Our Best Friends, The Angels ~ Maria Von Trapp, Fr. Paul O’Sullivan

02 Sunday Oct 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in About the Angels, by Maria Von Trapp, Spiritual Tidbits

Happy Feast of the Guardian Angels! The spiritual world is very alive, very real!! Let’s not forget these angels and the role they have in our lives!

From Around the Year With the Trapp Family by Maria Von Trapp

THE ANGELS

Long before our little children learn to know Peter Rabbit, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and Winnie the Pooh, they must be made familiar with their most faithful companion–their best friend, their guardian angel. The beauty of telling stories to little ones lies in their ready acceptance. They believe that their guardian angel is around all the time, day and night, and they will talk to him, greeting him in the morning, discussing things with him during the day, thanking him in the evening. When children grow up with a strong sense of a spiritual power at their service, instituted by God for the very special and sole purpose of being their very own helper and protector, such children need never be afraid, need never suffer from the modern ailment of insecurity. It is up to us mothers to bring about this early and very personal friendship with their guardian angel. The feast of the Holy Guardian Angel on October 2nd should be a big event in our nurseries. Once children are familiar with the world of the angels they will eagerly listen to other “angel stories” such as the one about the great hero Michael (whose feast day is September 29th) and his battle with his brother-angel Lucifer, who refused to serve God and had to be thrown out of heaven into the abyss where there is “weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.” A beautiful story is the one about the Archangel Raphael (feast day, October 24th), who was the friend and companion of young Tobias. Johannes Brahms set a lovely song about St. Raphael to music; we always sing it on that day. And as we tell the children about the good angels, we shall also have to mention the bad ones who turned into devils. If the highest of them, Satan himself, dared to tempt Our Lord, who are we to think that it “can’t happen to us” or that such stories belong to the Middle Ages and do not apply to modern times? What St. Peter says to all of us we must tell to the little ones as well “Watch and pray, for the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.”

From An Easy Way to Become a Saint, Fr. Paul O’Sullivan

OUR ANGEL GUARDIAN

One of the most marvelous dispensations of God’s Providence is the fact that He has given to each one of us a special Angel to watch over us. At the moment of our birth God calls one of His glorious Princes, one of His mighty Angels, and bids this Angel guard and guide, defend and protect us. From that moment, this mighty Angel gives us all his loving care. He never leaves us, night or day. His duty after loving God is to love us. He devotes all his intelligence, all his strength, all his care to shield us from hurt and harm. We can form no idea of the evils and dangers he saves us from, the countless great favors he has done us and is doing us every day. Not content to use all his own power to help us, he is constantly praying for us to God. Reading the story of St. Raphael in the Sacred Scriptures, we marvel at the infinite goodness of God in sending this great Angel to accompany the young Tobias on his long journey. The Angel proved to be a trusty friend. He not only accompanied him on his journey, protecting him from every danger, but he also obtained for him a most happy marriage and abundant wealth. He brought him home safely, to the delight of his parents, who were anxiously awaiting his return. As a final gift, he cured Tobias’s old father, who had been blind. Before leaving the now happy family, he revealed himself to them as one of the seven great Angels who stand before the throne of God and bade them bless and thank the Good God who had sent him to them. This is certainly one of the most consoling and wonderful stories in the Bible, revealing to us the infinite sweetness and goodness of God. Yet each one of us has a glorious Prince of Heaven with us, not for weeks or months but for all the long years of our lives, loving us most affectionately, defending us from countless evils and snatching us from dangers that we do not even see. This dear Angel came to us at the moment of our birth and has been with us ever since. He will console us in Purgatory if we go there and will then accompany us to Heaven, where he will be with us forever and forever. We marvel when reading this story of Raphael, but it is a much greater marvel that we have a glorious Angel ever at our sides and yet know and love him so little. Have we ever even thanked God for this astounding proof of His goodness? The culpable neglect of our dear Angel is one of the most lamentable and shameful faults of our life.

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From All About the Angels by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan

WHY IGNORE OUR BEST FRIENDS?

“Make friends with the Angels” is the advice which the great Pope, St. Leo, gives every Christian and it is advice that everyone should follow. If we make friends with the Angels —and nothing is easier— we shall receive innumerable and great favors which otherwise we shall never obtain. Our Angel friends, too, will shield and protect us from countless dangers, evils, sickness and accidents which, without their help, we could not possibly avoid. In a word, these all-powerful and loving protectors will secure for us a degree of happiness that, without their assistance, we could not hope for in this vale of tears! Another reason we should make friends with the Angels is that they are our dearest and best friends. A good friend, a friend who is able and always ready to help us, a friend to whom we can have recourse in all our troubles and sorrows, is one of the greatest blessings God can give us. Our human hearts thirst for love and sympathy. Among men we rarely or never find such a friend, but this is not so with the Angels. They are most desirous to be our friends and they love us with all the intensity of their angelic natures. Since they are all-powerful and generous, we can have the fullest confidence in their help and friendship. The one friendship on this Earth that gives us any idea of the love of the Angels is the affection of a mother. This is the purest, the most generous, the strongest of all human loves. The mother loves her children with unbounded affection. God has placed in the mother’s heart an instinct of love so great that it almost borders on the supernatural. She forgets herself and thinks only of her children. She works for them, sacrifices herself for them, and gives them her all. If one of them should fall sick or be plunged into some great sorrow, to that one she devotes a more special gentleness and a more loving care. We sometimes see a frail woman watch by the bedside of her sick child— eating little, resting little, consumed with a poignant anxiety —for ten, twenty or even thirty days, never complaining, and never faltering. When these days of anguish and bitterness are past, this almost superhuman effort, these long, weary vigils,’ seem to have cost her nothing. The mother’s love sustained her. Yet, strong men who lose their sleep for two or three consecutive nights complain that they find it hard to work the following day. If a poor frail mother— she may be young or old, rich or poor, full of weaknesses and imperfections— can rise to such a height of love and abnegation as this, what may we not expect from God’s Angels, who have no defects, no imperfections and who love us with all the mighty power of their glorious angelic natures? The teaching of the Church about the Angels is most beautiful and consoling, but unfortunately many Christians have scant knowledge of the great world of the Angels. They know little about these blessed Spirits, love them little and seldom pray to them. Worst of all, they do not realize their presence. They show no confidence in them, and they do not call on them for help when dangers and difficulties press around. As a result they forfeit a thousand blessings that they might easily enjoy and fall victim to a thousand accidents that they might easily have avoided.

