While adults often use fancy language and convoluted reasoning to explain things they don't really understand, children prefer a more straightforward and logical approach. Collected from various sources, these quotes are sure to make an angel or two smile.
"Angels have a lot to do and they keep very busy. If you lose a tooth, an angel comes in through your window and leaves money under your pillow. Then when it gets cold, angels go south for the winter." - Sara, age 6
"I only know the names of two angels, Hark and Harold." - Gregory, age 5
"What I don't get about angels is why, when someone is in love, they shoot arrows at them." - Sarah, age 7
"My guardian angel helps me with math, but he's not much good for science." - Henry, age 8
"Angels talk all the way while they're flying you up to heaven. The main subject is where you went wrong before you got dead." - Daniel, age 9
"If we saw an angel clearly, we should die of pleasure."
St. Bridget of Sweden
Today is the feast day of St. Bridget of Sweden. Sometimes known as Birgitta, Bridget was born in approximately 1303 into a wealthy yet pious family. As was the custom at the time, she married young, at age 13, and went on to have eight children with her husband, Ulf Godmarsson, who was also a good and devout man.
From an early age Bridget claimed to have visions and religious inspirations. These intensified after the death of her husband, prompting Bridget to throw herself into religious projects. She is most famous for founding the Order of the Holy Savior (The Brigittines). She voluntarily lived an austere life, looked after the poor and sick, and used her outspoken personality to give advice to the popes regarding political and ecclesiastical problems of the time.
Bridget left behind many writings, most notably her "Revelations" about Christ's sufferings and future events. She died in 1373 in Rome, on her way home from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Bridget is the patron saint of Sweden.
St. Birgitta, fearless in the service of God, pray for us. St. Birgitta, patient in suffering and humiliation, pray for us. St. Birgitta, marvellous in thy love towards Jesus and Mary, pray for us.
We seem to read and talk a lot about what our guardian angels do for us. Maybe what we should be focusing on is what we should do for them.
St. Bernard tells it to us straight: "Reverence for his presence, devotion for his benevolence, confidence in his care. Always remember that you are in the presence of your Guardian Angel."
Yikes. (Any other red faces out there to join mine?)
Sure, it's easy to forget our angel. He's invisible and, well, we're not. We're stimulated by things we can see, hear, touch and taste. And even when we can see someone near and dear to us, how often do we still ignore them, are rude to them, or upset them one way or the other? Lots.
Being the infinitely patient otherworldly beings that they are, our angels no doubt cut us a lot of slack. But that doesn't mean we should ever quit trying to honor and love them to the best of our ability.
In deference to our 21st century byte-sized attention spans, here are some bulleted suggestions for giving our angels their due respect:
Pray to them. A thought, a thank you, the Guardian Angel Prayer you probably learned as a child . . .these are all good. In fact, Pope John XXIII was in the habit of saying the Guardian Angel Prayer five times a day!
Be respectful and modest in your words and deeds. As St. Bernard liked to remind his followers: "Never do in the presence of your angel what you would not do in my presence."
Remember them on their designated feast days. The Feast of the Guardian Angels is October 2 and the Feast of the Archangels is September 29. Think what a kick it would be for the angels if you attended a Mass on those days in their honor.
Honor the angels of people you meet. This one takes a little getting used to, but think about it a minute. You say hello to someone you pass on the street, right? And doesn't that person have an angel accompanying them? Yesss . . . So send that angel a mental hello. The key word here is mental.
Learn more about them. Read good Catholic books on the angels. Beware of anything that looks too New Agey. (You may end up attracting the attention of another type of spirit "friend.") A great place to start is the Bible's very own Book of Tobit, which tells the story of how St. Raphael the Archangel disguised himself as a human in order to lend help to Tobit and his family.
The guardian angels are our most loyal and loving lifetime companions. It's high time we start giving them their due.
Today is the feast of St. Isidore the Farmer (1070-1130). St. Isidore was a poor Spanish farmhand who worked his whole life for a wealthy and kind landowner on an estate outside of Madrid. Isidore was known for his charity toward those even poorer than himself, as well as for his deep religious habits such as rising early to attend church before starting his work. Legend has it that at times Isidore's guardian angel would help plow the fields while Isidore was at Mass, so as to not let the farmhand fall behind on his obligation or overburden the other workers.
