A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 18: 1-5, 10
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
“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.”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Reflection: God’s angels are among us
A young Air Force Pilot was flying home when the instruments of his plane fail to function. It was a foggy evening and he is desperate to land safely. He calls out desperately for help over the radio, but receives no response. Suddenly he hears a reassuring voice on the radio, giving instructions on how to precisely land his plane through the fog.
He follows the voice and lands safely at small airport. Upon coming down from the plane he discovers that the airport is closed for the night with no one working at the control tower.
Angels are among us. In the gospel reading today our Lord Jesus encourages us and the disciples to be like little children, to not despise the little ones for their angels always look upon the face of the heavenly father.
There are numerous accounts of the holy angels being sent by God to watch over His people. From the angels saving Lot and his family from certain death before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, to the angels who guarded the Israelites during the Exodus to the promised land. Angels encouraged the women at the tomb of Jesus that He has been risen from the dead,
and an angel of the Lord led St. Peter out of prison to safety, as his foot and arm shackles were loosed and he followed the angel out of the prison to freedom. Peter thought that he was dreaming until he realized that he was actually free outside the gates of the prison.
Wherever we may go or travel, God has sent his angels to be among us. To do God’s will. As we read from Psalm 91, “The Lord has put angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways..”. We have angels journeying with us especially with the little ones as they guard us, ready to intervene upon human history as directed by God.
We may not recognize their presence, and we may not see them, but the holy angels of our Lord Jesus are among us always. The battle against the work of the evil one continues as our Lord Jesus leads us and prepares us for daily holiness, with the presence of his angels.
St. Bernard Clairvaux shared, “show our affection to the angels, for one day they will be our co-heirs just as here below they are our guardians and trustees appointed and set over us by the Father”. St. Bernard continues, “Even though we are children and have a long, a very long and dangerous way to go, with such protectors what have we to fear”.
Brothers and sisters, let us be grateful to our heavenly father for sending us his angels, our great protectors! They may not intervene at all times, but they are there to help guide us, sometimes in extraordinary ways that we are unable to explain. May we follow the lead of the Holy Spirit to live lives of humility like little children knowing that God will protect us in our life journey with his holy angels.
Action for the Day:
In our prayer time, show our gratitude and love to God for protecting us with his angels by seeking to be holy in all our ways.
God and His holy angels are always in our midst. Be mindful and aware of the presence of His holiness and blessings occurring all around us.
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