Remember, O most chaste Spouse of the Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who implored your help and sought your intercession was left unassisted. Full of confidence in your power, I fly unto you, and beg your protection. Despise not, O foster-father of the Redeemer, my humble supplication, but in your bounty, hear and answer me. Amen.
Category: Parish News & Events
Angel of God
It would be easy to go the humility route with the Gospel today, as it is the classic verse about childlike faith. But I want to take a slightly different direction by honing in on the last sentence from today’s readings, “their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” There are many Scriptures that speak about angelic reality, in fact, we even speak to belief in the heavens and earth in the Creed, but there are not very many verses that explicitly point to the belief that every person has a guardian angel.
Many don’t know that this teaching is actually a truth of the faith. “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.” -CCC 336
An angel is a purely spiritual being who is a messenger of God. All throughout the Scriptures we hear about angels being active in helping to accomplish God’s will. The beauty that the Gospel reveals today is that they see God face to face and at the same time help us in this life. Think about how we pray to saints. Of course we do not believe that saints by their own power are helping us, but God by his power allows them to participate in his will. So when we pray to a saint or angel, those prayers become even more efficacious since the prayers of the righteous man are efficacious, as we hear in Scripture.
I grew up praying the guardian angel prayer, but never fully realized the depth of what was happening. Imagine for a second a spiritual battle between the good and fallen angels. Your soul is the object of this fight and your guardian angel, thankfully, has the power of God on their side. Take just a moment today to reflect on the depth of that. God loves us so much that he not only walks with us through everything, but he also has angels and the saints walk with us as well to help us in our spiritual growth. If you haven’t prayed the guardian angel prayer in a while, take just a few moments and ask your guardian angel for their intercession.
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, rule and guide. Amen.
Tommy Shultz is the Founder/Director of Rodzinka Ministry and a content specialist for Ruah Woods, a Theology of the Body Ministry. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. Tommy has a heart and flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.
Feature Image Credit:Annalisa Bellini, https://unsplash.com/photos/sn-Qmo6CCIM
St. Leger: Saint of the Day for Saturday, October 02, 2021
Leger was raised at the court of King Clotaire II and by his uncle, Bishop Didon of Poitiers. Leger was made archdeacon by Didon, was ordained, and in about 651, became abbot of Maxentius Abbey, where he introduced the Rule of St. Benedict. He served Queen Regent St. Bathildis and helped her govern when Clovis II died in 656, and was named bishop of Autun in 663. He reconciled the differing factions that had torn the See apart, introduced reforms, fortified the town, and was known for his …
Prayer for the Unborn Child: Prayer of the Day for Saturday, October 02, 2021
Almighty God, our Father,
you who have given us life
and intended us to have it forever,
grant us your blessings.
Enlighten our minds to an awareness
and to a renewed conviction
that all human life is sacred
because it is created
in your image and likeness.
Help us to teach by word
and the example of our lives
that life occupies the first place,
that human life is precious
because it is the gift of God
whose love is infinite.
Give us the strength to …
Therese The Strong Cactus
The starkness of today’s readings is in sharp contrast to the saint we celebrate today. Against the readings of Babylonian captivity and the Psalmist’s lament over the defiling of the Temple and Jerusalem, and Jesus’ words of condemnation of the cities who refused to hear the Good News, we celebrate the Memorial of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, the 24-year-old Carmelite nun from Lisieux, often referred to as “The Little Flower” for her humility and childlikeness. This charming nickname may obscure the truth that Therese, though young, was a mighty and heroic spiritual warrior, who fought victoriously against temptations to doubt and despair amidst a prolonged interior dryness and desolation. A little flower with the tenacity of a Saguaro cactus in the desert, growing and blossoming.
Many of us have St. Therese tales, but let me share one with a lesson. Once, when I had a serious decision to make, one that would affect a big project and many other people as well, I did my due diligence: prayed for light and peace, sought spiritual direction, talked with other people involved, etc. There was mixed feedback, but it seemed clear that Choice B was better than Choice A, even though it would be very difficult. In spiritual direction, I was told “If X doesn’t happen, then you will need to choose B.” Well, X did not happen, but I really didn’t want to choose B, because I knew it would have a negative affect on this good project.
I had to decide by the end of the day. So I prayed to St. Therese: “I don’t usually ask for a sign, but this is really serious, and really difficult. So could I please receive some of those roses you promised to shower from heaven?” Then I prayed my “cheater novena” – every hour for nine hours I prayed, “St. Therese the Little Flower, show me your power within the hour.” No roses came. The moment of decision arrived, and I was in knots of confusion; either choice would involve some hardship for me and my family and others. “St. Therese, help me see this with your simplicity!” I prayed, and then gently knew I had to simply follow the spiritual direction I’d been given. So, I chose B, let all the people involved know of my decision, and drove home, weary and stressed. And there, on the kitchen table were a dozen roses! My first thought was, “What? Why didn’t these come an hour ago?!” But the answer came in the second thought: I had to learn to OBEY the spiritual direction I receive, even when it’s truly confusing, but St. Therese sent those roses as a confirmation of my decision. This confirmation brought me the peace I needed to endure the difficult repercussions of that difficult decision.
St. Therese, with her tender heart, hears our prayers and intercedes for our tender hearts, so that we receive just what we need to get us through difficult times.
Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including Father Rob), and four grandchildren. She is President of the local community of Secular Discalced Carmelites and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 30 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio. Currently, she serves the Church by writing and speaking, and by collaborating with various parishes and to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is www.KathrynTherese.com
Feature Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/saguaro-cactus-cactus-flower-plant-276676/
St. Therese of Lisieux: Saint of the Day for Friday, October 01, 2021
Generations of Catholics have admired this young saint, called her the “Little
Flower”, and found in her short life more inspiration for their own lives than in volumes
by theologians. Yet Therese died when she was 24, after having lived as
cloistered Carmelite for less than ten years. She never went on missions, never
founded a religious order, never performed great works. The only book of hers,
published after her death, was an brief edited version of her journal called “Story
of …
A Prayer to Saint Therese De Lisieux for Guidance: Prayer of the Day for Friday, October 01, 2021
Govern by all Thy Wisdom, O Lord,
so that my soul may always be serving Thee as Thou dost Will,
and not as I may choose.
Do not punish me, I beseech Thee,
by granting that which I wish
or ask if it offended Thy Love,
which would always live in me.
Let me die to myself,
so that I may love Thee.
Let me live to Thee,
Who art in Thyself,
the True Life.
Dear St. Therese,
guide me in your Little Way,
so that I may ascend to the heights and happiness of Heaven.
Zeal for the Lord
Saint Jerome, Doctor of the Church, was a towering figure in the Church’s history, and we can learn some interesting things from the way he served the Lord.
The First Reading from his specific memorial readings is a good overview of his ministry: “Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed. … All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work”. (2 Tim 3:14–17)
After a loose early life, Saint Jerome converted and dedicated himself to asceticism and to study. He learned as much as he could, taking on linguistic studies and devoting himself to Scripture. In his own writings, he began to prove the truth of Paul’s second letter to Timothy, using Scripture for teaching, refutation, correction, and for training in righteousness. This came out especially in Scripture commentaries, polemical works, harsh criticism of heretics, meditations, and hagiographies. By the end of his life, he exemplified the Psalmist’s love of Scripture and the law of the Lord.
Reading Saint Jerome can be a shock at times. Take, for example, the beginning of his treatise of the perpetual virginity of Mary: “I was requested by certain of the brethren not long ago to reply to a pamphlet written by one Helvidius. I have deferred long in doing so, not because it is a difficult matter to maintain the truth and refute an ignorant boor who has scare known the first glimmer of learning, but because I was afraid my reply might make him appear worth defeating.”
Though it may seem off-putting to us, we have to remember that for centuries, this type of exchange, invective, was a literary style. Saint Jerome is not attacking anything beyond his opponent’s views, pride, intelligence, and learning, and he is doing so in an environment where it would have been taken more lightly. Of course, he immediately goes on to ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance in writing, and promptly begins quoting Scripture in direct reply to Helvidius’s arguments.
Saint Jerome’s disposition and writings are a good reminder that we do not need to fit into a specific personality mold to reach the kingdom of heaven. In fact, there’s quite a bit of room for diversity. Jerome’s invective is harsh, but it shows forth his zeal for the kingdom of God and his unrelenting drive to root out heresies and prevent enemies from subverting the true faith of Christ.
Even with this constant correspondence with the enemies of Christ, Saint Jerome dedicated long hours to painstaking copying of books and translations of Scripture. It is thanks to Jerome’s immense zeal that we have the main Latin translation of the Bible, the Vulgate. This translation had been the foundation of the Scripture readings for centuries in the Roman rite, and it remains significant today.
Saint Jerome’s untiring effort and passion for the truth of the Scriptures shines forth in his writings and friendships, and it is something we ought to imitate in our lives as Christians. Though we do not have to use invective, we should never be afraid to speak of Christ and defend the Faith in times of confusion and trial. Saint Jerome, pray for us!
David Dashiell is a freelance writer, editor, and proofreader based in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. His writing has been featured in Crisis Magazine and The Imaginative Conservative, and his editing is done for a variety of publishers, such as Sophia Institute and Scepter. He can be reached at ddashiellwork@gmail.com.
Feature Image Credit: Il ragazzo, https://www.cathopic.com/photo/15533-san-jeronimo
St. Jerome: Saint of the Day for Thursday, September 30, 2021
Before he was known as Saint Jerome, he was named Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus. He was born around 342 AD, in Stridon, Dalmatia. Today, the town, which ceased to exist in JeromeÂ?s time, would likely be in Croatia or Slovenia.
The young Jerome was educated by Aelius Donatus, who was a famous Roman grammarian. From him, the young Jerome learned Latin and Greek. Little else is known of his childhood other than his parents were probably well-to-do and Christian. Despite their efforts to raise …
Guardian Angel Prayer #2: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, September 30, 2021
(This is an old Guardian Angel Prayer)
O Holy Angel,
attendant of my wretched soul
and of mine afflicted life,
forsake me not, a sinner,
neither depart from me for mine inconstancy.
Give no place to the evil demon to subdue me
with the oppression of this mortal body;
but take me by my wretched and outstretched hand,
and lead me in the way of salvation.
Yea, O holy Angel of God,
the guardian and protector
of my hapless soul and body,
forgive me all things …