ETERNAL WISDOM:
Pope Benedict XVI on the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, August 29:
ENGLISH:
“Dear brothers and sisters,
celebrating the martyrdom of St John the Baptist reminds us too, Christians of this time, that with love for Christ, for his words and for the Truth, we cannot stoop to compromises. The Truth is Truth; there are no compromises. Christian life demands, so to speak, the “martyrdom” of daily fidelity to the Gospel, the courage, that is, to let Christ grow within us and let him be the One who guides our thought and our actions. However, this can happen in our life only if we have a solid relationship with God. Prayer is not time wasted, it does not take away time from our activities, even apostolic activities, but exactly the opposite is true: only if we are able to have a faithful, constant and trusting life of prayer will God himself give us the ability and strength to live happily and serenely, to surmount difficulties and to witness courageously to him. St John the Baptist, intercede for us, that we may be ever able to preserve the primacy of God in our life. Thank you.”“Caros irmãos e irmãs,
celebrar o martírio de são João Baptista recorda-nos, também a nós cristãos deste nosso tempo, que não se pode ceder a compromissos com o amor a Cristo, à sua Palavra e à Verdade.A Verdade é Verdade, não existem compromissos. A vida cristã exige, por assim dizer, o «martírio» da fidelidade quotidiana ao Evangelho, ou seja, a coragem de deixar que Cristo cresça em nós e que seja Cristo quem orienta o nosso pensamento e as nossas acções. Mas isto só se verifica na nossa vida se a nossa relação com Deus for sólida. A oração não é tempo perdido, não é roubar espaço às actividades, inclusive às obras apostólicas, mas é precisamente o contrário: se formos capazes de ter uma vida de oração fiel, constante e confiante, o próprio Deus dar-nos-á a capacidade e a força para viver de modo feliz e tranquilo, para superar as dificuldades e testemunhá-lo com coragem. São João Baptista interceda por nós, a fim de sabermos conservar sempre o primado de Deus na nossa vida. Obrigado!”
CCC: ON “THE ANGELS IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH”
SOURCE - http://scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s2c1p5.htm#335
335 In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance (in the funeral liturgy's In Paradisum deducant te angeli. . .["May the angels lead you into Paradise. . ."]). Moreover, in the "Cherubic Hymn" of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the guardian angels).
336 From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.202 "Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life."203 Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.
The above audiocast gives a useful overview of the Guardian Angels by Fr. James Blount who explores in the first 20 minutes their nature and purpose. He gives advice on the invisible, the Angelus, and emphasizes praying the prayers to the Guardian Angel, including the Chaplet to St. Michael included below.
THE ROSARY HOUR PODCAST NEWSLETTER [1st Edition]
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CHILDREN’S ROSARY ® MEMBER TEACHES THE “GUARDIAN ANGEL PRAYER”
+ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Angel of God, my guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide.
Amen.1
+ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
“O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, and to the Holy Spirit, etc. Amen.”
[Then, you will say one Our Father and three Hail Marys after each of the following nine salutations in honour of the nine Choirs of Angels. We invite you to read the post to learn the salutations and pray this chaplet every day.]
If you need assistance to pray this devotion, use the following app:
SALUTATIONS to the NINE CHOIRS OF ANGELS:
1. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Seraphim may the Lord make us worthy to burn with the fire of perfect charity.
Amen.
2. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Cherubim may the Lord grant us the grace to leave the ways of sin and run in the paths of Christian perfection.
Amen.
3. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Thrones may the Lord infuse into our hearts a true and sincere spirit of humility.
Amen.
4. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Dominations may the Lord give us grace to govern our senses and overcome any unruly passions.
Amen.
5. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Virtues may the Lord preserve us from evil and falling into temptation.
Amen.
6. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Powers may the Lord protect our souls against the snares and temptations of the devil.
Amen.
7. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Principalities may God fill our souls with a true spirit of obedience.
Amen.
8. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Archangels may the Lord give us perseverance in faith and in all good works in order that we may attain the glory of Heaven.
Amen.
9. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Angels may the Lord grant us to be protected by them in this mortal life and conducted in the life to come to Heaven.
Amen.
Say one Our Father in honor of each of the following leading Angels:
St. MichaelSt. GabrielSt. RaphaelGuardian Angel
Concluding prayers:
O glorious prince St. Michael,
chief and commander of the heavenly hosts,
guardian of souls,
vanquisher of rebel spirits,
servant in the house of the Divine King and our admirable conductor,
thou who dost shine with excellence and superhuman virtue
vouchsafe to deliver us from all evil, who turn to thee with confidence
and enable us by thy gracious protection to serve God more and more
faithfully every day.
