St. Luke

St. Luke's gospel is my favorite among the four. I think it goes back to my childhood when my family converted to Catholicism and I remember being enchanted with stories about the Blessed Mother. Luke truly brings Mary to life in his gospel. In fact, he alone describes the Annunciation, Mary's visit to Elizabeth, Mary's Magnificat, the Presentation in the temple, and the story of Jesus' disappearance in Jerusalem. It is in Luke that we read the angel's words of greeting to Mary: "Hail Mary full of grace." And it is also only in Luke that we have the story of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. Lest we forget, St. Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles.

Spending a few minutes reading some of St. Luke's accounts in Scripture would be a prodigious way to honor his feast day today. Believed to be a physician by training (St. Paul refers to him as "Luke, the beloved physician" in Colossians 4:14), St. Luke is the patron saint of physicians and surgeons, as well as artists, butchers and students. In art he is often depicted with an ox, symbolizing the sacrifice Jesus made for all the world.

Angels and the Rosary

St. Alphonsus Liguori once said that each time we pray a Hail Mary we attract the angels and repel the devils. Now think about how many times we say the Hail Mary in the Rosary. Hmm. That’s a pretty effective pest repellent, I’d say.

As satisfying as it is to know we’re chasing away sulfurous little creeps when saying the Rosary, it might be more beneficial to focus on the real angels and unite our prayers with theirs, keeping in mind the important roles their kind played in the lives of Jesus and Mary. They were there for every event, major and minor, public and private. Indeed, the angels illuminate the very mysteries we meditate upon during this devotion.

In honor of this month's Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, I'd like to share this reflection from Pope Leo XIII:

The Angels revealed each of these mysteries [of the Rosary] in its due time; they played a great part in them; they were constantly present at them… Gabriel was sent to announce the Incarnation of the Eternal Word to the Virgin. In the cave of Bethlehem, Angels sang the glory of the new-born Savior. The Angel gave Joseph command to fly with the Child into Egypt. An Angel consoled, with his loving words, Jesus in His bloody sweat in the garden. Angels announced His resurrection, after He had triumphed over death, to the women. Angels carried Him up into Heaven; and foretold His second coming, surrounded by Angelic hosts . . .

What more divine, what more delightful, than to meditate and pray with the Angels? With what confidence may we not hope that those who on earth have united with the Angels in this ministry will one day enjoy their blessed company in Heaven?

(From the encyclical, On the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, promulgated on Sept. 12, 1897)

Saint Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese had an intense devotion to her guardian angel. Following the examples and instructions of her parents and sisters, she spoke familiarly to her angel from earliest childhood. Throughout her short life she continued to have a deep and sweet love for her own angel and all the angels of God. Known as she was for her writings, it is only fitting that St. Therese penned a beautiful poem to her angel in 1897, the year that she died from tuberculosis.

Read more about "The Little Flower and the Holy Angels" on the Opus Sanctorum Angelorum website.

To My Angel Guardian

O glorious guardian of my frame!
In heaven’s high courts thou shinest bright,
As some most pure and holy flame,
Before the Lord of endless light.

Yet for my sake thou com’st to earth,
To be my brother, Angel dear;
My friend and keeper from my birth,
By day and night to me most near.

Knowing how weak a child am I,
By thy strong hand thou guidest me;
The stones that in my pathway lie,
I see thee move them carefully.

Ever thy heavenly tones invite
My soul to look to God alone;
And ever grows thy face more bright,
When I more meek and kind have grown.

O thou who speedest through all space
More swiftly than the lightnings fly!
Go very often, in my place,
To those I love most tenderly.

With thy soft touch, oh! dry their tears;
Tell them the cross is sweet to bear;
Speak my name softly in their ears,
And Jesu’s name, supremely fair.

Through all my life, though brief it be,
I fain would succor souls from sin.
Dear Angel, sent from heaven to me,
Kindle thy zeal my heart within!

Naught but my holy poverty,
And daily cross to give have I;
O Join them to thine ecstasy,
And offer them to God on high.

Thine are heaven’s glory and delight,
The riches of the King of kings;
The Host in our ciboriums bright
Is mine, and all the wealth pain brings.

So with the Cross, and with the Host,
And with thine aid, dear Angel Friend,
I wait in peace, on time’s dark coast,
Heaven’s happiness that knows no end.

(February, 1897)