| Devotion to Our Lady |
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WELCOME TO THE HOMEPAGE OF THE ANGELS!
CONTENTS
Article 1: Introducing Your Best Friends
Article 2: The Nine Choirs of Angels
Article 3: The Life of an Angel
Article 4: St. Padre Pio and the Guardian Angels
Article 5: St. Gemma Galgani and her Guradian Angel
Article 1: Introducing Your Best Friends
Article 2: The Nine Choirs of Angels
Article 3: The Life of an Angel
Article 4: St. Padre Pio and the Guardian Angels
Article 5: St. Gemma Galgani and her Guradian Angel
The latest article, "St. Gemma Galgani and the Guardian Angels"
is found at the bottom of this page
is found at the bottom of this page
click on any of the links below
| Angels Homepage | St. Michael the Archangel | St. Gabriel the Archangel | St. Raphael the Archangel | The Guardian Angels | Novena to the Guardian Angels |
| Angels Homepage | St. Michael the Archangel | St. Gabriel the Archangel | St. Raphael the Archangel | The Guardian Angels | Novena to the Guardian Angels |
 VARIOUS PRAYERS TO VARIOUS ANGELS
St. Gertrude’s
Guardian Angel Prayer O most holy angel, appointed by God to be my guardian, I give you thanks for all the benefits you have bestowed on me in body and in soul. I honor and glorify you because you consented to assist me with such patient loyalty, and to defend me against all the assaults of my enemies. Blessed be the hour that you were assigned to me as my guardian, my defender and my patron. In acknowledgment and return for all your loving guidance, may you receive the sacred and gentle heart of Jesus. I firmly aspire to obey you henceforth and to faithfully serve my God. Amen. A Prayer to the Holy Guardian Angels Heavenly Father, Your infinite love for us has chosen a blessed angel in heaven and appointed him our guide during this earthly pilgrimage. Accept our thanks for so great a blessing. Grant that we may experience the assistance of our holy protector in all our necessities. And you, holy, loving angel and guide, watch over us with all the tenderness of your angelic heart. Keep us always on the way that leads to heaven, and cease not to pray for us until we have attained our final destiny, eternal salvation. Then we shall love You for all eternity. We shall praise and glorify You unceasingly for all the good You have done for us while here on earth. Especially be a faithful and watchful protector of our children. Take our place, and supply what may be wanting to us through human frailty, short-sightedness, or sinful neglect. Lighten, O you perfect servants of God, our heavy task. Guide our children, that they may become like unto Jesus, may imitate Him faithfully, and persevere till they attain eternal life. Amen Daily Prayer to Guardian Angel 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 Prayer to Ones Guardian Angel Dear Angel, in His goodness God gave you to me to guide, protect, and enlighten me, and to bring me back to the right way when I go astray. Encourage me when I am disheartened, and instruct me when I err in judgment. Help me to become more Christlike, and so some day to be accepted into the company of Angels and Saints in heaven. Amen. Prayer to the Archangel Michael Saint Michael the Archangel, Powerful Spirit of Truth! Take my hand and lead me to Divine Truth. Protect me from all the evil in the world. Guard me and compensate for all my weaknesses. Change, bless, and restore the consequences of all my mistakes. Carry me on the wings of your love and might to the Throne of God and pray to Him with me forever. Amen. A Prayer to St. Gabriel O loving messenger of the Incarnation, descend upon all those for whom I wish peace and happiness. Spread your wings over the cradles of the new-born babes, O thou who didst announce the coming of the Infant Jesus. Give to the young a lily petal from the virginal scepter in your hand. Cause the Ave Maria to re-echo in all hearts that they may find grace and joy through Mary. Finally, recall the sublime words spoken on the day of the Annunciation--“Nothing is impossible with God”—and repeat them in hours of trial—to all I love—that their confidence in Our Lord may be reanimated, when all human help fails. Amen. A Prayer to St. Raphael God who in Thy ineffable goodness hast rendered blessed Raphael the conductor of thy faithful in their journeys, we humbly implore Thee that we may be conducted by him in the way of salvation, and experience his help in the maladies of our souls. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen. A Prayer to St. Michael Glorious Prince, chief and champion of the heavenly hosts; guardian of the souls of men; conqueror of the rebel angels! How beautiful art thou, in thy heaven-made armor. We love thee, dear Prince of Heaven! We, thy happy clients, yearn to enjoy thy special protection. Obtain for us from God a share of thy sturdy courage; pray that we may have a strong and tender love for our Redeemer and, in every danger or temptation, be invincible against the enemy of our souls. O standard-bearer of our salvation! Be with us in our last moments and when our souls quit this earthly exile, carry them safely to the judgement seat of Christ, and may Our Lord and Master bid thee bear us speedily to the kingdom of eternal bliss. Teach us ever to repeat the sublime cry: “Who is like unto God?” Amen. Guardian Angel Prayer Dear Angel, ever at my side, How lovely you must be, To leave your home in Heaven To guard a child like me. When I’m far away from home Or may be hard at play, I know you will protect me From harm along the way. Your beautiful and shining face, I see not, though you are near; The sweetness of your lovely voice, I cannot really hear. When I pray, your praying too, Your prayer is just for me. But when I sleep, you never do, You’re watching over me. Amen. Guardian Angel Prayer Guardian Angel, guard me from harm. Protect me in sleep without cause for alarm. Keep safe through the darkness of light, And wake me gently with God’s morning light. Amen. Guardian Angel Prayer Dear Guardian Angel, Enlighten me in my doubts, Assist me in my difficulties, Defend me against the assaults of the devil, And be my guide on the way of perfection, Making me more and more acceptable in the eyes of God. Amen. Another Prayer to the Guardian Angels My good Angel, Thou comest from heaven; God has sent thee to take care of me. O, shelter me under thy wings. Lighten my path, direct my steps. Do not leave me, stay quite near me and defend me against the spirit of evil. But above all come to my help in the last struggle of my life. Deliver my soul so that with thee it may praise, love and contemplate the goodness of God forever and ever. Amen. Aspiration to your Guardian Angel O my dear Angel Guardian, preserve me from the misfortune of offending God. Guardian Angel Prayer Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom His love commits me here, ever this day (or night) be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. Help Against Spiritual Enemies Glorious St. Michael, Prince of the heavenly hosts, who standest always ready to give assistance to the people of God; who didst fight with the dragon, the old serpent, and didst cast him out of heaven, and now valiantly defendest the Church of God that the gates of hell may never prevail against her, I earnestly entreat thee to assist me also, in the painful and dangerous conflict which I have to sustain against the same formidable foe. Be with me, O mighty Prince! that I may courageously fight and wholly vanquish that proud spirit, whom thou hast by the Divine Power, so gloriously overthrown, and whom our powerful King, Jesus Christ, has, in our nature, so completely overcome; to the end that having triumphed over the enemy of my salvation, I may with thee and the holy angels, praise the clemency of God who, having refused mercy to the rebellious angels after their fall, has granted repentance and forgiveness to fallen man. Amen. Prayer to the Holy Angel who strengthened Our Lord in His Agony I salute thee, holy Angel who didst comfort my Jesus in His agony, and with thee I praise the most holy Trinity for having chosen thee from among all the holy Angels to comfort and strengthen Him who is the comfort and strength of all that are in affliction. By the honor thou didst enjoy and by the obedience, humility and love wherewith thou didst assist the sacred Humanity of Jesus, my Savior, when He was fainting for very sorrow at seeing the sins of the world and especially my sins, I beseech thee to obtain for me perfect sorrow for my sins; deign to strengthen me In the afflictions that now overwhelm me, and in all the other trials, to which I shall be exposed henceforth and, in particular, when I find myself in my final agony. Amen. St. Michael the Archangel, Defend Us in Battle Holy Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do you, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. Our Lady, Queen of Angels A Bernardine Sister was shown in spirit the vast desolation caused by the devil throughout the world, and at the same time she heard the Blessed Virgin telling her that it was true, hell had been let loose upon the earth; and that the time had come to pray to her as Queen of the Angels and to ask of her the assistance of the heavenly legions to fight against these deadly foes of God and of men. “But my good Mother,” she replied, “you who are so kind, could you not send them without our asking?” “No,” Our Lady answered, “because prayer is one of the conditions required by God Himself in obtaining favors.” Then the Blessed Virgin communicated the following prayer, bidding the Sister to have it printed and distributed: August Queen of Heaven! Sovereign Mistress of the angels! Thou who from the beginning hast received from God the power and mission to crush the head of Satan, we humbly beseech thee to send thy holy Legions, that, under thy command and by thy power, they may pursue the evil spirits, encounter them on every side, resist their bold attacks and drive them hence into the abyss of eternal woe. Amen. Prayer of the Church to St. Gabriel May the offering of our service and the prayer of the blessed Archangel Gabriel be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord; that he whom we venerate on earth, may be our advocate before Thee in heaven. Through Our Lord. Amen. Prayer to Our Holy Guardian Angels Heavenly Father, Your infinite love for us has chosen a blessed angel in heaven and appointed him our guide during this earthly pilgrimage. Accept our thanks for so great a blessing. Grant that we may experience the assistance of our holy protector in all our necessities. And you, holy, loving angel and guide, watch over us with all the tenderness of your angelic heart. Keep us always on the way that leads to heaven, and cease not to pray for us until we have attained our final destiny, eternal salvation. Then we shall love you for all eternity. We shall praise and glorify you unceasingly for all the good you have done for us while here on earth. Especially be a faithful and watchful protector of our children. Take our place, and supply what may be wanting to us through human frailty, short-sightedness, or sinful neglect. Lighten, O you perfect servants of God, our heavy task. Guide our children, that they may become like unto Jesus, may imitate Him faithfully, and persevere till they attain eternal life. Amen. Prayer to Saint Michael asking for Powerful Aid Glorious Prince of the heavenly hosts and victor over rebellious spirits, be mindful of me who am so weak and sinful and yet so prone to pride and ambition. Lend me, I pray, thy powerful aid in every temptation and difficulty, and above all do not forsake me in my last struggle with the powers of evil. Amen. Prayer to St. Gabriel for Intercession O Blessed Archangel Gabriel, we beseech thee, do thou intercede for us at the throne of divine Mercy in our present necessities, that as thou didst announce to Mary the mystery of the Incarnation, so through thy prayers and patronage in heaven we may obtain the benefits of the same, and sing the praise of God forever in the land of the living. Amen. Prayer to St. Gabriel for Others O loving messenger of the Incarnation, descend upon all those for whom I wish peace and happiness. Spread your wings over the cradles of the new-born babes, O thou who didst announce the coming of the Infant Jesus. Give to the young a lily petal from the virginal scepter in your hand. Cause the Ave Maria to re-echo in all hearts that they may find grace and joy through Mary. Finally, recall the sublime words spoken on the day of the Annunciation-- “Nothing is impossible with God,” and repeat them in hours of trial--to all I love--that their confidence in Our Lord may be reanimated, when all human help fails. Amen. Prayer to St. Raphael, Angel of Happy Meetings O Raphael, lead us towards those we are waiting for, those who are waiting for us! Raphael, Angel of Happy Meetings, lead us by the hand towards those we are looking for! May all our movements, all their movements, be guided by your Light and transfigured by your Joy. Angel Guide of Tobias, lay the request we now address to you at the feet of Him on whose unveiled Face you are privileged to gaze. Lonely and tired, crushed by the separations and sorrows of earth, we feel the need of calling to you and of pleading for the protection of your wings, so that we may not be as strangers in the Province of Joy, all ignorant of the concerns of our country. Remember the weak, you who are strong--you whose home lies beyond the region of thunder, in a land that is always peaceful, always serene, and bright with the resplendent glory of God. Amen. Saint Raphael Prayer O God who in Thy ineffable goodness hast rendered blessed Raphael the conductor of thy faithful in their journeys, we humbly implore Thee that we may be conducted by him in the way of salvation, and experience his help in the maladies of our souls. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen. St. Michael, For Personal Protection St. Michael, the Archangel! Glorious Prince, chief and champion of the heavenly hosts; guardian of the souls of men; conqueror of the rebel angels! How beautiful art thou, in thy heaven-made armor. We love thee, dear Prince of Heaven! We, thy happy clients, yearn to enjoy thy special protection. Obtain for us from God a share of thy sturdy courage; pray that we may have a strong and tender love for our Redeemer and, in every danger or temptation, be invincible against the enemy of our souls. O standard-bearer of our salvation! Be with us in our last moments and when our souls quit this earthly exile, carry them safely to the judgment seat of Christ, and may Our Lord and Master bid thee bear us speedily to the kingdom of eternal bliss. Teach us ever to repeat the sublime cry: “Who is like unto God?” Amen. Prayer to St. Michael for Protection of the Church and Her Members O glorious St. Michael, guardian and defender of the Church of Jesus Christ, come to the assistance of this Church, against which the powers of hell are unchained, guard with especial care her august Head, and obtain that for him and for us the hour of triumph may speedily arrive. O glorious Archangel St. Michael, watch over us during life, defend us against the assaults of the demon, assist us especially at the hour of death; obtain for us a favorable judgment, and the happiness of beholding God face to face for endless ages. Amen. LITANY TO THE HOLY ANGELS
