s sins, Satan was there once again. On this occasion, Satan was the one who “put it into the heart of Judas to betray Jesus” (John 13:2). Although Satan was clearly involved in the crucifixion of Jesus, this was actually part of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind.

"Victory over the 'prince of this world' was won once for all at the Hour when Jesus freely gave himself up to death to give us his life. This is the judgment of this world, and the prince of this world is 'cast out.' 'He pursued the woman' but had no hold on her: the new Eve, 'full of grace' of the Holy Spirit, is preserved from sin and the corruption of death. 'Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring.' Therefore the Spirit and the Church pray: 'Come, Lord Jesus,' since his coming will deliver us from the Evil One" (CCC 2853).

The reason why Satan put so much effort in his attempts to destroy Jesus was because if there had not been a perfect Savior to pay the penalty for humanity’s sins, God’s plan would have been thwarted. Without a Savior, humans could not be forgiven of their sins nor could they live forever in God’s eternal family. The devil's main desire is to stop our journey into heaven. Satan does not want us to reach heaven, so he uses any form of deception to stop us. But we are sustained by the light and strength of God who nourishes us as we complete our journey here on earth. If we hold on to God, we will be victorious.

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-"Angels Throughout the Ages" by Dr. Richard Bulzacchelli (Catholic Scripture Study International 2013)

Christmas Journey: The angel who opposes God

"Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous, as he is righteous. He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning." 1 John 3:7-8

In our last meditation, we learned that we are in the midst of a spiritual war. Somewhere within our inner person, deep within our heart, the devil is constantly taunting us to fall prey of our disordered desires. He waits patiently for us to turn away from God. He preys on our moral weakness and is always tempting us to sin.

One of the places in the Bible where we meet the devil is in the book of Job. In this book, the devil is referred to as Satan. Satan means the adversary or the accuser. "Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God" (CCC 2851). His role in the book of Job is to destroy Job. Here, Satan seems to be a member of the heavenly court. But we know that, even though at some point he may have been part of the heavenly court, when he stood in fierce opposition to the designs of God, he was thrown out of heaven and is no longer part of God's kingdom.

When we first meet Satan in the book of Job, he is expressing concern over God's interests in human beings. He insists that human beings are all unfaithful to God in the end and would condemn God if given an excuse to do so. He claims that humans are ungrateful for God's concern for them.

John Calvin and Martin Luther, two of the early Protestant reformers, advocated for a similar view called "total depravity." It meant that no human action is ever devoid of sin because everything we will comes from a tainted heart, and not even grace changes that fact. The Catholic Church found a sort of middle ground, one that allows for the possibility of genuine righteousness, but also acknowledges human imperfection and fallenness.

Moral conscience, present at the heart of the person, enjoins him at the appropriate moment to do good and to avoid evil. It also judges particular choices, approving those that are good and denouncing those that are evil. It bears witness to the authority of truth in reference to the supreme Good to which the human person is drawn, and it welcomes the commandments. When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man can hear God speaking (CCC 1777).

God insists that Satan is wrong. Job is a righteous man, and he proves that it's possible, in principle, for human beings to be truly faithful and righteous. Satan is so persistent that he asks God to give him reign to destroy Job. He argues that if God lifts his protection from Job and allows him to suffer, then he will turn against God and curse Him when things do not go His way.

God agrees because He was completely confident in Job's righteousness. Satan begins to torment Job with all kinds of maladies. Eventually, Job loses his whole family and all his wealth. His friends advise him to curse God, but Job stands firm in his righteousness. Job does ask God for an explanation, but he never turns away. God shows Satan that there is moral hope for the human race.

How do we react when we encounter suffering? If we are good people, who follow God and try to live a holy life, why do we have to go through struggles? Do we blame God every time something bad happens to us or our loved ones? Do we turn away from Him and begin to sin against Him? Or do we carry our cross, following the example of Jesus, uniting our pain to God?

When we are going through a difficult time in our lives, we need to grab on to God with all our strength. Otherwise, we are in a lot of danger to fall prey to Satan. The accuser uses our moments of weakness to lead us into temptation. The good news is that within our conscience, lives a delightful guest, known as the Holy Spirit. He is the opposite of Satan. While Satan accuses us and prosecutes us, the Holy Spirit defends us. The Holy Spirit is known as the "paraclete" which means the defendor.

