Pio's Proverb 208: A True Christmas Story!

This is a true story:

{This is Copyrighted Material and cannot be printed out without expressed permission of the author, Pio Peter Zammit.}

                                       Little Angelito: Part 1

Once before all time, there was nothing – only God all by Himself.  God contemplated the joy of His being, the beauty of His being and His life.  Such a great joy grew and welled up in Him that a great light of joy shot out from him.  As the light was shooting out from him, he got an idea!  He caught the great light in his hands and fashioned it into a shape.  He brought the figure to his lips and said: “Be!”  Instantly, “Mighty Michael” came to be!  Michael only heard the sound “e!” as he became conscious and looked into the beautiful face of his Father God, “The Father of Lights!”  Mighty Michael began to realize he was just born!  He had full intelligence, full knowledge, full awareness.  A joy began to well up in him.  He could hardly contain his joy!  He actually could not contain it!  The joy became so great that a great light of joy shot out from him!  As the light was shooting out, God, the Father of Lights, cried out: “Catch it!”  So, Mighty Michael quickly reached out and caught the light before it could escape.  He fashioned the light into a figure by his creative intuition and presented the art work to God in thanksgiving for his new life.  God immediately and graciously accepted Michael’s gift and put it to His lips and said: “Be!”  And Gabriel came to be!  Gabriel figure looked around curiously and saw Mighty Michael, God and himself.  All were silent.  Gabriel seemed a little shy, but as he realized he was just born, and that there were only the three present: God, Michael, and himself!  He began to become happy because he felt loved – actually loved into being – loved to life!  His happiness grew and grew.  It became a great joy!  He couldn’t contain it, and a great light of joy shot out from him!  “Catch it!”, said  Michael to Gabriel!  Gabriel obeyed immediately!  He caught the light before it could escape.  He felt he should form it and give the form to Michael, who approves like a daddy angel would.  Michael treated the form lovingly as he presented it to God who also lovingly breathed the word, “Be!” into it.  Instantaneously, Raphael came to be!  Raphael was beautiful!  But of the three, Michael was the largest and the brightest.  Gabriel was not quite as large or bright because Michael wasn’t able to catch all the light that shot out from him.  Also, Gabriel was not able to catch all the light that shot out from him.  So each angel was just a little smaller and little less bright as the parent angel.  Thus, Raphael was the youngest - very beautiful - very different from the rest in stature and brightness. 

This did not diminish the joy of each because each had their own special gifts from God.  Each had their own unique beauty.  All were loved perfectly by God and the other angels.  No angel lacked anything, because God’s “Be!” made them perfectly beautiful in God’s eyes and in the other angel’s eyes.  What made them loveable was that God made them so unique, so beautiful, so  gifted in themselves.   No one was the same or a copy of another.  Each one’s beauty was never seen before in heaven and never will be.  Each angel was planned by God!

Well, on that day, millions and millions of angels were created because of God’s “Be!”, God’s love, together with each parent angel’s love, and because of joy and light!  So continued the “angel process of creation” until the birth of a tiny angel, Angelito.  Millions and millions of angel’s eyes were on him as God said: “Be!”  Little Angelito, sensing that all eyes were on him, felt he had to do something, perform something that angels are supposed to do.  As a joy started to well up in him. A little light shot out of him!  “Catch it!”  said his loving parent angel.  He did and fashioned into his own little beautiful art work.  He gave it to his parent angel, who gave it to the next parent angel, all the way up to God.  Every angel was very careful not to hurt the shape of little Angelito’s art work.  Finally, the figure was presented to God.  But God did not say the word, “Be” into Angelito’s form.  Instead, God put the form into his heart where it disappeared!  All of heaven was silent and motionless until Angelito piped up: “That’s ok, it’s not my job!”  Because the tension was high, this remark caused all the angels to laugh.  Even God smiled at the childlike remark and defense Angelito had just made.  God had not spoken the “Be” because “Little Angelito” was the last angel God had planned to create.  God, the Father of Lights, (angels were originally called “Lights”) loved all his “Lights”, all his angels equally.  Angelito was just as dear to God as was Mighty Michael!

