† Quote of the Day "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 Today's Meditation "St. Luke tells us that "there appeared to Him [in the Garden of Gethsemane] an angel from heaven to strengthen him" (22:43). It was an angel in human form, as the expression used by St. Luke indicates an apparition visible to bodily eyes. An angel announced Christ's coming into the world, a choir of angels proclaimed His birth, and after the temptation in the desert, angels came to minister to Him. The angels who ministered to Jesus came to assist Him after the trial of the forty days' fast and the temptation. In Gethsemane an angel appeared in order to strengthen Him in advance for the awful climax of His mental anguish in the agony and bloody sweat. Jesus' sufferings were concentrated in His soul, but from the soul they overflowed to the body, distressing and weakening it. It is likely, therefore, that the angel brought Jesus strength for both soul and body."
—Fr. Ralph Gorman, C.P.
Cover image from the book, The Last Hours of Jesus - From Gethsemane to Golgotha
An Excerpt From The Last Hours of Jesus - From Gethsemane to Golgotha Daily Verse "The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will!" Psalm 103:19-21 | Guardian Angels October 2nd is the Feast of the Guardian Angels. Although Guardian Angels have been venerated since the early days of the Church, it wasn't until the 17th century that Pope Clement X extended their feast day to the Universal Church. Although not a dogmatic article of the faith, it is a firmly established Catholic belief that each individual human being has their own Guardian Angel assigned to them by God to watch over their soul, help them avoid sin and temptation, and lead them to heaven, taken in part from Jesus' words in the Gospel of Matthew: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father." The Church thanks God for our heavenly helpers, the Guardian Angels, who minister to us in our need and guide us on the path of salvation. | Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels • Readings for the Memorial of the Guardian Angels Reading 1 Jb 9:1-12, 14-16 Job answered his friends and said: I know well that it is so;
but how can a man be justified before God?
Should one wish to contend with him,
he could not answer him once in a thousand times.
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
who has withstood him and remained unscathed? He removes the mountains before they know it;
he overturns them in his anger.
He shakes the earth out of its place,
and the pillars beneath it tremble.
He commands the sun, and it rises not;
he seals up the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads upon the crests of the sea.
He made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south;
He does great things past finding out,
marvelous things beyond reckoning. Should he come near me, I see him not;
should he pass by, I am not aware of him;
Should he seize me forcibly, who can say him nay?
Who can say to him, "What are you doing?" How much less shall I give him any answer,
or choose out arguments against him!
Even though I were right, I could not answer him,
but should rather beg for what was due me.
If I appealed to him and he answered my call,
I could not believe that he would hearken to my words. Responsorial Psalm Ps 88:10bc-11, 12-13, 14-15 R. (3) Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
Daily I call upon you, O LORD;
to you I stretch out my hands.
Will you work wonders for the dead?
Will the shades arise to give you thanks?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
Do they declare your mercy in the grave,
your faithfulness among those who have perished?
Are your wonders made known in the darkness,
or your justice in the land of oblivion?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
But I, O LORD, cry out to you;
with my morning prayer I wait upon you.
Why, O LORD, do you reject me;
why hide from me your face?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord. Alleluia Ps 103:21 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Bless the LORD, all you angels,
you ministers, who do his will.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 18:1-5, 10 The disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
"Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. "See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."
| Daily Meditation: Job 9:1-12, 14-16 Who can say to him, "What are you doing?" (Job 9:12) Job has suffered the loss of almost everything he held dear and cannot understand the reason for all these terrible trials. After all, he had always been faithful to God! His friends try to help Job make sense of his suffering, yet their attempts to comfort him fail to explain his situation. In his own grappling to understand his plight, Job reminds himself and his friends of the strength of God's creative power and the awesomeness of his works. In the face of such power and majesty, Job asks, "Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'" (9:12). Job recognizes his littleness before the Lord. God is mighty, the creator and sustainer of the universe. Who are we to question him? Yet how many times, in the midst of our own suffering, have we asked God this same question: What are you doing, Lord? Of course, it's not wrong to ask, but Job is right that we shouldn't approach God in an accusatory way, as if he owes us an explanation. Instead, we can trust that he will somehow bring good out of our trials and use them to help us grow close to him. So rather than asking why, we can ask how: How should I respond to this situation? How are you working in me in this hard time? God will answer us as we take the time to listen. Perhaps he will show us how we can depend more on his grace. Or we may find that the patience required of us in a certain situation leads to a greater closeness to Christ. As we endure a trial, he may also increase our sense of compassion and love for others. It will take until the closing chapters of the Book of Job for this righteous man to express himself fully to God and for God to finally answer him. This will lead Job to a much more profound faith. We don't know how our own situations will be resolved, but we do know that God can use everything we experience to help us grow in our faith. So don't be afraid to ask him how he is forming you through your suffering. But then wait prayerfully, with Job-like patience, for his answer. "Lord Jesus, give me the grace this day to respond to my suffering in a way that leads me closer to you." Psalm 88:10-15
Matthew 18:1-5, 10 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."........" end quote. | Bishop Barron said:
"Friends, today we celebrate the feast of our guardian angels. Why does God send these spiritual messengers to help us? Well, Aquinas says that each of us, due to our fallen nature, has been assigned a heavenly guide. Is all of this just speculation and conjecture?
One of my favorite stories about angels is this one: two relatively inexperienced pilots found themselves lost on a foggy day. Though they tried desperately to make contact with an airport, they were incapable of doing so. One of them then prayed for protection.
In time, a voice crackled onto the radio. The speaker identified himself as a controller from a small airport. Through very precise instructions, he guided the two pilots through the fog to a landing strip at that airport.
Once they had arrived, to their astonishment they discovered that the airport was closed and that there was no one on duty. A bizarre coincidence? A happy accident? Or perhaps a sign that we are being protected by powers at a higher pitch of ontological perfection? As you know, stories such as this come out of the woodwork once people are given the opportunity to share them.. . . ." end of Bishop's quote.
It is interesting that today's readings are continued from yesterday's day of the "little flower", of the "little way".
And the next verse is what cinches our faith in guardian angels because our Lord says "See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."
Do not despise a little one? A child. God calls us His own. How can this Father have billions of children and counting? He calls us to love His children. I was always confused on the last part that says "their angels always look upon the face of my Heavenly Father".
How can they see us and the Father at the same time? Do they see the Father in us? Because we are made in His image? Or do they see all around them at the same time?
Whichever it may be, the words are meant to comfort us, like our Lord Jesus was comforted in the desert, or as a child, or at the night before He was crucified where He suffered tremendously, knowing what would come for Him and the whole world.
Do you need comfort today? I would say about 97% of the world actually needs the comfort which means protection and encouragement of the guardian angels. The rest do not desire comfort or protection, and even then, the angels do their best to guide and protect.
How often do you speak or engage with your guardian angel? This does not fly well with those who do not believe in "communion of the saints" because we are invoking supernatural connections. Do not ever though, try to use other "mediums" or ways to talk to deceased people. This is false ways and superstition that is riddled with demonic spirits engaging in the occult. But we can simply pray and whisper for help to our angels and let them talk to other angels for us.
Watch what happens when you are in Heavenly union, a Heavenly communion, a common union.
Today is a good day to thank your guardian angel, send a prayer, or a litany of prayers their way in thanksgiving for their praises to God and for being connected with us.
My Guardian angel, thank you, for everything, guide and protect me all the way to Heaven. What a blissful honor forever! |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Mark 10:43–45 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,1 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave2 of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
