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Angelic Intercession is Totally Biblical

Angelic Intercession is Totally Biblical

It is a manifest fact, thoroughly established in the Bible, that angels can be prayed to and answer prayers

Dave Armstrong

Many non-Catholic Christians believe that we can pray to no one but God, and ask no one to fulfill an intercessory prayer request but God. But what does the Bible teach?

In the Old Testament, Lot makes such a request of two angels, who were sent by God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:13):

Genesis 19:20 (RSV) “Behold, yonder city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there . . . and my life will be saved!”

One of them grants his “prayer” (19:21): “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.” Someone might say, “but the angel wasn't in heaven.” Location makes no difference: the angel still fulfilled an intercessory request.

Angels can talk to us from heaven. For example:

Genesis 21:17-18 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. [18] Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him fast with your hand; for I will make him a great nation.”

And we know that angels pray to God for us:

Zechariah 1:12-13 Then the angel of the LORD said, `O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these seventy years?' [13] And the LORD answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.

Revelation 8:3-4 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; [4] and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God.

When Jacob wrestled with the angel (Gen 32:24-29), he asked him to bless him (32:26), and the angel did so (32:29). Moreover, when Jacob (Israel) blessed his sons Joseph and Manasseh, he not only asked God to bless them, but also an angel (“the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads”: Gen 48:16).

One common response to arguments like this is to note that the “angel of the Lord” is actually God Himself, or Jesus in a pre-incarnate manifestation or “theophany”: as suggested by many passages (Gen 22:10-18; 31:11-13; Ex 3:2-6, 14-16 [Moses and the burning bush]; 13:21 cf. 14:19; Jud 2:1; 6:12-14; Josh 5:14-15; Zech 12:8; Acts 8:26, 29). This is a quite respectable harmonization of the scriptural data: held by many Eastern Church fathers.

Yet in other passages this angel is distinguishedfrom God. (Zech 1:12-13 above, and the following:

2 Samuel 24:16 And when the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented of the evil, and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Arau'nah the Jeb'usite. 

This ambiguity (seeming equation with God in many places, and distinction from Him in others) is explained by St. Augustine, as cited in the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia article on “Angels”:

St. Augustine (Sermo vii, de Scripturis, P.G. V) when treating of the burning bush (Exodus 3) . . . points out: “Elsewhere in the Bible when a prophet speaks it is yet said to be the Lord who speaks, not of course because the prophet is the Lord but because the Lord is in the prophet; and so in the same way when the Lord condescends to speak through the mouth of a prophet or an angel, it is the same as when he speaks by a prophet or apostle, and the angel is correctly termed an angel if we consider him himself, but equally correctly is he termed 'the Lord' because God dwells in him. . . . It is the name of the indweller, not of the temple. . . .” 

Scripture also clarifies how the angel of the Lord is a unique representative of God:

Exodus 23:20-22 “Behold,I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. [21] Give heed to him and hearken to his voice, do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; for my name is in him. [22] But if you hearken attentively to his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. [23] When my angelgoes before you, . . .” (cf. 33:14)

Angels delegated to pardon transgressions is an interesting precursor or forerunner of priestly absolution and “binding and loosing.”

Therefore, given the above Scripture and analysis we may also, I submit, plausibly interpret the “angel of the Lord” as a created angel who nevertheless profoundly “carries” God's name and presence. Such intermediaries between men and God should not surprise us since even the Law was mediated to men by angels:

Acts 7:53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.

Galatians 3:19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained by angels through an intermediary.

Hebrews 2:2 For if the message declared by angels was valid. . . 

Angels even help distribute His grace:

Revelation 1:4 . . . Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne....

Thus, it is a manifest fact, thoroughly established in the Bible, that angels can be prayed to and answer prayers, as a mediatorial angelic function.

10 Ways to Prepare Well for Christmas

10 Ways to Prepare Well for Christmas

How to ready one’s heart to welcome the Christ Child.

by Joseph Pronechen

“Advent is a time of waiting, conversion and of hope,” the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments reminds us.

Furthermore, popular piety “can contribute effectively to the conservation of many of the values of Advent, which are not infrequently threatened by the commercialization of Christmas and consumer superficiality.”

To counteract the commercialism, the Catholic Register offers 10 ways to prepare for Christmas.

