The Angels

The existence of angels - a truth of faith
The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls “angels” is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition.

Who are they?
St. Augustine says: “‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit’, from what they do, ‘angel’.” With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they “always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” they are the “mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word.”

As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness.

Christ “with all his angels”
Christ is the center of the angelic world. They are his angels: “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him… They belong to him because they were created through and for him: “For in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities - all things were created through him and for him.” They belong to him still more because he has made them messengers of his saving plan: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?”

Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham’s hand; communicated the law by their ministry; led the People of God; announced births and callings; and assisted the prophets, just to cite a few examples. Finally, the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself.

From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. When God “brings the firstborn into the world, he says: ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’ ” Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church’s praise: “Glory to God in the highest!” They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had been. Again, it is the angels who “evangelize” by proclaiming the Good News of Christ’s Incarnation and Resurrection. They will be present at Christ’s return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgement.

The angels in the life of the Church
In the meantime, the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels.

In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance in the funeral liturgy’s In Paradisum deducant te angeli. Moreover, in the “Cherubic Hymn” of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the guardian angels.

From its beginning until death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. “Besides 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.

-Catechism of the Catholic Church #328-336

Seven Great Qualities of a New Evangelist

According to Fr. Barron, a New Evangelist must:

1. Be in love with Jesus Christ. Evangelization is sharing a relationship with Christ, and you can’t give what you don’t have.
2. Be filled with ardor. John Paul II said the New Evangelization must be new in ardor or fire.
3. Know the story of Israel. In other words, they must know salvation history.
4. Know the culture. You have to know what your audience is thinking, what their concerns and fears are, what is consuming their thoughts and attention, in order to address these and present Christ as the solution.
5. Love the Great Tradition. Part of the strength and power of Catholicism is that we stand on the shoulders of spiritual giants. We have thousands of years of interpretive history at our disposal, the thoughts of men and women far more intelligent and holy people that we can draw from. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel…we can build on a sure foundation of greatness. And this includes great art and literature.
6. Have a missionary heart. The Catholic Church is hemorrhaging members to Protestantism and Agnosticism. Three quarters of Catholics don’t attend Mass! You must hunger to keep them and bring them into active relationship with Christ to be a New Evangelist.
7. Know and love the New Media. We need to know how to use the New Media to reach out to people that it may be the only way for them to be open to the Gospel. The New Media allows us to maximize our time and multiply our efforts.

You can watch the full video on Youtube.

The Church as the New Eve

From Adam’s side came forth one who was both body and bride: Eve, formed from his body, was bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh. Joined in him in marriage, she became one body with him, his body, as he became her body. Similarly, from the side of Christ pierced by a lance came the Church. “The Origin and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and water which flowed from the open side of the crucified Jesus.” Joined in nuptials to him, she who received life from his side became also his body. Just as Eve came from Adam and was united with him as one body, so the Church comes from Christ and is united to him as one body, his Body. The Church is Christ’s Body, and as such is his Bride. The Church is Christ’s Bride, and as such is his Body.

This is a remarkable vision - Adam and Eve, Christ and the Church - but how does it happen here and now?

When two become one in marriage, the bridegroom gives the bridge his flesh and blood; the bride receives him, his flesh and blood. (The Greek word haima, usually translated “blood,” can refer to other bodily fluids, including the man’s “seed”. See John 1:13) When he gives and she receives, they bring new life into the world. When does Christ, the Bridegroom, unite himself with his Bridge? When does he give his flesh and blood in order to bring new life? In the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the sacrament of the consummation of the marriage between Christ and his Church. In the Eucharist he renews the New Covenant, which is his marriage covenant with her. It is much more than a banquet. It is a wedding feast. We the Bridge receive our Bridegroom’s Body in the Eucharist.

The marital imagery of Christ’s love for his Church becomes a powerful symbol for the sacrament of marriage. Or is marriage a powerful symbol of Christ’s love for his Church - for each of us?

We may need to execute a sort of Copernican revolution in our understanding of love. Just as God’s Fatherhood is the perfect reality that human fatherhood portrayed, though imperfectly, so the marriage of Christ and the Church is the perfect reality portrayed by human marriage. Our vision for marital love and sexual intimacy should reflect this reality.

This challenges believers, especially married ones, to make marriage and family life a sign of Christ’s intimate union with his bridge. This makes sex more than “four bare legs in a bed,” as C.S. Lewis said. Every marital act becomes a sign and a renewal of the New Covenant, a reaffirmation of the intense love Jesus has for each of us. Every child becomes a reflection of the new life Christ has poured into his people. Fidelity to the marriage covenant images Christ’s enduring fidelity to his Church.