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us. God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us. Holy Mary, Queen of Angels, pray for us. Holy Mother of God, pray for us. Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us. Saint Michael, who wast ever the defender of the people of God, pray for us. St. Michael, who didst drive from Heaven Lucifer and his rebel crew, pray for us. St. Michael, who didst cast down to Hell the accuser of our brethren, pray for us. Saint Gabriel, who didst expound to Daniel the heavenly vision, pray for us. St. Gabriel, who didst foretell to Zachary the birth and ministry of John the Baptist, pray for us. St. Gabriel, who didst announce to Blessed Mary the Incarnation of the Divine Word, pray for us. Saint Raphael, who didst lead Tobias safely through his journey to his home again, pray for us. St. Raphael, who didst deliver Sara from the devil, pray for us. St. Raphael, who didst restore his sight to Tobias the elder, pray for us. All ye holy Angels, who stand around the high and lofty throne of God, pray for us. Who cry to Him continually: Holy, Holy, Holy, pray for us. Who dispel the darkness of our minds and give us light, pray for us. Who are the messengers of heavenly things to men, pray for us. Who have been appointed by God to be our guardians, pray for us. Who always behold the Face of our Father Who is in Heaven, pray for us. Who rejoice over one sinner doing penance, pray for us. Who struck the Sodomites with blindness, pray for us. Who led Lot out of the midst of the ungodly, pray for us. Who ascended and descended on the ladder of Jacob, pray for us. Who delivered the Divine Law to Moses on Mount Sinai, pray for us. Who brought good tidings when Christ was born, pray for us. Who ministered to Him in the desert, pray for us. Who comforted Him in His agony, pray for us. Who sat in white garments at His sepulcher, pray for us. Who appeared to the disciples as He went up into Heaven, pray for us. Who shall go before Him bearing the standard of the Cross when He comes to judgment, pray for us. Who shall gather together the elect at the End of the World, pray for us. Who shall separate the wicked from among the just, pray for us. Who offer to God the prayers of those who pray, pray for us. Who assist us at the hour of death, pray for us. Who carried Lazarus into Abraham's bosom, pray for us. Who conduct to Heaven the souls of the just, pray for us. Who perform signs and wonders by the power of God, pray for us. Who are sent to minister for those who shall receive the inheritance of salvation, pray for us. Who are set over kingdoms and provinces, pray for us. Who have often put to flight armies of enemies, pray for us. Who have often delivered God's servants from prison and other perils of this life, pray for us. Who have often consoled the holy martyrs in their torments, pray for us. Who are wont to cherish with peculiar care the prelates and princes of the Church, pray for us. All ye holy orders of blessed spirits, pray for us. From all dangers, deliver us, O Lord. From the snares of the devil, deliver us O Lord. From all heresy and schism, deliver us, O Lord. From plague, famine and war, deliver us, O Lord. From sudden and unlooked-for death, deliver us, O Lord. From everlasting death, deliver us, O Lord. We sinners beseech Thee to hear us. Through Thy holy Angels, we beseech Thee, hear us. That Thou wouldst spare us, we beseech Thee, hear us. That Thou wouldst pardon us, we beseech Thee, hear us. That Thou wouldst govern and preserve Thy Holy Church, That Thou wouldst protect our Apostolic Prelate and all ecclesiastical orders, we beseech Thee, hear us. That Thou wouldst grant peace and security to kings and all Christian princes, we beseech Thee, hear us. That Thou wouldst give and preserve the fruits of the earth, we beseech Thee, hear us. That Thou wouldst grant eternal rest to all the faithful departed, we beseech Thee, hear us. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father, etc. (silently). V. Bless the Lord, all ye Angels: R. Ye who are mighty in strength, who fulfill His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His words. V. He hath given His Angels charge concerning thee, R. To keep thee in all thy ways. Let us pray O God, Who dost arrange the services of Angels and men in a wonderful order, mercifully grant that our life may be protected on earth by those who al-ways do Thee service in Heaven, through Jesus Christ Thy Son, Who with Thee and the Holy Ghost art one God, now and forever. R. Amen. O God, Who in Thine unspeakable Providence dost send Thine Angels to keep guard over us, grant unto Thy suppliants that we may be continually defended by their protection and may rejoice eternally in their society, through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, forever and ever. R. Amen. 
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Article 1
INTRODUCING YOUR BEST FRIENDS Multi-Tasking Angels
Of the forty-six books of the Old Testament, thirty-one books speak of the Angels. From these books we see that the role of Angels is to adore, to correct, to criticize, instruct, destroy, punish, protect, guard, help, advise, prophesy, announce and deliver messages from God. They also intercede and pray for us, they afflict and even kill us. In the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, we find Angels mentioned in all the four Gospels, in the Acts of the Apostles and in two of St. Paul’s Epistles, as well as the Apocalypse. They are mentioned more than 158 times. Spirits First, Angels Second “The Angels are SPIRITS,” says St. Augustine, “but it is not because they are spirits that they are Angels. They become Angels when they are sent, for the name ‘Angel’ refers to their office, not their nature. You ask the name of this nature, it is SPIRIT; you ask its office, it is that of an ANGEL (i.e. a messenger).” Because they are spirits—having no body and nothing material about them—they are in the first and highest place of things created by God. Man himself is second on that scale, because he is a combination of a spirit and a material body—a kind of bridge between the spirit world and the material world. God’s Messengers The word “Angel” comes from Latin word “angelus,” which came from the Greek word “angelos,” which in turn came from the Hebrew word “mal’akh”—which is literally translated as MESSENGER, or someone who is sent—like an emissary, a legate or missionary. The Angels represent God to us. They make known to us God’s Will. They try to make us obey God, just like the bad angels try to make us disobey God. The Good and the Bad Heaven is the true country of the good Angels, just as Hell is the true country of the bad angels. Jesus tells us that: “Their angels [of little children] in Heaven always see the face of My Father Who is in Heaven” (Matt. 18:10). Even while they are our guardians here on Earth, they still enjoy all the time the vision of God. Similarly, the bad angels suffer the pains of Hell, even while they are trying to tempt us here on Earth. No Two Alike We, human beings, differ from each other while still belonging to the SAME SPECIES. We have certain things in common, like faces, arms, hands, legs, feet, heart, lungs, brain, etc., but we are still different in some way. The Angels, however, are all DIFFERENT SPECIES. We humans are all of the same species—we are rational animals, but no two Angels are from the same species. They are as different from each other as we would differ to a cat, mouse, dog, bird, lizard, frog, etc. To them apply the words of St. Paul: “Star differs from star in glory” (1 Corinthians 15:41). Quick Thinkers! All angels have an intellect (to think with) and a will (to desire, command and love with). Angels do not have to think things out gradually and laboriously like we humans do. The mind of the Angel is so good that it can grasp and penetrate in one single moment the whole field of any science or branch of knowledge, just as we can see a whole landscape with one glance and see and appreciate how everything fits together. The Angel does not have to gather knowledge and evidence bit by bit. It does not need years of study and comparison to grasp ideas and truth. The Angels mind does not grow weaker with age. Also, by being closer to God, it receives a greater light of understanding—we too could receive a greater light if we only moved closer to God and further away from the world. Angel Talk You may ask: “Do Angels speak to each other?” We have clear evidence of Angels speaking to men all throughout the Bible. It would be unthinkable for Angels to have such clear knowledge and not be able communicate it to each other. St Paul speaks of the “Tongues of Angels” The fact that Angels possess a language of their own is beyond doubt. Among themselves they do not use the word of mouth—they are spirits without body or mouth. What is their language then? St. Thomas says that the Angels talk to each by a mere act of the will. That is to say, if they want to put something else in another Angel’s mind, they simply want it or will it and it happens. We could call it a kind of telepathy, or downloading from one mind to another without anything having to be written or said. This Angelic language is called ILLUMINATION. This form of language is clearer and more truthful—for how many times have we not struggled to find a word to truly explain what is in our mind and have not found a satisfactory solution. Sometimes words hinder rather than help a communication of ideas. Go-Betweens The angels are represented throughout the Bible as a body of spiritual beings intermediate between God and men: “You have made him (man) a little less than the angels” (Psalm 8:6). “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister to them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?” (Hebews 1:14). It is as messengers that they most often figure in the Bible, but their main role is that of attendants upon God’s throne in that court of heaven. Daniel has left us a vivid picture: “I beheld till thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days sat: His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like clean wool: His throne like flames of fire: the wheels of it like a burning fire. A swift stream of fire came out from before Him: thousands of thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before Him: the judgment sat and the books were opened.” (Daniel 7:9-10). This role of the Angels host is expressed by the word “assistance” or “standing” (Job 1:6; 2:1), and Our Lord refers to it as their perpetual occupation (Matthew 18: 10). More than once we are told of Seven Angels whose special function it is thus to “stand before God’s throne” (Tobias 12:15; Apocalypse 8:2-5). The same thought may be intended by “the angel of His presence” (Isaias 63:9) Heaven’s ‘Busy-Bees’ But these accounts of life in Heaven are rare. The Angels of the Bible usually appear in the role of God’s messengers to mankind. They are His instruments by whom He communicates His will to men, and in the story of Jacob’s vision they are shown as ascending and descending the ladder, which stretches from earth to heaven, while the Eternal Father gazes upon the wanderer below. It was an angel who found Agar in the wilderness; angels drew Lot out of Sodom; an angel announces to Gideon that he is to save his people; an angel foretells the birth of Samson, and the angel Gabriel instructs Daniel, though he is not called an angel in either of these passages, but “the man Gabriel” (Daniel 9:21). The Angel Gabriel announced both the birth of St. John the Baptist and the Incarnation of the Redeemer, while tradition ascribes to him both the message to the shepherds (Luke 2:9), and the most glorious mission of all, that of strengthening the King of Angels in His Agony (Luke 22:43). Ins and Outs of Angels The spiritual nature of the angels is manifested very clearly in the account which Zacharias gives of the revelations bestowed upon him by the ministry of an angel. The prophet depicts the angel as speaking “in him”. He seems to imply that he was conscious of an interior voice, which was not that of God, but of His messenger. The Massoretic text, the Septuagint, and the Vulgate, all agree in thus describing the communications made by the angel to the prophet. It is a pity that the “Revised Version” should, in apparent defiance of the above-named texts, obscure this trait by persistently giving an exterior rendering: “the angel that talked with me” instead of “within me” (cf. Zacharias 1:9, 1:13, 1:14; 2:3; 4:5; 5:10). Angels are able to work upon us both ways—externally and internally, and not just externally. Part-Time and Full-Time Angels Such appearances of angels generally last only so long as the delivery of their message requires, but frequently their mission is prolonged, and they are represented as the constituted guardians of the nations at some particular crisis, e.g. during the Exodus (Exodus 14:19; Baruch, 6:6). Similarly it is the common view of the Fathers that by “the prince of the Kingdom of the Persians” (Daniel 10:13; 10:21) we are to understand the angel to whom was entrusted the spiritual care of that kingdom, and we may perhaps see in the “man of Macedonia” who appeared to St. Paul at Troas, the guardian angel of that country (Acts 16:9). The Bible (Deut. 33:8), has preserved for us a fragment of information on this matter, even though it is difficult to gauge its exact meaning: “When the Most High divided the nations, when He scattered the children of Adam, He established the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God”. How large a part the ministry of angels played, not merely in Hebrew theology, but in the religious ideas of other nations as well, appears from the expression “like to an angel of God”. It is three times used of David (2 Kings 14:17, 14:20; 14:27) and once by Achis of Geth (1 Kings 29:9). It is even applied by Esther to Assuerus (Esther 15:16), and St. Stephen’s face is said to have looked “like the face of an angel” as he stood before the Sanhedrin (Acts 6:15). Article 2
THE NINE CHOIRS OF ANGELS SERAPHIM (1st Hierarchy : 1st Choir)