Cultivate silence and reflection. “Given the busyness of the season and the many demands placed upon us to distract us to the real purpose — that we’re about to prepare for the Lord’s second coming and to welcome grace into our hearts to commemorate his coming to us in Bethlehem — we need to carve out time to be silent and reflect,” said Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut. It’s necessary “to save ourselves from busyness. Consciously set some time aside simply to rest in the Lord’s presence in prayer and to reflect.”

Return to reconciliation. “Make a good confession during the month of December,” recommended Father Gerald Murray, pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in Manhattan and a frequent guest on EWTN. “Bring the children.”

Read Scripture. Bishop Caggiano said he finds it “spiritually rewarding” in Advent when “setting aside time to read the prophets of the Old Testament like Isaiah and Micah, to meditate on them as the forbears, the harbingers of the Good News that would be realized in Christ.”

Rethink gifts. When selecting presents, Lisa Hendey, an author and founder of CatholicMom.com, said, “Our gifts at Christmastime traditionally reflect those gifts given to the Christ Child by the Magi. In presenting tokens of love to our family and friends, we recall not only our affection for them, but also the ‘Reason for the Season.’

To prepare for a peaceful, joy-filled Christmas, members of the Hendey family “thoughtfully select gifts which will not only bless our loved ones, but will bless those in need around the world,” she explained. “This sometimes means making donations to charitable organizations in the name of our loved ones or purchasing fair-trade gifts, or, more often, gifting an experience to be shared together, or a service or even the gift of time spent with a loved one — creating a special memory together.”

“Identify a charity that helps mothers and children and give them a Christmas gift,” suggested Father Murray. “In our parish, we help Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem. They have a foundation in America” (BirthplaceofHope.org).

He pointed out other possibilities, too, such as aiding local crisis-pregnancy centers. “They are always in need of help for mothers and their babies.” Another option is to “find an overseas orphanage run by the Catholic Church in places like Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Peru.”

He also said that, in his previous parish, “we collected toys for a halfway house for prisoners in the Bronx. These toys were for gifts for the families of the prisoners, and we got together with their families on Christmas.”

Hendey added, “Less time spent shopping means more time to savor all of the wonders of the Advent season and helps to prepare our hearts to remember the birth of our Savior.”

Light a Mary candle. Often forgotten is the custom of a “Mary candle.” Our Lady teaches us to patiently prepare for the birth of Jesus like she did. As Pope Francis said in his Dec. 8, 2013, homily, “Mary sustains our journey toward Christmas, for she teaches us how to live this Advent season in expectation of the Lord.”

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a good day to place a white candle decorated with a “mantle” of white silk or cloth tied with a blue ribbon before a statue or picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary, explains Helen McLoughlin in Family Advent Customs.

“It serves as an eloquent reminder of Mary’s eager expectation of the ‘Light of the World’ and helps members of the family keep their own light of grace burning brightly as the best preparation for his coming.”

Around the candle, the family can pray the Magnificat and sing Marian hymns.

Create a family shrine. In The Year of the Lord in the Christian Home, Jesuit Father Francis Weiser recommends creating a family shrine that can serve as a focal point for preparing for Christmas and be “an appropriate symbol to all members that their lives belong to God; that religion and prayer are not merely a Sunday affair (and) that the Christian home is a holy place.”

The shrine can have an Advent wreath or statue or pictures connected with Christmas. Father Weiser suggests an Advent Crib, but without the Infant Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Shepherds tending sheep can be a little distance from the crib in the stable with the empty manger.

“It is amazing how well children will enter into the spirit and true understanding of such a visual representation of Advent,” the priest explains. “It teaches them to look forward to the arrival of the Savior, to prepare their hearts, and prayerfully to desire his great feast day. Now these thoughts are exactly what the Church expresses in her Advent liturgy.”

Be kind for Christ. McLoughlin recommends, at the beginning of Advent, each child in the family receive an empty manger. At day’s end, each gets a straw for every kind deed they performed in honor of Infant Jesus. They place the straw in their mangers daily to make sure that when the Infant Jesus arrives, he has a soft bed made of their gifts of virtue and devotion.

Explains McLoughlin, “It is amazing how much love a child can put into Advent when he or she is preparing for his Redeemer’s coming in grace.”

Pick up the phone. “Make a Christmas resolution to give a call to relatives you don’t see because they live far away,” said Father Murray. “‘I was thinking of you at Christmas and wondering how you’re doing?’ shows you don’t forget about them.”

