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Oct 04

10/5 On October 5, 1938 Sister Faustina died in a Convent of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Cracow, Poland

  • October 4, 2017

On October 5, 1938 Sister Faustina (Helen Kowalska)
died in a convent of the
Congregation of Sisters of  Our Lady of Mercy in Cracow, Poland

More information about St. Faustina can be found at the following web sites by clicking here and here:

In fulfillment of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta’s prayer (see following excerpts from the “Book of Heaven”), the following year on August 25, 1905, Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, an apostle of Divine Mercy, was born.

Book of Heaven
The Call of the Creature to the Order, the Place and the Purpose
for which He was Created by God

The Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta the Little Daughter of the Divine Will:

Volume 6 – April 16, 1904
Jesus and God the Father speak about Mercy.

 Continuing in my usual state, I found myself outside of myself, and I saw a multitude of people, and in their midst one could hear noises of bombs and gun shots.  People were dropping dead or wounded, and those who were left would flee up to a palace nearby; but the enemies would go up there and kill them, more surely than those who remained outside.

So I said to myself:  How I (Luisa) wish I could see whether the Lord is there in the midst of these people, so as to say to Him:  “Have mercy – pity on these poor people!”  So I went round and round and I saw Him as a little Child; but little by
little He kept growing, until He reached the perfect age.  I drew near Him and I said:  “Amiable Lord, don’t You see the tragedy that is happening?  You don’t want to make use of mercy anymore?  Do You perhaps want to keep this attribute as useless, which has always glorified your Incarnate Divinity with so much honor, forming a special crown on Your august head, and bejeweling You with a second crown, so wanted and loved by You – which is souls?”

Now, while I was saying this, He told me:  “Enough, enough, do not go any further; you want to speak of Mercy, and what about Justice – what are we going to do with It?
I have told you and I repeat to you:  ‘It is necessary that Justice follow Its course’.”

So I replied:  “There is no remedy – why then leave me on this earth when I can no longer placate You and suffer in the place of my neighbor?  Since it is so, it is better
if You let me die.”

At that moment I saw another person behind the shoulders of blessed Jesus, and He told me, almost making a sign with His eyes:  “Present yourself to My Father and see what He tells you.”

I (Luisa) presented myself (to God the Father), all trembling, and as soon as He saw me, He told me:  “Why have you come to Me?”

And I (Luisa):  “Adorable Goodness, infinite Mercy, knowing that You are Mercy Itself, I have come to ask for your Mercy – Mercy on your very images, Mercy on the works created by You; Mercy on nothing else but your creatures themselves.”

And He (God the Father) said to me (Luisa):  “So, it is Mercy that you want.  But if you want true Mercy, after Justice has poured Itself out It will produce abundant fruits of Mercy.”

Not knowing what else to say, I (Luisa) said:  “Father, infinitely Holy, when servants or people in need present themselves before their masters or rich people, if these are good, even if they do not give everything that is necessary for them, they always give something.  And to me, who have had the good of presenting myself before You, absolute Master, rich without limit, infinite Goodness, don’t You want to give anything of what this poor little one has asked of You?  Does a master perhaps not remain more honored and content when he gives, than when he denies what is necessary to his servants?”

After a moment of silence He (God the Father) added:  “For love of you, instead of doing ten, I will do five.”

Having said this, They disappeared, and in several places of the earth, especially of Europe, I saw wars, civil wars and revolutions multiply.

Volume 6 – June 20, 1904
Victim souls are the daughters of Mercy.

After I struggled very much, blessed Jesus came for just a little and told me:  “My daughter, human perfidy has reached such a point as to exhaust My Mercy on its part.
But My goodness is so great as to constitute daughters of Mercy, so that on the part of creatures also, this attribute may not be exhausted.  These are the victims who are in full ownership of the Divine Will, having destroyed their own.  In fact, in these souls, the container given by Me in creating them is in full vigor, and since they have
received the particle of My Mercy, being daughters, they administer it to others.  It is understood, however, that in order to be able to administer the particle of My Mercy to others, they themselves must be in Justice.”

And I:  “Lord, who can ever be in Justice?”

And He:  “One who does not commit grave sins and abstains from committing the slightest venial sins of his own will.”