HOW COMES IT THAT THE ANGELS ARE SO LITTLE KNOWN AND SO LITTLE LOVED?

Simply because many, whose duty it is to teach this most important doctrine are gravely negligent in fulfilling their obligation. First of all, Christian Mothers should instill deeply into the minds of their children a clear, vivid and abiding sense of the presence of their dear Angels. It is not sufficient to give them vague, hazy, insufficient notions of these Blessed Spirits, nor is it enough to teach them to say a short prayer at morning and at night to their Angel Guardians. They should devote much time and much attention to this all-important subject. Children must be taught constantly from their tenderest years to have a real love and friendship for their Angels, to have boundless confidence in them. They must be accustomed to feel and realize the personal presence of their Angels, to call on them in all their fears and troubles. How much better this would be than that the children should have their heads filled with foolish fear of ghosts and hobgoblins as so frequently happens. Mothers who impress on their children this great lesson confer on them inestimable blessings during all the long years of their lives. On the other hand, if they neglect this duty or make light of it, they do a great wrong to their dear ones for they deprive them of the best and most powerful friends. Catechists, too, and teachers of the young in schools, colleges and convents are frequently remiss in teaching those in their charge all about the blessed Angels. The minds of their pupils are developing, and the teaching of the mothers in the home, no matter how good it might have been, must be perfected and developed. Professors of older students, boys and girls, are perhaps greater offenders. They rarely mention the subject of the Angels in their classes. Why? Do not the Angels exist? Are they not our best friends? Is there not much to be said about them? Priests of course can do much to remedy the neglect of parents and teachers by preaching at times on the Angels, by wise counsels in the confessional and by exhorting the faithful to read books on the Angels. Priests who do so receive most striking graces. We need to awaken in our hearts a real love and friendship for the Holy Angels, an abiding confidence in them, and above all to realize and feel vividly the presence of these loving Spirits ever by our sides.

A coloring page for your children:

The Scourging

Christ shrank from pain, but he did not refuse it. Late morning saw him flung against a praetorium pillar, while the hired man of Rome, giant barbarians with a muscle and moral sense of wild beasts, wore themselves out whipping and lashing Jesus near to death. Every thump of the iron-weighted cords tore fresh fed rents in his flesh. Jesus, who the night before had turned wine to blood, now shed that blood like wine poured out.

His body is the chalice of his spilt-out blood, the cup He no longer asks his Father to remove.

When we ask God to relieve our sufferings, He sometimes answers our prayers with more wisdom by letting them continue. To accept pain as Jesus did, is to sanctify it – and myself.

“God has thus put into the hand of the parents at their own hearthstone, a power greater than that which kings and queens wield, and which must issue in either the weal or the woe of their children. It would surely seem to be worth while to make any sacrifice of personal comfort or pleasure—to transmit a legacy of holy memories which shall be through all the years, like a host of pure angels hovering over those we love, to guard and guide them.” J.R. Miller

Now that the weather is cooling, it is a good time to steep some tea, cuddle up to the fire and grab a good book. Visit My Book List for some good reading recommendations….

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Great St. Michael, Prince of the Heavenly Host, Pray for Us!

29 Thursday Sep 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in About the Angels, Feast Days, Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

≈ 1 Comment

Today, Sept. 29th, is the Feast of St. Michael, the Archangel! How much we need his assistance in combating the devil in these days….in all the big things that trouble this world, but also in the little every day ways that he tries to get his licks in. St. Michael, the Archangel, pray for us!

From All About the Angels by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan

The first fact we learn concerning this great Prince is that in the mighty combat which took place in Heaven, when the bad Angels fell away from their allegiance to God, Michael sounded his war cry: “Who is like to God,” and immediately, joined by the good Angels, he drove Satan and his legions from Heaven and plunged them into the depths of Hell.

Next, we hear his praises from no less an authority than his brother Angel, St. Gabriel, who speaking to the Prophet Daniel, says, “Michael, who is your Prince,” “Michael, who is a great Prince created for the children of your people,” and again, “Michael, who is one of the first among Princes.”

St. Thomas says of him, “Michael is the breath of the Redeemer’s spirit who will, at the end of the world, combat and destroy Antichrist, as he did Lucifer in the beginning.”

St. Michael was the protector and defender of God’s chosen people. He came with the Israelites from Egypt and accompanied them through the desert. He it was who gave them, from God, the Ten Commandments, and during the thousands of years that elapsed before the coming of Christ, he was their champion and defender.

Though express mention of him is made only a few times, yet owing to his office as their appointed friend and defender, we know that he never abandoned God’s people but took an important part in all that concerned them.

He is now the defender of the Catholic Church and of all the faithful, whom he defends against the constant assaults of the devil.

He is invoked in sickness and most especially at the hour of death, when his “all— powerful” help is so much needed, for then it is that Satan makes his last and fiercest attack on the Christian soul, seeking with craft and cunning, with fears and despair lo drag it down to Hell.