Invite someone to Mass. As Christmas Eve and Day approaches, Hendey recommends inviting someone to “the birthday party.”

“We endeavor to plan the rest of our holiday events around Christmas Mass,” she said. “We find this a wonderful time to invite friends, more distant family and others who have been away from the Church for any reason or who may never have experienced Mass to join us for this special time of prayer.

“It offers us the chance to share with them the beautiful reason for our hope: our faith in Jesus Christ.”

Gather around the table. “I’m a big believer in the power of the table,” said Bishop Caggiano. “I think the season of Advent and Christmas is the ideal time to make a conscious decision to spend it with family and friends, to spend it around the table. Take the time to share a meal, a luncheon, a cup of coffee. Enjoy each other’s company and be grateful for the ones you love and spend time with them around the table. It’s a beautiful way to celebrate Advent and Christmas.”

5 Myths About the Eucharist

5 Myths About the Eucharist that Too Many People Still Believe (Maybe Even You!)

by Church POP Editor 

Corpus Christi is a special feast each year to especially commemorate the dogma of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Since the Eucharist is Christ himself, the Eucharist is at the center of our Christian faith!

Which is why it’s unfortunate there are so many misconceptions about it. Here are 5 common myths:

Myth 1: The Eucharist is just a symbol

Truth: Of course, there is symbolic value in our spiritual food coming to us in the form of bread and wine. But the Eucharist is not just a symbol. The Eucharist is Jesus himself!

We know this because Jesus told us so. At the Last Supper, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist, he did not say that the bread was “like” his Body, or a “symbol” for his Body. He said “this is my Body.” Catholics take him at his word and believe in his real presence in the Eucharist by faith.

Myth 2: The Real Presence is a late corruption of the faith by the Catholic Church

Truth: Aside from Christ’s own clear teaching on the matter mentioned above (as well as St. Paul’s, see 1 Corinthians 11), we know from their own writings that the earliest Christians believed in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Here are just two (of many) examples: At the beginning of the 2nd century, St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote that a defining characteristic of heretics was to “not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again.” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans, 7)

And St. Justin the Martyr wrote in the mid-2nd century: “For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; […] the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him… is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus.” (First Apology, 66)

Myth 3: Catholics believe they are re-sacrificing Jesus over and over again because his first sacrifice wasn’t enough

Truth: This is old Protestant propaganda against the Catholic Church, and it’s simply false. The Bible (compiled and preserved by the Catholic Church) is explicit that Christ died “once for all” for the sins of the world (cf. Romans 6:10, Hebrews 7:27, et al.) And the Catechism makes this clear as well (cf. CCC 1330).

When we call the Eucharist the “Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,” we mean that “it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior.” (CCC 1330) Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross is the infinite source for all the grace God dispenses in the world and in the Church. The Eucharist is a mysterious way that Christ left us for making his one sacrifice present for all generations so that we may join with his sacrifice and have it applied to our lives.

Myth 4: Everyone, regardless of their beliefs or the state of their soul, should be allowed to receive the Eucharist

Truth: This might sound welcoming or inclusive, but to open the Eucharist to everyone regardless of their beliefs or the state of their soul would actually be bad for people who are unprepared, in addition to directly contravening Scripture.

This isn’t something the Church made up. St. Paul specifically addresses the problem of people receiving the Eucharist unprepared:

“Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying.” (1 Corinthians 11.27-30)

Of course, Catholics want everyone to receive the Eucharist – just as believing and practicing Catholics.

Myth 5: It’s acceptable to use grape juice instead of wine

Truth: It’s common among evangelical Protestants to use grape juice instead of wine for their celebrations of the Lord’s Supper. This practice appears to have come from the 19th century anti-alcohol Temperance movement in the United States and was based on a concern about the abuse of alcohol.

That might sound reasonable at first, except that it’s contradicting what Christ, in his perfect wisdom, specifically told the Church to do.

Christ could have used any drink for the Eucharist, but chose wine. It’s not our place to determine that Jesus’ decision was unwise or socially unacceptable and then change it. The Catholic Church rightly remains faithful to Christ’s own institution and only uses real wine (and bread).

5 Ways to Make Mary’s Month (Extra) Special

5 Ways to Make Mary’s Month (Extra) Special

Do something to honor Mary during her month — it will make this May extra special for both of you.