These are the highest order or choir of Angels. They are the Angels who are attendants or guardians before God’s throne. They praise God, singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts.” The only Bible reference is Isaiah 6:1-7. One of them touched Isaiah’s lips with a live coal from the altar, cleansing him from sin. Seraphim have six wings, two cover their faces, two cover their feet, and two are for flying. CHERUBIM (1st Hierarchy : 2nd Choir) Cherubim rank after the Seraphim and are the second highest in the nine hierarchies or choirs of angels. The Old Testament does not reveal any evidence that the Jews considered them as intercessors or helpers of God. They were closely linked in God’s glory. They are manlike in appearance and double-winged and were guardians of God’s glory. They symbolized God’s power and mobility. The New Testament suggests that they celestial attendants (Apocalypse chapters 4 to 6). Catholic tradition describes them as Angels who have an intimate knowledge of God and continually praise Him. THRONES (1st Hierarchy : 3rd Choir) Being the lower Choir of the first and highest hierarchy, the Thrones share with the Sepahim and Cherubim the great dignity and glory of being closer to the throne of God than all the other choirs beneath. DOMIN(AT)IONS (2nd Hierarchy : 1st Choir) Dominions are Angels of Leadership. They regulate the duties of the angels, making known the commands of God. VIRTUES (2nd Hierarchy : 2nd Choir) Virtues are known as the Spirits of Motion and control the elements. They are also referred to as “the shining ones.” They govern all nature. They have control over seasons, stars, moon—even the sun is subject to their command. They are also in charge of miracles and provide courage, grace, and valor. POWERS (2nd Hierarchy : 3rd Choir) Powers are Warrior Angels against evil defending the the world and humans. They are known as potentates. They fight against evil spirits who attempt to cause chaos through human beings. PRINCIPALITIES (3rd Hierarchy : 1st Choir) In the New Testament Principalities refers to one type of spiritual being which are now quite hostile to God and human beings (Rom 8:38; 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:16; 2:10, 15). Mentioned along with the Principalities are the Powers, Dominions and Thrones (Rom 8:38; 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21; 3:10; Col 1:16; 1 Pt. 3:22; 2 Thes. 1:7). The clarity of the New Testament evidence helps us see that these beings were created through Christ and for Him (Col 1:16). Given their hostility to God and humans due to sin, Christ’s ultimate rule over them, expresses the reign of the Lord over all creation. This is the Kingship of Christ, which reveals God’s salvation in conquering sin and death at the cross, and now takes place in the Church (Eph 3:10). ARCHANGELS (3rd Hierarchy : 2nd Choir) Archangels are usually taken to mean “chief or leading angel” (Jd. 1:9; 1 Thes. 4:15). They are the most frequently mentioned throughout the Bible. They may be of this or other hierarchies as St. Michael Archangel, who is a princely Seraph. The Archangels have a unique role as God’s messenger to the people at critical times in history and salvation (Tb. 12:6, 15; Jn. 5:4; Apoc. 12:7-9) as in The Annunciation and Apocalypse. Feast days celebrating some of the Archangels are St. Michael (sep. 29), St. Gabriel (Mar. 24) and St. Raphael (Oct. 24). A special part of the Byzantine Liturgy invokes the “Cherubic Hymn,” which celebrates these Archangels and the Guardian Angels. Of special significance is St. Michael as he has been invoked as patron and protector by the Church from the time of the Apostles. The Eastern Rite and many others place him over all the Angels, as Prince of the Seraphim. He is described as the “Chief of Princes” and as the leader of the forces of Heaven in their triumph over Satan and his followers. The Angel Gabriel first appeared in the Old Testament in the prophesies of Daniel, he announced the prophecy of 70 weeks (Dan. 9:21-27). He appeared to Zachary to announce the birth of St. John the Baptist (Lk 1:11). It was also Gabriel who proclaimed the Annunciation of Mary to be the Mother of Our Lord and Saviour. (Lk. 1:26) The Angel Raphael first appeared in the book of Tobias (3:25, 5:5-28, 6-12). He announces “I am the Angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the throne of God.” (Tb. 12:15) ANGELS (3rd Hierarchy : 3rd Choir) These angels are closest to the material world and human begins. They deliver the prayers to God and God’s answers and other messages to humans. Angels have the capacity to access any and all other Angels at any time. They are the most caring and desirous to assist those who ask for help. Article 3
THE LIFE OF AN ANGEL Heavens Above! Who Are They?
We know they exist―but what do we know about them? We know we have Guardian Angels―but what can they do and who on earth use them? You could say that the angels are pretty much an untapped source of goodness and power. One of reasons that most souls are lost is that they either ignored the existence of the angels, or because they failed to listen to the inspirations of their angels, nor did they put their companionship to good use. It is like a poor man dying of starvation and disease, oblivious to the fact that his land had an oil-field or gold-mine, or knowing this, he was too lazy to dig for the oil or gold. Just think what he could have done had he only researched his land and dug for the treasure! Similarly, just think of what a Catholic could achieve if he/she would only research their Faith and dig deep into it to uncover many useful and powerful treasures―yet, like the poor man on the surface of his land who will not dig deep into that land, the Catholic who fails to research and dig deep into the Faith, risks eternally dying through a starvation of grace and the disease of sin. “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that soweth in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:8). “Seek ye first the kingdom of God!” (Luke 12:31)―and in that kingdom you will find the awesome, powerful, innumerable array of angels! The Multi-Tasking Angels Of the forty-six books of the Old Testament, thirty-one books speak of the Angels. From these books we see that the role of Angels is to adore, to correct, to criticize, instruct, destroy, punish, protect, guard, help, advise, prophesy, announce and deliver messages from God. They also intercede and pray for us, they afflict and even kill us. In the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, we find Angels mentioned in all the four Gospels, in the Acts of the Apostles and in two of St. Paul’s Epistles, as well as the Apocalypse. They are mentioned more than 158 times. Are Angels ‘Nobodies’? They are Spirits First, Angels Second Before we look into the help that Angels can give, let us first of all―as is only polite in elevated company―acquaint ourselves with them. “The Angels are SPIRITS,” says St. Augustine, “but it is not because they are spirits that they are Angels. They become Angels when they are sent, for the name ‘Angel’ refers to their office, not their nature. You ask the name of this nature, it is SPIRIT; you ask its office, it is that of an ANGEL (i.e. a messenger).” Because they are spirits—having no body and nothing material about them (in that sense, you could call them “Nobodies”)—they are in the first and highest place of things created by God. Man himself is second on that scale, because he is a combination of a spirit and a material body—a kind of bridge between the spirit world and the material world. God’s Messengers The word “Angel” comes from Latin word angelus, which came from the Greek word angelos, which in turn came from the Hebrew word “mal’akh”—which is literally translated as MESSENGER, or someone who is sent—like an emissary, a legate or missionary. The Angels represent God to us. They make known to us God’s Will. They try to make us obey God, just like the bad angels try to make us disobey God. The Good and the Bad Heaven is the true country of the good Angels, just as Hell is the true country of the bad angels. Jesus tells us that: “Their angels [of little children] in Heaven always see the face of My Father Who is in Heaven” (Matthew 18:10). Even while they are our guardians here on Earth, they still enjoy all the time the vision of God. Similarly, the bad angels suffer the pains of Hell, even while they are trying to tempt us here on Earth. The Archangel Gabriel brings a message from God to both Zachary, the future father of St. John the Baptist, and to Our Lady, the future Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ. An angel tells Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary for his wife, for the child that she has conceived is from God. The angel later tells Joseph that it is time to flee to Egypt―and some years afterwards, informs Joseph it is safe to return to his homeland, since King Herod had died. These are just several instances of the hundreds of thousands of interventions of the angels of God with messages for His faithful. No Two Alike We, human beings, differ from each other while still belonging to the SAME SPECIES. We have certain things in common, like faces, arms, hands, legs, feet, heart, lungs, brain, etc., but we are still different in some way. The Angels, however, are all DIFFERENT SPECIES. We humans are all of the same species—we are rational animals, but no two Angels are from the same species. They are as different from each other as we would differ to a cat, mouse, dog, bird, lizard, frog, etc. To them apply the words of St. Paul: “Star differs from star in glory” (1 Corinthians 15:41). Quick Thinkers! All angels have an intellect (to think with) and a will (to desire, command and love with). Angels do not have to think things out gradually and laboriously like we humans do. The mind of the Angel is so good that it can grasp and penetrate in one single moment the whole field of any science or branch of knowledge, just as we can see a whole landscape with one glance and see and appreciate how everything fits together. The Angel does not have to gather knowledge and evidence bit by bit. It does not need years of study and comparison to grasp ideas and truth. The Angels mind does not grow weaker with age. Also, by being closer to God, it receives a greater light of understanding—we too could receive a greater light if we only moved closer to God and further away from the world. Angel Talk You may ask: “Do Angels speak to each other?” We have clear evidence of Angels speaking to men all throughout the Bible. It would be unthinkable for Angels to have such clear knowledge and not be able communicate it to each other. St Paul speaks of the “Tongues of Angels.” The fact that Angels possess a language of their own is beyond doubt. Among themselves they do not use the word of mouth—they are spirits without body or mouth. What is their language then? St. Thomas says that the Angels talk to each by a mere act of the will. That is to say, if they want to put something else in another Angel’s mind, they simply want it or will it and it happens. We could call it a kind of telepathy, or downloading from one mind to another without anything having to be written or said. This Angelic language is called ILLUMINATION. This form of language is clearer and more truthful—for how many times have we not struggled to find a word to truly explain what is in our mind and have not found a satisfactory solution. Sometimes words hinder rather than help a communication of ideas. Go-Betweens The angels are represented throughout the Bible as a body of spiritual beings intermediate between God and men: “You have made him (man) a little less than the angels”(Psalm 8:6). “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister to them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?” (Hebews 1:14). It is as messengers that they most often figure in the Bible, but their main role is that of attendants upon God’s throne in that court of Heaven. Daniel has left us a vivid picture: “I beheld till thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days sat: His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like clean wool: His throne like flames of fire: the wheels of it like a burning fire. A swift stream of fire came out from before Him: thousands of thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before Him: the judgment sat and the books were opened” (Daniel 7:9-10). This role of the Angels host is expressed by the word “assistance” or “standing” (Job 1:6; 2:1), and Our Lord refers to it as their perpetual occupation (Matthew 18: 10). More than once we are told of Seven Angels whose special function it is thus to “stand before God’s throne” (Tobias 12:15; Apocalypse 8:2-5). The same thought may be intended by “the angel of His presence” (Isaias 63:9) Heaven’s ‘Busy-Bees’ But these accounts of life in Heaven are rare. The Angels of the Bible usually appear in the role of God’s messengers to mankind. They are His instruments by whom He communicates His will to men, and in the story of Jacob’s vision they are shown as ascending and descending the ladder, which stretches from earth to Heaven, while the Eternal Father gazes upon the wanderer below. It was an angel who found Agar in the wilderness; angels drew Lot out of Sodom; an angel announces to Gideon that he is to save his people; an angel foretells the birth of Samson, and the angel Gabriel instructs Daniel, though he is not called an angel in either of these passages, but “the man Gabriel” (Daniel 9:21). The Angel Gabriel announced both the birth of St. John the Baptist and the Incarnation of the Redeemer, while tradition ascribes to him both the message to the shepherds (Luke 2:9), and the most glorious mission of all, that of strengthening the King of Angels in His Agony (Luke 22:43). Ins and Outs of Angels The spiritual nature of the angels is manifested very clearly in the account which Zacharias gives of the revelations bestowed upon him by the ministry of an angel. The prophet depicts the angel as speaking “in him”. He seems to imply that he was conscious of an interior voice, which was not that of God, but of His messenger. The Massoretic text, the Septuagint, and the Vulgate, all agree in thus describing the communications made by the angel to the prophet. It is a pity that the “Revised Version” should, in apparent defiance of the above-named texts, obscure this trait by persistently giving an exterior rendering: “the angel that talked with me” instead of “within me” (cf. Zacharias 1:9, 1:13, 1:14; 2:3; 4:5; 5:10). Angels are able to work upon us both ways—externally and internally, and not just externally. Part-Time and Full-Time Angels Such appearances of angels generally last only so long as the delivery of their message requires, but frequently their mission is prolonged, and they are represented as the constituted guardians of the nations at some particular crisis, e.g. during the Exodus (Exodus 14:19; Baruch, 6:6). Similarly it is the common view of the Fathers that by “the prince of the Kingdom of the Persians” (Daniel 10:13; 10:21) we are to understand the angel to whom was entrusted the spiritual care of that kingdom, and we may perhaps see in the “man of Macedonia” who appeared to St. Paul at Troas, the guardian angel of that country (Acts 16:9). The Bible (Deut. 33:8), has preserved for us a fragment of information on this matter, even though it is difficult to gauge its exact meaning: “When the Most High divided the nations, when He scattered the children of Adam, He established the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God.” How large a part the ministry of angels played, not merely in Hebrew theology, but in the religious ideas of other nations as well, appears from the expression “like to an angel of God.” It is three times used of David (2 Kings 14:17, 14:20; 14:27) and once by Achis of Geth (1 Kings 29:9). It is even applied by Esther to Assuerus (Esther 15:16), and St. Stephen’s face is said to have looked “like the face of an angel” as he stood before the Sanhedrin (Acts 6:15). ‘Tax-Collector’ Angels St. Bernard says that the angels receive our prayers and present them before God — as the angel said to Tobias: “When thou didst pray with tears, I offered thy prayer to God” (Tobias 12:12). St. Hilary says the same: “The angels preside over the prayers of the saints and offer them each day to God.” Yet, as Fr. Faber writes of the prayers of lukewarm souls: “Our prayers rise to Heaven with an equipage of venial sins in attendance upon them, and the angels are reluctant witnesses of our Confessions and Communions” (Fr. Faber, Growth in Holiness). Comforting Angels After MUCH PRAYER AND FASTING in the desert for 40 days and nights, Our Lord was tempted by devil―whose temptations He repelled―after “the devil left Him; and behold angels came and ministered to Him” (Matthew 4:8-10). We later see Our Lord comforted and strengthened by an angel is the Garden of Gethsemane on the eve His agony. “And going out, Jesus went, according to His custom, to the Mount of Olives. And His disciples also followed Him. And when He was come to the place, He said to them: ‘Pray, lest ye enter into temptation!’ And He was withdrawn away from them a stone’s cast; and kneeling down, He prayed, saying: ‘Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice from Me: but yet not My will, but Thine be done!’ And there appeared to Him an angel from Heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground. And when He rose up from prayer, and was come to His disciples, He found them sleeping for sorrow. And He said to them: ‘Why sleep you? Arise! Pray, lest you enter into temptation!” (Luke 22:39-46). The angel came to comfort and strengthen as A RESULT OF REPEATED PRAYER. Angels of Penance and Conversion The Gospel teaches us that a sinner who is converted and who does penance gives joy to all the angels. “I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance” (Luke 15:10). St. Alphonsus Liguori adds:“St. Francis de Sales said that, if the angels were capable of weeping, they would do nothing else than shed tears at the sight of the destruction which a Christian, who commits mortal sin, brings upon himself …” (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Sunday Sermons). Sister Lucia of Fatima, on January 3rd, 1944, put down on paper a vision that had been granted to the children concerning the future: “We saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendor that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the Earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!’” Earlier, even before the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima to the three children, the Angel of Portugal―also known as the Guardian Angel of Portugal, and the “Angel of Peace”―told the three children to do much penance (make sacrifices) for sinners. On one occasion when he appeared to them, they were busy playing―he chided them, saying: “What are you doing? Pray! Pray a great deal! The Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer unceasingly prayers and sacrifice yourselves to the Most High. Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners. In this way, you will draw peace upon your country. I am its Guardian Angel, the Angel of Portugal. Above all, accept and bear with submission all the sufferings the Lord will send you.” Lucia comments: “Those words of the Angel engraved themselves in our spirit, as a light which made us understand Who God is, how much He loves us and wants to be loved by us, the value of sacrifice and how pleasing it is to Him, and that out of respect for it, God converts sinners.” Angels of Health Besides being messengers of God, angels have also been known to bring health―both spiritual and physical health. The Archangel Raphael―whose name means “Medicine of God”, “God Heals” or “Divine Healer”―is just one example, as we read in the book of Tobias, where Raphael cures Tobias Senior from his blindness, and drives away the demon that had been tormenting Sarah, so that she could marry Tobias Junior. Another instance is seen in the New Testament: “Now there is at Jerusalem a pond, called Probatica, which in Hebrew is named Bethsaida, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered; waiting for the moving of the water. And an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water, was made whole, of whatsoever infirmity he lay under” (John 5:2-4). Angels of Protection—Angels of Death When the priest sprinkles Holy Water―as for example, when he prays the Asperges Me, at the start of Sung High Mass (Missa Cantata), he often says: “Graciously hear us O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God; and vouchsafe to send Thy holy Angel from Heaven to guard, cherish, protect, visit, and defend all those that are assembled together in this house.” The angels are not only messengers of God’s, but they are also our protectors―both against evil spirits (the fallen angels, the devils) and also against evil human beings and the various evils that can befall us on the part of nature. If God would allow it or wanted it, one single angel would be capable of destroying the entire universe! God has often used angels to destroy His enemies. Let us look at these angels who put enemies to death. In Holy Scripture we see the case of the avenging angel in Egypt, who killed all the firstborn in the land—man and beast—except for those who had the blood of the lamb smeared on their doorposts. Before being finally allowed to leave Egypt, the Israelites saw the vengeance of God being wreaked upon the land of Egypt. God had commanded Moses to smear the doorposts of all the homes of the Israelites with the blood of the lamb to protect them from the extreme vengeance that the angel of the Lord would enact, saying: “And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt both man and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord” (Genesis 12:12). Pretty extreme, eh? That’s the way God is! God thinks nothing of taking away life—especially the lives of His enemies! Our Lady also refers, at La Salette, to angels who kill, saying that God “will command His angels to have all His enemies put to death.” Holy Scripture often speaks of angels as being our protectors. Lot is protected by angels, who warn him to flee the city of Sodom before God destroys it with fire. Joseph is warned by an angel to flee Bethlehem with Jesus and Mary, for Herod seeks to kill Jesus. “For he hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways” (Psalm 90:11). Dogged-Protector Angels Finally, quite close to our times, we have the remarkable ‘guardian dog’ (or was it a guardian angel) of St. John Bosco, which should give us great hope and encouragement. Was it an angel or was it a dog? The life of Don Bosco furnishes us with a remarkable and interesting story of what appears to many an angelic intervention in saving the life of this servant of God from the fierce attacks of the Waldensian heretics, who made several attempts to assassinate him. These heretics were furious at the good done by Don Bosco and sought by violent means to rid themselves of his influence. Some of their adherents were men of the lowest and most vicious type, and these they hired to carry out their murderous designs. When returning home one night through a bad and dangerous part of the town, he saw a magnificent dog of huge size following him. At first he was frightened but quickly came to see that the dog was friendly. The animal walked by his side and accompanied him to the door of his house and then went away. This happened five, six or eight times. He called the dog Grigio. What did it mean? He was soon to learn. Hurrying home by himself, some time after the first appearance of the dog, two shots were fired at him by an assassin from behind a tree. Both shots missed their mark, but his assailant then rushed at and grappled with him. At that moment, Grigio appeared and sank his teeth into the flesh of the would-be murderer, who fled away shrieking with pain. On a second occasion, two men lay in wait for him and threw a sack over his head. This time it seemed all was over with him, but Grigio unexpectedly came to his rescue and jumped at one of the ruffians, seizing him by the throat. The other fled in terror. Don Bosco had then to liberate the first from the fangs of Grigio, who still held him by the throat. A third time, no less than twelve hired assassins, armed with clubs, lay in ambush, into which Don Bosco walked unawares. Again, escape seemed impossible, but once more Grigio bounded into the midst of the group, and his fierce look and savage growl proved enough. The men made off as quickly as they could. Sometimes the dog entered Don Bosco’s house, but always with some reason, either to accompany him on a night journey or to prevent his leaving the house. No amount of animal instinct could explain these unexpected appearances of the dog. On one of these occasions, when Don Bosco tried to go out, the great dog lay across the door and growled in such a menacing way that St. John was forced to remain at home. And it was well that he did so, for shortly afterwards a gentleman arrived to warn him not to leave the house on any consideration, as the heretics lay in wait to kill him. As long as the persecution lasted, Grigio never failed to be at his post and when the danger passed he was seen no more. Whence he came or whither he went no one knew. Ten years later, Don Bosco had to go to the farmhouse of some friends and had been advised that the road was dangerous. “If only I had Grigio!” he said. At once the great dog appeared by his side, as if he had heard the words, giving signs of the greatest joy. Both man and dog arrived safely at the farmhouse and went into the dining room, where the family invited Don Bosco to take part in the evening meal. The dog lay down. No one thought any more of him. When dinner was finished, the master of the house proposed to feed the dog. But he was gone! Doors and windows had been closed; how did he get out? In 1883, that was more than thirty years after the dog’s first appearance, he appeared once more in a different locality to guide Don Bosco, who had lost his way. How are we to explain those wonderful appearances of the dog, at the most opportune moments and in different localities? Surely we may believe that this was angelic intervention. This is especially so as the great dog was never known to eat. Angels Today Blessed Anna Catherine Emmerich was frequently granted visions of the past and future combats of the Church. Repeatedly she saw St. Michael, in the form of a warrior, standing with blood-stained sword above the Church, replacing the sword in his scabbard as a sign of victory. She was also shown how, in the present-day struggles of the Church, St. Michael would bring about a most glorious victory. This thought should be consoling to all the faithful Christians who view, with alarm, the many persecutions now being directed against the Church—which will only grow with time. When the end of the world draws near, St. Michael will wage a final battle against the Antichrist, who by false miracles will endeavor to seduce even the elect of God. St. Michael will then defend the Church against frightful persecutions. This is foretold in the Book of Daniel, where the prophet, speaking of the end of the world and the Antichrist, says: “But at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people: and a time shall come such as never was from the time that nations began even until that time. And at that time shall thy people be saved, every one that shall be found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1). The fact that St. Michael still fights battles today, is clearly seen from his intervention for a U.S. Marine in Korea in 1950 (read more here). What he did for that young soldier, he can do for you or me—if we are faithful and consistent in honoring him, praying to him and invoking his help. As we sow, so shall we reap. St. Michael himself revealed to a mystic that if we only knew how influential he was in interceding with God and how powerful he was against the enemies of the Church, then we would turn to him far more often—but we don’t and so we lose out! Call 1-800-MIC-HAEL. Soldier Angels For those who perhaps have never heard it before, here is some background information first. A young U.S. Marine, named Michael, who wrote a letter home to his mother while he was in the hospital, after having been wounded in Korea, in 1950. A Navy Chaplain named, Fr. Walter Muldy, was apparently given the letter, checked the facts and concluded what was in the letter was true. A year later, in 1951, Fr. Muldy read the letter in public for the first time, to a gathering of some 5,000 Marines at the Naval Base in San Diego. Here is the letter: Dear Mom, I am writing to you from a hospital bed. Don’t worry, Mom, I am okay. I was wounded, but the doctor says that I will be up in no time. But that’s not what I have to tell you, Mom. Something happened to me that I don’t dare tell anyone else, for fear of their disbelief. But I have to tell you, the one person I can confide in, though even you may find it hard to believe. You remember the prayer to St. Michael that you taught me to pray when I was little: “Michael, Michael of the morning,…” Before I left home for Korea, you urged me to remember this prayer before any confrontation with the enemy. But you really didn’t have to remind me, Mom. I have always prayed it, and when I got to Korea, I sometimes said it a couple of times a day while marching or resting. Well, one day, we were told to move forward to scout for Commies. It was a really cold day. As I was walking along, I perceived another fellow walking beside me, and I looked to see who it was. He was a big fellow, a Marine about 6’4” and built proportionally. Funny, but I didn’t know him, and I thought I knew everyone in my unit. I was glad to have the company and broke the silence between us: “Chilly today, isn’t it?” Then I chuckled because suddenly it seemed absurd to talk about the weather when we were advancing to meet the enemy. He chuckled too, softly. “I thought I knew everyone in my outfit,” I continued, “but I have never seen you before.” “No,” he agreed, “I have just joined. The name is Michael.” “Really?! That’s mine, too.” “I know,” the Marine said, “Michael, Michael of the morning….” Mom, I was really surprised that he knew about my prayer, but I had taught it to many of the other guys, so I supposed that the newcomer must have picked it up from someone else. As a matter of fact, it had gotten around to the extent that some of the fellows were calling me “St. Michael.” Then, out of the blue, Michael said, “There’s going to be trouble ahead.” I wondered how he could know that. I was breathing hard from the march, and my breath hit the cold air like dense clouds of fog. Michael seemed to be in top shape because I couldn’t see his breath at all. Just then, it started to snow heavily, and soon it was so dense I could no longer hear or see the rest of my outfit. I got a little scared and yelled, “Michael!” Then I felt his strong hand on my shoulder and heard his voice in my ear, “It’s going to clear up soon.” It did clear up, suddenly. And then, just a short distance ahead of us, like so many dreadful realities, were seven Commies, looking rather comical in their funny hats. But there was nothing funny about them now; their guns were steady and pointed straight in our direction. “Down, Michael!!” I yelled as I dove for cover. Even as I was hitting the ground, I looked up