Thursday, October 1, 2015

Homily for 2 Oct 2015 Guardian Angels

2 Oct 2015
Memorial of the Guardian Angels

Catholics are often accused of being “non-Biblical,” completely ignorant of Sacred Scripture.  Of course, with the memorial of St Jerome just a couple days ago, and our celebration of his life’s work of delving into Scripture, we also celebrate those wonderfully “Catholic” elements of our faith which come to us right from the written Word of God.  And among these are the Angels, and the Guardian Angels. in particular.

St Luke (1:19-26; 13:1-2; 16:22; 22:43) tells us about them, as does St Matthew (18:10).  Old Testament Prophets speak of them: prophets like Isaiah (6:1-3), Ezekiel (10:9-20) and Daniel (10).  The Book of Psalms (34:7; 91:10-13; 103:21) speaks often of God’s Angels, as does the letter to the Hebrews, the Acts of the Apostles, the Book of Revelation . . . and so many other writings of Scripture.

We pray to our Guardian Angels because it’s what a people of faith do.  God didn’t plop us down on earth and leave us to ourselves.  No, from the beginning he’s sent us companions and guardians to watch over us and to lead us toward moments of grace

You know, when we stumble upon a book that’s good for our soul, we can thank our Guardian Angel for leading us to that book.  Or when we meet someone who has a positive influence on us, there’s our Guardian Angel at work again.  As Scripture shows us so plainly, God gives us every help he can so that we can be happy with him today, now, and forever.

But some people ask: “Why pray to an Angel, or why pray to a Saint, when I can just pray to God directly?”  And, of course, the answer is: We can pray to God directly in the name of Jesus.  But why not take advantage of every help that God himself gives us?

We’re not alone on this earth.  God sends his Angels, his messengers, to help us.  And so, let’s take full advantage of what God offers, so that we can live with the angels who, at this moment, live among us.  

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