When our inner voice is accusing us, we have to be careful because it could be the voice of Satan. Satan will make an accusation based on our unworthiness. For example, if we feel that we have sinned, we may think: "I'm not worthy to go to mass or communion because of my sin." This is Satan. Yes, we are all unworthy but God is merciful. We need to differentiate between the voice of the Holy Spirit that leads us to God and the voice of Satan that leads us away. Our ultimate decision should be to believe the Holy Spirit and not Satan, so as we walk on this journey, we move closer to the Father.

We cannot understand the mystery of suffering, but we should not allow suffering to open the door to sin. Sin is an explicit act, not merely a disordered desire that we cannot control. God is greater than the inner heart and therefore greater than that tempting voice speaking through our conscience. God knows the real truth about each one of us even better than we know ourselves. If we stay faithful to God in our conduct, follow His commands and do what is pleasing in His sight, then it doesn't matter what our weaknesses are. The evil one will have no power over us.

Holy Spirit, intercede for us and have mercy on us. Keep us away from the angel who opposes God.

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-"Angels Throughout the Ages" by Dr. Richard Bulzacchelli (Catholic Scripture Study International 2013)

Christmas Journey: Fallen Angels

“I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning." Luke 10:18

God created all angels in a state of goodness. All angels were created with the power to love but love requires freedom. "We are not free to love unless we are free to refuse love" (3-Lesson 9).

Just like humans, the angels underwent a test of some sort, in which they chose to act for God or against Him. The Bible does not mention the nature of their trial, but in Genesis we read of God separating the light from the darkness, even before He created physical light (Gen 1:4). This is recounting the rebellion of Satan and the demons (Rev 12:4) who chose everlasting darkness for themselves. In the Book of Revelation, St. John speaks of the heavenly spirits as stars: "the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches" (Rev 1:20). In his telling of the great heavenly battle, he says that "a third of the stars of heaven" were expelled when they chose against God (Rev 12:4). Their light became darkness and they were cast out, very similar to Adam and Eve being cast out from the Garden of Eden.

We do not know the reason why some angels chose not to love God but many saints believe that the main reason was pride. They refused to serve another. The consequence of their decision was hell, the state of separation from God. Whatever their first sin was, it led them to many others. These evil angels envied the status of human beings, for whom God had created the physical world as a habitation. Determined to bring these creatures down, the prince of the fallen angels took the form of a serpent. He tempted the first couple and led them to sin against God.

Since that day, humanity has been beset by evil spiritual forces and defended by good spiritual forces. Our troubles and our struggles in this world are not simply anxieties over material discomforts. They are also—and primarily—spiritual struggles, spiritual combat and spiritual warfare. This spiritual war will rage on until the final consummation of history because the fallen angels wish for us to fall along with them. It is against their influence that we must struggle every day for the rest of our lives.

The fallen angels, like all angels, were created by God with prodigious powers and strength. Now they turn all those powers against us. Every single day they plot our demise. And we have to struggle mightily to overcome such opposition. According to St. Paul: "We are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph 6:12).

"The angelic will is powerful. Once it is turned away from God it is mighty and destructive force. The angelic intellect is vast. When it is turned away from truth, it perpetrates the most gigantic of lies, but always with a resemblance to truth" (3-Lesson 2). The fallen angel sets his course for the way of death and he will not take a detour. Jesus identifies the prince of the fallen angels as "the devil" (John 8:44) and as "Satan" (Mark 3:23). "He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth" (John 8:44). Opposed to life and truth, the devil is at war with God and will take down as many humans as he can.

We can see the power of the evil one causing chaos in our world today. All these fanatics that claim to be acting in the name of God are truly acting in the name of Satan. He has taken a hold of them and through them is causing destruction, chaos and fear in the hearts of many. Our God is a God of love, not a God of hatred. He would never cause death and destruction. It is Satan, who is a murderer, that is rejoicing in the destruction and fall of all humanity.

Even though that sounds quite scary, we do not need to be afraid. "If God is for us, who is against us?" (Rom 8:31). God created the angels. Yes, they are powerful. But they have no power over God. "He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in Christ" (Col 2:15). "Our best defense against the devil is a good offense. When we live our life entirely for Christ, we are most powerful against the enemy" (3-Lesson 9).

"The power of Satan is not infinite. He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature. He cannot prevent the building up of God's reign. Although Satan may act in the world out of hatred for God and his kingdom in Christ Jesus, and although his action may cause grave injuries - of a spiritual nature and, indirectly, even of a physical nature- to each man and to society, the action is permitted by divine providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history. It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity, but 'we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him'" (CCC 395).

