OCTOBER 2 Holy Guardian Angels
First Wednesday-Rosh Hashanah-Redwood National Park
1 Samuel, Chapter 28, Verse 5
When Saul saw the
Philistine camp, he grew AFRAID and
lost heart completely.
Are
we like Saul? Have we lost heart completely? Have we seen the camps of our
enemies and come to despair?
God will not abandon us like we have abandoned him. Do
not despair but call out to the Lord and listen. Pay attention and if today you
hear His voice harden not your heart.
Comparing
David with Saul, the one thing that distinguished them from each other was
David’s humility and confidence in the Lord.
This
we can see in David’s Psalm 23.
The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I ack. In green pastures he
makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me; he restores my soul. He guides
me along right paths for the sake of his name. Even though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your
rod and your staff comfort me. You set a table before me in front of my
enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Indeed, goodness and
mercy will pursue me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the
LORD for endless days.
Be Confident[1]
Today we honor the celestial hosts of the guardian
angels, ponder your own angel today. Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in the Spiritual
Exercises, gave us a detailed map for how they communicate with us. Consider
reading his wisdom. In Heaven, we will enjoy an eternal face-to-face
relationship with our angels. That relationship will be perfectly steeped in
the love of God, and our union with them will be unbreakable. While on earth,
we often pay little attention to our angels, but they are forever attentive to
us. Though we might not always speak prayerfully to our intercessors and
mediators, try to do so. Our angels daily communicate to us.
Do you listen?
Do you hear?
Work to discern your angel’s actions in your life,
so that this angelic mission can be better fulfilled. Have confidence that you
have a mediator who stands before God and does nothing other than plead on your
behalf, continuously working to bring you to eternal salvation.
Feast of our Holy Guardian Angels[2]
THIS feast was instituted:
1. To thank God that to each one of us He has given a guardian angel to conduct him unharmed through the dangers of this world.
2. To inspire us with gratitude to the angels who do us such great good, and to incite us to efforts to render ourselves worthy of their guardianship.
What is the office of a guardian angel?
To guard men against dangers of soul and body. The Psalmist says: He hath given His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways; in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone (Ps. xc. 11); that is, that thou mayest neither fall into sin nor misfortune. Oh, what great regard for us, hereupon exclaims St. Bernard, what wonderful love!
Who is it that has given charge?
God.
To whom has He given charge?
The angels, those noble spirits of His own household.
What charge has He given them?
To guard and defend us, poor men. O Lord, what is man, that Thou art mindful of him? St. Paul calls the angels ministering spirits sent to minister to them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation (Heb. i. 14). In innumerable other places in the Bible they are represented as friends of children, guides of youth, defenders of innocence, promoters of good deeds, monitors against evil, guardians of the pious, protectors against misfortune, comforters in need, deliverers in danger, helpers in combat, companions of the souls in everlasting joy.
What should we do every day, but particularly this day?
We should thank God for having given us guardians so holy and powerful, and our guardian angel himself for the help he has rendered us; should think of and call upon him often, especially in the hour of temptation; finally, we should promise fidelity and obedience to his admonitions. Whatever in this regard is at any time binding upon us should especially be done today.
Prayer to the Guardian Angel
Angel of God, my
guardian dear,
To whom His love commits
me here,
Ever this day be at my
side,
To light and guard, to
rule and guide. Amen.
(100 days indulgence each time).
EPISTLE. Exodus xxiii. 20-23.
Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will send My angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared. Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned; for he will not forgive when thou hast sinned, and My name is in him. But if thou wilt hear his voice, and do all that I speak, I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee. And My angel shall go before thee.
Gospel,
Matt, xviii. 1-10.
At that time
the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who thinkest Thou is the greater in the
kingdom of heaven? And Jesus calling unto Him a little child, set him in the
midst of them, and said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become
as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever
therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the
kingdom of heaven. And he that shall receive one such little child in My name
receiveth Me. But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that
believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about
his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. Wo to the
world because of scandals. For it must needs be that scandals come: but
nevertheless, wo to that man by whom the scandal cometh. And if thy hand or thy
foot scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee
to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast
into everlasting fire. And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out, and cast
it from thee. It is better for thee having one eye to enter into life, than
having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. See that you despise not one of
these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the
face of My Father Who is in heaven.
Things to do[3]
- Memorize
and pray the Angel of God prayer.
- Bake
an angel food cake, serve angel hair pasta, and/or make angel kisses
(meringue cookies).
- Read
from the Catholic Culture Library:
- Our Guardian Angels by Fr. Joseph Ventura, C.P.
- Sermon on the Holy Guardian Angels by St. Bernard of
Clairvaux.
- Guardian Angels
- Meditation for the Feast of the Guardian Angels by Pope
John XXIII.
- Role of Guardian Angels in our Lives by George Huber.
- Paschal Parente's chapters on Angels.
- Read
the section on angels in the Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy. The
document examines the doctrine and devotions of the angels. Devotion to
angels is good, but also can have deviations:
“Devotion to the Holy Angels gives rise to a certain form of
the Christian life which is characterized by:
- devout gratitude to God for having placed these heavenly
spirits of great sanctity and dignity at the service of man.
- an attitude of devotion deriving from the knowledge of living
constantly in the presence of the Holy Angels of God — serenity and
confidence in facing difficult situations, since the Lord guides and
protects the faithful in the way of justice through the ministry of His
Holy Angels. Among the prayers to the Guardian Angels the Angele Dei is
especially popular and is often recited by families at morning and
evening prayers, or at the recitation of the Angelus.
