Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Thus,
is it in no way apparent to us that they are gods; so, do not FEAR them.
What
are the gods in your life that you are afraid of? To reflect on this let us
examine the angels of God who worship HE that IS: the living God.
The
first choir of angels is the Seraphim.
Their chief characteristic is great and ardent love. They were made for one
thing alone-----to love the God of Love. Without ceasing they honor, praise,
and love the most Blessed Trinity-----they can do nothing else-----this is
their happiness.
ü
Are you afraid of love? Do you fear
to commit? Do you avoid being vulnerable? Do not fear to love!
The
second choir is the Cherubim who
continually are employed in contemplating the beauty and perfections of God.
Cherubim are full of zeal for the glory of God and stand ready at all times to
defend His honor. Cherubim should be invoked when one is troubled with doubts
against faith and those who experience temptations against holy purity.
ü
Has the beauty of art, sex,
idealism, or science been your god; are you afraid to let go and give a fiat to
the will of God in your life? Are you afraid to be a fool for God? Have you
given in and worship at the altar of hedonism? Have you been afraid of others
opinion of you? Be
a temple for the Holy Spirit!
The
third choir is the choir of Thrones.
They are called Angels of Peace, calm, tranquility, and stability. Ask
them for that peace of soul which is the fruit of a good conscience. Invoke
their aid for such as are prone to hatred, passion and impatience; and after
their example, practice being meek, calm, and peaceful with all.
ü
Has competition and fear of being
behind been your constant companion? Are you afraid of being last or worse
average? Has efficiency been your god?
You should rest in God!
The
choir of Dominations is consumed by
their yearning for the interests of God: their principal office is to manifest
His will. We should also beg of God to manifest His will to us by these Blessed
"Intelligences" and then take care to fulfill it scrupulously, as
being the shortest way to perfection and sanctity. We should ask these Angels
to help us to spread God's kingdom upon earth, for the conversion of heretics
and infidels, and for the return of lukewarm and fallen away Catholics to the
practice of the faith.
ü
Has the lack of mastery over the
control of others, or the acquisition of needed skills been your constant
distress? Has the gaining of the things of the material world and its pursuits
left you no time to develop the fear of God in yourself? Have you sought the
god of power or dreaded the loss of it? Have you worshiped at the altar of
materialism? Your
zeal should be for the Kingdom!
The Fifth
choir of angels is the Virtues.
Energy and strength are attributed to the Virtues. They have dominion over the
elements; all nature is subjected to their control. Hence, they can raise or
appease the tempest. We may profitably invoke them in unforeseen accidents,
sickness, etc. We may also have recourse to them for that strength necessary to
lead a penitential life and root out the inclinations of depraved nature. All
persons inclined to the contemplative life should call on this choir of Angels
for help, for good thoughts alone do not make holy, one needs also strength to
persevere and to accomplish this great task.
ü
Have you worshipped at the altar of
your natural passions and given into fits of anger, lust and envy? Have you
been afraid of your own passions? Have you avoided controlling the body and
been indulgent?
Prayer and exercise make us stronger!
The
sixth choir of angels is the Powers. These Angels have unlimited
mastery over the wicked Spirits; they are endowed with great intelligence and
are able to discover their schemes and plans for our destruction. Their power
is so incredible that one alone of them would be able to destroy the entire
infernal host. It is well to invoke them in temptation: but to merit their
assistance we must take care to avoid the occasions of sin.
ü
Have you been frightened of the
devil? Have you avoided acting against evil enterprises? Have you contributed
to evil by use of the internet? Listened to evil inspired music? Been afraid to
look uncool? True
power is often uncool!
The seventh
choir of angels which is the choir of Principalities.
The Principalities watch over Empires, Provinces, and Dioceses. Purity of
intention is the virtue ascribed to them, for in their high functions they
never seek but the honor and interest of God alone.