Western society has made an idol out of sex. Sex dominates our entertainment, it sells our cars, it controls the way we think of ourselves. Our society is driven by sex; it lives for sex. Our longing for sexual intimacy is among our deepest desires and strongest passions. God has placed in us these natural desires, which reflect supernatural desires fulfilled only in him.

For example, we hunger for food. We eat food, we are filled. This images a spiritual longing within us, satisfied only when God fills us with himself. We long for beauty.  We discover it in the things around us; but only when God’s beauty ravishes us do we find peace. We desire intimacy, sexual union. We find it in other persons. But that desire points to a deeper desire, which only union with God can meet and union with God proves to be deep intimacy, unimaginable ecstasy, infinite fulfillment of the desire to love and be loved, to give and receive totally, to become one with the other.

This is a truth that only the mystic can really understand; but then, mystics are loves. And God wants us all to be lovers.

-A Father Who Keeps His Promises by Scott Hahn, pg #254-256

Scripture Reflection: Luke 1:39-45

The Visitation

“Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”“

There was a girl name Annette who loved the bed time stories being read by her father. Every single night without fail, her father would always read a story from the many books that she had. There were days that he would get home from work, tired and wearied, yet because of his love for his daughter, he took the time to read to her. One day, trying to be clever, he recorded himself all the bed time stories that she loved. He was trying to be smart because he could sleeper a little bit earlier or do other things while she would hear him through the recorder. At first, the girl accepted the recordings only a few days later she refused to listen to it. He was perplexed at the opposition of his daughter. He asked “Why? The recording is me.You can listen to all the stories you want.”and she responded “Because I want to sit on your lap, to surrounded by your arms. I want you dad, not a recorder.”

Christmas is a season of giving. Yet when some people think of “giving” it is usually applied to materialistic things. We fret, worried, get anxious on getting the “perfect” gift for our love ones. We worked in vain to acquire the money so that we can get the “most expensive” or “whatever is on the wish list” to show our love to them. However, what most people crave for is you. Your presence, your attention, your encouragement.

Christ did not came into this world to bring material goods but everlasting life. He was not born in a magnificent palace, nor filled with celebration by royalty for any “royal” birth requires celebration! He was born in a manger, a little box where animals eat their fill.

Think of Mary and Elizabeth. Elizabeth did not asked Mary for food, new clothes, or money. Elizabeth was overwhelm with joy because of the the “present” she received from Mary and her Child Jesus’ “presence”. Elizabeth knew it was a difficult travel for Mary, yet Mary did not care. She had to go through the dangerous roads of that time just so that they can enjoy and celebrate in each others presence.

When was the last time you genuinely compliment them on their strengths and not criticized their faults? When was the last time you took the time and energy to write out a letter, a note, a card to someone instead of easily sending them a text? When was the last time you sit down with your love ones and just listen instead of telling them about you?

“Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.” -Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Scripture Reflection: Luke 5:17-26

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him.But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” But Jesus,aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

If you were to describe your closest friends in a few words, what would it be? Is it faithful, friendly, or maybe hard working?  We hear the saying “You are those you surround yourself with.”

Let’s take a close examination on this paralyzed man. His friends had heard about Jesus probably from fellow villagers or family members. They had a choice, they could either brush it off as some “hype” or believe on the rumors. And even if they did believe in it, would they had the courage to carry their friend and go to Jesus? What if they did go and try to meet Jesus? Because of Jesus’ reputation, the crowd must have been huge! So how would they get to Jesus? Despite many obstacles, they found a way and brought their friend to Jesus BELIEVING and TRUSTING that Jesus could heal their friend. It was due to the paralyzed man’s friends that he was healed.

So the question for us goes back to “Who do we hang out with?” Are we hanging out with people who are willfully sinning without thinking the consequences or with humbled sinners who are trying to get better? What about us who have a close friendship with those who are struggling? Are we being courageous and faithful on praying and interceding for them?

Scripture Reflection: Matthew 8:5-11

The Faith of the Centurion

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

Every time we go to Mass, right before we receive Communion, the priest says
“Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sin of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” Then the congregation replies: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” So why is this response so important that it was taken away from a “Pagan” or “Gentile”? A response that we have been saying for over 2000 years?

Let’s examine the Centurion himself first. This Centurion is no doubt a gentile who serve the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire at that time was very hostile to the Jewish people and in return they are not very fond of their rulers. This Centurion was like a captain in charge of 100 soldiers, hence “Centum” is the Latin word for 100. He has such an authority over these soldier that whatever he commanded them to do, they will do it. This individual has such pride within himself and such a standing with the Empire that does not want to deal with these “religious people”, that he is risking reticule from his peers and his pride to speak with Jesus.