“217. Popular devotion to the Holy
Angels [which is legitimate and good] can, however, also give rise to possible
deviations:
- when, as sometimes can happen, the faithful are taken by the
idea that the world is subject to demiurgical struggles, or an incessant
battle between good and evil spirits, or Angels and daemons, in which man
is left at the mercy of superior forces and over which he is helpless;
such cosmologies bear little relation to the true Gospel vision of the
struggle to overcome the Devil, which requires moral commitment, a
fundamental option for the Gospel, humility and prayer;
- when the daily events of life, which have nothing or little
to do with our progressive maturing on the journey towards Christ are
read schematically or simplistically, indeed childishly, so as to ascribe
all setbacks to the Devil and all success to the Guardian Angels. The
practice of assigning names to the Holy Angels should be discouraged,
except in the cases of Gabriel, Raphael and Michael whose names are
contained in Holy Scripture.”
- Also
read All About the Angels.
- Read
about saints and others who had a great devotion to their guardian angel (St. Josemaria Escriva; St. Padre Pio; Blessed John XXIII).
- Think
about how you can develop a greater devotion and depend on your guardian
angel every day.
First Wednesday[4]
Our Heavenly Father desires all three hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph to be honored. And so along with devotion to Jesus on First Fridays, and to Mary on First Saturdays, Our Father longs for us to add devotion to St. Joseph on each First Wednesday of the month.
"The Sacred Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph have been chosen by the Most Holy Trinity to bring peace to the world." It is at God's request that "special love and honor be given to them" to help us "imitate" their love and their lives, as well as "offer reparation" for the sins committed against them and their love.
The St. Joseph First Wednesday devotion is:
1. Pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary - remembering St. Joseph's love, his life, his role and his sufferings
2. Receive Holy Communion - in union with the love St. Joseph had for Jesus the first time and each time he held him - his son, his God and Savior - in his arms.
In the approved
apparitions of Our Lady of America, St. Joseph revealed:
·
"I
am the protector of the Church and the home, as I was the protector of Christ
and his mother while I lived upon earth. Jesus and Mary desire that my pure
heart, so long hidden and unknown, be now honored in a special way.
·
Let my
children honor my most pure heart in a special manner on the First Wednesday of
the month by reciting the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary in memory of my life
with Jesus and Mary and the love I bore them, the sorrow I suffered with them.
·
Let them
receive Holy Communion in union with the love with which I received the Savior
for the first time and each time I held Him in my arms.
·
Those
who honor me in this way will be consoled by my presence at their death, and I
myself will conduct them safely into the presence of Jesus and Mary."
Every
Wednesday is Dedicated to St. Joseph
The Italian culture has
always had a close association with St. Joseph perhaps you could make
Wednesdays centered around Jesus’s Papa. Plan an Italian dinner of pizza or
spaghetti after attending Mass as most parishes have a Wednesday evening Mass.
You could even do carry out to help restaurants. If you are adventurous, you
could do the Universal Man Plan: St. Joseph style. Make the evening a family
night perhaps it could be a game night. Whatever you do make the day special.
·
Devotion to the 7 Joys and Sorrows of St.
Joseph
·
Do the St.
Joseph Universal Man Plan.
Our Lady most likely celebrated Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah[5]
Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: ראש השנה) is the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah literally translates to the Head of the Year. It is a two-day festival. In the Bible, it is called Yom Ha-Zikkaron, the day of remembrance or Yom Teruah the day of the sounding of the shofar-(Leviticus 23:24-25). Jews start Rosh Hashanah festivals with lighting of the candles and synagogue prayers. On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, Jews eat an apple dipped in honey to signify a sweet new year to come. They also place a fish’s head at the table to commemorate 'being a head and not a tail'.
Rosh Hashanah Facts
·
In synagogues it is common for 100 notes to be
sounded with a Ram's horn as a call to repentance.
·
Jews typically wear new clothes on Rosh Hashanah
and eat new fruits that have not yet been tasted in the season. Customary
foods include round hallah bread with raisins, pomegranates, pumpkins, carrots,
and honey cake.
·
For Rosh Hashana, many Jews 'cast off their sins'
to a running water stream/sea containing fish (the Tashlich custom). This
is to symbolically purge one's body of sin and cast the sins onto the fish.
·
On Rosh Hashanah, it is believed that the fate of
all Jews and Gentiles is defined by God for that year. Jews greet each
other with many Happy New Year wishes. It is customary to therefore greet
people with a wish for a happy New Year and to 'be inscribed for a good year' -
meaning to be allocated by God a full year of healthy life.
·
New Year prayers include many passages relating to
the sovereignty and dominion of God over the entire world. One of these
prayers is recited daily and is called Aleinu leshabei'ach (it is our duty to
praise God). However, on Rosh Hashanah, during this prayer, Orthodox Jews
bow down to accept the full Sovereignty of the Lord.
Rosh Hashanah Top Events and Things to Do
·
Send New Year's Greeting Cards to your Jewish
friends.
·
Celebrate the Jewish New Year with a Rosh Hashana
Concert. Popular concerts are held in major cities such as New York and
London.
·
Attend a local Rosh Hashanah service in a synagogue
near you.
Redwood
National Park Establish 1968
Think of the giant Redwoods, they are the largest trees in
the world. These trees survive by intertwining their roots because the ground
is so hard the Redwood cannot strike a taproot to hold itself up but by
supporting each other they become the largest trees in the world.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: The Pope
·
Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: October
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
· Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
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