Marge Fenelon

Have you been too busy to consider how to honor Mary during her month of May? You’re not alone; plenty of us are grappling to come up with ways to show our devotion to the Blessed Mother. And if you’ve not yet considered it, well, it’s time you do.
May is here.
You might be tempted to toss the whole idea out, thinking it’s too late or too much work to come up with something.
I assure you, it’s not too late and not too much work. Here are five quick and easy ways to honor Mary this May.

1. Set up a May Altar.
Reserve a place for Mary in your home or even at your workplace. It could be a stand-alone altar with a picture or statue or the corner of a desk or dresser with a picture of Mary. It’s not how fancy it is that matters, rather it’s the fact that it makes your heavenly Mother especially present to you. Out-of-sight-out-of-mind is often the case with many of our devotions. Keeping Mary present will urge you to honor her more frequently throughout the coming weeks.

2. Take the “Fresh Flower Pledge.”
Pledge to make certain that you keep fresh flowers on your May altar throughout the month. It can be a bouquet from the florist, a bunch from your garden, wildflowers you gathered on a hike, or even a simple, single stem. It’s the gesture itself, not the extravagance of the blooms that counts most. Think about how happy a mom is when her child brings her a flower – even if it’s a crumpled-up dandelion from the lawn. That’s how Mary is with you. She’ll cherish whatever you give her, not for what it is but for the fact that you gave it to her.

3. Learn a new Marian prayer.
No matter how many Marian prayers you know by heart, there are always more to learn. And, each Marian prayer shows a different facet of our Lady, which will be a boost to your knowledge of, and love for, her. It doesn’t have to be a long prayer; it just has to be a prayer that’s new to you.

4. Read about Mary.
Daily spiritual reading is always a marvelous idea. It helps you carve out time for God as well as helping you to grow spiritually. So, why not choose a book about the Blessed Virgin Mary for your spiritual reading this May? Even if you spend just 10-15 minutes a day, it’s absolutely better than not reading about her at all. (Below is a whole list of great Marian books for you to dig into!)

5. Attend Saturday morning Mass.
Even if it’s your day to sleep in, do yourself (and Mary) a favor and give up a little of that “me” time to go to Mass on Saturday mornings during May. Throughout the year, daily Masses on Saturdays typically are dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. The readings and prayers are Mary-orientated and showcase an array of her qualities, characteristics, and importance. Even if you make it to only one Saturday Mass this May, you’ll still benefit and it still will be a beautiful act of love for the Mother who has been devoted to you since before you were even born.

Whether you do one, some, all the above, or come up with something completely different, just please do something to honor Mary during her month. I think you’ll be delightfully surprised at the way it will change your heart and your relationship with the Queen of Heaven and Earth. It’ll make this May extra special for both of you.


List of Books

Classics

The World’s First Love: Mary, Mother of God by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Anne Catherine Emmerich

The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary edited by John. E. Rotelle

The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales: On Our Lady (Volume III)

True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary by St. Louis de Montfort

St. Bernard of Clairevaux: Homilies in Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori

Contemporary

Walking with Mary: A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross by Edward Sri

Hail Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God by Scott Hahn

Listen to Your Blessed Mother: Mary’s Words in Scripture by Gary Zimak

Praying the Angelus: Find Joy, Peace, and Purpose in Everyday Life by Jared Dees

Gifts of the Visitation: Nine Spiritual Encounters with Mary and Elizabeth by Denise Bossert

A Heart Like Mary’s: 31 Daily Meditations to Help You Live and Love as She Does by Edward Looney

Waiting with Mary: Ten Marian Virtues for the Modern Mom by Marge Fenelon

Meet Your Mother: A Brief Introduction to Mary by Mark Miravalle

This May 13 marks the 100th Anniversary of the first apparition of our Blessed Mother to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. If you’ve never been knowledgeable about Fatima more before this, now’s the time to look into it.

Fatima

Fatima: The Apparition that Changed the World by Jean Heimann

Our Lady’s Message to Three Shepherd Children and the World by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle (children’s book)

Vision of Fatima by Fr. Thomas McGlynn

Our Lady of Fatima: 100 Years of Stories, Prayers, and Devotions by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle

Mary and the Little Shepherds of Fatima by Marlyn Monge and Jaymie Stuart Wolfe (children’s book)

Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words by Sr. Lucia and Louis Kondor (ed)