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in the Game of the Father the Son of the Holy.......

Ghost! amen.. in preparing a sermon there's

usually three options write a brand-new

one recycle and revise an old one or

completely repeat an old one and this

one is one that I have given before but

I don't hesitate to give it because it's

a topic that every once in a while we

need a reminding of and it has to do

with angels so if this rings a bell it

might sound familiar but I know there's

also some folks who have never heard it

before

but I was thinking of this topic

especially guardian angels in regards to

the situations especially in Iraq I

mentioned on Friday night what's going

on to the Christians over there

this really really awful persecution so

perhaps perhaps tempted to think that

there's no divine assistance rendered

but God does assign to every soul in

this world the guardian angel and the

dogmatic teaching of the church on this

reads as follows it says by God's

providence angels have been entrusted

with the office of guarding the human

race and of accompanying every human

being in order to preserve him from any

serious dangers our Heavenly Father has

placed over each of us an angel under

whose protection and vigilance we may be

enabled to escape the snares secretly

prepared by our enemy repel the dreadful

attacks he makes on us and under his

guiding hand keep on the right Road

and thus be secure against all false

steps which the wiles of the evil one

may cause us to make in order to draw

aside from the path that leads to heaven

it is very important for each of us on

an individual level to cultivate a

friendship with our guardian angel now

that doesn't mean you have to you know

leave letters on your kitchen table and

expect them to write you back

it doesn't quite work that way

but I do believe that if we ask our

angel to assist us in life and we don't

forget about them we want we're going to

see results our Lord says the following

of our guardian angels I say unto thee

that their angels always behold the face

of my father who is in heaven now angels

are sometimes depicted in art that are

not the most intimidating or inspiring

of ways but there's reasons for this so

oftentimes we see angels with the face

of children and that is signifying that

angels are immortal and ever young

sometimes we see them depicted with

wings and this depicts the fact that

whenever they're given an assignment

from God they execute it with grit with

perfect attention and no hesitation

their will in other words is perfectly

fixed on that of God's our situation is

not as simple as human beings we

deliberate you know we go back and forth

sometimes not really sure but an angel

has has a clear perception of what God's

will is and therefore when they're

depicted in art work and they have wings

it's to show that just as we see how

birds can fly so quickly through the air

an angel in the same way executes God's

will now we often see them depicted with

harps and we might think to ourselves

when we're not so you know when we're a

little bit younger that all the Angels

do is play harps all day in heaven and

harp music is lovely but I don't think

they play the harp but the reason that

we see them depicted that way is to show

that they are constantly praising God so

an angel is fixed on God's will and his

and his and his presence in heaven now

sometimes you see them as a head with

wings only in no body well an angel

doesn't have a physical body it's a

purely spiritual being but as you know

as we see often in the scriptures there

manifests themselves to men in the form

of men there's a number of examples here

when we see Saint John writing in the

book of the apocalypse there was an

angel that stood before him but this

angel was was he thought John thought he

was standing before God himself the

angel was so glorious but oftentimes in

the scriptures when they appear to men

they hide their glory so they actually

just appears as normal men they often

intervene to help us not only in our

spiritual needs

but in our temporal needs and I think

many times when you talk to people

they'll have experiences in their life

that they cannot explain where they see

the hand of Providence at work I've met

people like that where they can say you

know something happened and I can't

explain how I got out of this Jam and I

think a lot of times it's an angel that

has helped them in the book of Genesis

we see the story of Jacob's Ladder and

he has this vision of angels ascending

and descending from heaven to earth and

this is a signifying image that the

angels come down to intercede and act

with men and to intercede for them but

they go back to heaven to sing the

praises of God as well as in a symbolic

manner bringing man's intentions to the

throne of heaven the guardian angels

watch over us and they count as their

happiness the fact that they're

appointed to watch over us and the

welfare of our souls not only do

individuals have guardian angels but

it's also taught that even cities

countries parish churches and religious

houses each have their own guardian

angel so how do the angels help us the

guardian angels well they can put good

thoughts into our minds and they can

help us to actually move our will to

seeking what is good when the angels

appeared to the Shepherd's in Bethlehem

and when they were seeing at Christ's

tomb they made themselves visible and

they spoke to men but generally speaking

they influenced us without being seen or

heard

now I would be cautious you don't want

to walk around telling everybody you're

hearing voices and saying that it's your

angel you're probably not going to

convince too many people of that but

this is the way the Angels can influence

our will in some strange way sometimes

they can move us to do something that is

conducive to the welfare of our soul and

even by some secret impulse they can

save us from an impending danger we see

angels bringing prayers from the pit the

faithful to Almighty God

we see in the book of Tobit the

wonderful story of Raphael offering the

prayers of Tobias and in the book of the

apocalypse we see the prayers of the

saints offered to God in a golden censer

like incense burning and going up to

heaven so the angels take the prayers of

the faithful to Almighty God God hears

our prayers but the angels mingle theirs

with ours

and this makes them even more acceptable

to God st. Thomas Aquinas says of all

the benefits we receive from God our

guardian angel takes part because he

helps us in obtaining them our guardian

angel protects us in danger we just had

the feast

this past Friday of Saint Peter in

Chains and this story is accounted in