A depiction of St. Faustina Kowalska and Jesus,
who entrusted His message of Divine Mercy to the Polish nun,
hangs at at the Vatican at the canonization Mass for St. Faustina, April 30, 2000
(Photo from Catholic Press Photo)

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Oct 04

10/4 FEAST OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

  • October 4, 2017

Saint Francis of Assisi’s Story

 

Francis of Assisi was a poor little man who astounded and inspired the Church by taking the gospel literally—not in a narrow fundamentalist sense, but by actually following all that Jesus said and did, joyfully, without limit, and without a sense of self-importance.

Serious illness brought the young Francis to see the emptiness of his frolicking life as leader of Assisi’s youth. Prayer—lengthy and difficult—led him to a self-emptying like that of Christ, climaxed by embracing a leper he met on the road. It symbolized his complete obedience to what he had heard in prayer: “Francis! Everything you have loved and desired in the flesh it is your duty to despise and hate, if you wish to know my will. And when you have begun this, all that now seems sweet and lovely to you will become intolerable and bitter, but all that you used to avoid will turn itself to great sweetness and exceeding joy.”

From the cross in the neglected field-chapel of San Damiano, Christ told him, “Francis, go out and build up my house, for it is nearly falling down.” Francis became the totally poor and humble workman.

He must have suspected a deeper meaning to “build up my house.” But he would have been content to be for the rest of his life the poor “nothing” man actually putting brick on brick in abandoned chapels. He gave up all his possessions, piling even his clothes before his earthly father–who was demanding restitution for Francis’ “gifts” to the poor–so that he would be totally free to say, “Our Father in heaven.” He was, for a time, considered to be a religious fanatic, begging from door to door when he could not get money for his work, evoking sadness or disgust to the hearts of his former friends, ridicule from the unthinking.

But genuineness will tell. A few people began to realize that this man was actually trying to be Christian. He really believed what Jesus said: “Announce the kingdom! Possess no gold or silver or copper in your purses, no traveling bag, no sandals, no staff” (Luke 9:1-3).

Francis’ first rule for his followers was a collection of texts from the Gospels. He had no intention of founding an order, but once it began he protected it and accepted all the legal structures needed to support it. His devotion and loyalty to the Church were absolute and highly exemplary at a time when various movements of reform tended to break the Church’s unity.

Francis was torn between a life devoted entirely to prayer and a life of active preaching of the Good News. He decided in favor of the latter, but always returned to solitude when he could. He wanted to be a missionary in Syria or in Africa, but was prevented by shipwreck and illness in both cases. He did try to convert the sultan of Egypt during the Fifth Crusade.

During the last years of his relatively short life, he died at 44, Francis was half blind and seriously ill. Two years before his death he received the stigmata, the real and painful wounds of Christ in his hands, feet and side.

On his deathbed, Francis said over and over again the last addition to his Canticle of the Sun, “Be praised, O Lord, for our Sister Death.” He sang Psalm 141, and at the end asked his superior’s permission to have his clothes removed when the last hour came in order that he could expire lying naked on the earth, in imitation of his Lord.

Reflection

Francis of Assisi was poor only that he might be Christ-like. He recognized creation as another manifestation of the beauty of God. In 1979, he was named patron of ecology. He did great penance–apologizing to “Brother Body” later in life–that he might be totally disciplined for the will of God. Francis’ poverty had a sister, Humility, by which he meant total dependence on the good God. But all this was, as it were, preliminary to the heart of his spirituality: living the gospel life, summed up in the charity of Jesus and perfectly expressed in the Eucharist.

Permanent link to this article: https://luisapiccarreta.com/104-feast-of-st-francis-of-assisi-2/

Oct 02

10/3 APPARITIONS OF THE ANGEL OF FATIMA

  • October 2, 2017

 

1916—2016

The year 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Angel of Fatima to the three shepherd children Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco. The angel prepared the children for for the visit and messages of Our Lady of Fatima as well as for their own mission in the Church. The angel’s words and gestures—expressing a basic and at the same time most profound spirituality—are to be found in every true disciple of Jesus Christ and Mary! Following an excerpt from “FATIMA, IN LUCIA’S OWN WORDS.”

Apparitions of the Angel in 1916

Around this time, as I have already related to Your Excellency, Francisco and Jacinta sought and obtained permission from their parents to start taking care of their own flock. So I left my good companions, and joined my cousins, Francisco and Jacinta, instead. To avoid going to the serra with all the other shepherds, we arranged to pasture our flocks on properties belonging to my uncle and aunt and my parents.

