Have you ever thought that before creation of humans and the universe, there were angels? Palentologists say that the universe is 13.7 billion years old. They calculate this as the beginning of the Big Bang when God called out of nothingness the entire universe that has 20 immutable and precise laws that never vary which are comic constants - two being the speed of light and law of gravity. If these constant laws were to vary a fraction of a percent, there would be no life at all in the universe and no stars except blue giants. But to think that angels came before the Big Bang is mind boggling. These spiritual beings are older than we can imagine.
In Heavenly time, these angels were all given a test to be worthy of heaven. Not all passed that test. It is speculated that the test was a pre-image of Jesus Christ, God and man. Could they accept Him as their Lord? It is said that Lucifer (means "Lightbearer") protested because he thought that if God would take on a second nature, it should be an angelic nature not a lower human nature. But of course, The Word had to become man to redeem man. So, Lucifer was off base. Now we need to understand that angels when they make a decision it is irrevocable. Why? It is irrevocable because an angel sees totally clear what he is doing. They do not have second or third thoughts. They decide what they want to do and do it. Also, changeing one's mind would mean that they were wrong. Lucifer would not admit that. He was proud. He wanted to be like God and call the shots - to decide what is right and wrong. Interestingly, that was the exact temptation he made on Eve and Adam: for these humans to become independent of God and to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong. Lucifer deceived himself and now deceives the first humans in the exact same way. He appealed to the first couple's wanting to be like God in their wishing to decide for themselves what is sinful or not. Does this sound familiar? Hitler did the same thing. He made laws to change marriage. He gave the title of "Frau" to any woman who would bear and give birth to a child for the state. He had several mating camps - placing girls and boys together and encougeing them ingage in sex. He also made laws that is was ok to kill Jews because they were an inferior race. He also set out to conquor all of Europe including Russia. It did not matter to him that others wanted to have their own country. He wanted to rule the whole Euorpean continent. He changed all the laws of the state and tried to suppress and destroy the Catholic Church by especially occupying Poland - most Catholic Christian country in Europe - so that it would become a completely atheistic country. But he did not figure on Christ's words: "The gates of hell will never prevail against it." His killing of 6 million Poles and 6 million Jews did not put a dent in Catholics and Jews as to their Faith. Those 12 million only all the more strengthen the Faith of Catholics and Jews. Pope Pius XII did more than anyone in Europe to help and hide Jews. The Pope solicited the help from all the dioceses to aid and protect Jews. All those records are available in the Vatican archives including all Vatican Radio broadcasts to support Jews and renouce Nazism. Before becoming the Pope, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli (Pius XII) wrote an official letter denouncing Germany's ill treatment of Jews. Hitler got the message plain and simple and responded to that letter by killing 2300 priests in retaliation. Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli now knew what a monster was Hitler. The Cardinal worked to save Jews - focusing on them not Hitler.
The point in Lucifer refusal to adore God if He became man in Jesus and wanting to make the decisions as to what was right and wrong. His temptation to Adam and Eve - appealing to their pride - and His temptation of Hitler and Stalin (who killed 60 million of his own people) only shows that Lucifer - Satan - is still working to get human to refuse to obey God's 10 Commandments - especially the first and the fifth. First: "I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me." And the Fifth: "Thou shalt not kill!" - but abortion alone has killed 60 million babies since 1973, Roe v Wade. We can see Lucifer's hand in all of this. There is a law that allows killing of babies up to 9 months gestation. We - in the United State - are even worst than Hitler whose laws allowed the killing of 6 million innocent Jews. We have killed 60 million innocent babies. Did you also know that because of Hitler's laws and "Final Solution" that 350 civilians volunteered to execute Jews by shooting them? "Final Solution" sounded so nice. "Pro-choice" sounds nice too; but the results of these words was and is Death to millions.