Yet why did he do it for a simple “servant”? A servant, or a slave, at that time, is just an object that could be traded like a computer, book, or pencil. The masters of these slaves has no concern of the well being of slaves whether it be their physical, mental, or emotional state. So why would the Centurion risk his pride and position to ask a Jew to heal a object? The answer is “compassion”.

Jesus was so amazed at the Centurion’s compassion for another human who in society’s eyes is such an item and his humility to petition for his slave. This was the 1st time Jesus had “seen such great faith” that the Centurion servant was healed with a small command.

So the question to us all is “What are we doing for others?” When was the last time that you had true compassion for the poor, the sick, the mentally ill? When was the last time you drop your pride for the sake of others? When was the last time you truly believe in the words of Christ?

Saint Mate

So the other day, I was having a conversation with a friend about his vocation. As I was sharing with him my discernment process, prayers, and reflections, I shared with him my heart’s desire. I want to be a married saint.

I know that seems pretty bold to say, but it was Blessed Mother Theresa who is quoted, “Sainthood (holiness) is not the luxury of a few, it is everyone’s duty: yours and mine.” I think the majority of us look at sainthood as unattainable, that it is reserved for “those other holy people”, yet there is a universal call to holiness … for all of us! Not just for people in the “olden days” or for priests, religious sisters or brothers.

I look to all the saints as examples of holiness, but it’s the ones who were married that bring a special curiousness to my heart. We are in need of being inspired to live out our vocations, whatever they may be. I think many of our generation look at marriage and think, “wait, what … holy?”

I know I was always amazed when I walked into a friend’s house and found out that their parents were still married and actually loved each other. Now, my eyes are more open because I long to see it, I long to see married couples in love – holy love – good love. It is out there, I’ve seen it … couples longing and striving to be Christ to one another, and it is beautiful!

We hear the word “soul mate” quite often and I’m not knocking it, but as I was talking to my friend, I found myself saying, “I’m praying for my “saint mate” and that made sense to my heart. You know, saint mate … the one who will walk with you and hold your hand to heaven! Saint mate … the one who desires to pray with you to the Heart of Christ. Saint mate … the one who chooses to be “set apart” in virtue and calls you on to do the same.

I think we long so much to give back to God in gratitude for all that He has given and done for us, but we must remember, He will not be outdone in generosity. So clearly did my heart hear Him say, “Your vocation is not your gift to me, it is my gift to you!” Let us continue to be open to His gifts and His calling for our lives.

I reflect back to Adam in Genesis 2:20, “The man gave names to all the tame animals, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be a helper suited to the man.” We can, and should do all that God asks/calls us to do and if we are called to live out the beautiful Sacrament of Marriage, be assured that he will gift us with a helper suited for our bodies and our souls.

I was watching a video from the Imagine Sisters Movement and Sister Joseph Andrew of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist says, “How does it (vocation) come to you? It comes to you inside your heart. You just really eventually say, ‘I want it; is that strange? But I want it and my life would not be complete if this isn’t what I did with my life.’”

Now go live the life of holiness you were meant to live!

Blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi, pray for us.

Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin, pray for us.

-Marlene Pinel

My Side of the Confessional: What Is It Like for a Priest?

I was once riding in a shuttle-bus with a number of older folks on the way from an airport. They noticed that I was a priest and started asking questions about it. “Do you do all of the priest stuff?” “Yep.” “Even the Confession thing?” “Yeah. All the time.”

One older lady gasped, “Well, I think that that would be the worst. It would be so depressing; hearing all about people’s sins.”

I told them that it was the exact opposite. There is almost no greater place to be than with someone when they are coming back to God. I said, “It would depressing if I had to watch someone leave God; I get to be with them when they come back to Him.” The Confessional is a place where people let God’s love win. The Confessional is the most joyful, humbling, and inspiring place in the world.

What do I see during confession?

I think there are three things. First, I see the costly mercy of God in action. I get to regularly come face to face with the overwhelming, life-transforming power of God’s love. I get to see God’s love up-close and it reminds me of how good God is.

Not many folks get to see the way in which God’s sacrifice on the Cross is constantly breaking into people’s lives and melting the hardest hearts. Jesus consoles those who are grieving their sins … and strengthens those who find themselves wanting to give up on God or on life.

As a priest, I get to see this thing happen every day.

I see a saint in the making.

The second thing I see is a person who is still trying – a saint in the making. I don’t care if this is the person’s third confession this week; if they are seeking the Sacrament of Reconciliation, it means that they are trying. That’s all that I care about. This thought is worth considering: going to Confession is a sign that you haven’t given up on Jesus.