Pray for us, O glorious St. Michael, Prince of the Church of Jesus Christ,
that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Almighty and Everlasting God, Who, by a prodigy of goodness and a merciful desire for the salvation of all men, has appointed the most glorious Archangel St. Michael Prince of Thy Church, make us worthy, we beseech Thee, to be delivered from all our enemies, that none of them may harass us at the hour of death, but that we may be conducted by him into Thy august Presence. This we beg through the merits of Jesus Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
According to EWTN:
The history of this Chaplet goes back to a devout Servant of God, Antonia d'Astonac, who had a vision of St. Michael. He told Antonia to honour him by nine salutations to the nine Choirs of Angels.
St. Michael promised [Antonia] that whoever would practice this fervent chaplet devotion in his honour would have, when approaching the Holy Table during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, an escort of nine angels chosen from each of the nine Choirs of Angels.
In addition, for the «daily recitation of these nine salutations», St. Michael promised:
his continual assistance and that of all the holy angels during life,and after one’s death deliverance from purgatory for themselves and their relations.2
EXCERPT: “MORNING MEDITATION IN THE CHAPEL OF THE DOMUS SANCTAE MARTHAE:
“We all have an angel”
Thursday, 2 October 2014
(excerpt from L'Osservatore Romano, Weekly ed. in English, n. 41, 10 October 2014).
“According to Church tradition”,the Pope continued, “we all have an angel with us, who guards us, who makes us hear things”. After all, he said, “we have often heard: ‘I should do this this way... this is not good, be careful!”.It is really “the voice of our travel companion”.We can be “certain that he will lead us to the end of our life with his advice”.
AND,
This is why it is necessary to “hearken to his voice, do not rebel against him”.
On the other hand,
“rebellion, the desire to be independent, is something that we all have: it is arrogance itself, which our father Adam had in the earthly paradise”.At this point the Pope instructed to each one:“Do not rebel, follow his advice!”.
ALSO
“In truth, the Pope confirmed, “no one walks alone, and none of us can think he is alone: this companion is always there”.
Of course, it happens that “when we don’t want to listen to his advice, to hear his voice, we tell him: ‘Go away!’”.
But “it’s dangerous to drive away our travel companion, because no man, no woman can advise him/herself: I can give advice to another, but I cannot advise myself”.
Indeed, Francis recalled, “it is the Holy Spirit who advises me, it is the angel who advises me” and this is something “we need”.
The Pope urged that this “doctrine on the angels” not be considered “a little imaginative”.
It is rather one of “truth”.It is
“what Jesus, what God said:‘I send an angel before you, to guard you, to accompany you on the way, so you will not make a mistake’”.
FINALLY, POPE FRANCIS
“concluded with a series of questions so that each one can examine his/her own conscience:
“How is my relationship with my guardian angel?
Do I listen to him?
Do I bid him good day in the morning?
Do I tell him: ‘guard me while I sleep?’
Do I speak with him?
Do I ask his advice?
Is he beside me?”.
We can answer these questions today, Pope Francis said.
Each one of us can do so in order to evaluate “the relationship with this angel that the Lord has sent to guard me and to accompany me on the path, and who always beholds the face of the Father who is in heaven”.
SOURCE: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/cotidie/2014/documents/papa-francesco-cotidie_20141002_we-all-have-an-angel.html, POPE FRANCIS
FR. ALAR EXPLAINS THE FAITH and THE ANGELS
In these two discussions, The Angels: The Forgotten Army, which now has over 1.1 million views, and the video on Spiritual Warfare, also with over 1 million views, Fr. Chris Alar explores the dogmatic revelation on Angels (and Demons), and in the next video discusses “Spiritual Warfare”, etc.
“The Bible attests to the existence of angels. What's their important role? How can we use these powerful intercessors? Father Chris explains how angels are the forgotten army in this episode of Explaining the Faith.”
SEASON 2: THE ROSARY HOUR PODCAST UPDATES
Link to “The Queen of Heaven” to learn the “Salve Regina” in Latin to sing to the Queen of Angels today:
COMING SOON | EM BREVE
SEASON 2, EPISODE 3: BOOKSHELF with Dr. Tina Bailey
ROUNDTABLE: DR. JOSEPHINE LOMBARDI & FR. NAHM (respondent)
Professor at St. Augustine’s Seminary, Dr. Lombardi has revised her book “On Earth as it is in Heaven” on the Lord’s Prayer, and it was “updated for the Jubilee Year of 2025. Pope Francis has exhorted the Church to reflect on the deep insights of the Lord’s Prayer in preparation for the Jubilee Year of 2025. Archbishop Salvatore Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, has prepared the foreword. PUBLISHERS: Paulist Press in the USA and Novalis Publishing in Canada”.
See: https://josephinelombardi.com/books/
Dr. Lombardi will speak next at Renew Toronto on November 4, 2023, an “annual conference for all young adults aged 19-39. It is an opportunity to grow in faith with like-minded people in a similar stage of life. This conference will offer unique opportunities for students, young adult professionals, young couples, families, men and women!”
VISIT: https://renewtoronto.org/
FOOTNOTES
How to love thy Guardian Angel: RHP counts the ways w/ annotations, videos, prayers + a series of questions posed by Pope Francis