Because of Lucifer's rebellion, he and his followers - 1/3 of Heaven - were cast out by St. Michael the Archangel and his angelic hosts down to earth where they have been tempting mankind ever since. Even if they all landed eventually in hell, they are able to stimulate the imagination of humans to be inventive in evil. Abortion and wars are his biggest aces. He wants to kill as many humans as possible because they are all made in the image and likeness of God. If he kills humans, he kills off the images and likenesses of God. He is jealous of us taking his place in heaven. Some people do not believe in Satan and his devils; but by the fruits you shall know them: wars, abortion, murders, greed, lust, disrespect of people for one another - all these are victories of Satan. But Satan cannot cause us to do anything. He cannot change our wills. He can only stimulate our senses and imagination so as to present evil as a great good. He is so cleaver that he now has introduced successfully the concept of a woman's "abortion rights" even when the Constitution says we all have "inalienable rights endowed by the Creator to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness." So now not only is abortion legal, but there is a creation of "abortion rights" that are diametricially opposed to the baby's right to life. Do you not see something devilish in that? Let us not be fooled: the Satanic forces of hellish hosts are out for one thing: to hurt God by hurting His Creation - His creatures who are absolute reflections of God beauty - His image and likeness. Satan cannot hurt God; but he can hurt God's children...but only if we let him. Satan is powerless to do anything without our consent and cooperation. That is why we often say: "St Michael, defender in battle, ...pray for us and defend us!" St. Michael is the perfect one to appeal to against Satan because Michael prevailed over Satan and cast him out of heaven. St. Michael did not commit a sin of anger or arrogance or revenge on Lucifer. When they both had a confrontation, Michael strongly said to Lucifer: "May God correct you!" St. Michael used a prayer to defeat Satan. We should do the same. And St. Michael whose name means "who is like unto God" will help us.
There is still one more manifestation of Satan that I wanted to mention. He is the "accuser" of all accusers.
Satan - without mercy, forgiveness or hope - accuses us to God and to our very selves. During the trial of Jesus, accusations that had tinges of truth were hurled at Jesus. "He said if this temple were to be destroyed, he would re-build it in 3 days by himself." Whereas Jesus said: "(If you) Destroy this temple - (His Body), and I will raise it up in 3 days." Satan is the one who got Nero to accuse Christians of setting fire to Rome. Nero retaliated by using Christians a human torches in his garden and killing many in the arena - all to cover up his own crime in buring Rome to make room for his new construction of his pleasure palace.
But where Satan really triumps is his attacks on marriages. Especially when he gets wives to accuse their husbands of infidelity when there no substance to such an accusation. There are husbands who accuse their wives who work of have too close of friendships with co-workers - even having an affair with male co-workers. If a husband is on a business trip, his wife has more than suspicions of his infidelity, she accusing him as if her accusations were proof of his wrong doing. These accusation come from the devil in this sense. The devil is not in her; but the devil has stimulated her imagination to having images of him laying with another woman. She gets worried and her accusation are in a sense asking him for reassurance. But his reassurances of his fidelity to her all the more make her nervous and angry. His innocense angers her because she wants him to admit his infidelity so as to assure her of his perceptiveness and astuteness in seeing the clues of infidelity. She can even say to him: "Was she good - better than me?" "Is she in her twenties?" "Do you have more than one you are sleeping with?" All these accusations are not from God. They are from the evil the one who is building on her insecurities and lack of trust in others. In today's readings, in the Book of Revalation, it says that "Satan ever accuses (humanity) before God." Jesus never accuses those who come to him in repentance. To, the woman caught in adultery, he says, "Has any one condemned you? ...Neither will I condemn you. Go in peace and sin no more." Even when Peter sees Jesus after the Resurrection, Jesus does not tell Peter: "Told you so. Told you that you would deny me three times." No, Jesus does not accuse or even mention Peter's sins which have been wiped away in true sorrow with many tears. Jesus only wishes to re-astablish His relationship with Peter by giving Peter this question three times: "Peter, do you love me?"
In the end, Jesus and Peter are closer than they were before Peter's fall. That is how creative God is!
Once you have confessed a sin, God has to use that sin to bring about a greater good. That is why the Scripture says: "Where sin abounds, grace abounds more!" Adam and Eve sinned, but Jesus openned up Paradise for them by the great act of love - crucifixion - so that the whole world in the very end will be a better place and to God's greater glory than if Adam and Even never sinned in the first place. Only God can bring good out of evil because He is God. But God uses us and calls us to bring good out of evil with Him by following our vocations which are all oriented by the Holy Spirit to bring love from hate, life from death, generosity from selfishness, courage from cowardice, virtue from sinfullness, fidelity from infidelity, gentleness from harshness, kindness from cruelty, creative charity for others from destructive attacks on other's character and well being. The Holy Spirit needs out devotion to His inspirations to re-establish the Kingdon of God in this ungodly Nation that legally murders its own children in direct disobedience to the Fifth Commandment and the U.S. Constitution on human rights.