ü
Have you been anxious about letting
all you do and say allow you to seek the greater glory of God? Have you
been troubled by allowing evil to exist in the workplace? Have you supported
the secular world and been complacent in confronting it? We are all soldiers of Christ!
The
eighth choir of angels the Archangels. The Archangels are distinguished from
the Angels by the greater importance of their functions: the Guardians of those
invested with authority in the Church and State and are remarkable for their
love and care of men. Let us imitate them, doing our neighbor all the good we
can and invoking in his behalf these Blessed Spirits. Members of this choir are
the holy spirits who stand before the throne of God, ever ready to announce His
commands. St. Michael is the warrior leader of God’s angels. St. Gabriel is the
special messenger of The Holy Spirit. St. Raphael is the angel of Joy.
ü
Have you worship others in
authority or been fearful of them? Have you been apprehensive of your neighbor?
Have you relished quashing others joy? Have you cared less about something you
should? Have you feared taking responsibility or worshipped at the altar of
doing nothingness?
We are all called to service of the Lord!
The
Ninth choir is the angels. They are charged with the execution of the Divine
ordinances and are appointed the Guardians of men. Humility is the
virtue particularly ascribed to them-----for though the least among the
Choirs, yet they see their celestial companions without desiring their greater,
more excellent endowments. The Guardian Angels exercise continual watchfulness
over the souls committed to their care. Their number is exceedingly great, and
it is not necessary when an Angel has accompanied his charge into Heaven, that
he be again assigned to a soul in any future generation. Our Guardian, who is
our companion in life, will also be forever at our side in Heaven. The joy of
these Angels is immeasurably increased when souls entrusted to their care enter
Heaven. The Guardian Angels of the lost souls are not deprived of their share
of joy. God in His justice increases also theirs with the others, and then
assigns them to the special guard of the Queen of Angels, where they with great
joy praise the Infinite Justice of God. Let us, like the humble Guardian
Angels, love the lowest place, especially when placed therein by Divine
Providence, and to behold with joy the preference given to others.
ü
Have you been full of yourself; had
a little egomania? Have you had the opinion that it is my way or the highway?
Have you watched yourself in the mirror? Imagined you are the center of every
love song? Imitate
your guardian angel and be a seraph of love for others and be a guardian of the
faith of the church!
Information was obtained from: http://www.catholictradition.org/Angels/angels.htm
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION TWO I. THE CREEDS
CHAPTER TWO-I BELIEVE IN JESUS
CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF GOD
Article 3 "HE WAS CONCEIVED BY
THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND WAS BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY"
Paragraph 2. "CONCEIVED
BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY"
I. CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. . .
484 The Annunciation
to Mary inaugurates "the fullness of time", The time of the
fulfilment of God's promises and preparations. Mary was invited to conceive him
in whom the "whole fullness of deity" would dwell "bodily". The
divine response to her question, "How can this be, since I know not
man?", was given by the power of the Spirit: "The Holy Spirit will
come upon you."
485 The mission of the
Holy Spirit is always conjoined and ordered to that of the Son. The Holy
Spirit, "the Lord, the giver of Life", is sent to sanctify the womb
of the Virgin Mary and divinely fecundate it, causing her to conceive the
eternal Son of the Father in a humanity drawn from her own.
486 The Father's only
Son, conceived as man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, is "Christ",
that is to say, anointed by the Holy Spirit, from the beginning of his human
existence, though the manifestation of this fact takes place only
progressively: to the shepherds, to the magi, to John the Baptist, to the
disciples. Thus, the whole life of Jesus Christ will make manifest
"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with
power."
II.... BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY
487 What the Catholic
faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what
it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ.
Mary's predestination
488 "God sent
forth his Son", but to prepare a body for him, he wanted the free
co-operation of a creature. For this, from all eternity God chose for the
mother of his Son a daughter of Israel, a young Jewish woman of Nazareth in
Galilee, "a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house
of David; and the virgin's name was Mary":
The Father of mercies willed that the Incarnation should be
preceded by assent on the part of the predestined mother, so that just as a
woman had a share in the coming of death, so also should a woman contribute to
the coming of life.
