Holy Confidence in the
Intercession of Angels
From the Desk of Thomas
McKenna
Dear Friend,
Angels may have different meanings
to different people, but one thing for sure is that they are not
little chubby babies with wings playing musical instruments in the
heavens or floating on clouds.
Nor are they like the common holy
card image of a pious, maternal being with flowing robes hovering over
little children to keep them from falling off a rickety bridge into
rushing water.
Both of these are emotionally
comforting images but also entirely false.
Angels are much more vital than that. They are not sent for comfort,
they are sent for protection.
If you don’t believe me, try
finding a “maternal” angel in the Bible. There are none. The angelic
function is masculine in a traditional sense, as witnessed by our
Catechism that points out that guardian angels act as
“protectors” and “shepherds”:
From its beginning until death,
human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.
“Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd
leading him to life” (St. Basil). Already here on earth, the Christian
life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united
in God. (CCC
336)
In so many words, the
Catechism is saying that it would literally be
impossible to get to Heaven without the help of angels. And I
wholeheartedly believe this teaching of the Church.
It’s not that angels care nothing
about our earthly well-being. Of course they do. They just see our
lives differently than we do.
From their eternal perspective,
they see the end point of our journey and do everything in their power
to remove obstacles so we can get there. We, on the other hand, in our
human tunnel vision, usually only see the next step of the journey and forget that each point
of the trip is filled with eternal meaning.
So the angels act in certain ways
that help us keep our eyes fixed on the things above and purify the
things we endure below. This is why we ask them in the traditional
Guardian Angel Prayer: “to light and guard, to rule and guide” us on
our way. It is a prayer we should pray every day.
Angels do all of this and more for
us, in a silent, deliberate, and behind-the-scenes way. Every so often
someone receives a visit from an angel dressed in human garb, one who
was sent to communicate a message or offer some kind of immediate
protection. But this is rather rare and we shouldn’t ask for it. Only
God knows when direct angelic intervention in our lives is
necessary.
What the Church urges us to
do—always—is to increase our cooperation with our Guardian Angel and
invoke his help in all circumstances.
Angels are not detached from our
lives. In fact, they are very engaged with our day to day lives if
only we will pay attention to their presence and ask their
help.
And we have to be intentional about
this: invoking their aid in our daily struggles; asking help for
mental health and strength in times of testing; seeking to understand
and follow God’s will; and begging the grace to be faithful in all
things.
The Book of Hebrews reminds us to
be confident that with God’s grace we will reach the end point of our
journey:
“Therefore, do not throw away your
confidence; it will have great recompense. You need endurance to do
the will of God and receive what he has promised” (Heb 10:35-36).
No doubt, it is much easier to have
that kind of holy confidence when we know that a mighty angel is
standing by our side at all times.
Yours in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of
Mary,
Thomas J McKenna
Founder and President
Catholic Action for Faith and Family
https://www.catholicaction.org/
P.S. If you have not submitted
your intentions for Operation Storm Heaven
LIVE September 1, please take this opportunity to do so
now.
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