Thus says the LORD: “See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Be attentive to him and heed his voice. Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sin. My authority resides in him. If you heed his voice and carry out all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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What are angels? What role do they play in our lives?
The Catechism states that angels are, “spiritual beings,” who surround God’s throne and worship him. As Jesus says, “the angels look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”
Some of them also cross over from heaven to earth as God’s messengers, guiding our steps.
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In the Old Testament, for example, an angel appears to Abraham, telling him not to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
In the Gospels, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary, announcing that she will conceive a son and name him Jesus.
Another angel appears to Joseph in a dream, telling him not to be afraid; Mary’s child is, in fact, the Son of God. So, Joseph welcomes Jesus and Mary into his home.
Thirty years later, an angel appears to Jesus in the desert, comforting him as he’s tempted by Satan for forty days and forty nights.
After Christ’s resurrection, an angel appears to Saint Peter while he’s chained to the ground in prison, freeing his wrists and leading him to freedom.
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This Feast of the Guardian Angels reminds us that the veil between heaven and earth is far thinner than we may assume, as angels still act in our lives today.
That often still, quiet voice leading us away from temptation and towards virtue may be our guardian angel; that urge we feel prompting us to accept God’s will in both good times and in bad may be our angel; that sense of peace we feel in prayer may be our angel.
As the Lord says in the Book of Exodus, “See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared,” today, tomorrow, and forever.
May our guardian angels watch over us and lead us into paradise, the new and eternal Jerusalem.
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Image credits: (1) National Catholic Register (2) My Catholic Life (3) Pinterest
Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. Job spoke out and said:
Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, “The child is a boy!”
Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth, like babes that have never seen the light? Wherefore did the knees receive me? or why did I suck at the breasts?
For then I should have lain down and been tranquil; had I slept, I should then have been at rest With kings and counselors of the earth who built where now there are ruins Or with princes who had gold and filled their houses with silver.
There the wicked cease from troubling, there the weary are at rest.
Why is light given to the toilers, and life to the bitter in spirit? They wait for death and it comes not; they search for it rather than for hidden treasures, Rejoice in it exultingly, and are glad when they reach the grave: Those whose path is hidden from them, and whom God has hemmed in!
The Word of the Lord.
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At the age of 24, Saint Thérèse lay on her deathbed holding a crucifix.
Five of her final words were: My God, I love you!
That simple gesture of confessing her love for Christ while clinging to a crucifix is key to understanding her spirituality.
Thérèse believed that no action was extraordinary in itself; on the surface, there’s nothing profound about speech, even from one’s deathbed. What is profound is the love behind her words.
Unlike Job in our first reading, who cursed his suffering, even the day of his birth, Thérèse embraced her cross and praised the Lord. Those five simple words – My God, I love you! – were more pleasing to God than a thousand words prayed mindlessly from routine.
Ultimately, it’s not what we say or do, but why we do it that matters.
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Mother Teresa later adopted this same spirituality.
She spent her life clothing and feeding the poor; caring for the sick and the dying; and washing the wounds of lepers.
Ordinary actions that were done with extraordinary love, because she saw Christ behind every beggar, leper, or homeless person she encountered starving on the streets.
What matters is why she did what she did.
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Much of our own day will be filled with routine. What makes all the difference is how much love we put into the hours ahead.
Engage someone in conversation. Take an extra minute to listen. Pray for those you encounter. Be the first to smile. Quickly forgive those who wrong you.
Take those final five words of Thérèse – My God, I love you! – and put them into practice.
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Image credits: (1) Harvest Church of God (2) Heralds of the Gospel Magazine, Therese of Lisieux (3) Pinterest
One day, when the angels of God came to present themselves before the LORD, Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, “Whence do you come?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming the earth and patrolling it.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil?” But Satan answered the LORD and said, “Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing? Have you not surrounded him and his family and all that he has with your protection? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock are spread over the land. But now put forth your hand and touch anything that he has, and surely he will blaspheme you to your face.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand upon his person.” So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
And so one day, while his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were ploughing and the asses grazing beside them, and the Sabeans carried them off in a raid. They put the herdsmen to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, another came and said, “Lightning has fallen from heaven and struck the sheep and their shepherds and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three columns, seized the camels, carried them off, and put those tending them to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, when suddenly a great wind came across the desert and smote the four corners of the house. It fell upon the young people and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you.” Then Job began to tear his cloak and cut off his hair. He cast himself prostrate upon the ground, and said,
“Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I go back again. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!”
In all this Job did not sin, nor did he say anything disrespectful of God.
The Word of the Lord.
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We’ll be reading from the Book of Job all week. Engrained in the story are several spiritual lessons that are as challenging as they are rich in wisdom.
It begins with a dialogue between God and Satan.
God praises Job, his worthy servant. But Satan rebuffs God’s claim, arguing that Job only praises God because of his security and material possessions; if these were taken from him, Satan argues, then Job would abandon his faith.
So, God allows Job to be put to the test; everything may be taken from him, except his life. In the following verses, reports come to Job that he has lost everything – his life-stock, his material possessions, even his children.
In this darkest hour of his life, when the audience awaits his despair, Job’s sole and greatest possession is revealed – his faith. “The LORD has given, and the LORD has taken away,” he says. “Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Job understands that everything and everyone – even the bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh – comes from and belongs to God. We are merely entrusted with such treasure for a time.
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Scholars believe Job was not, in fact, a real person. Rather, he was the “ideal Jew,” the personification of what Israel hoped to be – faithful in times of trial, grateful in times of prosperity, unshaken in their praise of God.
That’s the kind of faith I’m sure everyone wishes for. So, how might we attain it?
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Ultimately, faith is a gift from God. It must be placed in our hearts before we take possession of it. However, once it’s given, God allows us to nurture our faith through prayer, study, and charity.
Conversely, if we never use it, or if we abandon it during times of trial, then it begins to wither.
As we read through the Book of Job this week, his faith will be pushed to the brink, as Job asks God the one question every human being wonders: Why?
Why is there suffering? Loss? Evil in the world? Why did Job have to lose everything?
How does God respond? Is his response sufficient for Job – or us?
Stay tuned.
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Image credits: (1) Revelation Library, Etsy (2) Job and his Friends, Ilya Repin (3) Medium
