Angels in Our Life
With the feast of the Archangels Rafael, Gabriel, and Michael today, and the feast of
the Guardian Angels this week, it is good to reflect on these heavenly messengers and their place in our lives. Angels are not fat little babies with wings; they are powerful warriors whom God has given to us for our protection.
Angels are mentioned some 300 times in the Bible and these highly intelligent spirits have played a key role in salvation history — from assisting the Israelites crossing the desert, to being present at all the important events in the life of Jesus, to their role in helping us today. While they are spirits, they can and do take on human form, and there are many credible accounts of angelic interventions that have rescued people from harm in recent years.
We know that from the moment of our birth a special angel was assigned by God to each one of us, and if you are not already saying the following prayer every day, you should start immediately:
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. Amen.
Qualifications for Sponsors
for Baptism and Confirmation
If you have been asked to be a godparent or sponsor, you should know that you yourself must have received the sacraments of Baptism, Holy Eucharist, and Confirmation. You also must be at least 16 years of age and be leading “a life in harmony with the Faith and the role to be undertaken.” What does this mean? It means weekly participation in Sunday Mass, fulfilling the Lord’s commandment. It also means that those who are married must have been married in the Catholic Church because all baptized Catholics are required to be married before a priest and two witnesses. The reason for these requirements is that the godparent or sponsor must be a role model who will inspire children to lead a holy Catholic life. One who is not doing so themselves cannot be a worthy role model for others. If you need Confirmation, we will begin Wednesday evening adult classes on March 4th.
Saints Who Loved the Eucharist
* “Every time, then, you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.” — St. Paul
* “Holy Communion is the shortest and the safest way to Heaven” — Pope St. Pius X
* “If the angels could be jealous of men, they would be for one reason: Holy Communion.” - St. Maximilian Kolbe
* “In one day the Eucharist will make you produce more for the glory of God than a whole lifetime without it.” — St. Peter Julian Eymard
* “When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host, you understand how much Jesus loves you now.” — St. Theresa of Calcutta
“From the Eucharist comes strength to live the Christian life and zeal to share that life with others.” — Pope St. John Paul II
* “This is the bread of everlasting life which supports the substance of your soul.” — St. Ambrose
* “The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life.” — St. Thomas Aquinas
* “The longer you stay away from Communion, the more your soul will be weak, and in the end you will become dangerously indifferent.” — St. John Bosco
* “I especially loved the processions in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. What a joy it was for me to throw flowers beneath the feet of God! … I was never so happy as when I saw my roses touch the sacred monstrance.’ — St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower
Should Holy Communion Ever Be Denied?
Last week a priest in South Carolina refused to give Communion to presidential candidate Joe Biden because of his longtime public support for abortion. Some Catholics applauded the priest’s action; others condemned it. Biden’s own bishop in Delaware said that refusing him Communion would be “politicizing the Eucharist.”
Was it a political act by the priest, or was he trying to protect the sacredness of the Holy Eucharist? Perhaps he was also trying to keep Biden from committing a grave sin and to prevent his parishioners from being scandalized. If he gave Communion to Biden, wouldn’t that say to those in the church that day that it was okay to receive the Body and Blood of Christ while advocating the killing of babies in violation of the Fifth Commandment?
Canon law and the longstanding policy of the Diocese of Charleston, SC forbids giving Communion to politicians whose consistent public support of the evil of abortion puts them in a situation of “manifest grave sin.” The words of St. Paul (1 Corinthians 11:27-29) are relevant:
“Whoever eats the blood or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord …. For anyone who eat and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”
What Is the Holy Trinity?
St. Augustine, one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the Catholic Church, spent years trying to under-stand the meaning of the Holy Trinity. He tried to figure out how there could be three Persons in the Trinity, but only one God. One day, while Augustine was walking along the seashore, he saw a young boy who had dug a hole in the sand. The boy would walk to the ocean, fill his shell with water, and then pour it into the hole. “What are you doing?” Augustine asked. The boy said, “I am going to put the en-tire ocean into that hole.”
“That’s impossible,” the saint said. The boy responded, “Not any more impossible than you trying to understand the Trinity.” Then the youngster disappeared, and Augustine realized that God was trying to teach him that there are some things that not even the most brilliant human mind can understand.
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah had alluded to this when he quoted God as saying, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
So instead of trying to understand the mysteries of God, let us have faith in Jesus, who told us about the Trinity, and believe in the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the one divine community of Persons. Each one of them is wholly God and each one is equal to the others.
Most Holy Trinity, pray for us.
The Power of the Holy Spirit
For three years prior to His Ascension into Heaven, Jesus had been trying to educate the Apostles about the Kingdom of God and what their role would be in spreading that Kingdom. But it wasn’t until the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles on Pentecost that they finally began to understand what the Lord had been telling them.
The Spirit not only gave them the gifts of wisdom, under-standing, and knowledge, He also gave them the gift of fortitude or courage that would be essential if they were to survive the coming persecution. James was murdered in Jerusalem in the year 42, Peter and Paul were executed in Rome around the years 65 to 67, and the other Apostles, with the exception of John, were also brutally killed.
All they had to say to escape death was that Jesus was not God, that He had not risen from the dead, and that their whole mission was a lie. But they persevered in the face of terrible persecution because they knew Jesus had risen and that they, too, would one day rise from the dead and spend an eternity of joy with Him in Heaven.
Fast forward 2,000 years and we find thousands of our fellow Christians giving up their lives rather than renounce Jesus. Would you be willing to die for Jesus if confronted by enemies of our Faith? Or would you be willing to live for Jesus in a culture that is hostile to our beliefs?
Only the naïve can think that we will not soon face such a crisis in our lives. Will you be like St. Peter and deny even knowing Jesus, or will you proudly say that He is your friend and that you will never turn your back on Him? To do this, you must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit.
Why Jesus Said He Came to Earth
Advent is a good time to recall four reasons why Jesus told us that He came to earth. As Stephen Beale explained in an article on “Catholic Exchange,” we know that He came to save us from our sins, but He has given us other reasons to pay attention to Him:
(1) “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” (Luke 12:49). Fire is often associated with the divinity of God. It can be a purifying fire that represents the burning love of God for each one of us.
(2) “I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness” (John 12:46). Jesus is often described as the light of the world, and He wants us to become lights in the darkness of the world.
(3) “I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Jesus came not only to save us from sin and death, but also to give us new life here through the Holy Eucharist and eventually through the Beatific Vision in Heaven.
(4) “I have come to bring not peace but the sword” (Matthew 10:34). This is a rather startling statement from Jesus, who is often known as the Prince of Peace. What He is saying is that true peace can only come to the one who accepts Him as Lord and Savior, who keeps His commandments and receives His sacraments.
Let us use the time remaining in Advent wisely and strive to come closer to the Lord before Christmas.
Angels in Our Life
As we celebrate the feasts of the Arch-angels Rafael, Gabriel, and Michael and that of the Guardian Angels, it is good to reflect on 
these heavenly messengers whom God has given to us for our protection and guidance.
Angels are mentioned some 300 times in the Bible and they have played a key role in salvation history — from assisting the Israelites crossing the desert to being present at all the important events in the life of Jesus. While they are spirits, they can and do take on human form, and there are many credible accounts of angelic interventions that have rescued people from harm in recent years.
That is why we pray to “St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, drive into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.”
We also know that from the moment of our birth a spe-cial angel was assigned by God to each one of us, and you should say the following prayer every day:
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. Amen.