In the prayers said by the priest and people after Mass, there is a special and beautiful prayer to St. Michael imploring his help for the Church. It runs as follows: Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in the day of battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust down to Hell Satan and with him all the wicked spirits, who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

We should make it a sacred duty to join fervently in this important prayer.

In our morning and evening prayers we invoke St. Michael when saying the Confiteor, but we should try to do so with more devotion and confidence. Many do not even think of what they are saying.

St. Michael has been honored from the earliest times in many countries.

The Emperor Constantine, grateful for the victories gained over his enemies, which he attributed to the protection of St. Michael, built a magnificent church near Constantinople in honor of the Archangel which he called Michaelion.

It became a place of pilgrimage, and many sick and infirm were cured in it by the intercession of the Archangel.

Constantine’s successors erected no less than fifteen churches in Constantinople itself to St. Michael.

In Rome, churches were also built and dedicated to St. Michael as far back as 494 A.D. The Archangel appeared to the Bishop of Siponto, on Monte Gargano, in the Kingdom of Naples, where a beautiful church was dedicated lo him. This became a place of great devotion and attracted many pilgrims.

Mont St. Michel, France

In France, he appeared on Mont St. Michel, where there still exists a famous sanctuary consecrated to the Archangel.

In Egypt, the Christians dedicated their food-giving river, the Nile, to St. Michael, and on the 12th of every month they held a special celebration in his honor, and this celebration was kept with marked solemnity in the month of June, when the river begins to rise.

When Germany was converted, the cult to the pagan god Woden was replaced by devotion to St. Michael, and as a result there are to be seen numerous chapels dedicated to the Archangel in the mountain districts of that country.

In England, the feast of Michaelmas used to be celebrated with great rejoicing, the favorite dish of the day being the roast goose. Now it is mainly known as a legal term, the day marking what is called in law, the Michaelmas term.

St. Michael has appeared at different times to those who needed his help and invoked his aid. A most notable example was when he assisted St. Joan of Arc in the extraordinary mission given her by God of aiding the French King to restore peace and prosperity to his kingdom and expel his enemies from its shores.

ST. MICHAEL AT THE HOUR OF DEATH

We read in The Book of Similitudes of St. Anselm that a religious of this monastery, on the point of death, was dreadfully assaulted by the devil, who reproached him at first because of the sins he had committed previous to his Baptism, for the monk had received this Sacrament when already advanced in years.

The poor man knew not how to reply and was very much troubled until St. Michael, who had come to his assistance, answered that all the sins he had committed before Baptism were remitted in that Sacrament.

The evil spirit then urged several sins of his committed after Baptism.

The Archangel replied that these had been washed away in the general confession he made before his religious profession, and that the dying man should trust in the divine mercy.

Satan at last opposed to him the many offenses and negligences in his life subsequent to religious profession.

As the good monk said nothing in defense, St. Michael declared that all his sins were forgiven him, because he had confessed them and satisfied for them by good works, especially by obedience, and that if anything remained it was expiated by his patience under the sufferings of a sickbed.

At these words the devil departed in confusion, and the good religious, with confident hope, meekly gave up his soul to God.

We all must die, and we all must be prepared for the fierce attacks of the devil at this dreadful hour. Hence every Christian should make sure of having St. Michael’s help at the hour of death. This we can do by being devoted to the great Archangel during our lives.

CHILDREN RAISED TO LIFE BY ST. MICHAEL

The King of Dacia, Mulhoares, was gravely ill and suffered all the more because he had no heir to his throne. His children had all died.

He was counseled to have recourse to St. Michael.

The King followed this sage advice, and some time after twins were born to his wife. Alas, a new trial awaited him. These children also died!

Full of lively faith, the King ordered the bodies of the children to be taken to the church and placed before the altar of St. Michael, and he and his people besought the great Archangel to come to their aid.

Lo, St. Michael appeared and spoke lo the King: “I am Michael, whom you and your people have invoked, and I have presented your petition to God who is pleased to restore life to your children. Behold them alive, and I and the other Angels will watch over them. God wishes, too, to cure you, but you must thank the Angel who is Prince of your kingdom. That you may love him, I will now show him to you.”

A most beautiful Angel then appeared, clothed in royal robes, with a crown of gold on his head. He blessed the King, who was instantly restored to health.

HOW TO HONOR ST. MICHAEL?

1st. By frequently repeating this short prayer: “Glorious St. Michael, Prince of the Heavenly Court, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.”

2nd. By invoking his aid in sickness.

3rd. If we find it hard to conquer a temptation, or correct some fault, let us pray to St. Michael, who will assuredly help us to overcome the most violent temptation —and the most inveterate.

4th. By having a little picture of St. Michael in our prayer— book, saying each time we see it, “Glorious St. Michael, I love you.”

Sanctity is found by doing the duties that unfold before us each day – doing our housework, raising children, taking care of parents as they age, paying those bills that are ever with us, helping neighbors, and practicing our Faith. The formula for holiness doesn’t need to be searched for; it finds you, in the duties that come up each day in the path of ordinary life. -Finer Femininity, Painting by Morgan Weistling

St. Michael, St. Gabriel & St. Raphael
They 1. Combat Satan. 2. Escort the faithful to heaven at their hour of death. 3. Be a champion of all Christians & the Church itself. 4. Call men from life on Earth to their heavenly judgment.
https://www.portraitsofsaints.com/colle…/…/all-images-angels

St. Therese’s Feast Day coming up on October 3rd!

Beautiful St. Therese Apron!

Available here.

St. Therese Graceful Religious Pendant….Wire-Wrapped, Handcrafted. Available here.

St. Therese Graceful Religious Earrings…Available here.