and saw Michael still standing, as if paralyzed by fear, or so I thought at the time. Bullets were spurting all over the place, and Mom, there was no way those Commies could have missed at that short distance. I jumped up to pull him down, and then I was hit. The pain was like a hot fire in my chest, and as I fell, my head swooned and I remember thinking, “I must be dying…” Someone was laying me down, strong arms were holding me and laying me gently on the snow. Through the daze, I opened my eyes, and the sun seemed to blaze in my eyes. Michael was standing still, and there was a terrible splendor in his face. Suddenly, he seemed to grow, like the sun, the splendor increasing intensely around him, like the wings of an angel. As I slipped into unconsciousness, I saw that Michael held a sword in his hand, and it flashed like a million lights. Later on, when I woke up, the rest of the guys came to see me with the sergeant. “How did you do it, son?” he asked me. “Where’s Michael?” I asked in reply. “Michael who?” The sergeant seemed puzzled. “Michael, the big Marine walking with me, right up to the last moment. I saw him there as I fell.” “Son,” the sergeant said gravely, “you’re the only Michael in my unit. I hand-picked all you fellows, and there’s only one Michael. You! And son, you weren’t walking with anyone. I was watching you, because you were too far off from us, and I was worried. Now tell me, son,” he repeated, “how did you do it?” It was the second time he had asked me that, and I found it irritating. “How did I do what?” “How did you kill those seven Commies? There wasn’t a single bullet fired from your rifle.” “What?!!” “Come on, son. They were strewn all around you, each one killed by a sword-stroke.” And that, Mom, is the end of my story. It may have been the pain, or the blazing sun, or the chilling cold. I don’t know, Mom, but there is one thing I am sure about. It happened. With love, your son, Michael “End-Times” Angels The end times are to be times of great angelic activity—which is, of course, only normal. For if you have the evil angels, the devils, behind the attacks on the Church and Catholics, then you need the good angels to come to their aid—as they say: “Fight fire with fire!” Our Lord says: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49) and we say to God: “Come, O Holy Ghost, … enkindle in us the fire of Thy love”, so that we “may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one” (Ephesians 6:16). There is biblical connection between angels and fire. We read that “He maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire”(Hebrews 1:7), and that “there appeared to Moses, in the desert of Mount Sinai, an angel in a flame of fire in a bush” (Acts 7:30) ... “And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire … And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun, and it was given unto him to afflict men with heat and fire … And I saw another mighty angel come down from Heaven, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire” (Apocalypse 14:18; 16:8; 10:1). In Genesis (3:24), we read of Cherubims with flaming swords of fire. To be able to fight the evil angels with their fiery darts, we need the good angels with their fiery swords. Otherwise, we are out of our league! Our Lord says that “at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just” (Matthew 13:49). St. Francis of Paola (15th century) said that: “By the grace of the Almighty, the Great Monarch will annihilate heretics and unbelievers. He will have a great army, and Angels will fight at his side” (Yves Dupont, Catholic Prophecy). This is akin to what we read in Holy Scripture, concerning Judas Machabeus, who had angels fighting at his side: “But as soon as the sun was risen both sides joined battle: the one part having with their valor the Lord for a surety of victory and success: but the other side making their rage their leader in battle. But when they were in the heat of the engagement there appeared to the enemies, from Heaven, five men upon horses, comely with golden bridles, conducting the Jews: two of whom took Machabeus between them, and covered him on every side with their arms, and kept him safe: but cast darts and fireballs against the enemy, so that they fell down, being both confounded with blindness, and filled with trouble. And there were slain twenty thousand five hundred, and six hundred horsemen” (2 Machabees 10:28-31). The Abbot Joachin Merlin (13th century), writes: “After many long sufferings endured by Christians, and after too great an effusion of innocent blood, the Lord shall give peace and happiness to the desolated nations. A remarkable Pope will be seated on the pontifical Throne, under the special protection of the Angels” (Yves Dupont, Catholic Prophecy). Pope Pius XII (died 1958) said: “We must unite with the holy angels; with them we must become one great strong family in view of the times that are approaching us!” Why? How? He could well have said: “Why me?” We may well wonder, “Why him?” Partially, it is because of two things. Firstly, he said the prayer to St. Michael day-in-day-out and even many times a day—however this was probably not the only prayer he said. One can judge, without being rash, that this was a prayerful man. Secondly, and probably as a result of the first point, he did not hide his religion or beliefs—he was trying to get everyone to pray—at least to pray to St. Michael. No doubt that earned a good deal of sarcasm and mockery, but he continued nevertheless. As Our Lord said: “Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God. But he that shall deny Me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8). God helps those who help themselves. As we sow, so shall we reap (Galatians 6:7-8). The more we sow, the more we reap. “He who soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly” (2 Corinthians 9:6). Don’t bury the supernatural talents that God has given you. Use them, use them well, and God’s help will never be far away—even His miraculous help if necessary. The prayer, of the Michael the Marine to St. Michael the Archangel, was as follows: Michael, Michael of the morning, Fresh chord of Heaven adorning, Keep me safe today, And in time of temptation Drive the devil away. Amen. “End-Times” Angels The end times are to be times of great angelic activity—which is, of course, only normal. For if you have the evil angels, the devils, behind the attacks on the Church and Catholics, then you need the good angels to come to their aid—as they say: “Fight fire with fire!” Our Lord says: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49) and we say to God: “Come, O Holy Ghost, … enkindle in us the fire of Thy love”, so that we “may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one” (Ephesians 6:16). There is biblical connection between angels and fire. We read that “He maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire”(Hebrews 1:7), and that “there appeared to Moses, in the desert of Mount Sinai, an angel in a flame of fire in a bush” (Acts 7:30) ... “And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire … And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun, and it was given unto him to afflict men with heat and fire … And I saw another mighty angel come down from Heaven, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire” (Apocalypse 14:18; 16:8; 10:1). In Genesis (3:24), we read of Cherubims with flaming swords of fire. To be able to fight the evil angels with their fiery darts, we need the good angels with their fiery swords. Otherwise, we are out of our league! Our Lord says that “at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just” (Matthew 13:49). St. Francis of Paola (15th century) said that: “By the grace of the Almighty, the Great Monarch will annihilate heretics and unbelievers. He will have a great army, and Angels will fight at his side” (Yves Dupont, Catholic Prophecy). This is akin to what we read in Holy Scripture, concerning Judas Machabeus, who had angels fighting at his side: “But as soon as the sun was risen both sides joined battle: the one part having with their valor the Lord for a surety of victory and success: but the other side making their rage their leader in battle. But when they were in the heat of the engagement there appeared to the enemies, from Heaven, five men upon horses, comely with golden bridles, conducting the Jews: two of whom took Machabeus between them, and covered him on every side with their arms, and kept him safe: but cast darts and fireballs against the enemy, so that they fell down, being both confounded with blindness, and filled with trouble. And there were slain twenty thousand five hundred, and six hundred horsemen” (2 Machabees 10:28-31). The Abbot Joachin Merlin (13th century), writes: “After many long sufferings endured by Christians, and after too great an effusion of innocent blood, the Lord shall give peace and happiness to the desolated nations. A remarkable Pope will be seated on the pontifical Throne, under the special protection of the Angels” (Yves Dupont, Catholic Prophecy). Pope Pius XII (died 1958) said: “We must unite with the holy angels; with them we must become one great strong family in view of the times that are approaching us!” Atom-Bombs & ‘A-Bombs’ Atom Bombs and the generation of bombs or nuclear weapons to which they gave birth, are seen as the ultimate threat to mankind in this increasingly unsecure and destabilized world. Yet God has more A-Bombs than we could even count! Of course, His A-Bombs are not like man’s Atom Bombs—His A-Bombs are ‘Angel Bombs.’ The theologians tell us that one single angel, if permitted by God, could destroy not only the entire Earth, but also the entire universe! And God’s A-Bombs are very precise, with not even single millimeter margin of error! God operates in this world through the ministry of His angels. The angels watch-over and control (and can override man’s puny control of) all that exists in the universe. The angels are the main element in God’s Providence―for God is the ultimate and consummate delegator. He dropped His A-Bombs in the time of Noe and without one single explosion wiped out almost the whole world! In the time of Moses in Egypt, God dropped ten ‘A-Bombs’ in the form of ten plagues with “pinpoint accuracy”—the final ‘A-Bomb’ killing the firstborn of each Egyptian household, including animals. No human missile can imitate such pinpoint accuracy! Then, Pharao’s chariots pursued the Israelites, “Moses said to the people: ‘Fear not! Stand and see the great wonders of the Lord, which He will do this day! For the Egyptians, whom you see now, you shall see no more for ever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace!” (Exodus 14:13-14). The waters of the Red Sea parted, the Israelites crossed over the sea bed, but the pursuing Egyptian charioteers and soldiers were drowned as the waters swept over them. As previously stated, the angels fought alongside the Maccabees against Syrian domination and gained independence for the Jews. One day, in the afterlife, we will be surprised and shocked at the enormous role that God’s angels have played in the history of the world―a fact to which we mostly oblivious here and now. Fear Not! Our Lord understands our fears and foresees them, as when speaking of the ends times, He says: “Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world!” (Luke 21:26). Of the end times, Our Lord says: “And when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, fear ye not! For such things must needs be!” (Mark 13:7). Even the angels are telling us not be afraid—as we see in the cases of Mary, Joseph, Zachary, the shepherds at Bethlehem, and the women at the tomb: “And the angel said to her: ‘Fear not, Mary!’” (Luke 1:30) … “The angel of the Lord appeared to him, saying: ‘Joseph, son of David, fear not!’” (Matthew 1:20) … “The angel said to him: ‘Fear not, Zachary!’” (Luke 1:13) … “And the angel said to the shepherds: ‘Fear not!’” (Luke 2:10) … “And the angel said to the women [at Jesus’ tomb]: ‘Fear not!’” (Matthew 28:5). The Apostles and Saints tell us not to fear too: “That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve Him without fear” says St. Zachary (Luke 1:74). St. Peter says: “If also you suffer anything for the sake of justice, blessed are ye! And be not afraid of their fear, and be not troubled!” (1 Peter 3:14). St. John writes in the Apocalypse: “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer!” (Apocalypse 2:10). Our Lady is called the “Queen of Angels” and, as Queen of Angels, she can summon legions of heavenly hosts to our defense at any time, in any place, in any situation. When the king of Syria sent his forces to capture Eliseus, the prophet told his servant to “fear not for there are more with us than with them. And Eliseus prayed, and said, Lord open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses, and chariots of fire round about Eliseus” (4 Kings 6:16-17). The Queen of the Angels repeats those words to those who are clothed in her Scapular and who pray her Rosary: “Fear not, for there are more with us than with them.” She can summon legions of angels to our side and surround us with the power of Heaven. |
Article 4
St. Padre Pio and the Guardian Angels
St. Padre Pio and the Guardian Angels
To Fight Satan and the World, We Need the Angels of God
If we expect to overcome the world and its prince by ourselves, then we are grossly mistaken and dangerously complacent. If we think we can make a friend of this world, then we call God a liar—you cannot serve God and mammon. “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24). As the saying goes: “You must fight fire with fire!” Similarly, we can only fight the fires of Hell and overcome the fiery darts of the devil, through the fires of love and fiery love of God’s angelic spirits—the angels.
Fire is Needed
Our Lord says: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49) and we say to God: “Come, O Holy Ghost, … enkindle in us the fire of Thy love”, so that we “may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one” (Ephesians 6:16). There is biblical connection between angels and fire. We read that “He maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire” (Hebrews 1:7), and that “there appeared to Moses, in the desert of Mount Sinai, an angel in a flame of fire in a bush” (Acts 7:30) ... “And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire … And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun, and it was given unto him to afflict men with heat and fire … And I saw another mighty angel come down from Heaven, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire” (Apocalypse 14:18; 16:8; 10:1). In Genesis (3:24), we read of Cherubims with flaming swords of fire. To be able to fight the evil angels with their fiery darts, we need the good angels with their fiery swords. Otherwise, we are out of our league!
Angelic Authority
If there was ever an earthly authority on Angels, it was St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. He talked to them regularly as you and I talk with our family and friends. He sent them all over the world on “missions” to his spiritual children, and received messages back via the angels as often as we receive mail. Here are a few of his thoughts on these magnificent heavenly beings.