 After all the great day of creation, God was tired.  He put His mighty hands over His eyes to rest a little while. Now the angels are like little children.  They just copy what they see God doing.  So all the angels from Michael to Angelito covered their faces with their wings and took a nap.  The next “heaven-day” (no one knows how many hours later), God took his mighty hands away from his face!  The light God’s face was like a brilliant morning that flooded heaven with a brilliance and warmth which of course the angels have never known before because this was their very first morning in heaven!  The light penetrated all the angel’s wings and immediately woke them up!  As they yawned and stretched, they noticed something different.  All were wearing a beautiful sash similar to what deacons wear around their shoulders and chest.  The sash had their name and their title.  “Mighty Michael-Choir Director “, “Gabriel-Messenger and Recorder of Prayers”, “Raphael-Healing of God.”  Ninety-five percent of all the angels had their name and position in the choir and what vowel they were to sing.  For example, the only word ever sung in the choir is “alleluia”.  Thousands of angels had to sing “Al:” whereas thousands more just sang the syllable “le.”   Thousands more just sang “lu”, and thousands more had to sing just “ia.”  So Mighty Michael would only point to different sections of the choir to get the syllable he wanted.  Now, there were sixty-four scales of music.  Each section of angels not only knew their syllable, they knew exactly what not to sing.  So each angel in the choir had one note and one syllable.  Mighty Michael would compose his polyphony (many melodies at once) as he conducted the choir.  Actually, the angels were living organ pipes with spirit and praise of God in their hearts.

So every angel scurried to their assigned places.  All of heaven was orderly.  Mighty Michael at first made all the choir sing all at once, all scales and all syllables, in one incredible might chord!  It blasted feathers off of some angel’s wings!  Even God looked up and smiled!  It was a sound never heard of before!  Then, Mighty Michael started beautiful melodies which his brilliant  mind composed as he went.  He could hear it all in his mind before a note sounded.  The melodies, multiple melodies, filled heaven with a majesty of sound, a brilliance of melodies, a moving surge of the joyful “sound of music!”

Everyone was gone to work, except one little angel, “Little Angelito.”  “There must be some mistake,” he said to himself.  “MY sash only says: “Little Angelito!”  There was no title, no position.  Angelito took off the sash and turned it inside out.  There was nothing except his name.  He began to become sad.  He felt he was capable and talented, and smart, and that his gift was to be wise – wisdom – but were could he use that, especially since he was alone.  There was no one to be wise to or for!   He got an idea!  “I’ll just go and ask Mighty Michael if I can join his great choir!  “I know the word ‘Alleluia’ – I can sing too!” he said to himself.  And off he flew and approached the Mighty Choir Director.  He flew right to Mighty Michael ‘s ear!  He perched right on the earlobe of Michael and called: “Mighty Mikiel” (he couldn’t say “Michael” very well), “ Mighty Mikiel!”  Michael did not hear him because as choir director, he was busy directing and composing!  Angelito put his head deep into the ear of Michael and shouted with all his might: “Mighty Mikiel  hear me!”  With that, (it was like a buzz of a bee in the ear) Mighty Michael put all the choir in one long sustained note.   “What is it?”  said  Michael patiently.  “What is it, my son, Angelito?”  “Father, I have no job!  Can I be in your choir?”  With all the angels singing on note – held by the pointed finger of Michael – Michael said, “All my positions are filled!  Also, your voice is so faint, no one could hear you.  If I place you in a section , they will feel they are not adequate!  I cannot take you in.  I am sorry son!”  “But Father,” said Angelito, “ I want to be somebody!  I want to be great! Don’t you want me to be somebody?  Don’t you want me to be great?”  Michael was careful to answer lovingly.  “I do…you will be great.  You are somebody now…if you just accept your job ‘to be’ –‘to be’ who you are!”  “If you accept who you are, you will be great!”  Andy with wisdom, Michael let the choir take a needed breath and resumed directing.  Little Angelito flew off the ear-perch of his father Michael and flew to his own spot where he napped.  There, Angelito strained and concentrated and said aloud: “I am going ‘to be’ me! I got ‘to be’ me!  I must ‘be me’!  I am going to be great!  I need to be great!  Maybe I am great!  For a full day of work, Angelito repeated these thoughts and was nearly exhausted!

Finally, Angelito, in total exhaustion and frustration, began to pray!  “Dearest Father of Lights”!  I cannot sing; I can’t record prayers; I cannot heal anyone…I have tried, but I cannot even ‘be’ me very well!  Therefore Father, I offer you my poor being to praise you – to love you!”