489 Throughout the Old
Covenant the mission of many holy women prepared for that of Mary. At the very
beginning there was Eve; despite her disobedience, she receives the promise of
a posterity that will be victorious over the evil one, as well as the
promise that she will be the mother of all the living. By virtue of
this promise, Sarah conceives a son in spite of her old age. Against all
human expectation God chooses those who were considered powerless and weak to
show forth his faithfulness to his promises: Hannah, the mother of Samuel;
Deborah; Ruth; Judith and Esther; and many other women. Mary "stands
out among the poor and humble of the Lord, who confidently hope for and receive
salvation from him. After a long period of waiting the times are fulfilled in
her, the exalted Daughter of Sion, and the new plan of salvation is
established."
The Immaculate Conception
490 To become the mother
of the Savior, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a
role." The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes
her as "full of grace". In fact, in order for Mary to be able to
give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was
necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.
491 Through the
centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of
grace" through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception.
That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX
proclaimed in 1854:
The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of
her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue
of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from
all stain of original sin.
492 The "splendor
of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the
first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is
"redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her
Son". The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person
"in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and
chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and
blameless before him in love".
493 The Fathers of the
Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All-Holy" (Panagia),
and celebrate her as "free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by
the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature". By the grace of God
Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.
"Let it be done to me according to your word. . ."
494 At the
announcement that she would give birth to "the Son of the Most High"
without knowing man, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary responded with the
obedience of faith, certain that "with God nothing will be
impossible": "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done]
to me according to your word." Thus, giving her consent to God's
word, Mary becomes the mother of Jesus. Espousing the divine will for salvation
wholeheartedly, without a single sin to restrain her, she gave herself entirely
to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the
mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God's grace:
As St. Irenaeus says, "Being obedient she became the
cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race." Hence
not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert. . .: "The knot of Eve's
disobedience was untied by Mary's obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through
her disbelief; Mary loosened by her faith." Comparing her with Eve,
they call Mary "the Mother of the living" and frequently claim:
"Death through Eve, life through Mary."
Mary's divine motherhood
495 Called in the
Gospels "the mother of Jesus", Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the
prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the
mother of my Lord". In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the
Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other
than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the
Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos).
Mary's virginity
496 From the first
formulations of her faith, the Church has confessed that Jesus was conceived
solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary,
affirming also the corporeal aspect of this event: Jesus was conceived "by
the Holy Spirit without human seed". The Fathers see in the virginal
conception the sign that it truly was the Son of God who came in a humanity
like our own. Thus St. Ignatius of Antioch at the beginning of the second
century says:
You are firmly convinced about our Lord, who is truly of
the race of David according to the flesh, Son of God according to the will and
power of God, truly born of a virgin,. . . he was truly nailed to a tree for us
in his flesh under Pontius Pilate. . . he truly suffered, as he is also truly
risen.
497 The Gospel
accounts understand the virginal conception of Jesus as a divine work that
surpasses all human understanding and possibility: "That which is
conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit", said the angel to Joseph about
Mary his fiancée. The Church sees here the fulfilment of the divine
promise given through the prophet Isaiah: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son."
498 People are
sometimes troubled by the silence of St. Mark's Gospel and the New Testament
Epistles about Jesus' virginal conception. Some might wonder if we were merely
dealing with legends or theological constructs not claiming to be history. To
this we must respond: Faith in the virginal conception of Jesus met with the
lively opposition, mockery or incomprehension of non-believers, Jews and pagans
alike; so it could hardly have been motivated by pagan mythology or by
some adaptation to the ideas of the age. the meaning of this event is
accessible only to faith, which understands in it the "connection of these
mysteries with one another" in the totality of Christ's mysteries,
from his Incarnation to his Passover. St. Ignatius of Antioch already bears
witness to this connection: "Mary's virginity and giving birth, and even
the Lord's death escaped the notice of the prince of this world: these three
mysteries worthy of proclamation were accomplished in God's silence."