St. Padre Pio and His Guardian Angel
St. Padre Pio had the privilege of having his Guardian Angel visibly beside him all his life. He played with him when he was a child, and the Guardian Angel sang for him when he was sad. St. Padre Pio, speaking of his Guardian Angel, said: “My Guardian Angel has been my friend since my infancy. Little companion of my infancy, ‘angiolino’, ‘angioletto’, my secretary, inseparable companion, celestial person, celestial messenger, brother, friend, prevents danger, one of the family, translates for me the letters in other languages, I send him to console people suffering, prevents from stumbling, never lives us alone for an instant, from the cradle to the grave, even when we are sinning.”
Companion in Prayer
When Padre Pio was a young friar, he wrote a letter to his confessor in which he said: “When I close my eyes and the night comes, I can see the Heaven that appears in front of me. I am encouraged by this vision so I can sleep with a sweet smile on the lips and with a perfect calm on the forehead, waiting my small companion of my infancy came to wake up me and start praying together prayers to the beloved of our hearts.” The Angel would keep Padre Pio up at night, so that they could both chant God’s praises.
Faithful Secretary
Padre Pio lived in close contact with his Guardian Angel, who taught him to translate letters in French and Greek. He said: “If the mission of our Guardian Angel is a great mission, the mission of mine is for sure greater than the others, because he has to be a teacher and explain to me other languages” … “The mission of my Guardian Angel includes explaining me other languages.” When asked: “How do you take care of the so many letters you receive?” The good Padre replied: “The Angel does his job.”
After Taking A Beating!
St. Padre Pio’s Angel would also ease the pain that he suffered from the beatings he received from demons. St. Padre Pio wrote the following to his spiritual director on November 5th, 1912: “I cannot tell you the way these scoundrels [the demons] beat me. Sometimes I feel I am about to die. On Saturday, it seemed to me that they intended to put an end to me and I did not know what saint to invoke. I turned to my Angel and, after he had kept me waiting a while, there he was hovering close to me, singing hymns to the divine Majesty in his angelic voice . . . I rebuked him bitterly for having kept me waiting so long when I had not failed to call him to my assistance. To punish him, I did not want to look him in the face; I wanted to get away, to escape from him. But he, poor creature, caught up with me almost in tears and held me, until I raised my eyes to his face and found him all upset. Then he said: ‘I am always close to you, my beloved young man!’”
A Companion in Need is a Companion Indeed
One winter, a spiritual daughter of Padre Pio was walking along a country road to the Convent where the good Padre was waiting for her. The road was so heavily covered with snow, in which it was even difficult to walk, that she was uncertain if she would reach the Convent in time for the appointment. Full of Faith, she prayed to her Guardian Angel to tell Padre Pio she would have to arrive late, because of the snow. When she finally reached the convent, she saw Padre Pio smiling, waiting for her behind a window. The Guardian Angel had done his job!
A woman was sitting in the square of the church of the Capuchins. The Church was closed. It was late and she prayed with the thought, and repeated with the heart: “Padre Pio, help me! Guardian Angel, please, go to tell Padre Pio to help me, otherwise my sister will die!” From the window, above her, came St. Padre Pio’s voice: “Who is calling me at this time? What is the problem?” The woman told him about her sister’s illness. St. Padre Pio bilocated, went to the sick woman and healed her.
Here are some other things that St. Padre Pio said about the Angels:
Angelic Assistance At Mass
We cannot imagine the number of Angels that assist at each Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—and with such devotion, that we would blush for shame if we could only witness it. Perhaps we need to ask our Guardian Angels to obtain for us the grace of “cleaning-up our act” and assistance and the greatest Event on Earth in a more fitting and fervent manner!
● “Oh, if all men could understand this great gift that God, assigned to us; this celestial spirit.”
● “All of Paradise is close to the altar when I say Mass.”
● “The angels attend my Mass In legions.”
● “The angels around the altar adore and love.”
Acquiring An Angelic Attitude
We are so caught up in ourselves that we forget our best friend—outside of Jesus and Mary. Our Guardian Angel has done so much for us and all he gets is perhaps a mechanical and routine, 5-second prayer… “Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here. Ever this day (night) be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule, to guide. Amen.” Or perhaps he doesn’t even get that! St. Padre Pio has these words to say on the subject:
● “Do not forget this invisible companion, always present to listen to you; always ready to console you.”
● “Your Guardian Angel prays for you; offers to God all the good works you accomplish; your holy and pure desires.”
● “Invoke your Guardian Angel that he will illuminate you and will guide you. God has given him to you for this reason. Therefore use him!”
● “Often remember his presence; thank him; pray to him; respect him; be in constant fear of offending the purity of his gaze.”
● “Our Guardian Angel never leaves us, even when we are disgusting God with our behavior!” Others may leave us, but our Guardian Angels don’t!
● “Oh if all men could understand this great gift that God assigned to us; this celestial spirit!”
Feeling Lonely?
For those who feel abandoned, lonely, isolated—St. Padre has this to say:
● “For people that live alone there is the Guardian Angel.”
● “When you seem to be alone, here a friendly soul to whom you can unburden yourself and in whom you can confide your sorrows.”
● “We will pray for your mother, so that the Guardian Angel will be with her in company.”
● “For whomever is alone, there is his Guardian Angel.”
● “Do not forget this invisible companion, always present to listen to you; always ready to console you.”
● One time, St. Padre Pio was asked: “With all those Angels around you—don’t they bother you?” He answered, “No. They are so obedient.”
Communication Problems?
For those who need to communicate, St. Padre Pio recommends using the Guardian Angels (not a bad idea in these of communications surveillance and Big-Brother watching and listening to you! Perhaps instead of e-mails or electronic mail, we can use a-mails, or angelic mail!). Padre Pio often recommended that, if people wanted to send him a message or a petition, they could send him their Guardian Angel. Fr. Dominic, who handled the American mail for Padre Pio, asked him: “Padre . . . a woman wants to know if she sends her Guardian Angel to you, does he come?” Padre Pio replied, “Tell her that her Angel is not like she is. Her Angel is very obedient—and when she sends him, he comes!” Here are some other comments of St. Padre Pio on this subject:
● “Pick a name for your Guardian Angel and call him by the name always. When you send him to me, he will come instantly.”
● “Send the Guardian Angel. He doesn’t pay a train ticket and doesn’t wear-out shoes.”
● “Don’t write to me because I cannot answer you. Send me your Guardian Angel and I will do everything.”
● “Your Guardian Angel has reported to me some sentences that have made me understand your mistrust.”
● Someone complained to St. Padre Pio: “Father, my income doesn’t allow me to come to see you as often as I’d like.” St. Padre Pio replied: “Who told you to come here? Don’t you have your Guardian Angel? Tell him what you want, send him here, and you will have an answer right away.”
● A person asked St. Padre Pio, “Father, are you able to hear what the Guardian Angels tell you?” And Padre Pio answered, “Of course! Do you think Angels are disobedient as you? Send me your Guardian Angel!”
● An Italian-American, from California, used to pray to his Guardian Angel to tell his needs to St. Padre Pio. One day, after confession, he asked St. Padre Pio if he really heard his Guardian Angel. “Do you think I am deaf?” And he repeated what he had told recently his Guardian Angel to tell St. Padre Pio.
● Padre Lino Barbati sent his Guardian Angel to ask of St. Padre Pio the healing of a person. That person was not getting better. He asked St. Padre Pio: “Could it be that at times the Guardian Angel doesn’t do what we ask him to do?” St. Padre Pio answered: “What? Are you thinking that he is disobedient like me and you?”
● One of the spiritual children of St. Padre Pio said: “It seems that Padre Pio always listens to everybody who calls him.” One evening, a group of friends arrived at San Giovanni Rotondo. They summarized the graces that they would like to ask of St. Padre Pio, and they asked their Guardian Angels to bring their requests to St. Padre Pio as soon as possible. The next day, after the Holy Mass, St. Padre Pio reproached them: “You do not leave me in peace even at night!” Watching Padre Pio’s smile, they understood their prayer had been accepted.
● Padre Alessio approached St. Padre Pio with some letters in his hand in order to ask him something but St. Padre Pio told him abruptly: “Boy! Leave me alone! Don’t you see that I am busy?” Padre Alessio went away mortified. Later, St. Padre Pio apologized and explained: “Didn’t you see all those Angels who were with me? They are the Guardian Angels of my spiritual children who brought me their messages. I had to report to them the answers they needed.”
● Padre Eusebio said: “I was going to London by plane, against Padre Pio’s suggestion not to use this mean of transport. When we were flying over the Channel, a violent storm put the plane in danger. Amid the general terror I prayed and, without knowing what to do, I sent my Guardian Angel to Padre Pio. When I went back to San Giovanni Rotondo, I met Padre Pio, who said to me: ‘Are you well? Is everything OK?’ I answered: ‘I thought I’d die!’ The saintly padre responded: ‘Then why don’t you obey?’ I responded: ‘But I have sent you my Guardian Angel!’ Padre Pio then said: ‘Fortunately, he arrived just in time!’”
Need Help?
The Guardian Angels are not just messengers, but helpers in the greatest degree! St. Padre Pio states:
● “Our Guardian Angel prays constantly for us.”
● “Let’s confide to Our Guardian Angel our pains and sorrows. He is like a friend, like a brother.”
● “The duty of the Guardian Angel is not only of spiritual guidance. He also prevents bodily harm for us.”
● An Italian Lawyer named Attilio De Sanctis, from Fano, Italy, was driving back home to Bologna with his wife and two children. During the trip he fell asleep at the wheel. He woke up a few miles from home. He said: “Who drove my car?” The wife said: “You were still, and didn’t answer to us, and you avoided several collisions at last second. Your driving was different from usual.” Two months later he visited Padre Pio, who told him from afar: “You were asleep and the Guardian Angel drove your car.” The mystery was solved.
Angel Envy?
With all that power, you would think that there is nothing that the angels could envy about humans. However, St. Padre Pio tells us: “The Angels envy us for one thing only: they cannot suffer for God.”
Dying to See our Guardian Angel
St. Padre Pio tells us that seeing our Guardian Angel at the moment of our death will be a truly stupendous sight to behod—if we die well and in the state of grace!
● “It will be a great joy when, at the moment of death, we will be able to see our Guardian Angel.”
● “What consolation when, at the moment of death, you will see this Angel, who accompanied you through life and was so generous in maternal care.”
● “May the desire to see this inseparable companion incite you to leave this body quickly.”
● “When we die, our Guardian Angel will take our soul to Heaven.”
Do Not Neglect Your Angel!
Woe to those who neglect to profit from their Guardian Angel in this life! Therefore St. Padre Pio encourages us:
● St. Padre Pio, in a letter, April 20th, 1915, wrote: “Often repeat the beautiful prayer: ‘Angel of God, my guardian to whom the goodness of the heavenly Father entrusts me, enlighten, protect and guide me now and forever.’”
● “Invoke often this Guardian Angel, and repeat the beautiful prayer: ‘Oh, Angel of God . . .’”
St. Padre Pio’s Daily Prayer to His Guardian Angel
Angel of God, my guardian, to whom the goodness of the Heavenly Father entrusts me. Enlighten, protect and guide me! Now and for ever! Amen.
If we expect to overcome the world and its prince by ourselves, then we are grossly mistaken and dangerously complacent. If we think we can make a friend of this world, then we call God a liar—you cannot serve God and mammon. “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24). As the saying goes: “You must fight fire with fire!” Similarly, we can only fight the fires of Hell and overcome the fiery darts of the devil, through the fires of love and fiery love of God’s angelic spirits—the angels.
Fire is Needed
Our Lord says: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49) and we say to God: “Come, O Holy Ghost, … enkindle in us the fire of Thy love”, so that we “may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one” (Ephesians 6:16). There is biblical connection between angels and fire. We read that “He maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire” (Hebrews 1:7), and that “there appeared to Moses, in the desert of Mount Sinai, an angel in a flame of fire in a bush” (Acts 7:30) ... “And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire … And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun, and it was given unto him to afflict men with heat and fire … And I saw another mighty angel come down from Heaven, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire” (Apocalypse 14:18; 16:8; 10:1). In Genesis (3:24), we read of Cherubims with flaming swords of fire. To be able to fight the evil angels with their fiery darts, we need the good angels with their fiery swords. Otherwise, we are out of our league!
Angelic Authority
If there was ever an earthly authority on Angels, it was St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. He talked to them regularly as you and I talk with our family and friends. He sent them all over the world on “missions” to his spiritual children, and received messages back via the angels as often as we receive mail. Here are a few of his thoughts on these magnificent heavenly beings.