This little prayer had a life of its own.  It shot out of Angelito’s soul.  It flew past Gabriel so fast that it went through Gabriel’s scanner and printed out on Gabriel’s screen.  It was caught and recorded, but it almost got away from Gabriel who never missed recording and storing copies of prayer.  (For an angel to pray is natural as a fish breathing underwater.  It is so natural for an angel to pray that it just flow naturally.)

Now this little prayer of Angelito flew around and around until it entered the Mighty ear of God!  It went down His ear and landed in God’s heart!  Then God’s heart made a Mighty Boom!  It was like thousands of thunder claps all at once!  It drowned out the choir!  Mighty Michael paused and stopped the choir.  Never had there ever been such a sound in heaven like this!  All the eyes of heaven were on the mighty arm of God as He moved His arm across heaven scurrying angels out of the way like snowflakes!  He then pointed His finger at Little Angelito who was still kneeling in prayer with eyes shut.  He opened his eyes to see all of heaven’s eyes looking at him, and God was pointing at him!  God said in a loving thunderous voice, “Come here, my son!” 

Little Angelito:  Part II

Angelito heard God say in a loving thunderous voice:  “Come here, my son!”  Immediately Angelito sprang up and flew up into the open Hand of God.  Now, God’s Hand was so big and Angelito so small that the cracks in God’s palm were to Angelito like an eight lane highway.  Then, God lifted Angelito up for all the angels of heaven to see.  God said: “My angels, my children, do you see this littlest of angels with no job except just ‘to be!”  He has something that none of you have to such a perfect degree!”  (Now, Mighty Michael – the greatest of angels – turned his ear toward God to listen more attentively; for what did this little angel have that Michael did not have?)  The Father of Lights went on to address the whole heavenly host:  “What Angelito has to such a ‘perfect’ degree in his perfect virtue of humility!”  Heaven was silent…all looking lovingly at Little Angelito.  All remained silent until Little Angelito innocently piped up: “Is that my job, Father?”  “Yes”, said God, who had raised His Hand higher above His majestic Head so that all the angels could see Angelito exalted above all the Angels of Heaven!  “Yes,” said God, “your job is ‘to be’ – ‘to be happy’ –to be little Mighty Angelito!  And the word “Mighty” appeared on little Angelito’s sash!  Mighty Michael’s wings fell from their pointing upward – fell like a woman’s hair in a mighty rain!  While all the angels rushed to congratulate and hug Little Mighty Angelito, Mighty Michael asked Gabriel for copies of all of Angelito’s prayers so to examin them learn the secret of Angelito’s greatness.  Gabriel gave Michael just two scrolls of Angelito’s relatively short prayers.  Putting the scrolls under his wings, Mighty Michael left the heavenly court and went on retreat in the outskirts of heaven – alone – by himself.  There, silently he read Angelito’s prayers and paused when he read: “Dearest Father of Lights!  I cannot sing; I cannot record prayers; I cannot heal anyone…I have tried, but I cannot even ‘be’ me very well!” 

“Therefore Father, I offer you my poor being to praise you – to love you!”  Mighty Michael said to himself – “there!  That word – ‘poor’ – what does that word mean?  No one in heaven has ever heard or said that word.  It’s not in the Angelic dictionary!  But I can try to figure it out from the context of surrounding ideas and emotions.  Angelito felt ‘down’ – literally and figuratively and spiritually the little angel felt his lowliness – being the littlest angel and having no talents or job – except he seems to be very, very wise for all his littleness.  He wisely tells God just how lowly he is.  He seems to have nothing but his ‘poor being’…that’s it!  That’s what made the Father’s heart go boom!  All that Angelito is and has – he gives to God.  That nothing he has can he offer except his ‘poor being’ because all he has – his little self – is from God.  Angelito was offering his ‘poorness’ to God because all we have comes from God no matter how little or great..” Michael kept thinking and thinking – especially that little Angelito was – without knowing it – holier that Mighty Michael – the largest and brightest and first of all angels…but little Angelito was ‘ mightier’ than Michael because of his “perfect virtue of humility!”  In the silence of the retreat, Michael felt totally alone…no one could understand his feeling of being dethroned as greatest angel.  No one could console him…then he realized that not in talents did greatness exist but in graces of virtue – especially in the great virtue of “humility” offered to God “in love.”  As this truth penetrated Michael’s being, he became overwhelmed with emotion.  He fell on his knees and bent his head nearly to the heavenly cloud floor and sobbed out to God: “Father of Lights – my Father – you created me to reflect your brightness and your glory.  You gave me the greatest intellect and talents and creativity.  All I am and I have comes from you, dearest Father of Lights!  Still, Father, in praise and love for you, I completely and wholeheartedly offer you my totally ‘poor being’!”