Unfortunately, the closer we are to Christ, the more fiercely the evil will attack us. Temptations will be a huge part of his attack. But we need to think more about what we are fighting for rather than what we are fighting against. We need to keep Christ at the center. And through His Church, Christ has left us an arsenal of powerful weaponry against the evil one. "The saints testify that the devil is terrified by the cross, repelled by the sacraments, turned away by holy water" (3-Lesson 9). He cannot withstand anything that carries the blessing of Jesus Christ.

We cannot allow the evil one to take hold of our hearts through fear, lies and destruction. We need to continue fighting in joyful hope as we hold on to the cross. God has already won the battle. We need to trust that He has a purpose for all that is happening around us and that we will reign with Him one day in heaven while the devil will burn in hell forever.

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

Christmas Journey: Getting Personal with the Angels

"I have visions of angels frequently, yet... their names they never tell me..." St. Theresa of Avila

A few years ago, I received an e-mail about angels. It said that if I wanted to know the name of my guardian angel, all I had to do was pray about it and the name would be revealed to me. I wanted to know the name of my guardian angel badly. I prayed about it and the name "Luke" was the one that popped into my mind. So I started calling my guardian angel, Luke.

But then I began to wonder why only some of the angels in the Bible had names. In the Old Testament, the word "angel" refers only to a manifestation of God's presence as He communicates with human beings. The presence of God in the burning bush is referred to as "angel" (Exodus 3). But as time went on, the Hebrews began to realize that their world was inhabited by distinct spiritual creatures who were not a part of the corporeal world but who had different personalities much like their own. These beings were increasingly seen to play an active role in human affairs. They began to call them "angels" and some of these angels gained such prominence in their culture that a name was often applied to them. The Hebrews were aware that angels belonged to a different plane of reality than humans, yet they are willed into being by God just like us.

There are three angels specifically named in the Bible, and unfortunately, there is a fourth angel that has gotten more attention than he deserves. He has muscled his way into our lives since the dawn of time. Even though I would prefer to exclude him from our journey, the reality is that we need to be familiar with the enemy if we are going to beat him. If you don't believe there is an enemy out there trying to destroy us, all you need to do is turn on the news. This angel goes by many names, but the one that we are most familiar with is Satan.

As I learned more about angels and their names, I found out that the Church does not recommend that we name our guardian angels. "The practice of assigning names to the Holy Angels should be discouraged." (5) It is rather presumptuous of us to name a creature that even though is assigned to us, it belongs only to God, therefore only God can name the angels. Yes, even though I prayed about the name of my guardian angel to be revealed to me, just because the name Luke was the first name that popped into my mind does not mean that is my angel's name. I guess I will find out if I make it to heaven and I meet him face to face. For now, I will continue to refer to my angel simply as "my guardian angel."

As we continue on our journey to Christmas, we will meet the three good angels that are named in the Bible and we will meet Satan in all his names. We have to be prepared spiritually to be able to recognize him, since Satan usually comes disguised as "the angel of light."

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-Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy (published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Vatican City, Dec. 2001)

 

Christmas Journey: The Primary Purpose of the Guardian Angels

"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone." Psalms 91:11-12

Our guardian angels may protect us from harm once in a while but that is not their primary purpose. Accidents still happen and guardian angels don't have the power to prevent everything. They can protect us but we still have free will. Sometimes we place ourselves in very dangerous situations and I'm sure that the guardian angels cry when they are helpless to keep us from pain. It would be unfair to blame the guardian angels for every bad thing that happens to us or to our loved ones. Accidents and suffering came into the world when Adam and Eve sinned. It was not the angel's fault. We also need to remember that our time here on earth is only for a little while and we have to experience hardship in order to purify ourselves. We will all suffer on the way to heaven. In fact, suffering is an important part of our growth toward heaven (Rom 5:3, 8:17-18). In the end, we will all die, some sooner than later but that is the great equalizer. Death is our path to heaven. We all want to get to heaven but nobody wants to die. The angels' job is not to spare us from suffering and death. They know that we will not be tested beyond our strength (1 Cor 10:13). And our angels will be present to fortify us through all our trials.

The angels act as older siblings to us. They represent the interests of God, accommodated to the needs and understanding of a lower intelligence. They are trying to lead us to maturity as children of God: fuller knowledge, fuller responsibility, and greater love. If they lead us to solutions, we learn. If they do everything for us, we don't.

Guardian angels also have the power to help our imagination during meditation. If we ask for their assistance, they can actually place holy images in our minds to move us towards acts of love and virtue. Likewise, guardian angels can guard our minds from impure images. All we have to do is pray to them to guard us spiritually as well as physically.

