Every morning, the staff at Franciscan Media virtually joins together for prayer. It is led by different people, each with his or her own style of prayer. It is always a good reminder that everyone's faith journey is unique, and that we grow in faith together.
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There are, however, some aspects that are constants to our morning gatherings. Among those are prayers for you, our readers, and for God's inspiration to help us find ways to bring the Gospel message to you and to others. And, of course, we always seek the inspiration of Sts. Francis, Clare, and Anthony.
Perhaps no aspect of Catholic piety is as comforting to parents as the belief that an angel protects their little ones from dangers real and imagined. Yet guardian angels are not only for children. Their role is to represent individuals before God, to watch over them always, to aid their prayer, and to present their souls to God at death.
The concept of an angel assigned to guide and nurture each human being is a development of Catholic doctrine and piety based on Scripture but not directly drawn from it. Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:10 best support the belief: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”
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Devotion to the angels began to develop with the birth of the monastic tradition. Saint Benedict gave it impetus and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the great 12th-century reformer, was such an eloquent spokesman for the guardian angels that angelic devotion assumed its current form in his day.
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A feast in honor of the guardian angels was first observed in the 16th century. In 1615, Pope Paul V added it to the Roman calendar.
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Reflection
Devotion to the angels is, at base, an expression of faith in God’s enduring love and providential care extended to each person day in and day out.
Join us in celebrating the 10th anniversary of this classic by globally recognized
Fr. Richard Rohr!
Delve into the alternative way of St. Francis and the newly released Companion Guide!
The moment we surrender to the truth that God is not present to us in the way we would like God to be—namely, at our beck and call—we begin to rise; we start to resemble the Risen Christ. And if we persevere in letting Christ live in and through us, we die a death that is really new life, whose secret password is “Into Your hands, O God, I commend my spirit” (see Luke 23:46).
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It may be that the seeming barrenness of God’s abandonment comes and goes for the rest of our lives, but the slowly transforming self sees those varieties of feelings and emotions not as signs of God’s presence or absence, but rather as manifestations of God’s work within, forming the unique face of Christ that each one of us is becoming.
Because motherhood requires women to offer so much of their own spirits, it can lead to feeling depleted. Reflect on how motherhood intertwines with these words from Psalm 63:2–3: “For you my body yearns; for you my soul thirsts, In a land parched . . . I look to you.”
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Pray
Blessed Mother, You know what it takes to tend to a child: in the womb, as a newborn, infant, teen, and adult. You know the shifting landscape of motherhood: terrain of joys and heartaches. No matter where they stand on their journeys, renew all mothers now. May any drought within them be quenched with the flow of your love.
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Act
Today, think of the mothers you know (including yourself, if you are a mother) and as you say a Hail Mary, ask the Blessed Mother to let her tender love fall like rain upon them.
Today's Pause+Pray was written by Maureen O'Brien. Learn more here!
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