Happy Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul! It has been one month since Christmas. Have your New Year’s resolutions fallen apart
yet? Did you give up on dieting? Working out?
What about any spiritual resolutions?
If you’re still going strong on whatever you’ve chosen to do to improve
yourself in 2019, then a big CONGRATULATIONS to you. Keep it up!
After Saul’s initial conversion on the road to Damascus,
after he was struck blind, after Jesus spoke to him, and after he was filled
with the Holy Spirit, his ministry took off in an incredible way. In at least one instance, we know an angel
appeared to him while his ship was caught in a violent storm at sea. (Acts 27:23)
In several others, we could assume that divine assistance from members
of the angelic body must have given him wisdom in his teachings.
Peter was also visited and assisted by angels. When he was being held prisoner by Herod, an
angel of the Lord physically freed him from his chains and his imprisonment. (Acts
12:7-11) Angels appeared to Joseph
various time in dreams to give him direction.
(Matthew 1:20-21 & Matthew 2:13)
The angel Gabriel was sent to Mary to announce Jesus’ birth. (Luke
1:26-56) You’re likely familiar with
these, and many other instances throughout the New and Old Testament, where angels
of the Lord are shown interacting with mankind.
Angels are all around us.
They are there to ease our path in society. Our guardian angels love us, and want what’s
best for us, which is namely, for us to get to heaven. At lease these are the sentiments I heard,
paraphrased, from Mike Aquilina on a recent radio broadcast. Mike is an award-winning author of books on
Catholic history, doctrine, and devotion.
One of his best-sellers, “Angels of God” explores the Heavenly Hosts in
the bible and in the church.
While listening to this broadcast, Mike encouraged us to
greet our guardian angels. Talk to them
and ask for assistance. Also, greet the
guardian angels of others. This was not
the first time I’ve heard that advice. When
we are faced with a difficult situation, in dealing with another, we should
greet that person’s guardian angel first.
Perhaps we could even ask our own guardian angel to go ahead of us. That way it will be “three against one!” (Us, our guardian angel, and their guardian
angel…assuming we have that person’s best interests in mind.) This theory seemed especially promising in
dealings with hard-headed teenagers!
I wonder how many of us think of angels when we need
assistance, or how many of us have given much thought at all to our Guardian
Angels since childhood. Was the most
recent image you have of angels, conjured from the character Clarence, while
watching “It’s A Wonderful Life” over Christmas? Come February, will our idea of angels change
to chubby, winged cherubs when we start seeing pictures of Cupid
everywhere?
As Christians, we need to do everything we can to dissuade
attacks from evil. I personally like to
think of Michael, leading God’s army as he drives Satan from heaven. (Revelation
12:7-9) Short of having Michael appear,
and start using his fiery sword to take out anyone who stands in my way, however, I
think that a call to my Guardian Angel will be a big help in my daily
life. At even a low psychological level,
if I admit that God’s forces are all around me, and view others that I deal
with as people who are also under God’s protection, then I must certainly look
at them in a more positive way during our dealings. At a higher, spiritual level, if I call on
the help of angels, perhaps I will have some hand in directing another person
closer to God.
If angels truly love us and want the highest and best
calling for each of us, then their intercession will certainly direct things
towards an ultimate good, even if my own intentions in calling upon them might
be misguided. Call upon them in your
difficult dealings, and greet them throughout your daily life. And if you are one of the people who have
already broken your New Year’s resolution, I don’t think it would be bad to implore
your angel to watch over you as you restart on your immediate path to health and wellness,
while you continue along your longer path to heaven. That being said, I wouldn’t count on losing
40 pounds without diet or exercise, just because you declare your Guardian
Angel as your personal trainer!
If you want to read more from an expert, instead of just my
ramblings, Mike Aquilina’s website is: FathersOfTheChurch.com
I most recently heard him on Matthew Leonard’s podcast “The
Art Of Catholic” (also highly recommended), which can be heard regularly on
Catholic Radio. Matthew’s website is: MatthewSLeonard.com
By: Matt Buehrig
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