Saints Zelie and Therese Graceful Religious Pendant and Earring Sets…Wire-Wrapped, Handcrafted

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Do you need some good reading suggestions? Visit My Book List.

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St. Michael & Our Guardian Angels

28 Wednesday Sep 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in About the Angels, Seasons

≈ 1 Comment

The Feast of St. Michael is tomorrow and the Feast of the Guardian Angels is Oct. 2nd. We must not forget these Mighty Messengers and Helpers that God has given us. We need to make our children aware of who these Angels are and how we can invoke their help for whatever little or big need we have!

From The Year and Our Children, Mary Reed Newland

St. Michael the Archangel (September 29)

Pope Pius XII made St. Michael the patron of policemen in 1950. He is also the patron of coopers, hat makers, swordsmen, haberdashers, dashers, and grocers, and is invoked for a happy death. That magnificent edifice, Mont-Saint-Michel, was built “at the cost of great hardship” after he had appeared in a vision to St. Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, during the eighth century.

He pointed to the rock rising out of the sea, said that it was under his special protection, and requested that a church be built in his honor there. This is the only reasonable explanation for why anyone would ever try to build a church there. That it is of such enduring beauty is due to him also, without doubt.

A mobile with St. Michael hanging high and Lucifer at his feet with the flames of Hell around him would be a stirring decoration for this feast, with, of course, Michaelmas daisies on the table.

Michaelmas Daisies

These are common weeds to most people, but if you look them up at the same time you look up St. John’s wort, you will know which are to be picked for this day.

We should be sure to know the prayer to St. Michael recited at the end of each Mass, and recite it on his feast.

The Guardian Angels (October 2)

It is generally agreed that all Christian communities, countries, families, dioceses, churches, and religious houses have each their Guardian Angel, and St. Francis de Sales wrote that bishops have another other angel as such, in addition to their Guardian Angel.

We can add more angels to the mobile** on this day, one for each in the family (make them very simple shapes, recognizable by a sweep of wings), and write the name of each person on an angel.

“Dear Angel, Ever at My Side” is a simple hymn for children to be found in the Pius X Hymnal, and a few days’ practice ahead of time would prepare us to greet our angels with this at the feast-day dinner in their honor.

An Angel Pie is a luscious dessert we could make as a climax. A recipe for meringue, a half-pint (or more if you are a big family and need two pies) of whipping cream, and fresh or canned fruit, drained, are the ingredients.

You bake the meringue in a pie tin instead of in individual portions, whip the cream very stiff, fold in the fruit, pile it in the shell and serve.

Let the children cut doves, candles, flames, circles, or other shapes from heavy paper and letter on them the gifts and the fruits. Suspend pend them at varying heights with black threads, sometimes with small objects to weight them so they will swing slowly in space.

A few thoughts by Fr. John Mitchelle, LC:

In the Catechism, we read: “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by the watchful care and intercession of the angels. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life”

Our angel goes before us and knows the way that leads to life, the path that leads to the spiritual place that God has prepared for each one of us. We are called to listen to his voice and heed it. When we disobey and rebel, we are refusing and rebelling against God’s will.

Today’s psalm recalls that God has given knowledge to each good angel about us. With this knowledge they can guard us in all of our ways. They can direct us into the way of salvation and peace. But in the end, we are the ones who choose good or evil, we are the ones who choose either to act as free children of God or to abuse our freedom by choosing evil. When we listen to our guardian angel we are assured of God’s protection from our enemies and foes.

Based on Scripture, Sacred Tradition and Sacred Theology distinguish nine choirs of angels. These nine choirs, organized in three sets of three, are a reflection of the Trinity: the first three choirs are closest to God and contemplate him and the goal of his creation; the next three choirs consider what is to be done to reach this goal; the last three choirs apply this knowledge to God’s effects.

Of those angels who apply this knowledge in a practical way, the Principalities are said to hold the highest place. Their role is compared that of generals and officers in battle. Our guardian angels belong to the lowest choir, because they are the ones who carry out what is to be done.

Our veneration of the Holy Guardian Angels today fills us with gratitude, for we have a heavenly protector who enlightens us, defends us, guides us, and intercedes for us.

The contemplation of God’s creation, both visible and invisible, fills us with wonder and awe – for there are things we will see in heaven which surpass our imagination and are more beautiful than anything here on earth. Lastly, we are filled with hope, for we know that the history of the world is in God’s hands and that the heavenly hosts of heaven work tirelessly to accomplish God’s merciful and loving plan.

An excellent book that changed my way of looking at the Angels, realizing their powerful intercession, is All About the Angels by Fr. Paul O’ Sullivan , written in 1871.

Review: “A wonderful book showing how the angels have visited people innumerable times in the past, how they do so today, and would do even more if we asked them. Also, how they prevent accidents, comfort us, help us, and protect us from the devils. Contains many beautiful stories about St. Michael, St. Raphael and St. Gabriel; plus, angel stories from St. Gemma Galgani, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. John Bosco, etc. One of our 3 most popular titles!”

Make sure your children are experiencing life outside the realm of technological devices. Playing in the dirt, making sandcastles, climbing trees are important to a child’s growth….much more important than having them glued to a device. – Finer Femininity

🤍Old World Veil and Capelet. A beautiful twist on the normal chapel veil. Ties with a ribbon in front..made from chiffon and lace. Available here.

A masterpiece that combines the visions of four great Catholic mystics into one coherent story on the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Based primarily on the famous revelations of Ven. Anne Catherine Emmerich and Ven. Mary of Agreda, it also includes many episodes described in the writings of St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Elizabeth of Schenau. To read this book, therefore, is to share in the magnificent visions granted to four of the most priviledged souls in the history of the Church.

In complete harmony with the Gospel story, this book reads like a masterfully written novel. It includes such fascinating details as the birth and infancy of Mary, her espousal to St. Joseph and her Assumption into Heaven where she was crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.