One fine day, we set out with our sheep for some land that my parents owned, which lay at the foot of the eastern side of the slope of the hill that I have already mentioned. This property was called Chousa Velha. Soon after our arrival, about mid-morning, a fine drizzle began to fall, so fine that it seemed like mist. We went up the hillside, followed by our flocks, looking for an overhanging boulder where we could take shelter. Thus it was for the first time that we entered this blessed hollow among the rocks. It stood in the middle of an olive grove belonging to my god-father Anastacio. From there you could see the little village where I was born, my parents home, and the hamlets of Casa Velha and Eira da Pedra. The olive grove, owned by several people, extended to within the confines of the hamlets themselves. 

We spent the day there, among the rocks, in spite of the fact that the rain was over and the sun was shining bright and clear. We ate our lunch and said our Rosary. I am not sure whether we said it that day, in the way I have already described it to Your Excellency, saying the word Hail Mary, and Our Father on each bead, so great was our eagerness to our play! Our prayer finished, we started to play Pebbles. We had enjoyed the game for a few moments only, when a strong wind began to shake the trees. We looked up startled, to see what was happening, for the day was unusually calm. Then we saw coming towards us, above the olive trees, the figure I have already spoken about. Jacinta and Francisco had never seen it before, nor had I ever mentioned it to them. As it drew closer, we were able to distinguish its features. It was a young man, about fourteen or fifteen years old, whiter than snow, transparent as crystal when the sun shines through it, and of great beauty. On reaching us, he said: “Do not be afraid! I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me.”

Kneeling on the ground, he bowed down until his forehead touched the ground, and made us repeat these words three times: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You.” Then rising he said: “Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications.” His words engraved themselves so deeply on our minds that we could never forget them. From then on, we used to spend long periods of time, prostrate like the Angel, repeating his words, until sometime we fell exhausted. I warned my companions, right away, that this must be kept secret and, thank God, they did what I wanted. 

Some time passed , and summer came, when we had to go home for the siesta. One day, we were playing on the stone slabs of the well at the bottom of the garden belonging to my parents, which we called the Arneiro ( I have already mentioned this well to Your Excellency in my account of Jacinta). Suddenly, we saw beside us the same figure, or rather, Angel, as it seemed to me. “What are you doing? he asked. “Pray, pray very much! The most Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the most High.” How are we to make sacrifices? I asked. “Make of everything you can a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. You will thus draw down peace upon your country. I am its Guardian Angel, the Angel of Portugal. Above all, accept and bear with submission, the suffering which the Lord will send you.” A considerable time had elapsed, when one day we went to pasture our sheep on a property belonging to my parents, which lay on the slope of the hill, I have mentioned, a little higher up than Valinhos. It is an olive grove called Pregueira. After our lunch, we decided to go and pray in the hollow among the rocks on the opposite side of the hill. To get there we went around the slope, and had to climb over some rocks above Pregueira. The sheep could only scramble over these rocks with great difficulty. 

As soon as we arrived there, we knelt down, with our foreheads touching the ground, and began to repeat the prayer of the Angel: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You, I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You.” I don’t know how many times we had repeated this prayer, when an extraordinary light shone upon us. We sprang up to see what was happening, and beheld the Angel. He was holding a Chalice in his left hand, with the Host suspended above it, from which some drops of Blood fell into the Chalice. Leaving the Chalice suspended in the air, the Angel knelt down beside us and made us repeat three times: “Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is offended. And through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.” Then rising, he took the Chalice and the Host in his hands. He gave the Sacred Host to me, and shared the Blood from the Chalice between Jacinta and Francisco, saying as he did so: “Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men! Make reparation for their crimes and console your God.” Once again, he prostrated on the ground and repeated with us, three times more, the same prayer…”Most Holy Trinity…”and then disappeared. We remained a long time in this position, repeating the same words over and over again. When at last we stood up, we noticed that it was already dark, and therefore time to return home.