"The Church venerates the angels who help her on her earthly pilgrimage and protect every human being" (CCC 352). The Church has, since its earliest days, encouraged a lively devotion to the guardian angels, not just for little children but also for adults. Remember that prayer most of us learned as children? "Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love entrusts me here; ever this day be at my side to light, to guard, to rule and guide. Amen." It would be a good idea if we make it part of our daily prayers.

Or we can address our guardian angels more conversationally in our own words. We may address not only our own angel, but also those of our loved ones. We can conspire with them as actively as possible. I conspire with my children's guardian angels all the time. "Please protect them. Please keep them out of trouble. Please help them be strong against peer pressure. I think that friend is a bad influence, please remove him/her from their path. Please help Alex with the exam he has today. Please protect Chabeli as she drives to and from work. Please be with Rafi as he travels." Sometimes I even conspire with my guardian angel to go give messages to their guardian angels. Remember, angels are messengers. They are masters of communication. They like it when our homes, families, workplaces, schools and neighborhoods are at peace.

But in the end, the primary purpose of our guardian angel is our salvation at the hour of death. They procure a peaceful death and ward off the demons from any final assault. Our angels will try to keep us from sin, so that suffering and death will always work to our advantage rather than our detriment. Their main job is to get us to heaven. This is a great conspiracy between God and His angels. The conversion of a sinner gives great joy to their guardian angel and to all the angels in heaven. "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Lk 15:10).

After death, the guardian angel's work of guarding is over. Their next assignment, if their charge is in purgatory, would be "intercessory work." They carry the prayers of the souls in purgatory to heaven and they continue to act as an advocate. They give comfort and solace to the souls in purgatory.

It is only after the soul that was entrusted to them reaches heaven that the work of the guardian angel is over. A guardian angel does not get reassigned to another human being. They belong to only one human being for all eternity. The guardian angel then rests in the joy of the Lord, and they have a special joy if the soul they guarded is in heaven with them.

If their trust is not saved, it doesn't mean that the guardian angel failed. All guardian angels do a good job but because humans have free will, sometimes no matter what the angel does, some humans won't cooperate and are lost forever. Even if their trust is lost, the angels rejoice in the justice of God. Angels are spirits, they have no emotions. They don't feel sorrow or shame for the final fall of their charge.

Jesus himself taught us to go to the angels. In the Garden of Gethsemane, when he was in agony, he was comforted and assisted by an angel (Luke 22: 43). Our lives will be much easier if we allow the angels to guide us, to comfort us and to lead us to heaven.

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
6-"Catholicism.org: Q's and A's on the Guardian Angels

Christmas Journey: We Each Have a Guardian Angel

"How great is the dignity of the soul, since each one has from his birth an angel commissioned to guard it." St. Jerome

The biblical authors take the doctrine of guardian angels for granted. They assume that everyone already knows what they are talking about. The one and only time that Jesus approaches the subject, He approaches it taking for granted that everyone knows they have a guardian angel: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven 'their angels' always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven" (Mat 18:10).

When Jesus says "their angels" it could imply that each person has more than one angel. But in various passages in Scripture it mentions that "each individual person has a guardian angel," so we must assume that we only have one assigned to us. Of course, some clumsy people like me may need more than one once in a while. And I like to believe that when we are in trouble, our guardian angel calls for back up and we may be surrounded by an army of angels.

"Their angels" also speaks of the relationship between humans and angels. "It's not the angels who have humans. It's humans who have angels!" (3-Lesson 4). Powerful, brilliant angels of light somehow belong to us, mere humans. How awesome is that. Many don't believe this but think about it. Of course a loving God would provide such provident care for his children on earth. "From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession" (CCC 336).

A few of the early fathers believed that only the baptized were given a guardian angel. But most of the saints and doctors of the Church, like St. Thomas for example, affirmed that every man receives a guardian angel upon birth. It rather makes sense that every man would receive a guardian angel from God because God wants the salvation of all men. And all men need to receive sufficient grace to be saved. The guardian angel, working with God, acts as a channel of actual grace. "Through the work of the guardian angels, God accomplishes great things in the lives of Christians" (3-Lesson 4).

