“They have no self-interest; their one desire is to serve and worship God.” (Father Donald Calloway, “30 Day Eucharistic Revival” at page 133).
I have been contemplating the angels.
There are several times in both the Old and New Testaments that Angels were referenced.
It was angels who were stationed outside the Garden of Eden so that we humans could never return to it.
We are told about an angel speaking to Abraham and his wife Sarah and promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation through his son Isaac. In that encounter, Sarah, who was ninety years old and was long past child-bearing years for a woman, laughed at the prophesy, but when the angel questioned her, she was afraid and told the angel that she had not laughed at all. And true to his prophesy, the couple had their child Isaac the following year and they became parents to the Israelites, which is a great nation (Genesis 18)…
Angels also appeared at other times…
An angel appeared to Hagar in the wilderness when she was running away from Sarah, the wide of Abraham. And the angel convinced her to return to that household and promised her that she would be the mother a multitude of people. And Haga listened to the angel and as a result she returned to her home and gave birth to Ishmael (Genesis 16). Later, when Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac, it was an angel who stopped him before the sacrifice and praised him for his faith. And again, when Sodom was to be destroyed, two angels appeared to Lot to warn him (Genesis 19).
In the New Testament, it was an angel who announced the Incarnation of God to the Blessed Virgin. It was an angel who appeared to Saint Joseph in a dream and asked him to marry the Blessed Virgin and then leave Bethlehem to escape Herod and then return to Nazareth to raise the Son of God.
And these angels – these messengers of God – are pivotal in all the important moments in time.
“Many saints have claimed to see angels during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and during Eucharistic adoration. The angels are God's servants and do his holy will. They pass unnoticed before our eyes, yet, when we attend Holy Mass or Eucharistic adoration, we are surrounded by armies of holy angels. They have no self-interest; their one desire is to serve and worship God. Like soldiers on a battlefield, they fight for God and constantly await their marching orders. It should be the same for you.” (Father Donald Calloway, “30 Day Eucharistic Revival” at page 133).
And when I think about the angels and all the significant moments in history when they have appeared, there is nothing more significant than the Holy Eucharist for me to contemplate. For all those other appearances and instances were designed to bring us to this moment, when the angels would be able to worship God in the form of the Blessed Eucharist.
And when I think about that today, it is actually quite amazing to me – quite amazing indeed.
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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