For young and old alike, The Life of Mary As Seen by the Mystics will forever impress the reader with an inspiring and truly unforgettable understanding of the otherwise unknown facts concerning Mary and the Holy Family. Imprimatur.

He was called the man of his age, the voice of his century. His influence towered above that of his contemporaries, and his sanctity moved God himself. Men flocked to him–some in wonder, others in curiosity, but all drawn by the magnetism of his spiritual gianthood. Bernard of Clairvaux–who or what fashioned him to be suitable for his role of counseling Popes, healing schisms, battling errors and filling the world with holy religious and profound spiritual doctrine? Undoubtedly, Bernard is the product of God’s grace. But it is hard to say whether this grace is more evident in Bernard himself or in the extraordinary family in which God choose to situate this dynamic personality. This book is the fascinating account of a family that took seriously the challenge to follow Christ… and to overtake Him. With warmth and realism, Venerable Tescelin, Blesseds Alice, Guy, Gerard, Humbeline, Andrew, Bartholomew, Nivard and St. Bernard step off these pages with the engaging naturalness that atttacks imitation. Here is a book that makes centuries disappear, as each member of this unique family becomes an inspiration in our own quest of overtaking Christ.

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Great St. Michael, Prince of the Heavenly Host, Pray for Us!

30 Thursday Sep 2021

Posted by Leanevdp in About the Angels, Feast Days, Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

≈ 1 Comment

Yesterday, Sept. 29th, was the Feast of St. Michael, the Archangel! How much we need his assistance in combating the devil in these days….in all the big things that trouble this world, but also in the little every day ways that he tries to get his licks in. St. Michael, the Archangel, pray for us!

From All About the Angels by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan

St. Thomas says of him, “Michael is the breath of the Redeemer’s spirit who will, at the end of the world, combat and destroy Antichrist, as he did Lucifer in the beginning.”

He is now the defender of the Catholic Church and of all the faithful, whom he defends against the constant assaults of the devil.

We should make it a sacred duty to join fervently in this important prayer.

In our morning and evening prayers we invoke St. Michael when saying the Confiteor, but we should try to do so with more devotion and confidence. Many do not even think of what they are saying.

St. Michael has been honored from the earliest times in many countries.

It became a place of pilgrimage, and many sick and infirm were cured in it by the intercession of the Archangel.

Constantine’s successors erected no less than fifteen churches in Constantinople itself to St. Michael.

Mont St. Michel, France

In France, he appeared on Mont St. Michel, where there still exists a famous sanctuary consecrated to the Archangel.

ST. MICHAEL AT THE HOUR OF DEATH

The evil spirit then urged several sins of his committed after Baptism.

The Archangel replied that these had been washed away in the general confession he made before his religious profession, and that the dying man should trust in the divine mercy.

Satan at last opposed to him the many offenses and negligences in his life subsequent to religious profession.

At these words the devil departed in confusion, and the good religious, with confident hope, meekly gave up his soul to God.

CHILDREN RAISED TO LIFE BY ST. MICHAEL

The King of Dacia, Mulhoares, was gravely ill and suffered all the more because he had no heir to his throne. His children had all died.

He was counseled to have recourse to St. Michael.

The King followed this sage advice, and some time after twins were born to his wife. Alas, a new trial awaited him. These children also died!

A most beautiful Angel then appeared, clothed in royal robes, with a crown of gold on his head. He blessed the King, who was instantly restored to health.

HOW TO HONOR ST. MICHAEL?

1st. By frequently repeating this short prayer: “Glorious St. Michael, Prince of the Heavenly Court, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.”

2nd. By invoking his aid in sickness.

3rd. If we find it hard to conquer a temptation, or correct some fault, let us pray to St. Michael, who will assuredly help us to overcome the most violent temptation —and the most inveterate.

4th. By having a little picture of St. Michael in our prayer— book, saying each time we see it, “Glorious St. Michael, I love you.”

At the same time, it is a good reminder that, if we can, take in an extra Mass during the week. And if we are in a time of life we can get to daily Mass, it will be the most efficacious thing you will do in your day…

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St. Michael, St. Gabriel & St. Raphael
They 1. Combat Satan. 2. Escort the faithful to heaven at their hour of death. 3. Be a champion of all Christians & the Church itself. 4. Call men from life on Earth to their heavenly judgment.
https://www.portraitsofsaints.com/colle…/…/all-images-angels

St. Therese’s Feast Day coming up on October 3rd!

Beautiful St. Therese Wire Wrapped Rosary! Lovely, Durable…

Available here.

St. Therese Graceful Religious Pendant….Wire-Wrapped, Handcrafted. Available here.

St. Therese Graceful Religious Earrings…Available here.

Saints Zelie and Therese Graceful Religious Pendant and Earring Set…Wire-Wrapped, Handcrafted

Available here.

Do you need some good reading suggestions? Visit My Book List.

Save

Great St. Michael, Prince of the Heavenly Host, Pray for Us!

28 Monday Sep 2020

Posted by Leanevdp in About the Angels, Feast Days, Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

≈ 4 Comments

Sept. 29th (today!!) is the Feast of St. Michael, the Archangel! How much we need his assistance in combating the devil in these days….in all the big things that trouble this world, but also in the little every day ways that he tries to get his licks in. St. Michael, the Archangel, pray for us!

From All About the Angels by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan

St. Thomas says of him, “Michael is the breath of the Redeemer’s spirit who will, at the end of the world, combat and destroy Antichrist, as he did Lucifer in the beginning.”

He is now the defender of the Catholic Church and of all the faithful, whom he defends against the constant assaults of the devil.

We should make it a sacred duty to join fervently in this important prayer.