St. Padre Pio and His Guardian Angel
St. Padre Pio had the privilege of having his Guardian Angel visibly beside him all his life. He played with him when he was a child, and the Guardian Angel sang for him when he was sad. St. Padre Pio, speaking of his Guardian Angel, said: “My Guardian Angel has been my friend since my infancy. Little companion of my infancy, ‘angiolino’, ‘angioletto’, my secretary, inseparable companion, celestial person, celestial messenger, brother, friend, prevents danger, one of the family, translates for me the letters in other languages, I send him to console people suffering, prevents from stumbling, never lives us alone for an instant, from the cradle to the grave, even when we are sinning.”
Companion in Prayer
When Padre Pio was a young friar, he wrote a letter to his confessor in which he said: “When I close my eyes and the night comes, I can see the Heaven that appears in front of me. I am encouraged by this vision so I can sleep with a sweet smile on the lips and with a perfect calm on the forehead, waiting my small companion of my infancy came to wake up me and start praying together prayers to the beloved of our hearts.” The Angel would keep Padre Pio up at night, so that they could both chant God’s praises.
Faithful Secretary
Padre Pio lived in close contact with his Guardian Angel, who taught him to translate letters in French and Greek. He said: “If the mission of our Guardian Angel is a great mission, the mission of mine is for sure greater than the others, because he has to be a teacher and explain to me other languages” … “The mission of my Guardian Angel includes explaining me other languages.” When asked: “How do you take care of the so many letters you receive?” The good Padre replied: “The Angel does his job.”
After Taking A Beating!
St. Padre Pio’s Angel would also ease the pain that he suffered from the beatings he received from demons. St. Padre Pio wrote the following to his spiritual director on November 5th, 1912: “I cannot tell you the way these scoundrels [the demons] beat me. Sometimes I feel I am about to die. On Saturday, it seemed to me that they intended to put an end to me and I did not know what saint to invoke. I turned to my Angel and, after he had kept me waiting a while, there he was hovering close to me, singing hymns to the divine Majesty in his angelic voice . . . I rebuked him bitterly for having kept me waiting so long when I had not failed to call him to my assistance. To punish him, I did not want to look him in the face; I wanted to get away, to escape from him. But he, poor creature, caught up with me almost in tears and held me, until I raised my eyes to his face and found him all upset. Then he said: ‘I am always close to you, my beloved young man!’”
A Companion in Need is a Companion Indeed
One winter, a spiritual daughter of Padre Pio was walking along a country road to the Convent where the good Padre was waiting for her. The road was so heavily covered with snow, in which it was even difficult to walk, that she was uncertain if she would reach the Convent in time for the appointment. Full of Faith, she prayed to her Guardian Angel to tell Padre Pio she would have to arrive late, because of the snow. When she finally reached the convent, she saw Padre Pio smiling, waiting for her behind a window. The Guardian Angel had done his job!
A woman was sitting in the square of the church of the Capuchins. The Church was closed. It was late and she prayed with the thought, and repeated with the heart: “Padre Pio, help me! Guardian Angel, please, go to tell Padre Pio to help me, otherwise my sister will die!” From the window, above her, came St. Padre Pio’s voice: “Who is calling me at this time? What is the problem?” The woman told him about her sister’s illness. St. Padre Pio bilocated, went to the sick woman and healed her.
Here are some other things that St. Padre Pio said about the Angels:
Angelic Assistance At Mass
We cannot imagine the number of Angels that assist at each Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—and with such devotion, that we would blush for shame if we could only witness it. Perhaps we need to ask our Guardian Angels to obtain for us the grace of “cleaning-up our act” and assistance and the greatest Event on Earth in a more fitting and fervent manner!
● “Oh, if all men could understand this great gift that God, assigned to us; this celestial spirit.”
● “All of Paradise is close to the altar when I say Mass.”
● “The angels attend my Mass In legions.”
● “The angels around the altar adore and love.”
Acquiring An Angelic Attitude
We are so caught up in ourselves that we forget our best friend—outside of Jesus and Mary. Our Guardian Angel has done so much for us and all he gets is perhaps a mechanical and routine, 5-second prayer… “Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here. Ever this day (night) be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule, to guide. Amen.” Or perhaps he doesn’t even get that! St. Padre Pio has these words to say on the subject:
● “Do not forget this invisible companion, always present to listen to you; always ready to console you.”
● “Your Guardian Angel prays for you; offers to God all the good works you accomplish; your holy and pure desires.”
● “Invoke your Guardian Angel that he will illuminate you and will guide you. God has given him to you for this reason. Therefore use him!”
● “Often remember his presence; thank him; pray to him; respect him; be in constant fear of offending the purity of his gaze.”
● “Our Guardian Angel never leaves us, even when we are disgusting God with our behavior!” Others may leave us, but our Guardian Angels don’t!
● “Oh if all men could understand this great gift that God assigned to us; this celestial spirit!”
Feeling Lonely?
For those who feel abandoned, lonely, isolated—St. Padre has this to say:
● “For people that live alone there is the Guardian Angel.”
● “When you seem to be alone, here a friendly soul to whom you can unburden yourself and in whom you can confide your sorrows.”
● “We will pray for your mother, so that the Guardian Angel will be with her in company.”
● “For whomever is alone, there is his Guardian Angel.”
● “Do not forget this invisible companion, always present to listen to you; always ready to console you.”
● One time, St. Padre Pio was asked: “With all those Angels around you—don’t they bother you?” He answered, “No. They are so obedient.”
Communication Problems?
For those who need to communicate, St. Padre Pio recommends using the Guardian Angels (not a bad idea in these of communications surveillance and Big-Brother watching and listening to you! Perhaps instead of e-mails or electronic mail, we can use a-mails, or angelic mail!). Padre Pio often recommended that, if people wanted to send him a message or a petition, they could send him their Guardian Angel. Fr. Dominic, who handled the American mail for Padre Pio, asked him: “Padre . . . a woman wants to know if she sends her Guardian Angel to you, does he come?” Padre Pio replied, “Tell her that her Angel is not like she is. Her Angel is very obedient—and when she sends him, he comes!” Here are some other comments of St. Padre Pio on this subject:
● “Pick a name for your Guardian Angel and call him by the name always. When you send him to me, he will come instantly.”
● “Send the Guardian Angel. He doesn’t pay a train ticket and doesn’t wear-out shoes.”
● “Don’t write to me because I cannot answer you. Send me your Guardian Angel and I will do everything.”
● “Your Guardian Angel has reported to me some sentences that have made me understand your mistrust.”
● Someone complained to St. Padre Pio: “Father, my income doesn’t allow me to come to see you as often as I’d like.” St. Padre Pio replied: “Who told you to come here? Don’t you have your Guardian Angel? Tell him what you want, send him here, and you will have an answer right away.”
● A person asked St. Padre Pio, “Father, are you able to hear what the Guardian Angels tell you?” And Padre Pio answered, “Of course! Do you think Angels are disobedient as you? Send me your Guardian Angel!”
● An Italian-American, from California, used to pray to his Guardian Angel to tell his needs to St. Padre Pio. One day, after confession, he asked St. Padre Pio if he really heard his Guardian Angel. “Do you think I am deaf?” And he repeated what he had told recently his Guardian Angel to tell St. Padre Pio.
● Padre Lino Barbati sent his Guardian Angel to ask of St. Padre Pio the healing of a person. That person was not getting better. He asked St. Padre Pio: “Could it be that at times the Guardian Angel doesn’t do what we ask him to do?” St. Padre Pio answered: “What? Are you thinking that he is disobedient like me and you?”
● One of the spiritual children of St. Padre Pio said: “It seems that Padre Pio always listens to everybody who calls him.” One evening, a group of friends arrived at San Giovanni Rotondo. They summarized the graces that they would like to ask of St. Padre Pio, and they asked their Guardian Angels to bring their requests to St. Padre Pio as soon as possible. The next day, after the Holy Mass, St. Padre Pio reproached them: “You do not leave me in peace even at night!” Watching Padre Pio’s smile, they understood their prayer had been accepted.
● Padre Alessio approached St. Padre Pio with some letters in his hand in order to ask him something but St. Padre Pio told him abruptly: “Boy! Leave me alone! Don’t you see that I am busy?” Padre Alessio went away mortified. Later, St. Padre Pio apologized and explained: “Didn’t you see all those Angels who were with me? They are the Guardian Angels of my spiritual children who brought me their messages. I had to report to them the answers they needed.”
● Padre Eusebio said: “I was going to London by plane, against Padre Pio’s suggestion not to use this mean of transport. When we were flying over the Channel, a violent storm put the plane in danger. Amid the general terror I prayed and, without knowing what to do, I sent my Guardian Angel to Padre Pio. When I went back to San Giovanni Rotondo, I met Padre Pio, who said to me: ‘Are you well? Is everything OK?’ I answered: ‘I thought I’d die!’ The saintly padre responded: ‘Then why don’t you obey?’ I responded: ‘But I have sent you my Guardian Angel!’ Padre Pio then said: ‘Fortunately, he arrived just in time!’”
Need Help?
The Guardian Angels are not just messengers, but helpers in the greatest degree! St. Padre Pio states:
● “Our Guardian Angel prays constantly for us.”
● “Let’s confide to Our Guardian Angel our pains and sorrows. He is like a friend, like a brother.”
● “The duty of the Guardian Angel is not only of spiritual guidance. He also prevents bodily harm for us.”
● An Italian Lawyer named Attilio De Sanctis, from Fano, Italy, was driving back home to Bologna with his wife and two children. During the trip he fell asleep at the wheel. He woke up a few miles from home. He said: “Who drove my car?” The wife said: “You were still, and didn’t answer to us, and you avoided several collisions at last second. Your driving was different from usual.” Two months later he visited Padre Pio, who told him from afar: “You were asleep and the Guardian Angel drove your car.” The mystery was solved.
Angel Envy?
With all that power, you would think that there is nothing that the angels could envy about humans. However, St. Padre Pio tells us: “The Angels envy us for one thing only: they cannot suffer for God.”
Dying to See our Guardian Angel
St. Padre Pio tells us that seeing our Guardian Angel at the moment of our death will be a truly stupendous sight to behod—if we die well and in the state of grace!
● “It will be a great joy when, at the moment of death, we will be able to see our Guardian Angel.”
● “What consolation when, at the moment of death, you will see this Angel, who accompanied you through life and was so generous in maternal care.”
● “May the desire to see this inseparable companion incite you to leave this body quickly.”
● “When we die, our Guardian Angel will take our soul to Heaven.”
Do Not Neglect Your Angel!
Woe to those who neglect to profit from their Guardian Angel in this life! Therefore St. Padre Pio encourages us:
● St. Padre Pio, in a letter, April 20th, 1915, wrote: “Often repeat the beautiful prayer: ‘Angel of God, my guardian to whom the goodness of the heavenly Father entrusts me, enlighten, protect and guide me now and forever.’”
● “Invoke often this Guardian Angel, and repeat the beautiful prayer: ‘Oh, Angel of God . . .’”
St. Padre Pio’s Daily Prayer to His Guardian Angel
Angel of God, my guardian, to whom the goodness of the Heavenly Father entrusts me. Enlighten, protect and guide me! Now and for ever! Amen.
Article 5
St. Gemma Galgani and the Guardian Angels
St. Gemma Galgani and the Guardian Angels
Angel and Mary
On another occasion she writes: “I was in bed suffering greatly, when, all of a sudden, I became absorbed in prayer. I joined my hands and, moved with heartfelt sorrow for my countless sins, I made an act of deep contrition. My mind was wholly plunged in this abyss of my crime against my God, when I beheld my Angel standing by my bed. I felt ashamed of being in his presence. He instead was more than courteous with me, and said, kindly: ‘Jesus loves thee greatly. Love Him greatly in return!’ Then he added: ‘Are you fond of Jesus’ Mother? Salute her very often, for she values such attention very much, and unfailingly returns the salutations offered to her; and if you do not sense this, know that she makes a proof of your unfailing trust.’ He blessed me and disappeared.”
Angelic Spiritual Adviser
In her Autobiography, Gemma writes “One evening, when I was suffering more than usual, I was complaining to Jesus and telling him that I would not have prayed so much, if I had known that He was not going to cure me, and I asked Him why I had to be sick this way. My Angel answered me as follows: ‘If Jesus afflicts you in your body, it is always to purify you in your soul. Be good!’ Oh, how many times during my long illness did I not experience such consoling words in my heart! But I never profited by them.” (We see, in these words, Gemma’s humility).
