My Guardian Angel

Life’s lessons: children need tangible and concrete things to relate to as they grow to adulthood. Some of the stories our parents and grandparents told us about our guardian angels were simply to create some security and support to us when we needed them most. Some of the fairy tales that children hear may give them assurance about the goodness of people and may foster their belief and faith in God. We all liked fairy tales when we were growing up. We believed in Santa Claus. When things did not go well for us as children during the year, we believed that at Christmas Santa Claus would come with gifts at night through the chimney. And oh yes, Santa usually showed up. Our parents always struggled through to hide some gifts under the Christmas tree. That, sure, was our gift for Christmas. Ever watch the film ‘how the Grinch stole Christmas’?

I recall the story of my Guardian Angel in my Sunday school days. I believe in the Guardian Angel. I always do and always will. I love to say the prayer to my Guardian Angel. This is a beautiful prayer that anyone could say and receive support and blessings: “Angel of God, my guardian Dear, to whom His love commits me here, ever this day be at my side to light and to guard, to rule and guide. Amen” As a young child, I was afraid of the dark, and of the night. I would always call on my Guardian Angel to protect and guide me. It worked like magic. My Guardian Angel was always at work at my side and my fear would fade away.

Yes, I know there are many people out there who want to tell children that there is no Santa Claus; no Christmas; and yes, no Guardian Angel. If you do not believe in these realities today, do not forget that there was a time in your life when they meant so much to you. Do not deprive the children of these mysteries. After all there are many things in our world today that are more disturbing and confusing to children than Santa Claus, Christmas and Guardian Angel.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that, “the existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Scared Scripture usually calls “angels” is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition. So who are angels? St. Augustine answered this question thus: “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’. The angels are the servants and messengers of God. Mt. 18:10 tells us that, “they always behold the face of my father who is in heaven. The Catechism teaches us further that the angels belong to Christ. “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 are 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”. So our guardian angels are the special messengers designated by God to take care of us individually. How lucky are we to have been given such special friends by God.

I like, in particular, the pictures of the guardian angels, especially the one that the angel guards and protects a young child as she plays around. I saw my guardian angel once. He appeared when I least expected a friend, and was there to guard and protect me through a very difficult journey at night when I was alone. He left in the morning and I have never seen him again since then. I have had other encounters with people who appeared mysteriously when I was down and almost out, but they helped when I was not sure where the help would come from. They are my guardian angels. So think hard and you will remember that your guardian angel is hard at work by your side. Trust in them, pray to them and believe and you will discover that they are not too far away from you. They are closer to you than you are to yourself. Teach you children and grandchildren about their guardian angels. We need one in life.   

The Sacrament of Reconciliation

Life’s lesson teaches us that when we get dirty, we should take a bath or have a shower, as the case may be. Oh yes! Recall returning from a heavy day’s work in the office or from the farm, how you could not wait to clean yourself up? Or returning from a workout or from the field of soccer, tennis, baseball or basketball, or any sport of your choice! You were sweaty and smelly; your sporting gear or work clothes all wet with sweat; you could not wait to get home and into the bathtub for a thorough clean up. Now reflect on how you felt after your shower or after some minutes in the tub. You felt clean and fresh. Then you put on your lotion, some powder and colon or perfume. You really smelt good, looked beautiful and now you are ready to go for dinner. Your day is complete and you want to go to bed, fulfilled and contented. These are simple instructions from life. If we do not pay heed to these lessons, we remain dirty, unkempt, unclean and undesirable and soon enough, you begin to lose friends. Who wants to befriend a dirty, smelly and untidy person?

Now what lesson can we learn from the Church? Many you chimed in! And you are right. The Church has taught us many lessons. But in this blog post, my concern is the sacrament of reconciliation. As our bodies are dirty due to work, workout or sporting activities, so too are our souls. As we go about our daily duties and are concerned with life, we gather some dirt called sin and they cling to our souls. If these go unchecked, they begin to rob us of our peace, our joy and gradually our relationship with God and our brothers and sisters are affected. The sacrament is one of the channels of Grace that Christ gave to the Church after his resurrection. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Through the sacraments of Christian initiation, man receives the new life of Christ. Now we carry this life “in earthen vessels,” and it remains “hidden with Christ in God.” We are still in our “earthly tent,” subject to suffering, illness, and death. This new life as a child of God can be weakened and even lost by sin.” The Catechism goes on to remind us: “The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health, has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation, even among her own members. This is the purpose of the two sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.”