In our morning and evening prayers we invoke St. Michael when saying the Confiteor, but we should try to do so with more devotion and confidence. Many do not even think of what they are saying.

St. Michael has been honored from the earliest times in many countries.

It became a place of pilgrimage, and many sick and infirm were cured in it by the intercession of the Archangel.

Constantine’s successors erected no less than fifteen churches in Constantinople itself to St. Michael.

Mont St. Michel, France

In France, he appeared on Mont St. Michel, where there still exists a famous sanctuary consecrated to the Archangel.

ST. MICHAEL AT THE HOUR OF DEATH

The evil spirit then urged several sins of his committed after Baptism.

The Archangel replied that these had been washed away in the general confession he made before his religious profession, and that the dying man should trust in the divine mercy.

Satan at last opposed to him the many offenses and negligences in his life subsequent to religious profession.

At these words the devil departed in confusion, and the good religious, with confident hope, meekly gave up his soul to God.

CHILDREN RAISED TO LIFE BY ST. MICHAEL

The King of Dacia, Mulhoares, was gravely ill and suffered all the more because he had no heir to his throne. His children had all died.

He was counseled to have recourse to St. Michael.

The King followed this sage advice, and some time after twins were born to his wife. Alas, a new trial awaited him. These children also died!

A most beautiful Angel then appeared, clothed in royal robes, with a crown of gold on his head. He blessed the King, who was instantly restored to health.

HOW TO HONOR ST. MICHAEL?

1st. By frequently repeating this short prayer: “Glorious St. Michael, Prince of the Heavenly Court, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.”

2nd. By invoking his aid in sickness.

3rd. If we find it hard to conquer a temptation, or correct some fault, let us pray to St. Michael, who will assuredly help us to overcome the most violent temptation —and the most inveterate.

4th. By having a little picture of St. Michael in our prayer— book, saying each time we see it, “Glorious St. Michael, I love you.”

Happy Feast day
St. Michael, St. Gabriel & St. Raphael
They 1. Combat Satan. 2. Escort the faithful to heaven at their hour of death. 3. Be a champion of all Christians & the Church itself. 4. Call men from life on Earth to their heavenly judgment.
https://www.portraitsofsaints.com/colle…/…/all-images-angels

St. Therese’s Feast Day coming up on October 3rd!

Beautiful St. Therese Wire Wrapped Rosary! Lovely, Durable…

Available here.

St. Therese Graceful Religious Pendant….Wire-Wrapped, Handcrafted. Available here.

Do you need some good reading suggestions? Visit My Book List.

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Angelic Apparitions in Portugal, Hungary and Ireland- Fr. Paul O’Sullivan

04 Friday Oct 2019

Posted by Leanevdp in About the Angels

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In this month of the angels, let us increase our awareness of their angelic presence in our lives!

Painting by Dona Gelsinger

From All About the Angels, Fr. Paul O’Sullivan, 1871

WHY DID THE ANGEL APPEAR IN PORTUGAL?

Although every country, every kingdom, and every province has its Angel Guardian, we know of no other nation in modern times whose Angel has appeared as in the case of Portugal. (Fatima)

Can we offer any explanation for this exceptional honor?

Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that Portugal has had from the earliest times a very special love for the Angels, as the following facts go to show:

Her first king, Don Afonso Henriques, a man eminent not only for his military prowess but also for his truly Christian life, had a very marked love for the Angels, notably for his Angel Guardian and for St. Michael, the prince of the heavenly host.

We find this devotion mentioned in some of the old Portuguese chronicles.

The account runs as follows:

Sometime after the king had taken the almost impregnable Moorish fortress of Santarem, the Moorish hosts, under the command of their monarch Albaraque, in person, made a formidable attack on the city in the hope of reconquering it.

At the time King Afonso Henriques was suffering grievously from a wound in one of his legs so that he could not mount his horse. He insisted, however, on getting into a chariot and joining in the fight.

It was a hazardous adventure because his death or capture would have been a serious blow to his soldiers and a source of encouragement to his enemies.

However, as events proved, he was under angelic protection. A legend says he saw an arm grasping a sword and also a wing, which showed him that an Angel was with him. This sword protected the person of the king and wrought dreadful havoc among the Moors, who fled in terror, leaving the Portuguese masters of the field. The Moorish captives taken in the battle declared that they too had seen the Angel.

In gratitude the king founded a military Order which he called the “Order of the Wing” in honor of St. Michael and the Angels. Many noble families belonged to this Order, and we have seen an image of a wing and an arm brandishing a sword, on the coat of arms of one of the old families.

We have further evidence of this devotion in the fact that Don Manuel I, one of the most remarkable of the Kings of Portugal, was also most devoted to the Angels, so much so that he begged the Pope to sanction the feast of the Angel Guardian of Portugal and permit the Office and Mass to be said on the third Sunday of July.

This feast is still celebrated. We have never heard that any other country celebrates a like feast.

Vasco da Gama, the renowned discoverer who found the maritime route to India, leaves another proof of the great confidence that the Portuguese had in the holy Angels.

When starting on this memorable voyage to India, one of the most remarkable recorded in history, he called two of his ships after the Angels, one St. Gabriel, because it was he who had brought to the world the great tidings of our Redemption, and the Admiral too, had the wish to carry the same news of salvation to the pagan lands he hoped to discover.

He called the other ship St. Raphael, after the Angel who accompanied the young Tobias on his long and dangerous journey.

The Admiral rightly thought that he himself could have no better guide and protector on this perilous voyage than this patron of travelers. In modern times the Portuguese, recalling this act of Vasco da Gama, have again named two of their vessels after the Archangels.

The King Cardinal Don Henrique cherished a marked love for the Angels and built a Church in their honor in Lisbon. The feast day was kept as a Holiday of Obligation in the parish.