Now before you start thinking, uh huh, it's about time my angel starts doing something for me, like the dishes, keep in mind that Isidore's angel covered him so he could GO TO MASS, not catch the latest Celebrity Apprentice, or whatever the equivalent was back then (Lords and Serfs: Feudal Wars ?).
The main reason Isidore was graced with spectacular supernatural help is that he was already really, really holy--Mother Teresa holy. Still, that doesn't mean every extremely virtuous person is going to experience an extraordinary angelic intervention. That decision ultimately rests with God, and, you guessed it, we'll never know the reasons why or why not.
Frustrating, isn't it? Especially if there's a whole sinkful of pots and pans waiting.
All of this angelic activity talked about so far was a prelude, of course, to the visits Our Lady would make the following year to the children, in which she would convey her requests of penance, prayer and devotion to her Immaculate Heart.
Most Catholics are familiar with the story of Our Lady of Fatima, or at least have heard of it. Here’s a quick refresher course on what happened:
On May 13, 1917, three children were tending a flock of sheep near the town of Fatima, Portugal. The children were Lucia dos Santos (age 10) and her cousins Francisco (age 9) and Jacinta Marto (age 7). The children had finished praying a rosary and were starting to play when they saw a brilliant light. Thinking it was lightning, they began to head toward home. Suddenly they saw another flash, this one illuminating the whole area, and that’s when they saw, standing over a small holmoak tree, “a lady brighter than the sun” with a white rosary hanging from her hands.
The beautiful lady asked the children to pray for peace and to make sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. She also requested that they return to this same spot on the 13th of each month for five consecutive months.
During these subsequent appearances, the Blessed Mother requested frequent recitation of the Rosary, increased devotion to her Immaculate Heart, daily acts of reparation and sacrifice, and prayers for the conversion of Russia. At the October 13th appearance, she revealed herself as “Our Lady of the Rosary.”
During Our Lady’s last appearance on October 13, 1917, over 70,000 people who had gathered at the now infamous apparition site witnessed a spectacular solar event, commonly called the “The Miracle of the Sun.” Witnesses described the sun as “spinning,” “dancing,” “trembling,” zig-zagging and even careening toward them at times. Reportedly, the phenomenon did not hurt anyone’s eyes, and the wet clothes and ground from previous rain showers quickly and inexplicably dried up in a matter of minutes. The Catholic Church officially recognized this occurrence as a miracle on October 13, 1930.
The final component of the Fatima story is “The Secret,” a message from Our Lady to the children that actually consisted of three parts. The first two were revealed in 1941 in a document written by Lucia, and consisted of (1) a terrifying vision of hell and (2) a prediction that while World War I would soon end, another, more devastating war would occur if mankind did not stop offending God and if Russia did not convert. The third secret remains more controversial in that while the Vatican officially made it public in the year 2000 and declared that it pointed to the assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II, some believe that it is not the “real” secret or at least not the full secret and that the Vatican is hiding the true message, which they believe describes apostasy, satanic infiltration of the Church, and the end of the world.
As today is the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, it would benefit all of us to reflect on the happenings at Fatima, their historical impact, and their relevance to us today. To that end, here are some helpful resources:
And be sure to check out this trailer for the 2009 movie, The 13th Day, a critically acclaimed film distributed by Ignatius Press that the National Catholic Register calls "the best film ever made about Fatima--the most beautiful and effective, as well as one of the most historically accurate."
On that special day when we welcome our child into the world and "officially" become a mother, something else very special transpires in the delivery room (aside from hubby's pale green skin slowly returning to a normal color).
Our child receives his or her very own guardian angel.
According to St. Thomas Aquinas and other early Church Fathers, up until the time of birth an unborn child is protected by its mother's guardian angel. When the baby finally becomes physically detached from mom (yes!), he or she is assigned their own angel who will accompany them throughout their life.
I can just imagine the conversation as the exchange takes place: "He's all yours now. Watch out, he's a kicker."