the acts of the Apostle when Peter was

imprisoned and he was delivered by an

angel in the Book of Daniel Daniel was

kept safe in the den of the Lions and

also the story of the three young men

who were put in a furnace were protected

from fire and this was with the help of

angels that they were preserved from

danger in the Book of Psalms we are

given the the the idea that God has

commissioned the angels to help us it

says the following he has given his

angels charge over thee to keep you in

all your ways in their hands they shall

bear you up lest you dash your foot

against a stone but the chief duty of a

guardian angel is to protect us from the

snares of devil the holy angels have

powers over the fallen angels or the

evil

spirits and we also see this in the book

of Tobias who flew away these eight the

fallen angels would flee at the approach

of a good angel so we have to commit

ourselves to the care of our angel every

day it's often recommended that even

every day when we get up and say some

morning prayers we should say some

prayers in honor of our guardian angel

if we're going to travel or any or take

up any new enterprise we should ask our

Angels help if we have friends who are

going on a journey we should wish the

angels protection on them and as we read

in the book of Tobias when his son was

leaving home he gave the blessing and

said may the angel of God accompany you

now sometimes we see angels sent two men

to reveal the will of God for example in

the sacrifice of Abraham and the message

of the angel to Zacharias and to Our

Lady at the Annunciation she was visited

by Gabriel however we do have to be

cautious of presumption and we can't

expect our guardian angels to take care

of us when we know we're doing something

displeasing to God so we should always

have a spirit of gratitude to our

guardian angel we should ask for their

help every day and we should thank them

for all of their benefits your guardian

angel is your companion in all the

circumstances of your life your angel is

your friend in good times as well as in

bed our guardian angel stands by our

side when we enter into life's conflicts

and he's with us before we die and our

angel fights for us and with us our

angel pleads our cause before God when

we stand in judgment before him and our

angel visit and console us if we go to

purgatory I have a suspicion that my

guardian angel is constantly be giving

being given a raise and he'll probably

if I meet him at my judgment he's going

to have a big book of the dumb things I

was protected from so what do some of

the Church Fathers say about our angels

Saint Jerome says the following sublime

is the dignity of the soul

all four to each soul brought into this

world a guardian spirit is appointed

from the beginning of its existence

Saint Agustin says the Angels have care

of us we who are poor pilgrims they have

compassion on us and at God's command

they hasten to our aid so that we may

arrive at heaven the Angels watch over

us and all the things we are doing if we

stop anywhere they stop with us if we go

forth on a walk they bear us company if

we journey into another country they

follow us wherever we go there they

stand with us with us Bernard of

Clairvaux used to say this to his fellow

monks my brothers make the holy angels

your friends give them joy by having

confidential recourse to them and honor

them by your prayers for they are ever

near to comfort and protect you however

weak we may be and however sad our

condition the great however great the

dangers which surround us beneath the

protection of such guardians we have

nothing to fear

whenever afflictions or temptations

frighten you implore the aid of him who

watches over you who leads you and who

helps you in all your necessities now

even for souls that have fallen into a

state of sin the angels watch over them

and they spare no effort in trying to

lead and bring that soul to Penance and

reconciliation with God non-believers

pagans those who might hold heretical

views even idolaters have the

guardianship of an angel and these

angels constantly intercede for those

who may be an error so that their hearts

may be open to the light of grace in the

opinion of Saint Clement

st. Gregory the Great Origen and other

fathers they say that every town every

city every village and even every family

has a special guardian angel the great

st. Francis Xavier who was the

missionary to the Orient he went all

over the Orient in his efforts to bring

the gospel

he believed that each country he visited

had a guardian angel and so he would

invoke the angel of each country and

City wherever he went to preach the

gospel and whenever he left he would try

to encourage the angel to bring more

Souls to the church now Saint Michael is

one of the Archangels but he's also

honored as he's not in the hierarchy of

angel he's not really a guardian angel

but he is the guardian angel if you will

of the church just as he was the garden

of the guardian of the chosen people in

the Old Testament it is also believed

that Michael was a guardian a special

guardian to our Lord during his earthly

life and that he is the guardian of the

Pope st. Michael also revealed to one of

the church mystic Saint you Tropius that

he is the guardian of the Most Blessed

Sacrament in church history the

protection of angels has been attributed

to different times for example according

to the church historian Boronia s'

angels protected the churches of

Constantinople and the palace of the

Emperor against the attacks of the Arian

heretics in Europe when the Saxons

entered a church dedicated to Saint

Boniface to Angel warriors appeared in

wondrous beauty and strength an angel

protected Saint Ambrose in his church

when the Empress Justyna demanded that

he give over the area that he debt that

he give to the Arian heretics a basilica

and he was able to repel this with the

help of angels finally blessed Peter

Faber one of the founders of the Jesuit

Order and a missionary brought many

souls to God by his work in Germany and

while traveling through the diocese

where he where he would evangelize he

received innumerable help and

consolations from the guardian angels of

several parishes and on repeated

occasions he received convincing proofs

of

protection so even though you can't see

your angel you've got someone looking

out for you so invoke your angel every

day ask for their assistance and

especially protection because they will

greatly appreciate your recognition of

their help and they will continue to

ensue intercede for us before God in the

kingdom of heaven the name of the Father

Son and Holy Ghost amen

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