A second church was erected in honor of St. Michael, and his feast was also observed as a Holiday of Obligation.

In other churches of Lisbon and throughout the country we find still further traces of this same devotion. Many of the Kings of Portugal and also the royal princes took the names of Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael in Baptism.

In some families the name of one of the Angels is given as a second name to all the children. In one such family known to the writer, there was John Raphael, Mary Raphael, Thomas Raphael, James Raphael and Anne Raphael.

Luiz de Sousa, O.P., one of the foremost Portuguese writers, gives us the story of the conversion of the celebrated Frei Gil or Egidius of Santarem, by his Angel Guardian.

Egidius was a man of noble birth and of a devout Christian family. He himself, unfortunately, took to the study of the black arts and went to Paris in order to facilitate this study.

On his way he was induced to sell his soul to the devil in exchange for great learning. This he did by a written bond. One night when working in his laboratory, a young man mounted on a horse dashed into the chamber and, sternly rebuking him, ordered him to desist at once from to renounce these hellish arts at once and forever.

Egidius, moved by this second apparition to the very depths of his soul, not only abandoned his evil ways but did salutary penance.

He returned to Portugal, where he joined the Dominican Order, in which he attained great sanctity.

The same chronicler cites another example of angelic visitation.

One of the Fathers, eminent for holiness, by name Father Lawrence, was accosted one day, when making a journey on foot, by an Angel who presented him with a box of relics which he had brought from a distant town recently taken by the Saracens and which he wished to save from desecration.

These relics were for many centuries venerated in the Church of Guimarães in the north of Portugal. These few incidents go to show how deeply ingrained was the love and devotion to the holy Angels in Portugal.

They furnish us with a possible reason why the Guardian Angel of the country appeared in Fatima, for the Angels generously repay all of the honor we show them.

ANGELIC APPARITIONS IN HUNGARY AND IN IRELAND

As we have already observed, we know of no other country except Portugal where the Angel Guardian of the country has appeared in recent times, but the Angels have appeared in remoter epochs in Hungary and in Ireland, both of which countries have also been very devoted to the Angels.

Olibrio, King of Hungary

This king was deliberating on making war on the Tartars, trusting to a powerful army which he had at his disposal. A holy Bishop counseled him to pray fervently before deciding on hostilities.

In answer to his sincere prayer, the Angel Guardian of the Kingdom appeared and warned him not to declare the war he had meditated on making, for said the Angel, “Your cause is not just and you will surely be defeated. Do not trust in your army, for the Angel Guardian of the Tartars will fight against you, and you will be beaten, and I cannot help you in what is not just.”

The King very readily followed this advice and made peace with the Tartars, who gladly accepted his overtures, for in this his Angel helped him.

In deep gratitude the monarch celebrated magnificent festivities in honor of the Angel Guardian of the Kingdom and placed an image of the Angel over his crown. Thenceforward it became the custom of the Kings of Hungary to ask God’s help in all matters of moment through the intercession of the Angel Guardian of the Kingdom.

The King of Ireland and the Angel

The Venerable Bede mentions that one of the Kings of Ireland had great devotion to the Holy Angels and invoked them frequently with the greatest confidence.

Unfortunately, owing to the bad advice of a false counselor, he became unpopular with his subjects who determined to revolt against him.

On learning this, the King was seriously disturbed and entertained grave fears for his life and kingdom.

However his Angel Guardian appeared to him radiant with joy and bade him not to fear, for he said, “Owing to your great love for me and the other Angels, we have obtained from God that your princes and subjects will remain loyal and faithful to you.

But do you, on your part, dismiss your false counselor and seek in all things to please our people.”

The King gratefully did what the Angel had counseled him, with the happiest results. These two incidents teach us how our Angels, though they love us dearly, will not help us if we seek to do wrong.

On the other hand, they are eager to give us every possible assistance when we seek for what is just.

We should beware of speaking ill or doing harm to others, for their Angels will defend them and avenge them.

Our Lord seems to call our attention to this fact when He warns us not to harm or scandalize children, for He says, “Their Angels see the face of My Father.”

“While the procreation of the race is the primary purpose of marriage, it also fosters the love and devotion of husband and wife. It answers man’s craving for intimate companionship, sympathy, understanding, and lasting friendship. It enriches the personality of man by increasing his unselfishness and deepening his capacity for love, friendship, and sacrifice.” – Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik. The Catholic Family Handbook

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SIn With God in Russia, Ciszek reflects on his daily life as a prisoner, the labor he endured while working in the mines and on construction gangs, his unwavering faith in God, and his firm devotion to his vows and vocation. Enduring brutal conditions, Ciszek risked his life to offer spiritual guidance to fellow prisoners who could easily have exposed him for their own gains. He chronicles these experiences with grace, humility, and candor, from his secret work leading mass and hearing confessions within the prison grounds, to his participation in a major gulag uprising, to his own “resurrection”—his eventual release in a prisoner exchange in October 1963 which astonished all who had feared he was dead.

Powerful and inspirational, With God in Russia captures the heroic patience, endurance, and religious conviction of a man whose life embodied the Christian ideals that sustained him…..

Captured by a Russian army during World War II and convicted of being a “Vatican spy,” Jesuit Father Walter J. Ciszek spent 23 agonizing years in Soviet prisons and the labor camps of Siberia. Only through an utter reliance on God’s will did he manage to endure the extreme hardship. He tells of the courage he found in prayer–a courage that eased the loneliness, the pain, the frustration, the anguish, the fears, the despair. For, as Ciszek relates, the solace of spiritual contemplation gave him an inner serenity upon which he was able to draw amidst the “arrogance of evil” that surrounded him. Ciszek learns to accept the inhuman work in the infamous Siberian salt mines as a labor pleasing to God. And through that experience, he was able to turn the adverse forces of circumstance into a source of positive value and a means of drawing closer to the compassionate and never-forsaking Divine Spirit.

