Angels

Do you remember the TV series "Touched By An Angel?"  I was a big fan of that series.  If you never had the chance to watch it the show depicted four angels doing their work on earth at the behest of the Father.  It was a great show and it dealt with a lot of different human issues. The show included the angel of death. Angels are real.  We know this because they are mentioned in the Bible.  Mary, the Blessed Virgin Mother of God, was visited by an angel and it was then that she accepted the mission that God had planned for her.  She became the mother of Jesus, a person worthy of the greatest respect.  We also have an angel appearing to Jesus during His agony in the garden where he prayed the all too human prayer asking for the approaching suffering to be taken away. The angel was there, says Jim Bishop in his wonderful book "The Day Christ Died" to offer comfort and to confirm to Jesus that he had to undergo the coming trials. Angels are mentioned in the Book of Revelation. They are the constant servants of God. The a Seraphim are the closest to God, they guard the throne of God. They burn with love for God. 

Angels are superior to us in every way yet there are two classes of angels. The good angels and the evil angels. At one time there was only one class of angels and all served God.  The brightest among these was Lucifer. He was so puffed up with his greatness that he fermented a rebellion in heaven.  He fought against the angels who were loyal to God and lost. The leader that threw Lucifer down to hell was the Archangel Michael, the strongest warrior in heaven. With Lucifer went all of the rebellious angels who form the cadre of devils and they will remain in hell forever.  They proudly proclaim that it is better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven. They spend their time tempting us to sin.  They want nothing more than the ruin of our soul so we can join them in eternal darkness, grief, and punishment. 

God has made provision for each of us in the form of a personal angel called our guardian angel. Our guardian angel is there and tries to guide us in the path of right but he is not allowed to interfere with our God given free will. Mother Angelica relates her encounter with her guardian angel when she was young.  A truck was heading right for her. She was unable to get out of the way. She closed her eyes and when she opened them she was out of harms way on the side of the road, safe.  She did not walk herself, she gave credit to her guardian angel. 

The website I clipped the above from included a long prayer to St. Michael the Archangel.  We Catholics are more familiar with with the shorter version: 

Angels and especially guardian angels are just another way that God shows His care and his love for us.  

Watching Their Flocks By Night

The gospel tells us that the birth of Jesus was first made known to shepherds watching their flocks by night.  This presents us with an interesting fact about the birth of our Savior, he was born in the spring or summer time. Shepherds would not have been out in the fields in the cold of winter.  But it really does not matter when the birth of Jesus took place, summer, winter, spring, or fall, He came to earth to save us, one and all.  Let's look a little at these people who first were told about the birth of Jesus. 

To be a shepherd in ancient Israel was not a good thing.  Shepherds were considered chronically unclean. Due to the nature of their work they were unable to visit the temple or synagogue. They were not the most educated of men in a country that prized learning. In short if you were a shepherd in ancient Israel you would be considered a second class citizen, certainly higher than the lepers but not too much so. 

In spite of your lowly estate as a shepherd the announcement that the Messiah had indeed arrived was made to you.  What does that say about the Messiah? It shows that the Messiah was coming for all.  He did not appear on a golden cloud in front of the high priest or the Roman governor, no, he chose the lowest class to be the ones that would hear of His birth first. 

This is the first sermon preached by Jesus and He preached it without using words, just an example.  The King of the Universe, the Author of Everything came down as a very dependent infant, in a stable, placed in a manger, where animals came to get their food in a town called Bethlehem which means House of Bread. 

The sermon on the manger preaches volumes in it's silence about God's love for the poor. Pope Francis has spoken about this fact time and time again. We need to take care of each other and we have to realize that no matter how rich we are, no matter how well off we are, that in God's eyes we are but children.  

In this last week of Advent as we rush about maybe we should take time and make some provision for those who have nothing.  After all the Good News was made known to the lowest first. 

33,000 Protestant Denominations are out there each proclaiming that they possess the true message of salvation.  Against that you have one cradle Catholic that has thrown down the gauntlet and has challenged the Protestant to CONVERT-A-CATHOLIC. No one has picked up the challenge. Seriously, tell me where the Catholic Church has got it wrong, prove to me that I should be in your denomination and I will convert.  Click Here to get the ball rolling.