This is one of the reasons why pride is so deadly. I have talked with people who tell me that they don’t want to go to Confession to their priest because their priest really likes them and “thinks that they are a good kid.”

I have two things to say to this.

1. He will not be disappointed! What your priest will see is a person who is trying! I dare you to find a saint who didn’t need to God’s mercy! (Even Mary needed God’s mercy; she received the mercy of God in a dramatic and powerful way at her conception. Boom. Lawyered.)
2. So what if the priest is disappointed? We try to be so impressive with so much of our lives. Confession is a place where we don’t get to be impressive. Confession is a place where the desire to impress goes to die. Think about it: all other sins have the potential to cause us to race to the confessional, but pride is the one that causes us to hide from the God who could heal us.

Do I Remember Your Sins? No!

So often, people will ask if I remember people’s sin from Confession. As a priest, I rarely, if ever, remember sins from the confessional. That might seem impossible, but the truth is, sins aren’t all that impressive. They aren’t like memorable sunsets or meteor showers or super-intriguing movies … they are more like the garbage.

And if sins are like garbage, then the priest is like God’s garbage-man. If you ask a garbage-man about the gross-est thing he’s ever had to haul to the dump, maaaaaaybe he could remember it. But the fact is, once you get used to taking out the trash, it ceases to be noteworthy, it ceases to stand out.

Honestly, once you realize that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is less about the sin and more about Christ’s death and resurrection having victory in a person’s life, the sins lose all of their luster, and Jesus’ victory takes center stage.

In Confession, we meet the life-transforming, costly love of God … freely given to us every time we ask for it. We meet Jesus who reminds us, “You are worth dying for … even in your sins, you are worth dying for.”

Whenever someone comes to Confession, I see a person who is deeply loved by God and who is telling God that they love Him back. That’s it, and that’s all.

In Confession I see my own weakness.

The third thing a priest sees when he hears Confessions is his own soul. It is a scary place for a priest. I cannot tell you how humbled I am when someone approaches Jesus’ mercy through me.

I am not over-awed by their sins; I am struck by the fact that they have been able to recognize sins in their life that I have been blind to in my own. Hearing someone’s humility breaks down my own pride. It is one of the best examinations of conscience.

But why is Confession a scary place for a priest? It is frightening because of the way in which Jesus trusts me to be a living sign of His mercy.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen once told priests that we scarcely realize what is happening when we extend our hands over someone’s head in absolution. We don’t realize, he said, that the very Blood of Christ is dripping from our fingers onto their heads, washing the penitent clean.

The day after I was ordained, we had a little party and my dad stood up and made a toast. He has worked his entire life as an orthopedic surgeon, and he was a very good one. My whole life, his patients have come up to me at one time or another and told me how their lives have been changed because my dad was such a good surgeon.

So, there my dad was, standing in the midst of these people, and he began to say, “My whole life, I have used my hands to heal people’s broken bodies. But from now on, my son Michael … um, Father Michael … will use his hands (at this point, he got choked up) … He will use his hands to heal broken souls. His hands will save even more lives than mine have.”

Confession is such a powerful place. All I have to do is offer God’s mercy, love, and redemption … but I don’t want to get in Jesus’ way. The priest stands in judgment of no one. In the Confessional, the only thing I have to offer is mercy.

I get to sacrifice for you.

Lastly, when a priest hears Confessions, he is taking on another responsibility.

One time, after college, I was returning to Confession after a long time and a lot of sin and the priest simply gave me something like “one Hail Mary” as my penance. I stopped.

“Um, Father…? Did you hear everything I said?” “Yes, I did.” “Don’t you think I should get a bigger penance than that?” He looked at me with great love and said, “No. That small penance is all that I’m asking of you.” He hesitated, and then continued, “But you should know … I will be fasting for you for the next 30 days.”

I was stunned. I didn’t know what to do. He told me that the Catechism teaches that the priest must do penance for all those who come to him for Confession. And here he was, embracing a severe penance for all of my severe sins.

This is why Confession reveals the priest’s own soul; it reveals his willingness to sacrifice his life with Christ. He sees our sins as a burden that he will take up (with Jesus!) and offer them to the Father, while offering us the mercy of God.

Remember, Confession is always a place of victory. Whether you have confessed a particular sin for the first time, or if this is the 12,001st time, every Confession is a win for Jesus. And I, a priest, get to be there. That’s what it’s like … I get to sit and watch Jesus win His children back all day.

It’s flippin’ awesome.

-Fr. Mike Schmitz