God does use us even when we are lowly. He said the humble will be exalted. This is true of angels as well. St. Michael is the highest angel in heaven. No one out ranks him. But remember in the ranking of angels you have the Ceraphim, Cheraphim, Powers, Archangels and angels. Archangels are second from the bottom. St. Michael was a lowly angel. Now he is number one! Why? Because God exalts the humble.
Today we also celebrate the Feast of St. Gabriel - whose name means "Power of God". He announces the Good News of the coming of the Savior. He is the messenger of God - the first in the New Testament to announce the Good News. We are called to do the same as Father Ray said in today's homily at St. Mary's during Mass. He said that "we are called to help others to know and love God which is the task of all angels": to help human beings to know and love God. If we do this, we will be like the angels and be immitating the virtures of the angels. Remember, every angel in Heaven is a Saint. Every one was humble enough to pledge their loyalty and worship of Jesus the God-man - even in the face of the fact that humans are below angels. All the angels in Heaven have the virtue of Humility to a heroic degree. They are all Saints and are therefore Holy. They annonced before and to God: "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory.." They can sing this with truth and meaning, love and praise because they, themselves, are holy!
St. Raphael's name means "God heals!" In the Book of Tobit, St. Raphael heals the eyes of Tobit through a medicine that his son, Tobias" is instructed by St. Raphael to apply to the eyes of his father. But St. Raphael does much more than that. He heals marriages. He brought Tobias and Sarah together and prevented the demon Amodeus from killiing Tobit as the demon had killed Sarah's husbands seven times. Each husband was slain on their wedding night because Amodeus was in love with Sarah. The demon had power over all these husbands because they lusted after Sarah and did not have true love for her. She prayed to God to release her from this shame. She asked for death. Also, Tobit who was blind asked for death. God sent St. Raphael to answer their prayers by his cleverness and goodness and guidance and love for humanity. Because of St. Raphael, Sarah's new husband, Tobias, survives the wedding night because St. Raphael told him to not have intercourse on the first night but rather pray for deleverance. After delieverance, then they could come together. St. Raphael took total commend of Amodeus and took him to upper Egypt and bound him there not be ever released. Thus Tobias and Sarah were delivered. They had many sons. They also both returned to Dad Tobit with a whole retinue of riches from Gabrelus - a fortune because Gabrelus was the Father of Sarah and so grateful that Tobit had rescued her from Shame and gave her happiness and him grandchildren. All was joy and happiness because St. Raphael had come and only at the very end identified himself. He said: "Praise God for all his blessing..I am Raphael, one of the Seven who stand before the Throne of God." May St. Raphael give us Joy and Peace and true love and Happiness with praise to God for everything.
I must in gratitude to St. Raphael to mention how he save my life - once when I was just 20 years old and once just months ago.
1) I was driving down a dirt road in Kentucky looking for a left turn opportunity to get back to the expressway because I only got off to make a U turn back to an interchange I had missed. The road ended without any signs or warning. I was doing nearly 40 mph when the road completed ended as I unknowingly sailed right off a cliff. The road did no turn but just ended with our guard rail. I later learned that a taxicab driver had done the same as I did but he was killed instantly. The cliff was high and there were rocks below. The police captain told me that it would be impossible to go off that cliff and survive. But he said that because he never met St. Raphael, patron of travelors from how he had guided Tobias over many miles to meet Sarah...and get home safely again. In fact there is a approved prayer that says: "St. Raphael, Patron of travelors - on land, air and sea - pray for me."
When I sailed off that cliff, I heard an audible voice - powerful, authoritive, loving, kind, assuring - which said to me: "Turn your wheels to the left!" That was the first and last time I would ever hear an audible angelic voice which not only conveyed the meaning of the word but the very emotions that the Angel Raphael wanted me to feel. He could communicate his very emotions and love so that I could feel everything. I was in the air already a few second maybe even 10 seconds. I was high up. I turned my wheels completely to the left. It was night and I could see nothing. I did have headlights on but they did me little good. They were pointing straight up not forward because my Volkswagon when going off the cliff up ended because the engine was in the back and made the Volkswagon to go verticle not horizontal. By turnig my wheels to the left they became perpendicular to the earth. I was falling backward with my head lights pointing to the sky!