According to the teaching of the Roman catechism, we must remember how admirable was the intention of divine Providence in entrusting to the angels the mission of watching over all mankind, and over individual human beings, lest they should fall victims to the grave dangers which they encounter. In this earthly life, when children have to make their way along a path beset with obstacles and snares, their fathers take care to call upon the help of those who can look after them and come to their aid in adversity. In the same way our Father in heaven has charged his angels to come to our assistance during our earthly journey which leads us to our blessed fatherland, so that, protected by the angels' help and care, we may avoid the snares upon our path, subdue our passions and, under this angelic guidance, follow always the straight and sure road which leads to Paradise...
Everyone of us is entrusted to the care of an angel.
That is why we must have a lively and profound devotion to our own Guardian Angel, and why we should often and trustfully repeat the dear prayer we were taught in the days of our childhood.
May we never fail in this devotion to the angels! During our earthly pilgrimage we may often run the risk of having to face the natural elements in turmoil, or the wrath of men who may seek to do us harm. But our Guardian Angel is always present. Let us never forget him and always remember to pray to him.
If there was ever an earthly authority on angels, it was Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio). He talked to them regularly as you and I talk with our family and friends. He sent them all over the world on “missions” to his spiritual children, and received messages back via the angels as often as we receive mail. Here are a few of his thoughts on these magnificent heavenly beings:
“When we die, our Guardian Angel will take our soul to heaven.” “Our Guardian Angel never leaves us, even when we are disgusting God with our behavior.” “Oh if all men could understand this great gift that God assigned to us; this celestial spirit." "For whoever is alone there is his Guardian Angel." “The duty of the Guardian Angel is not only of spiritual guidance. He also prevents bodily harm for us.” “Our Guardian Angel prays constantly for us.” “Let’s confide to Our Guardian Angel our pains and sorrows. He is like a friend, like a brother.” "Your Guardian Angel prays for you; offers to God all the good works you accomplish; your holy and pure desires." "Do not forget this invisible companion, always present to listen to you; always ready to console you." "Invoke often this Guardian Angel, and repeat the beautiful prayer: 'Oh Angel of God...'.” "Often remember his presence; thank him; pray to him; Respect him; be in constant fear of offending the purity of his gaze." "What consolation when, at the moment of death, you will see this Angel, who accompanied you through life and was so liberal in maternal care.”
Padre Pio's Daily Prayer to His Guardian Angel
Angel of God,
my guardian,
to whom the goodness
of the Heavenly Father entrusts me.
Enlighten,
protect and guide me
Now and for ever.
Amen.
Finally, I just had to share this story of a man named Paul Walsh and the astounding miracle that happened to him in 1983 through the intercession of St. Pio. Enjoy (and prepare to be amazed).
“We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic . . .” (Numbers 11:6)
Ah yes, the garlic. Love it or hate it, this ubiquitous little herb (or vegetable, depending on your take) has been feeding and healing from pre-biblical times to now. According to Greek historian Herodotus, the slaves who built the Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza were given loads of garlic, onions, and radishes to fuel their work. Garlic was so valued it was even used as currency on occasion. A healthy male slave in ancient Egypt could be purchased for fifteen pounds of garlic.
The Greeks and Romans also recognized the value of garlic, not just as a source of fuel for their laborers and soldiers, but for its medicinal qualities. In his 37-book encyclopedia of natural sciences, Historia Naturalis, Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) listed 23 different ailments that garlic could be used to treat, including infection, a condition which modern research has shown garlic to be effective against.
After the fall of Rome, Christian monks became the chief keepers of herbal and medical knowledge, and consequently grew garlic in their monastery gardens along with other plants considered important and useful.
So why the mini-history lesson on garlic? Well, it’s partly my explanation for being absent from blogging for so long. (The other part is due to simple lack of discipline.) For the past couple of months I’ve been writing a little book about garlic which is now . . . drumroll, please . . . FINISHED!
Garlic is pretty cool. In addition to keeping away vampires, it’ll flavor your dishes, keep you healthy, ward away pests, help you catch fish . . . read the book and you’ll find out all kinds of neat things.
Of course, we Catholics already know how great garlic is. Just check out this statue of St. Lorenzo (Lawrence), the patron saint of cooks. Look at what he’s holding: a gridiron and cloves of garlic! (Legend has it that St. Lawrence suffered martyrdom in the 3rd century by being roasted over a gridiron.)
