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From
Fr. Mark on the feast of St. Michael:
Are we in danger of forgetting the angels? While the liturgy mentions
them repeatedly, all too often we assist at the Sacred Mysteries as if
the angels were not there, joining in our praises, observing our
attitudes, grieving over lack of zeal, and rejoicing to see us
recollected and reverent. Saint Benedict speaks explicitly of the
presence of the angels in Chapter 19 of the Rule: “We must therefore
consider how we should behave in the sight of the Divine Majesty and his
Angels, and as we sing our Psalms let us see to it that our mind is in
harmony with our voice” (RB 19:6-7).
One thing is certain. We need the angels. God created the angels for the
praise of his glory and for our salvation, that is, to participate in
his work of bringing us to wholeness, to peace, and to life everlasting
in his presence. The angels are sent to us to comfort us in the hour of
trial and affliction. Saint Luke, the evangelist most sensitive to
angelic interventions, relates that an angel was sent to console Jesus
during His agony in the garden (cf. Lk 22:43).
The angels are sent to bring us the healing of heavenly medicine, and
the brightness of God’s deifying light. The angels are sent before every
advent of the Word, to dispose our hearts and unstop our ears. The
angels are sent before Christ, our Priest and our Victim, present in the
offering of His Body and of His Blood. The angels are sent to bear our
prayers up to heaven, and to descend to us, laden with heavenly
blessings. The angels protect us in all our ways. They do all of these
things gladly, joyfully, and unhesitatingly in obedience to the command
of God. (Read more.)
Fr. Mark analyzes the painting by Caravaggio in light of the Scriptures:
The call of Matthew, as recounted in his Gospel and as portrayed in Caravaggio's painting, is more than the story of one man's experience of Jesus Christ over two thousand years ago. It is your story and mine. It concerns each one of us just as much as it concerns Saint Matthew, for the Lord Jesus says: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. . . . For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mt 9:12-13). (Read entire post.)
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