He Leadeth Me is a book to inspire all Christians to greater faith and trust in God–even in their darkest hour. As the author asks, “What can ultimately trouble the soul that accepts every moment of every day as a gift from the hands of God and strives always to do his will?”

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Our Guardian Angels (October 2nd)

01 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by Leanevdp in About the Angels, Seasons

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Why don’t you plan to have a little celebration for this lovely feast day of Our Holy Guardian Angels? It can be as simple as a cake to celebrate, or a little procession….or, like Mrs. Newland mentions, some type of craft depicting the Angels in some way or another.

We must not forget these Mighty Messengers and Helpers that God has given us. We need to make our children aware of who these Angels are and how we can invoke their help for whatever little or big need we have!

From The Year and Our Children, Mary Reed Newland

We can add more angels to the mobile** (see below) on this day, one for each in the family (make them very simple shapes, recognizable by a sweep of wings), and write the name of each person on an angel.

You bake the meringue in a pie tin instead of in individual portions, whip the cream very stiff, fold in the fruit, pile it in the shell and serve.

**During the preparation for the feast, children can learn the gifts and fruits by making their own mobiles with wire clothes hangers. Tie a wire clothes hanger to a string, use it as is or bend it into an interesting shape, or suspend additional hangers from it. Let the children cut doves, candles, flames, circles, or other shapes from heavy paper and letter on them the gifts and the fruits. Suspend pend them at varying heights with black threads, sometimes with small objects to weight them so they will swing slowly in space.

A few thoughts by Fr. John Mitchelle, LC:

Our Guardian Angel has been granted authority and power. At the same time, no angel, good or evil, can force us to do something against our will. Good angels present good things to our minds, evil angels present evil disguised as good. Today’s psalm recalls that God has given knowledge to each good angel about us. With this knowledge they can guard us in all of our ways. They can direct us into the way of salvation and peace. But in the end, we are the ones who choose good or evil, we are the ones who choose either to act as free children of God or to abuse our freedom by choosing evil. When we listen to our guardian angel we are assured of God’s protection from our enemies and foes.

Our knowledge of the angels is very imperfect. Here on earth, we can only distinguish them in a general way. In heaven, we will know them distinctly. We will see their relation to God and how they have acted to bring about God’s loving plan. Based on Scripture, Sacred Tradition and Sacred Theology distinguish nine choirs of angels. These nine choirs, organized in three sets of three, are a reflection of the Trinity: the first three choirs are closest to God and contemplate him and the goal of his creation; the next three choirs consider what is to be done to reach this goal; the last three choirs apply this knowledge to God’s effects.

Our veneration of the Holy Guardian Angels today fills us with gratitude, for we have a heavenly protector who enlightens us, defends us, guides us, and intercedes for us. The contemplation of God’s creation, both visible and invisible, fills us with wonder and awe – for there are things we will see in heaven which surpass our imagination and are more beautiful than anything here on earth. Lastly, we are filled with hope, for we know that the history of the world is in God’s hands and that the heavenly hosts of heaven work tirelessly to accomplish God’s merciful and loving plan.

An excellent book that changed my way of looking at the Angels, realizing their powerful intercession, is All About the Angels by Fr. Paul O’ Sullivan , written in 1871.

At any rate, she has by nature the power, the art, and the disposition to please, to soothe, to charm, and to captivate. It is a wonderful power; and we see daily women exerting it in a wonderful way. Why will not women who are truly good, or who sincerely strive to be so, not make it the chief study of their lives to find out and acquire the sovereign art of making their influence as healthful, as cheering, as blissful as the sunlight and the warmth are to their homes? – Rev Bernard O’Reilly, True Womanhood, 1894 http://amzn.to/2mPm81e (afflink)

Angel coloring pages!

A lecture on Angels. What are they? How do they be? What do they do? How can we grow in our relationship to our guardian angel? How did we get our guardian angel? What can guardian angels do & not do?

Penal Rosaries!

Penal rosaries and crucifixes have a wonderful story behind them. They were used during the times when religious objects were forbidden and it was illegal to be Catholic. Being caught with a rosary could mean imprisonment or worse. A penal rosary is a single decade with the crucifix on one end and, oftentimes, a ring on the other. When praying the penal rosary you would start with the ring on your thumb and the beads and crucifix of the rosary in your sleeve, as you moved on to the next decade you moved the ring to your next finger and so on and so forth. This allowed people to pray the rosary without the fear of being detected.

Available here.

A wonderful book showing how the angels have visited people innumerable times in the past, how they do so today, and would do even more if we asked them. Also, how they prevent accidents, comfort us, help us, and protect us from the devils. Contains many beautiful stories about St. Michael, St. Raphael and St. Gabriel; plus, angel stories from St. Gemma Galgani, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. John Bosco, etc.

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A very optimistic book showing how an “ordinary” Catholic can become a great saint without ever doing anything “extraordinary”–just by using the many opportunities for holiness that to most people lie hidden in each day. Written with an assurance of success that is totally convincing and infectious. Many easy but infallible means of reaching great sanctity.

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Angelic Apparitions in Portugal, Hungary and Ireland- Fr. Paul O’Sullivan

13 Sunday Nov 2016

Posted by Leanevdp in About the Angels

≈ 3 Comments

Shall we not, from the following stories, be inspired to pray to the Angel of our own country in these perilous times? God has shown his power in this last week, we must continue to pray for our country and for our leaders…and what better advocate do we have than the Angel whose holy job it is to guard and defend our country!