Permanent link to this article: https://luisapiccarreta.com/103-apparitions-of-the-angel-of-fatima/

Oct 01

10/2 FEAST DAY OF THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS

  • October 1, 2017

 

10/2 Feast Day of the Holy Guardian Angels

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Today is …

… the Feast Day of the Holy Guardian Angels

Book of Heaven
The Call of the Creature to the Order, the Place and the Purpose
for which He was Created by God
Volume 14 – April 25, 1922

Thousands of Angels are the guardians and custodians of the acts done in
the Divine Will.

The Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta the Little Daughter of the Divine Will:

Continuing in my usual state, I felt all immersed in the Divine Volition, and my sweet Jesus told me: “My daughter, just as the Sun does not leave the plant, but caresses it with its light, fecundates it with its heat until it produces fruits and flowers; and then, jealous, it makes them mature, it keeps them with its light, and only then does it leave the fruit when the farmer picks it to make of it his food, the same for the acts done in My Will: My Love, My jealousy toward them is such that Grace caresses them, My Love conceives them, fecundates them and matures them. I place thousands of Angels as custodians of one single act done in My Will. In fact, since these acts done in My Will are seeds so that My Will may be done on earth as It is in Heaven, everyone is jealous of these acts. Their dew is My breath; their shadow is My Light. The Angels remain enraptured by them (acts done in the Divine Will) and, reverent, they adore them, because in these acts they see the Eternal Volition, which deserves all their adoration. Only then do they leave these acts, when I find souls who, picking them as Divine fruits, make of them food for their own souls. Oh, fecundity and multiplicity of these acts! The creature herself who does them cannot count them.”

Then I (Luisa) was thinking to myself: “How is it possible that these acts be so great? And why do even Angels remain enraptured?”

And Jesus, squeezing me more tightly in His arms, added: “My daughter, these acts are so great that, as the soul keeps doing them, there is nothing, both in Heaven and on earth, in which she does not take part. She remains in communication with all created things. All the good, the effects, the value of the heavens, of the sun, of the stars, of water, of fire, etc., are not only in continuous relations with her, but they are her own things. She harmonizes with the whole Creation, and the whole of Creation harmonizes within her.

Why, then? Because those who live in My Will are the depositories, the preservers, the supporters, the defenders of My Will. They foresee what I want, and without Me commanding, they execute what I want; and comprehending the greatness, the Sanctity of My Will, they keep It and defend It jealously. How could everyone not remain enraptured in seeing these souls who form the support of their God, by virtue of the prodigy of My Will? Who can ever defend My rights if not the one who lives in My Will? Who can ever really love Me, with love of disinterest similar to My Love, if not the one who lives in My Will? I feel stronger in these souls, but strong of My own Strength. I am like a king surrounded by faithful ministers, who feels stronger, more glorious, more sustained, in the midst of his faithful ones than by himself alone. If he remains alone, he regrets not having his ministers, because he has no one with whom to pour himself out, and to whom to entrust the lot of his kingdom. So I am – and who could ever be more faithful to Me than the one who lives in My Will? I feel My Will being duplicated, therefore I feel more glorious, I pour Myself out with them, and I trust them.”

Taken From: Biography Luisa Piccarreta –
Childhood Memories by Padre Bernardino Giuseppe Bucci

Divine Providence was leading this child along these mysterious paths, in such a way that Luisa knew no joy other than God and His Grace. In fact, one day the Lord will say to her: “Listen, I went around the earth, over and over again; I looked at all creatures, one by one, in order to find the littlest of all. And among them all I found you, the littlest of all. I liked your littleness, and I chose you. I entrusted you to my Angels to guard you, not to make you great, but to preserve your littleness. Now I want to begin the great work of the fulfillment of my Will. You will not feel greater because of this; on the contrary, my Will will make you smaller, and you will continue to be the little daughter of your Jesus – the little daughter of my Will” (Vol. 12, 3-23-1921).

One day, being assailed by the evil spirit, terrorized, Luisa turned to her Celestial Mama, who benignly spoke to her:

“Why do you fear? Your Angel is by your side, Jesus is in your heart, and your Celestial Mama keeps you under Her mantle. Why do you fear then? Who is stronger? Your guardian Angel, your Jesus, your Celestial Mama, or the infernal enemy? Therefore, do not run away, but stay, pray, and do not fear.” At that instant everything disappeared; serenity invaded her, and nothing else happened to her.