Mary - "ever-virgin"
499 The deepening of
faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary's real and
perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made
man. In fact, Christ's birth "did not diminish his mother's virginal
integrity but sanctified it." and so the liturgy of the Church
celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the "Ever-virgin".
500 Against this
doctrine the objection is sometimes raised that the Bible mentions brothers and
sisters of Jesus. The Church has always understood these passages as not
referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. In fact, James and Joseph,
"brothers of Jesus", are the sons of another Mary, a disciple of
Christ, whom St. Matthew significantly calls "the other Mary". They
are close relations of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression.
501 Jesus is Mary's
only son, but her spiritual motherhood extends to all men whom indeed he came
to save: "The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the
first-born among many brethren, that is, the faithful in whose generation and
formation she co-operates with a mother's love."
Mary's virginal motherhood in God's plan
502 The eyes of faith
can discover in the context of the whole of Revelation the mysterious reasons
why God in his saving plan wanted his Son to be born of a virgin. These reasons
touch both on the person of Christ and his redemptive mission, and on the
welcome Mary gave that mission on behalf of all men.
503 Mary's virginity
manifests God's absolute initiative in the Incarnation. Jesus has only God as
Father. "He was never estranged from the Father because of the human
nature which he assumed. . . He is naturally Son of the Father as to his
divinity and naturally son of his mother as to his humanity, but properly Son
of the Father in both natures."
504 Jesus is conceived
by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary's womb because he is the New Adam, who
inaugurates the new creation: "The first man was from the earth, a man of
dust; the second man is from heaven." From his conception, Christ's
humanity is filled with the Holy Spirit, for God "gives him the Spirit
without measure." From "his fullness" as the head of
redeemed humanity "we have all received, grace upon grace."
505 By his virginal
conception, Jesus, the New Adam, ushers in the new birth of children adopted in
the Holy Spirit through faith. "How can this be?" Participation
in the divine life arises "not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor
of the will of man, but of God". The acceptance of this life is
virginal because it is entirely the Spirit's gift to man. the spousal character
of the human vocation in relation to God is fulfilled perfectly in Mary's
virginal motherhood.
506 Mary is a virgin
because her virginity is the sign of her faith "unadulterated by any
doubt", and of her undivided gift of herself to God's will. It is her
faith that enables her to become the mother of the Savior: "Mary is more
blessed because she embraces faith in Christ than because she conceives the flesh
of Christ."
507 At once virgin and
mother, Mary is the symbol and the most perfect realization of the Church:
"the Church indeed. . . by receiving the word of God in faith becomes
herself a mother. By preaching and Baptism she brings forth sons, who are
conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life. She
herself is a virgin, who keeps in its entirety and purity the faith she pledged
to her spouse."
IN BRIEF
508 From among
the descendants of Eve, God chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of his Son.
"Full of grace", Mary is "the most excellent fruit of
redemption" (SC 103): from the first instant of her conception, she was
totally preserved from the stain of original sin, and she remained pure from
all personal sin throughout her life.
509 Mary is
truly "Mother of God" since she is the mother of the eternal Son of
God made man, who is God himself.
510 Mary
"remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to him,
a virgin in carrying him, a virgin in nursing him at her breast, always a
virgin" (St. Augustine, Serm. 186, 1: PL 38, 999): with her whole being
she is "the handmaid of the Lord" (Lk 1:38).
511 The Virgin
Mary "co-operated through free faith and obedience in human
salvation" (LG 56). She uttered her yes "in the name of all human
nature" (St. Thomas Aquinas, S Th III, 30, 1). By her obedience she became
the new Eve, mother of the living.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Purity
· Eat waffles
and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Manhood of
the Master-week 12 day 2
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
· Make reparations to the Holy Face
· Total
Consecration to Mary Day 12
· Monday: Litany of
Humility
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