Isn’t it sad that very few members of the Church use this sacrament? Many see it as old fashion, outdated or obsolete. Really? It baffles me that many of us would readily spend money to go for counseling but are slow to approach the throne of Grace freely given in the sacrament of reconciliation. Yet the Catechism teaches us that “Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against him, and are at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion.”

One of the best ways to celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the death is to purify ourselves of sins through the sacrament of reconciliation, so called, as the Catechism teaches “because it imparts to the sinner the love of God.” He who lives by God’s merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord’s call: “Go, first be reconciled to your brother.” Pope Benedict XVI links the sacrament of reconciliation to the work of evangelization. In his address to1300 priests and deacons who were participating in an annual course regarding confession and matters of conscience on March 9, 2012 in Vatican City, the Holy Father exhort:

“Thus sacramental confession is an important aspect of new evangelization. “True conversion of hearts, which means opening ourselves to the transforming and regenerative actions of God, is the ‘motor’ of all reform and turns into an authentic force for evangelization. During Confession, the repentant sinner, thanks to the gratuitous action of divine Mercy, is justified, forgiven and sanctified… Only those who allow themselves to be profoundly renewed by divine Grace can internalize and therefore announce the novelty of the Gospel”. All saints in history bear witness to this close relationship between sanctity and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. New evangelization itself “draws life blood from the sanctity of the sons and daughters of the Church, from the daily process of individual and community conversion, conforming itself ever more profoundly to Christ.”

The sacrament of reconciliation offers us the chance to humble ourselves before God our father, acknowledge our short comings, as the prodigal son in Luke’s Gospel 15, and hence receive forgiveness of our sins. It is the washing or the shower that we need for our souls. The penance that we receive will make us feel clean and refresh so that we may have the courage to face a new day with strength.

So if you have not yet done so, I exhort you to make use of this sacrament. Approach it with love and humility, fear not the priest, he is only a mediator between you and God, and he will bring down blessing and forgiveness from God to you. Listen again to the words of Christ in John’s Gospel 20:22-23: “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” The Church truly has the power to forgive sins and Christ gave that power in the sacrament of reconciliation.

The Lenten Prayer

I was at a phone conference two weeks ago at Mercy Medical Center; before the conference one of the organizers gave a powerful reflection that I thought was a wonderful way to start the Lenten season. After the conference some of us expressed that we would like to have a copy of the reflection. My director Ms. Kathy reported that she had a copy and that she would be glad to email it to us. Well then I am more than willing to share this prayer with you. This is what I would like to call ‘The Lenten Prayer’. I only hope that we take a long loving look at this prayer and pray that we may have the courage to put it into practice.  

Lent: A Call to Fast and Feast:

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Fast from judging others; feast on Christ dwelling in them.


Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the oneness of all.


Fast from the darkness around us; feast on the light of JESUS within us.

Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of GOD.

Fast from actions that pollute, feast on deeds that purify.

Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.

Fast from pessimism; feast on hope.

Fast from worry; feast on trust.


Fast from guilt; feast on freedom.


Fast from complaining; feast on complementing.


Fast from stress; feast on self-care.


Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.


Fast from selfishness; feast on compassion for others.


Fast from apathy; feast on enthusiasm.


Fast from idle gossiping; feast on spreading the Good News.


Fast from being so busy; feast on peaceful silence.


Fast from being in control; feast on letting go.”

If am to dissect this prayer and take it apart line by line, I dare say, it would make a book. Fasting from negativity, pessimism, apathy, bitterness and gossiping would pave a bright future for many of us who like to pursue a life of holiness. We cannot live a life of holiness with bitterness in our hearts. We have to consciously follow the teaching of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel chapters 5, 6, 7 and 18 if we have any hope of going to heaven.