Conversation between Padre Bucci and his Aunt Rosaria
Padre Bucci: “But her writings can’t reveal everything about Luisa’s life, because it was far more complex”.

“That’s true” Padre Bucci’s Aunt Rosaria answered. “I could tell of many things that no one knows”.

Padre Bucci: “So why do you insistently refuse to speak?”

Padre Bucci’s Aunt Rosaria: “If Luisa had wished them to be known she would have written them down, or the Church would have ordered her to write them; it is clear that certain phenomena which occurred, which I and others witnessed, do not serve for the sanctification of souls. The Lord permitted to be known all that is of use to the Church and to souls, the rest serves no purpose. In speaking of these things I feel as if I were profaning the intimacy that was built up between God and Luisa, human beings would not understand. The message bequeathed by Luisa exceeds her very person. Luisa wanted the Lord alone to have all the honor and glory, and she was to disappear into nothingness; this is why she loved solitude and silence, and showed great distress when she noticed that she was the object of people’ veneration, for she considered herself only a poor sick person, in need of everything. I and others knew very well that Luisa had no need of anything, and that we had to be the custodians of her mystery. How often in the morning did I find Luisa all tidy and the altar already prepared for Holy Mass with the candles lit”.

Padre Bucci: “And how did this happen, if Luisa never set foot out of bed for about sixty years? Are you sure of what you say?”.

Padre Bucci’s Aunt Rosaria “Absolutely certain! Because I was the only one who entered her room” Padre Bucci: “Did you never wonder what the explanation was?”.

Padre Bucci’s Aunt Rosaria “I thought that Angels served her, especially her guardian Angel, to whom she was deeply devoted. Her room was often found full of fragrance”.

Volume 1

Luisa’s Received the Obedience to Write
Most Holy Virgin, lovable Mother, come to my aid, obtain for me from your sweet Jesus and mine, grace and strength in order to do this obedience. Saint Joseph, my dear protector, assist me in this circumstance of mine. Archangel Saint Michael, defend me from the infernal enemy, who puts so many obstacles in my mind to make me fail this obedience. Archangel Saint Rafael and you, my guardian Angel, come to assist me and accompany me, and to direct my hand, that I may write nothing but the truth.

Volume 1
Luisa’s Mystical Marriage
Now, while He was crowning my forehead, Jesus told me: “Most sweet spouse, I place this crown upon you so that nothing may be missing in order to make you worthy of being my spouse; but then, after our wedding is finished, I will take it with Me to Heaven, to keep it for you at the moment of your death.” Finally, He took a veil and covered me completely with it, from head to foot; and He left me in that way. Ah! it seemed to me that there was a great meaning in that veil, because the demons, in seeing me all covered with that veil, were so frightened and had such fear of me, that they fled, terrified. The very angels were around me with such veneration, that I myself was confused and all full of blushing.

On the morning of the aforementioned day, Jesus made Himself seen again all affable, sweet and majestic, together with His Most Holy Mother and Saint Catherine. First, the angels sang a hymn, while Saint Catherine assisted me, Mama took my hand, and Jesus put the ring on my finger. Then, we embraced and He kissed me, and so did Mama also. Then we had a conversation, all of love – Jesus told me of the great love He had for me, and I also told Him of the love I had for Him. The Most Holy Virgin made me comprehend the great grace I had received, and the correspondence with which I was to correspond to the love of Jesus.

October 13 A.D.1916 (one year prior to Fatima)

How the Angels are around the soul who does the Hours of the Passion.
These Hours are sweet little sips that souls give to Jesus.
I was doing the Hours of the Passion, and blessed Jesus told me: “My daughter, in the course of my mortal Life, thousands and thousands of Angels were the cortege of my Humanity, gathering everything I did – my steps, my works, my words, and even my sighs, my pains, the drops of my Blood – in sum, everything. They were the Angels in charge of my custody, and of paying Me honor; obedient to my every wish, they would rise to and descend from Heaven, to bring to the Father what I was doing. Now these Angels have a special office, and as the soul remembers my Life, my Passion, my Blood, my wounds, my prayers, they come around this soul and gather her words, her prayers, her acts of compassion for Me, her tears and her offerings; they unite them to Mine, and they bring them before my Majesty to renew for Me the glory of my own Life. The delight of the Angels is so great that, reverent, they listen to what the soul says, and pray together with her. So, with what attention and respect must the soul do these Hours, thinking that the Angels hang upon her lips to repeat after her what she says.”