Immediately after obeying St. Raphael, my front wheels now fully turned to the left, landed on the face of another cliff. I was in a V-shaped gorge and spanned the gorge from one cliff to another. I rolled backward on those two front wheels...until I got to the bottom of the cliff; then all four wheels were engaged. I was rolling on all four wheels and the bottom of the cliff became slooped as small foot hills. My car was thrown with centrifical force into a four-foot deep lake. My car was stopped. I was so releived. I was alive. My car was parked in four feet of water. My headlight were still on and shown across the surface of the water. No water came into the car because Volkswagen are water tight. My engine was underwater; my headlights above water. After my eyes acclamated to the night sky, I could see how high was the cliff from the bottom view. I then became frightened when I saw how far I had come.
Police soon came with flashing lights and a huge crane parked at the top of the cliff. It lowered a large hook attached to a heavy cable. They put the hook onto my rear bumper and began to pull my car out of the lake from the top of the cliff. Once my car was on the beach, the Police captain, told me to exit the car in the usual police style as if I had done something wrong. He said: "How did you get down here?" I politely but humorously said: "I drove down here!" He said: "No one can come from that cliff and live." Then he told me about the taxicab driver who died in the same kind of accident two years ago. I said in dismay: "You mean someone died here and still you have not put up any guard rails or signs to indicate that the road just disappears without warning." He went silent after that. He knew that he would have been responsible and was responsible for my accident. He could have been the cause of muc more. But St. Raphael - a loving Angel and clever - had saved me. There was not a scratch on my car except for the 1/2 radius of a gauge in my rear bumper which the weight of the car pulled out 8 inches, having collapsed the inner reinforcement.
You may wonder, how did I know it was St. Raphael and not some other angel? Well, in a sense St. Raphael left his calling card. When I went to Church in downtown Louisville, I did not raise my eyes to God. I fell on my knees, kept my eyes close and thanked God for saving my life and that my mom did not have to get a telegram that her son had perished in a freak accident. As I stayed there on my knees with eyes shut in silent gratitude and awe over God loving rescue of me, I finally openned my eyes and saw a pamphlet in the seat directly below my eyes as my heard was bent low. It showed a picture of St. Raphael and said on it: "St. Raphael, Patron of Travelors, Pray for me.!" I almost was in tears....because St. Raphael was the one who lovingly saved my life and was not letting me know who he was just as he did to Tobias and Sarah: "I am Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the throne of God." That was such a moment....I keep a perfect detailed model of a yellowVolkswagon on my TV so that I see it several times a day, so that I am reminded many times of day of what St. Raphael had done for me. I am writing this with a heart that is expanded, with tears about to fall, and with a sureness that God not only exists, He loves me and has loving angels to do His bidding. God saw me going over the cliff and pointed His finger at Raphael and said: "Handle it...save him!"
St. Raphael was standing right before God and God just took the first Angel in sight! God sees all...every little detail in everyone life. He sends Angels to bring His love to us! St. Raphael! Thank You so much! I love you! Keep me safe always on the road and lead me safely home to Heaven one day! Amen!
Five months ago, I had to go to Ann Arbor and back - that is a 3 hour round trip. As I set out, I asked St. Raphael - who I am ever thick with - to get me there and back safely. Well, on my return trip and as I was only a mile from my New Baltimore/Algonac exit, I heard an inner voice tell me to get off one exit before my planned exit. I know that voice which was inner but still distinctive. I got off at 59 that empties out into Jefferson. I was doing abot 20 mph on Jefferson when I heard a big noise in my driver's wheel. I was not able to move the car but only a little just to get it on to the shoulder. It was not driveable. I left the car and was going to ask for a ride when people from my parish of Immaculate Conception saw me and took me home. It was late. The next day I called the wrecker who took me to my car. As we approached, he said: "I can see what the problem is. Look at your front wheel which was turned in a different direction than my other front wheel. My driver's wheel was nearly off. He said to me: "It was good that you were not on the expressway when this happened. You would have gone into an uncontrollable spin and been killed." Seems that St. Raphael knows about the parts of my car, saw that it was about to break and got me off the expressway just before it broke. I never go anywhere without first envoking St. Raphael whom I did not know had such mechanical knowledge!
Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael - protect us, bring us Good News, and save us from injury and death -
we love you and thank you and honor you and thank God that He created you all, now and forever. Amen.
Father, thank you for all Your Archangels and for our dear Guadian Angels who ever behold Your face and who bring us Your Love. Amen.
Love, Pio
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