Ticked-Off Angel
“From the moment I got up from my sick bed, my Guardian Angel began to be my master and guide. He corrected me every time I did something wrong, and he taught me to speak but little, and only when I was spoken to. One day, when those in the house were speaking of some person, and were not speaking very well of her, I wanted to speak up, but the Angel gave me a severe rebuke. He taught me to keep my eyes cast down, and one time in Church he reproved me strongly saying to me: ‘Is this the way you conduct yourself in the presence of God?’ And another time he admonished me in this way ‘If you are not good, I will not let you see me anymore!’ He taught me many times how to act in the presence of God; that is, to adore Him in His infinite goodness, His infinite majesty, His mercy and in all His attributes.”
Once, Gemma’s Guardian Angel ordered her to write the following: “Remember daughter, that whoever truly loves Jesus speaks little and bears all things. I command thee, on behalf of Jesus, to always refrain from giving your own opinion, unless it is asked; always to prefer silence to upholding your own views. Whenever you have committed a fault, accuse yourself of it at once, and do not wait for others to accuse thee. Give full obedience to your confessor, and to those whom he commands thee to obey; and be always sincere with them. Remember to guard your eyes, and be assured that the eyes that are mortified, shall behold the beauties of Heaven.” To humble her, her guardian angel once said to her:“Poor child! How imperfect you are! How much you need others to keep a constant guard over thee. Oh, how much patience I must have with thee.”
Angelic Good Samaritan
Concerning this care that the Angel gave her, Father Germano writes: “Gemma had once been beaten cruelly by the devil during her evening prayer, and being unable to move, the Angel lifted her to her bed, and stood there watching by her pillow.”
Angelic Counselor
In her Autobiography she writes: “I recall very well one time I was given a gold watch and chain. Ambitious as I was, I could hardly wait to put it on and go out (an indication, dear Father, that my imagination was working on me). I did in fact go out with it on and when I returned home and started to take it off I saw an angel (whom I recognized immediately as my Guardian Angel) who said to me very seriously: ‘Remember that the precious jewelry, that adorns the spouse of the Crucified King, can only be thorns and the cross!’”
“I did not even tell my confessor about this. In fact, I tell it now for the first time. These words made me fear, as did the angel himself. But a little later, while reflecting on them without understanding them at all, I made this resolution: I resolve for the love of Jesus, and to please Him, never to wear the watch again, and not even to speak of things that savor of vanity. At the time I also had a ring on my finger. I took it off immediately and from then until now I have not worn such things”
Angelic Messenger
Another extraordinary angelic event is the fact that Gemma often sent her Guardian Angel on errands, to ask Jesus, Mary, or St. Gabriel Possenti, some permission or assistance. Later her Guardian Angel would return, with such a reply or permission as she requested.
Angelic Mailman
However, the most unusual angelic errands were the one’s that Father Germano writes about in Gemma’s biography. Gemma would write a letter to him (Father Germano) seeking some spiritual guidance, and then place it in a “Little Manger Shrine” that was in the Gianinni home (her “adopted” family), and because she had no money for stamps, she would request her angel to deliver the letter for her. Father Germanus, living several hundred miles away in Rome at the time, would soon “find” the letter unstamped on his desk, or another such place. (yet another reason for the angelic deliveries was the fact that Father Germanus travelled extensively in his preaching ministry, and Gemma never knew where to reach him)
Realizing how unusual this was, Father Germano asked Heaven for a sign that these “angelic deliveries” were it was in accord with God’s Will. Afterwards, while he was staying at the Passionist house in Corneto, Italy, a “young boy” knocked at the door asking for him. Father Germanus answered the door and the boy handed him a letter from Gemma, and ubruptly turned and left without saying a word. Who was the boy and how could Gemma have known that he was visiting at Corneto? He opened the letter and immediately realized that God answered his prayer as to the authenticity of these “angelic” deliveries. On most other occasions when these “angelic letter deliveries” occurred, Father Germanus would simply find Gemma’s unstamped letter on his desk, when he arrived in his office.
After Gemma’s death, he wrote: “I always received the angelic letters faithfully. The fact is unusual … I confess I do not understand it at all ...To how many tests did I not I submit this singular phenomenon, in order to convince myself that it took place through a supernatural intervention! And yet none of my tests ever failed; and thus I was convinced again and again that in this, like in many other extraordinary things in her life, Heaven was delighted in amusing itself, as it were, with this innocent and dear maiden.”
Angelic Correction
The Venerable Father Germanus writes: “When necessary, her Guardian Angel knew how to show severity. She one day told me this in the following words ‘My Angel is a little severe, but I am glad of it. During the last few days, he corrected me as often as three or four times a day!’”
Gemma writes “Yesterday while at table I raised my eyes and saw my Angel looking at me with frightening severity. Later, when I went to my room—Oh my God! How angry he was! I looked at him, but lowered my eyes immediately. He said: ‘Are you not ashamed to commit such faults in my presence?’ He cast such severe looks at me! And I did nothing but cry and recommend myself to my God and to my Blessed Mother, that they might take me away, because I could not bear it much longer. Every now and then he repeated: ‘I am ashamed of you!’ I prayed also that others might not see him so angry; for if they did, no one would come near me ... I did not have courage to say a word to him, for whenever I raised my eyes, he was looking at me severely!.... Yesterday evening, I found it impossible to sleep, and at last at about 2:00 am I saw him approach. He put his hand on my forehead saying: ‘Sleep my poor child!’— then he disappeared.”
Angelic Love
Her spiritual director Father Gemanus writes: “Gemma, seeing the great charity her angel lavished upon her, loved her angel immensely, and his name was always on her tongue as well as in her heart.
‘Dear Angel’ she would say ‘I love you so!’
‘And why’ the Angel asked.
‘Because you teach me how to be good, and to keep humble, and to please Jesus.’”
On another occasion she writes: “I was in bed suffering greatly, when, all of a sudden, I became absorbed in prayer. I joined my hands and, moved with heartfelt sorrow for my countless sins, I made an act of deep contrition. My mind was wholly plunged in this abyss of my crime against my God, when I beheld my Angel standing by my bed. I felt ashamed of being in his presence. He instead was more than courteous with me, and said, kindly: ‘Jesus loves thee greatly. Love Him greatly in return!’ Then he added: ‘Are you fond of Jesus’ Mother? Salute her very often, for she values such attention very much, and unfailingly returns the salutations offered to her; and if you do not sense this, know that she makes a proof of your unfailing trust.’ He blessed me and disappeared.”
Angelic Spiritual Adviser
In her Autobiography, Gemma writes “One evening, when I was suffering more than usual, I was complaining to Jesus and telling him that I would not have prayed so much, if I had known that He was not going to cure me, and I asked Him why I had to be sick this way. My Angel answered me as follows: ‘If Jesus afflicts you in your body, it is always to purify you in your soul. Be good!’ Oh, how many times during my long illness did I not experience such consoling words in my heart! But I never profited by them.” (We see, in these words, Gemma’s humility).
Ticked-Off Angel
“From the moment I got up from my sick bed, my Guardian Angel began to be my master and guide. He corrected me every time I did something wrong, and he taught me to speak but little, and only when I was spoken to. One day, when those in the house were speaking of some person, and were not speaking very well of her, I wanted to speak up, but the Angel gave me a severe rebuke. He taught me to keep my eyes cast down, and one time in Church he reproved me strongly saying to me: ‘Is this the way you conduct yourself in the presence of God?’ And another time he admonished me in this way ‘If you are not good, I will not let you see me anymore!’ He taught me many times how to act in the presence of God; that is, to adore Him in His infinite goodness, His infinite majesty, His mercy and in all His attributes.”
Once, Gemma’s Guardian Angel ordered her to write the following: “Remember daughter, that whoever truly loves Jesus speaks little and bears all things. I command thee, on behalf of Jesus, to always refrain from giving your own opinion, unless it is asked; always to prefer silence to upholding your own views. Whenever you have committed a fault, accuse yourself of it at once, and do not wait for others to accuse thee. Give full obedience to your confessor, and to those whom he commands thee to obey; and be always sincere with them. Remember to guard your eyes, and be assured that the eyes that are mortified, shall behold the beauties of Heaven.” To humble her, her guardian angel once said to her:“Poor child! How imperfect you are! How much you need others to keep a constant guard over thee. Oh, how much patience I must have with thee.”
Angelic Good Samaritan
Concerning this care that the Angel gave her, Father Germano writes: “Gemma had once been beaten cruelly by the devil during her evening prayer, and being unable to move, the Angel lifted her to her bed, and stood there watching by her pillow.”
Angelic Counselor
In her Autobiography she writes: “I recall very well one time I was given a gold watch and chain. Ambitious as I was, I could hardly wait to put it on and go out (an indication, dear Father, that my imagination was working on me). I did in fact go out with it on and when I returned home and started to take it off I saw an angel (whom I recognized immediately as my Guardian Angel) who said to me very seriously: ‘Remember that the precious jewelry, that adorns the spouse of the Crucified King, can only be thorns and the cross!’”
“I did not even tell my confessor about this. In fact, I tell it now for the first time. These words made me fear, as did the angel himself. But a little later, while reflecting on them without understanding them at all, I made this resolution: I resolve for the love of Jesus, and to please Him, never to wear the watch again, and not even to speak of things that savor of vanity. At the time I also had a ring on my finger. I took it off immediately and from then until now I have not worn such things”
Angelic Messenger
Another extraordinary angelic event is the fact that Gemma often sent her Guardian Angel on errands, to ask Jesus, Mary, or St. Gabriel Possenti, some permission or assistance. Later her Guardian Angel would return, with such a reply or permission as she requested.
Angelic Mailman
However, the most unusual angelic errands were the one’s that Father Germano writes about in Gemma’s biography. Gemma would write a letter to him (Father Germano) seeking some spiritual guidance, and then place it in a “Little Manger Shrine” that was in the Gianinni home (her “adopted” family), and because she had no money for stamps, she would request her angel to deliver the letter for her. Father Germanus, living several hundred miles away in Rome at the time, would soon “find” the letter unstamped on his desk, or another such place. (yet another reason for the angelic deliveries was the fact that Father Germanus travelled extensively in his preaching ministry, and Gemma never knew where to reach him)
Realizing how unusual this was, Father Germano asked Heaven for a sign that these “angelic deliveries” were it was in accord with God’s Will. Afterwards, while he was staying at the Passionist house in Corneto, Italy, a “young boy” knocked at the door asking for him. Father Germanus answered the door and the boy handed him a letter from Gemma, and ubruptly turned and left without saying a word. Who was the boy and how could Gemma have known that he was visiting at Corneto? He opened the letter and immediately realized that God answered his prayer as to the authenticity of these “angelic” deliveries. On most other occasions when these “angelic letter deliveries” occurred, Father Germanus would simply find Gemma’s unstamped letter on his desk, when he arrived in his office.
After Gemma’s death, he wrote: “I always received the angelic letters faithfully. The fact is unusual … I confess I do not understand it at all ...To how many tests did I not I submit this singular phenomenon, in order to convince myself that it took place through a supernatural intervention! And yet none of my tests ever failed; and thus I was convinced again and again that in this, like in many other extraordinary things in her life, Heaven was delighted in amusing itself, as it were, with this innocent and dear maiden.”
Angelic Correction
The Venerable Father Germanus writes: “When necessary, her Guardian Angel knew how to show severity. She one day told me this in the following words ‘My Angel is a little severe, but I am glad of it. During the last few days, he corrected me as often as three or four times a day!’”
Gemma writes “Yesterday while at table I raised my eyes and saw my Angel looking at me with frightening severity. Later, when I went to my room—Oh my God! How angry he was! I looked at him, but lowered my eyes immediately. He said: ‘Are you not ashamed to commit such faults in my presence?’ He cast such severe looks at me! And I did nothing but cry and recommend myself to my God and to my Blessed Mother, that they might take me away, because I could not bear it much longer. Every now and then he repeated: ‘I am ashamed of you!’ I prayed also that others might not see him so angry; for if they did, no one would come near me ... I did not have courage to say a word to him, for whenever I raised my eyes, he was looking at me severely!.... Yesterday evening, I found it impossible to sleep, and at last at about 2:00 am I saw him approach. He put his hand on my forehead saying: ‘Sleep my poor child!’— then he disappeared.”
Angelic Love
Her spiritual director Father Gemanus writes: “Gemma, seeing the great charity her angel lavished upon her, loved her angel immensely, and his name was always on her tongue as well as in her heart.
‘Dear Angel’ she would say ‘I love you so!’
‘And why’ the Angel asked.
‘Because you teach me how to be good, and to keep humble, and to please Jesus.’”