Then He added: “After the so many bitternesses that creatures give Me, these Hours are sweet little sips that souls give Me; but for the many bitter sips I receive, the sweet ones are too few. Therefore, more diffusion, more diffusion!”

Permanent link to this article: https://luisapiccarreta.com/102-feast-day-of-the-holy-guardian-angels-2/

Sep 28

9/29 Archangels, St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael Feast Day

  • September 28, 2017

 

9/29 Archangels St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael Feast Day

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Prayer of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, the Little Daughter of the Divine Will at the beginning of Volume One in “The Book of Heaven”:

Most Holy Virgin, lovable Mother, come to my aid, obtain for me from your sweet Jesus and mine, grace and strength in order to do this obedience (write the Volumes). Saint Joseph, my dear protector, assist me in this circumstance of mine. Archangel Saint Michael, defend me from the infernal enemy, who puts so many obstacles in my mind to make me fail this obedience. Archangel Saint Rafael and you, my guardian Angel, come to assist me and accompany me, and to direct my hand, that I may write nothing but the truth.
May everything be for the honor and glory of God 

***

The Sacred Scriptures have revealed the proper names of only three Angels, all of whom belong to the Choir of the Archangels. The names are well known to all, namely: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael. Ancient apocryphal literature of the Old Testament contains several other names of Archangels in addition to the three just mentioned. Like the sources themselves, these other names are spurious. Names like Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jeremiel are not found in the canonical books of Sacred Scripture, but in the apocryphal book of Enoch, fourth book of Esdras, and in rabbinical literature. The Church does not permit proper names of Angels that are not found in the canonical books of the Bible. All such names that were taken from apocryphal writings were rejected under Pope Zachary, in 745. There must have been danger of serious abuses in this regard during that century.

The Church honors the archangels, invokes their intercession and relies on their assistance in the spiritual warfare we daily face. In Hebrew, “Michael” means “Who is like God?” Saint Michael is mentioned four times in Scripture: Daniel 10 and 12, in Jude and in Revelation. Scripture reveals to us that Saint Michael is known as the “Prince of the Heavenly Host,” hence, the leader of all angels. It is to the Prince of the Heavenly that we owe a debt of gratitude for casting down to Hell Lucifer and the evil spirits; he is invoked for protection against Satan and all evil.

Sacred Tradition teaches that there are four offices connected to Saint Michael:

  • to fight against Satan, his minions and the power of evil

  • to rescue and protect the faithful from evil, especially at the hour of death

  • to lead the people of God to full communion with God Himself

  • to call our souls to judgment before God. 

We know the archangel from his announcement of the dawn of salvation to Mary: “I am Gabriel, who stand before God” (Luke 1:19). What is crucial to remember about Gabriel are his two announcements in the New Testament: the birth of John the Baptist to his father Zachary and of the Incarnation, the Word made flesh in Mary. Saint Gabriel, whose name means “God’s strength,” is also mentioned four times in Scripture.  Again, sacred Tradition tells us that it is Saint Gabriel who appeared to Saint Joseph and to the shepherds. At the beginning of the Passion it was Gabriel who “strengthens” Jesus in the his agony of the garden.

“I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord” (Tobit 12:15) Saint Raphael, whose name means “God has healed” because of his healing of Tobias’ blindness in the Book of Tobit. This book in the Old Testament is the only book in which Raphael is mentioned. He is the archangel of healing and acts of mercy. Tradition tells us that Saint Raphael is the angel in John 5:1-4 who descended upon the pond and bestowed healing powers upon it so that the first to enter it after it moved would be healed of whatever infirmity he was suffering.

Those familiar with what is called the “old Mass” will remember praying the Prayer to Saint Michael at the conclusion of Mass. In 1899, after a vision of evil, Pope Leo XIII wanted to protect the Church and instructed that his prayer be prayed by all, especially the priest. I can’t recommend the prayer enough to you when making your thanksgiving following Mass or the Divine Office. Plus, I would recommend that you pray the Prayer to Saint Michael prior to going to bed. Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, pray for us.

 

9/29 Feast Day of the Archangels St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael

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S_Archangels

The three Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael
are the only Angels named in Sacred Scripture.

The Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta the Little Daughter of the Divine Will, had a great love and respect for the Angels, evidenced by her prayer written when she was given the obedience to write her spiritual diary. 

Thus Luisa begins Volume One in the “Book of Heaven, The Call of the Creature to the Order, the Place and the Purpose for which He was Created by God“:

In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Out of pure obedience, I begin to write.
You know, O Lord!, the sacrifice it costs me, such that I would submit myself to a thousand deaths rather than write one single line of the things that have passed between me and You. Oh my God!, my nature trembles, it feels crushed and almost undone at the mere thought of it. O please!, give me strength, oh Life of my life, that I may do the holy obedience! . . .

. . . Most Holy Virgin, lovable Mother (The Blessed Mother), come to my aid, obtain for me from Your sweet Jesus and mine, grace and strength in order to do this obedience. Saint Joseph, my dear protector, assist me in this circumstance of mine. Archangel Saint Michael, defend me from the infernal enemy, who puts so many obstacles in my mind to make me fail this obedience. Archangel Saint Rafael and you, my Guardian Angel, come to assist me and accompany me, and to direct my hand, that I may write nothing but the truth. . . .

POWERFUL CHAPLET

[resources: St. Michael and the Archangels and St. Michael Novena and Prayers]

The Chaplet of St. Michael is a wonderful way to honor this great Archangel along with the other nine Choirs of Angels. What do we mean by Choirs? It seems that God has created various orders of Angels. Sacred Scripture distinguishes nine such groupings: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Powers, Virtues, Principalities, Archangels and Angels (Isa. 6:2; Gen. 3:24; Col. 1:16; Eph. 1:21; Rom. 8:38). There may be more groupings but these are the only ones that have been revealed to us. The Seraphim is believed to be the highest Choir, the most intimately united to God, while the Angelic Choir is the lowest.

The history of this Chaplet goes back to a devout Servant of God, Antonia d’Astonac, who had a vision of St. Michael. He told Antonia to honor him by nine salutations to the nine Choirs of Angels. St. Michael promised that whoever would practice this devotion in his honor would have, when approaching Holy Communion, an escort of nine angels chosen from each of the nine Choirs. In addition, for those who would recite the Chaplet daily, he promised his continual assistance and that of all the holy angels during life, and after death deliverance from purgatory for themselves and their relations.

The Chaplet of St. Michael 

O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, etc.

[Say one Our Father and three Hail Marys after each of the following nine salutations in honor of the nine Choirs of Angels]

1. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Seraphim may the Lord make us worthy to burn with the fire of perfect charity.
Amen.

2. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Cherubim may the Lord grant us the grace to leave the ways of sin and run in the paths of Christian perfection.
Amen.

3. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Thrones may the Lord infuse into our hearts a true and sincere spirit of humility.
Amen.

4. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Dominations may the Lord give us grace to govern our senses and overcome any unruly passions.
Amen.

5. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Virtues may the Lord preserve us from evil and falling into temptation. Amen.

6. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Powers may the Lord protect our souls against the snares and temptations of the devil.
Amen.

7. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Principalities may God fill our souls with a true spirit of obedience. Amen.

8. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Archangels may the Lord give us perseverance in faith and in all good works in order that we may attain the glory of Heaven.
Amen.

9. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Angels may the Lord grant us to be protected by them in this mortal life and conducted in the life to come to Heaven.
Amen.

Say one Our Father in honor of each of the following leading Angels: St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael and our Guardian Angel.

Concluding prayers:

O glorious prince St. Michael, chief and commander of the heavenly hosts, guardian of souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits, servant in the house of the Divine King and our admirable conductor, you who shine with excellence and superhuman virtue deliver us from all evil, who turn to you with confidence and enable us by your gracious protection to serve God more and more faithfully every day.

Pray for us, O glorious St. Michael, Prince of the Church of Jesus Christ, that we may be made worthy of His promises.

Almighty and Everlasting God, Who, by a prodigy of goodness and a merciful desire for the salvation of all men, has appointed the most glorious Archangel St. Michael Prince of Your Church, make us worthy, we ask You, to be delivered from all our enemies, that none of them may harass us at the hour of death, but that we may be conducted by him into Your Presence.This we ask through the merits of
Jesus Christ Our Lord.

 

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