My Tuesday Daily Blessings
Be still, quiet your heart and mind, the Lord
is here loving you,
talking to you.................
Memorial of the
Guardian Angels (Catholic Observance)
Tuesday of the Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time (Roman Rite
Calendar)
First
Reading: Jb 3:1-3, 11-17,
20-23
Job spoke out and said:
Perish the day on which I was born,
the night when they said, "The child is a boy!"
Why did I not perish at birth,
come forth from the womb and expire?
Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth,
like babes that have never seen the light?
Wherefore did the knees receive me?
or why did I suck at the breasts?
For then I should have lain down and been tranquil;
had I slept, I should then have been at rest
With kings and counselors of the earth
who built where now there are ruins
Or with princes who had gold
and filled their houses with silver.
There the wicked cease from troubling,
there the weary are at rest.
Why is light given to the toilers,
and life to the bitter in spirit?
They wait for death and it comes not;
they search for it rather than for hidden treasures,
Rejoice in it exultingly,
and are glad when they reach the grave:
Those whose path is hidden from them,
and whom God has hemmed in!
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 88:2-3, 4-5, 6,
7-8
"Let my prayer
come before you
Lord."
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Gospel: Mt 18:1-5,
10
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The disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
"Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
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**Reflection:
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Why does Jesus warn his disciples to "not
despise the little ones?" God dwells with the lowly and regards them with
compassion. His angels watch over them as guardians. "For he will give his
angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways" (Psalm 91:11). God has
not left us alone in our struggle "to refuse evil and to choose good"
(Isaiah 7:15). The angels are his "ministering spirits sent forth to serve,
for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation" (Hebrews 1:14). Scripture
is full of examples of how the angels serve as messengers and protectors. When
Peter was chained in prison and kept under guard, an angel woke him in middle of
the night, released his chains, and brought him safely out of prison, past
several guards and through locked gates. When Peter realized he wasn't dreaming,
he exclaimed: "Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me"
(Acts 12:11). When Daniel was thrown into a den of hungry lions, an angel
protected him from harm (Daniel 6:22).
John Chrysostom (347-407 AD), an early church father and renowned preacher,
compared the guardian angels to the troops garrisoned in cities on the frontiers
of the empire to defend it from the enemy. Basil the Great (329-379 AD) said,
"Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to
life." Angels ministered to Jesus after his temptation in the wilderness and
during his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43). The angels will be
present at Christ's return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgment
(Matthew 25:31). The angels show us that this universe which God created is not
just materialistic. The fallen angels (Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4; Revelations 12:9),
described in Scripture as evil spirits or devils (Mark 5:13; Matthew 25:41),
seek our destruction (see 1 Peter 5:8). If they cannot persuade us to disown our
faith and loyalty to Christ, they will attempt to divert us from doing the will
of God by distracting us with good things that weigh us down or make us
indifferent towards the things of God. God gives us the help of his angelic
hosts and he gives us spiritual weapons, the shield of faith and the
breastplate of righteousness (see Ephesians 6:1-11), to resist the devil
and his lies. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we, too, join with the
angelic choirs of heaven in singing the praises of God. Do you thank the Lord
for his guidance and protection?
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**Prayer:
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"Lord Jesus, you are our refuge and strength. May I always know your guiding hand and the help of your angels in protecting me from all that is evil. Give me strength of will and courage to refuse what is evil and to choose what is good."
Amen.
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**Don Schwager
Author and Writer
Sword of the Spirit
and The Word Among
Us
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