Before Gabriel could finish recording this prayer, a great, great “boom” of God’s Heart filled the heavens…and all looked up at God… even Angelito…all wondering what happened.  Then again God’s mighty arm swept across the heavens scattering angels like snowflakes!  The Hand of God reached out into the outskirts of heaven to touch Mighty Michael whose head was bowed down and whose wings touched the heavenly floor, and God said: “Come home, my son!”  Michael sprang up like little Angelito and went into the loving Hand of God who carried him to His heart!  From that day on Mighty Michael and Little Angelito were always together.  They became a joy to one another – both being the “poorest” in heaven.  Angelito could sing wherever he wanted.  Gabriel took him in as an assistant.  Gabriel and Raphael both were very patient teaching Angelito everything.  From Mighty Michael to little Mighty Angelito – all were very happy in heaven.  Got the Father was delighted in the happiness and being of His angels – all – from the least to the greatest –were – equally precious to Him.  All were equally dear to God!

All was wonderful until…a legion of angels in Michael’s choir sang on the off beat – not according to Michael’s direction – “We will not sing; we will not serve!”  Only “Alleluia” was permitted to be sung.  And this was not in harmony and was on the offbeat and in dissonance with the prevalent polyphonic melodies.  “We will not sing; we will not serve!”  Gabriel refused to record this!  Michael was even puzzled by the word “no” because no one ever heard of it.  But his mind calculated the meaning – these angels were in rebellion!!  Michael stopped directing – all listened in dismay to the chant led by “lucifer” (light hearer): “We will not sing!  We will not serve!”  Nothing was heard in heaven but this chant – out of tune – as well!  Then God appeared with a mighty sword in hand!  The sword was a mirror.  God gave Michael the sword!  All the rebellious angels while chanting turned their back on God whom they could not look at while chanting.  But Michael intuitively knew he should leave his podium and go behind the rebellious angels and shine God’s face into theirs – which blinded them and smashed them!  They were confused, because they could not hide from God!  Then God said to Michael in a great voice: “Sweep the “nots” from Heaven!”  Mighty Michael in obedience raised the great sword to make a great sweep of all the “nots” from the sight of God – sweep them all from heaven!  His sword was a mighty flame ready to clean heaven of all the “nots”!  But suddenly, “lucifer” flew up to the ear of Michael and said: “Mighty Michael! ...  Mighty Michael; you do not have to serve either!  Come and ‘be’ our God and rule over us because you are ‘like unto God!’ …Maybe God planned for you to be ‘God of the angels’.  If you are so ‘like unto God’, maybe you are equal to God!”  Mighty Michael had often pondered the distance – if any – between himself and God; whether he was meant to be a ‘god’ to rule over all creation.  So, Michael hesitated and dropped his sword to his side…to contemplate the deep philosophical proposition lucifer proposed.  Mighty Michael’s brow was wrinkled in thought.  He was not obeying God immediately and was having some doubts as to what to do.  God was looking and waiting.  Mighty Michael was in deep trouble!  He was torn between obedience to God and the prospect of great glory and “Godship” for himself.  While God was waiting patiently as a Father giving His son time…understanding and lovingly…and little Mighty Angelito knew his father, Mighty Mikiel, was in very deep trouble!  Angelito sprang up and flew to perch on Mighty Michael’s other ear and shouted with all his might: “Mighty Mikiel!...Mighty Mikiel!...remember, ‘Father, we offer you our poor being’!”  Mighty Michael realized in an instant that he was a “poor” created being not a god…that there was an infinite distance between a creature and Almighty God!!  Little Angelito’s wisdom (his gift from God) snapped Michael out of his doubts – out of his hesitancy!  Mighty Michael swept in one mighty blow all the “nots” from heaven!!  Little Angelito made a cry of glee and joy because he – being so little – saved him who was so great and mighty – but even more especially because God was honored and happy over Mighty Michael’s humble obedience to God!  Mighty Michael was showing in action that God had created him to love God, serve God, and know God forever and ever!