St. Peter does not seem surprised that an angel has appeared to him to set him free. The angel wakes Peter up, lights his way, and makes sure that Peter was dressed properly to guard the night chill. The angel doesn't carry Peter, rather he guides him. He acts almost like a parent or an old sibling. And Peter follows instructions rather calmly. It is presumed that a visitation to Peter of his guardian angel was a common occurrence to him, otherwise he would have been afraid. Even when the maid, Rhoda, tells the congregation that Peter is standing at the gate, the congregation assumes that it couldn't be Peter but "his angel" (Acts 12:7-15). The fact that they say "his angel" speaks of guardian angels in terms of belonging.

Moses did not feel up to the task of leading Israel but God assured him: "Lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you" (Ex 32:34). The angel appears to Philip and tells him where to go (Acts 8:26) and even sometimes takes him there (Acts 8:39-40). An angel reveals to Paul the course of his future life and apostolate (Acts 27:23-24). Angels were present in the lives of the prophets, in the lives of the apostles and they are present in our lives today. They are here to light and guard, to rule and guide.

God has placed powerful angels at our disposal so that we will have the spiritual resources that we need in order to make it to heaven. Everything else is secondary to that final purpose. Once in a while, they may do certain things for us in order to gain our trust in them for the times that matter most: the times of temptation and the hour of death. They are building a relationship with us.

One of those minor things they may do for us in order to gain our trust is to find us a parking space when we ask them to. In my office building, unless I arrive around 9 am, I have to park way in the back. I don't mind the walking but especially in tax season, when I leave in the darkness, I don't like to walk to the back of the parking lot which is pitch black all by myself. Even though I know my angel is guarding me, I'm still a "scary cat." So when I'm running late, I ask my guardian angel to find me a space. I have a rather funny conversation with my guardian-parking angel: "Please, parking angel, find me a space in the front, near the entrance. Make sure you time it well so that if someone has to leave, they leave at precisely the exact moment that I'm entering the parking lot. But if there is a "viejito" or a handicapped person that needs it more than me, then I'll resign myself to parking in the back." I can honestly say that nine times out of ten, as I'm entering the parking lot, someone is backing out. There was one time that I thought I had to go to the back because I didn't see any brake lights on and there were no empty spaces. As I resigned myself and began to speed towards the back, a car almost hit me because it started backing out just as I was passing it. And there was another time when a car took the space that I was certain my angel had reserved for me. I parked all the way in the back and as I was walking to the front, grumbling to my angel, I saw an elderly lady with a cane getting out from the car that had parked in "my space." I knew then why my angel had given the space to her and not to me. I had to humbly apologize to my angel. Our angels can certainly find us parking spaces as long as we don't abuse their kindness. Try it one day and prepare yourself to be blown away.

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
6-"Catholicism.org: Q's and A's on the Guardian Angels 

Christmas Journey: Worshiping God with the Angels

"The Church... before beginning the Eucharistic Prayer... makes appeal to the angels and archangels to sing the glory of the thrice-holy God, uniting herself thus to those first adorers of God, in the worship and the loving knowledge of the unspeakable mystery of his holiness." St. John Paul II

Angels do work both in heaven and on earth simultaneously. They are flawless multi-taskers. They take care of us while at the same time they worship God. Worshiping God "without ceasing" is the most important part in the lives of the holy angels. The glorification never stops. They are constantly singing hymns to God's glory, chanting his holiness, prostrate before his throne. They are doing what God created them to do, while at the same time, they are messengers here on earth.

We can learn a lot from the angels and we can imitate them. God wants us to praise Him without ceasing. Just like the angels, God created us to do everything for His greater glory. When we celebrate Mass, we unite with the angels in a cosmic liturgy. When the Church gathers on earth, it gathers for heavenly worship. We worship alongside the angels, even if we cannot see them. When I go to mass, especially during the consecration of the host, I like to close my eyes and imagine that the altar is full of angels praising God. And when I hold hands to pray the Our Father, I close my eyes and I picture angels holding hands with all the humans, praising God. I imagine them in festal garments, singing and praising God. God created man and angel to pray and praise together, in one liturgy, in one holy communion: the communion of saints.

Of course, praising God without ceasing is probably much easier for angels than it is for us humans. After all, we have other responsibilities. It is practically impossible to be on our knees every minute of the day when we have to go to work, take care of a family, run errands, cook and handle a myriad of never ending tasks. But in the midst of all our duties, we can still praise God without ceasing if we offer everything that we do in prayer to God. If every little thing we do, we do it with and for God, we are praising Him. If when we open our eyes in the morning, we offer up our day to God, we are glorifying Him. If the work we do, we do it with God in mind, we are worshiping Him. If we see God in every family member, in the eyes of a stranger and in every person we come in contact during our day, we are exalting his holy creation.