Life’s lesson has taught us that vices, anger and hording our hurts only succeed in doing one thing, rob us of our peace, serenity and happiness. We have long ago learnt, though we have not always put it into practice; that we cannot keep someone down without being down with that person. Hence we have to free ourselves of poisonous thoughts, behaviors and habits and begin to see the bright side of life. We have a choice to make. Do you choose to be sad and negative or won’t you rather choose to be happy in life? The choice is yours. You have nothing to lose if you choose to be happy. The most important thing is that we always have a choice. Look at the prayer above once again, spend sometime with the Lord in prayer, in the silence of your heart and allow God to speak to you. Do not be afraid of silence for it has so much to teach you about yourself. Sad to note though, many would rather spend eternity in the cacophony of noise in our everyday life than to spend just an hour with the Lord in silence prayer. The Lord would teach us the true meaning of Lent and fasting. So why not try it out, after all what have you to lose?

He also serves who stands and waits

Many times we find people in Church wondering what they should do for God. There are also those who do not care that they do nothing or anything for God. Their only concern is to go to Church, nothing more, nothing less and nothing else. What does going to Church really mean? Going to Church means being an active participant in the life of the Church. Being an active participant at Mass for instance, means doing what everyone else is doing - standing up, sitting down, kneeling down, praying, singing and responding to the priest at the appropriate times. But you do not have to stand when you are unable to do so. You can sit down and still participate. Sitting down does not mean you should also shut your mouth. If you cannot sing, you can at least pray. If you cannot serve Mass as an altar server, you can at least read as a lector. If you cannot read, you can be an usher. If you cannot be an usher, you can be a greeter, or you can at least be friendly, cordial, helpful and willing to give direction to those who need help. What I am saying in a sense is that there is something that everyone can do in Church for God at one time or the other. We must, each of us, look in our hearts and pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to instruct us on how best we can serve the Lord. Tithing of course is a must for everyone.

There is a story about Harry the usher, by William J. Bausch in his book ‘A World of stories”, that I will like to share with you in this post. This story demonstrates how we should be the best we can possibly be in whatever we have chosen to do in Church; knowing that we are in it to serve our God and help bring about His kingdom here on earth. Here is the story:

“The pastor received a letter marked, “Please give to Harry the Usher.” It was handed over to Harry, and this is what it said: “Dear Harry. I’m sorry I don’t know your last name, but then, you don’t know mine. I’m Gert, Gert at the ten o’clock Mass every Sunday. I’m writing to ask a favor. I don’t know the priests too well, but somehow feel close to you. I don’t know how you got to know my first name, but every Sunday morning you smile and greet me by name, and we exchange a few words: how bad the weather is, how much you like my hat, and how I am late on a particular Sunday. I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to remember an old woman, for the smiles, for your consideration, for your thoughtfulness. “Now for the favor. I am dying, Harry. My husband has been dead for sixteen years, and the kids are scattered. It is very important to me that when they bring me to church for the last time, you will be there to say, ‘Hello, Gert. Good to see you.’ If you are there Harry, I will feel assured that your warm hospitality will be duplicated in my new home in heaven. With love and gratitude, Gert.”

From this story, it is obvious that Harry was a very good usher. He made everyone comfortable as they came in for Mass. He called everyone by name, spent some time chit chatting as they move into the Church for Mass. Harry was not a priest; he did not need to be one. But Harry was a good Christian who understood his work in the Church. Harry may not have known that what he did amounted to anything, but he was noticed and appreciated.

Come to think of it, we are all equal in the eyes of God. Whatever calling we have and whatever profession we choose in life, it does matter how we chose to function and how we affect people. It is all about relating to one another as we relate to our God. The priest is not bigger or greater than a young child just baptized. So you don’t have to be a priest or bishop or pope in order to serve God and his Church. To the Question ‘who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven’ directed to him by his disciples in Matthew’s Gospel chapter 18, Jesus answered with a demonstration: “He called a child over, place 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”.

God may not ask us to do extraordinary things, but like Harry the usher, He wants us to do the ordinary things in life extraordinarily well. Let me conclude with a verse from a song you all know well, “If you cannot sing like angels, if you cannot preach like Paul, you can tell the love of Jesus, you can say he died for all.” So pray and ask God what it is he wants you to do for him in your church. Once you have found your niche, hold firm to it and do it with all you heart. Pray and pray as if everything depends on God, and work, and work as if everything depends on you, and you would have assisted God in establishing his kingdom here on earth. Never you say ‘there is nothing I can do’. There is always something for someone somewhere in God’s own house.