Mighty Michael took Angelito off his ear and him into his hand.  Michael said lovingly: “You are mighty, little one…you are mightier than I because your heart is so wise!  You are even wise in applying your wisdom at the right time!  You are so kind as to notice my trouble and came to help me…to even save me from lucifer’s lies, the father of “nots”.  You are the best of angels because of your virtue of humility.  Greatness is not in “Brightness” or “bigness” – but in “holiness.”  “You, my son, can sing in any choir, sing any note, any part of ‘Alleluia’ because your voice is so powerful and wise and loving!  Yes, also, the other angels can learn from you to serve God in humility and in perfect praise!”  Those words – spoken so lovingly and gratefully to Angelito – had a life of their own and actually gave Angelito an angelic kiss on his cheek.  He felt it just as you and I feel a kiss from our mom and dad.

After that, “Mighty little Angelito” and “Mighty Michael” were inseparable!  They were always together.  You would never see one without the other!
From that day onward in heaven – even to this very moment, there never was a sad moment in heaven ever again!  All the angels including Mighty Michael and Mighty little Angelito have been singing “Alleluia” in joy and praise of God while at the same time offering up to God their “poor” beings in utter humility and “love for God”!  All the angels were so happy just “to be” before God forever!
God smiled on all His angel children – especially on Mighty Michael and Mighty little Angelito because these two angels taught all the rest how to really love God.  After all, God created all the angels – each one – to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him forever – which is true eternal happiness!

Still – all the while - God was thinking…planning…to do something very great in the future: to create a little girl – a beautiful little girl called Mary whose heart would be greater than the sea (“maris” means the sea) and that she would be more humble that all the angels.  She would be so humble – humblest of all creatures – so pure, so holy that she would give birth to His Son, Jesus, who is both God and man. 

She would be truly “little” in her own eyes and would declare that her soul would “magnify  the  Lord”. God was thinking Mary would be one day be Queen of all the angels – Queen of His lights - who will love her so much because she would outshine them all!  All the angels..will one day adore Jesus and love Mary as their Queen Mother. She is our Queen Mother, too, because she gave birth to Jesus on Christmas Day ; and we are all baptized into Him and His life. Also she gave birth to all of us under the cross when Jesus said to John and to all of us: “Behold your mother!”  Thanks be to God. Amen! Amen!

Christmas Day, in the biginning of year 1:

As Jesus was being born, all the angels in heaven were anxious to see whom would God the Father pick to be Jesus' Gaudian angel. Many applied for the honor...even Mighty Michael. But Little Angelito was to busy to notice that the job position had been posted on the Heaven Bulletin Board. Interviews had been going on for several weeks prior to Christmas Day..but no one was picked. So The Father of Lights thought: "Perhaps we need to let the Baby Jesus pick His own guardian angel!" IN a flash all the angels bio's were paraded pass Jesus as He lay in his manger. "Stop!" the Baby thought to Himself when He saw the littlest angel of all, Little Angelito!  Jesus said to Himself, "Since I am so little, I need an angel who is the littlest, too!"  And Angelito grew up with Jesus and was always the same size as Jesus. We too can grow up with Jesus and relate to Him when we are children...and seeing Him alwasy as our own age...until we are 33 years old..and are the same age. When we grow older, Jesus will stil relate to us as his children. That is why Jesus said to Peter and His disciples who were in the boat fishing when the Resurrected Jesus called out to them from the shore: "My children, have you caught anything!?" 

So, Little Angelito did get the honor of protecting the Baby Jesus without even having to apply for it!  He was so Happy...and said, "Is that my job!?" ..Mighty Michael said: "Yes, you were always picked for this job even before you were born.....Do your best..." Yes, I will!" said Little Angelito. And Mighty Michael said, "I am sure you will!..and you will grow up with Jesus and especially comfort his in a garden when He is worried. Yet, for now, let us rejoice...and wish "Merry Christmas" to all in Heaven and on earth.."peace and joy to men of good will."...Alleluia!" Amen!

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Epilogue: This story was dictated to me by my Guardian angel in 1980. It is a true story. Perhaps my guardian angel IS Little Angelito! And that is why he knows it so well!

 

Peace and love, Pio   Merry Christmas!  December 25, 2012