We are constantly surrounded by a cloud of angels. We can only see them with the eyes of our hearts, if we believe in them. Angels come down from heaven when we celebrate mass, when we worship, when we are in need, when we ask them to help us and constantly, we have one guardian angel by our side. The angels are present in every aspect of our lives. We worship together in adoration and praise. There are angels among us, all the time. Open your heart and you will feel them.

Christmas Journey: Angelic Encounters

It was very common in the Bible to see angels delivering God's messages. Angels appear to be part of God's ordinary means of communicating with his people. Most of the prophets mentioned in the Old Testament talk about angelic encounters. The angels prepared the prophets for missions, revealed the word of God, shared heavenly visions, interpreted those visions, and kept the prophets in line. So closely were the prophets associated with the angels that they were sometimes mistakenly identified as angels. The prophet Malachi, in Jewish tradition, was identified as an angel. The fact that the name Malachi means, literally, "My Angel," probably had something to do with it.

"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: they closed the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham's hand; communicated the law by their ministry; led the People of God; announced births and callings; and assisted the prophets" (CCC332).

The prophet Ezekiel benefits from the services of several angels (Ez). Daniel reports that once he received a perplexing vision and an angel interpreted it for him (Dan 8:15-17). Balaam is disciplined by an angel after he goes astray and begins to prophesy falsely (Num 22). Isaiah has a vision where he sees the seraphim at worship (Is 6:5). When he describes the vision, he leaves us with a sense of awe and a touch of fright. Angels must be fearsome creatures; otherwise, they would not so often have to reassure human beings with the words, "Do not be afraid." (Luk 1:13, 1:30; Mat 28:5; Acts 27:24).

Isaiah and Ezekiel were priests of the Jerusalem Temple. Both report angel encounters that took place within or near the Temple. They saw angels worshipping in heaven. They both described that Heaven looked a lot like the Temple. They also said that the earthly worship of God's people was very similar to the heavenly worship of the holy angels.

"The Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria said that angels are 'the ministers and lieutenants of the mighty God, by means of whom, as of ambassadors, he announces whatever predictions he condescends to intimate to our race'" (3-Lesson 3: The Angels and Prophesy).

In the New Testament there are plenty of angel ambassadors coming down to earth to deliver messages from God. An angel appears to Zacharias to declare that his wife Elizabeth will have a son and that he is to name him John (Luk 1). An angel from God tells a virgin named Mary she will give birth to the savior of mankind (Luke 1:26-28, 30-31). Joseph receives at least three separate visits from angels - one regarding marrying Mary and two concerning the protection of baby Jesus (Matthew 1:18-20, 2:12-13, 19-21). They also appeared twice to shepherds near Bethlehem regarding the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:8-11, 13-14).

And how about today? Do we still have angel encounters in the 21st century? I believe so. It may be rare to encounter an angel in spiritual form, but angels can take human form to deliver messages, to help us when we find ourselves in dangerous situations or to comfort us when we are feeling down. Haven't you ever encountered someone that showed up out of the blue when you must needed it and then when you tried to find the person again it was nowhere to be found? That was probably an angel.

My friend Maria shared the following story with me: She had gone to South Miami to run an errand. She parked in a parking garage. When she got out of the garage, a homeless lady approached her and asked her if she could give her some money for food. Maria looked inside her purse and grabbed three loose dollars that she had placed on the inside pocket. The lady told her: "Thank you. I'm an angel and I'll always look out for you." Maria smiled but obviously didn't believe her. She kept walking, went to the store to get what she needed and when she went to pay, she realized that she didn't have her wallet. She searched inside her purse to see if she had any loose cash since she had the habit of sometimes just throwing loose change in there. She couldn't find a single dollar. As she was walking back to the parking, she realized that she had no money to retrieve her car and the garage had a three dollar minimum charge. "If only she had not given the money to the homeless lady," she thought. What was she going to do? She opened her purse to take out her cellphone to call her husband, when she noticed some folded bills in the same pocket from where she had retrieved the three dollars earlier. When she opened them, she saw to her astonishment that they were three single dollars bills. Where had they come from? She had searched her purse inside out at the store and she is certain that money was not there. She looked around for the homeless lady and could not find her. She is convinced to this day that the lady was indeed an angel.

We must always be kind to strangers because they may be an angel. And next time we find ourselves lost or out of sorts and someone just happens to show up, let's look a little closer because me may be looking into the eyes of an angel.

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