Angels doing God's Will

Our Faith Formation programs in our parishes have begun. Yes, they are underway for the new year. These programs have a solid foundation. They use textbooks which are set upon two solid rocks. Namely, the Bible and the Catholic Catechism.

During the months of September and October, our textbooks focus their attention on the angels and the saints. In the bible, angels are persons with great strength. In the Book of Revelation we read that there is a great war in heaven. Saint Michael and his companions are fighting against Satan and his army. Saint Michael and his army defeat Satan and his forces and they are kicked out heaven. And ever since then Saint Michael has been helping Christians to defeat their enemies. Saint Michael is the patron saint of soldiers, sailors and police officers.

In the Book of Tobit we read about an angel called Raphael. Tobit was a Jewish man living in Nineveh 250 years B.C. who suddenly went blind. Tobit then sent his son to a town near the Tigris River to collect on a loan. Raphael was his traveling companion but no one knew that he was an angel.

When they came to the Tigris River Tobit’s son caught a large fish. Raphael said to him, “Remove the heart, gall bladder and liver because they are good for making a healing medicine.” When they returned to Nineveh he rubbed the gall over his father’s eyes and he was healed. Tobit could see once again. Then Raphael told them that he was an angel and he returned to heaven. Today we venerate Saint Raphael for being a patron saint of healing.

In Luke’s Gospel we read that the angel Gabriel came to Nazareth with a message for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Gabriel announced that she would be the mother of the Savior? Mary said, “Let it be to me according to thy word.” With those words, the Word was made flesh and salvation came into the world. Saint Gabriel was the messenger and now he is called the patron saint of messengers and postal workers. …the patron saint of messengers and postal workers, the patron saint of those who deliver messages.

Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. Each name ends with EL and EL means God in Hebrew. The angels bring messages from God and healing from God and strength from God.

In the time of Christ, the Sadducees and Pharisees had been debating over whether angels existed or not. The Sadducees said angels are a figment of your imagination. One day Jesus decided to clarify the teaching so that there would be no doubt. He called a little child forward, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said “See that you do not despise any of these little ones, for I tell you: their angels in heaven continually see the face of my heavenly Father.”

Our church leaders frequently tell us that the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of the angels. We place our trust in them and the guidance that they are providing us. Our church calendar places their feasts on September 29 and October 2.

The month of October contains three feasts of three patron saints of ecology and the environment. We have Saint Therese of the Little Flower on October 1 and Saint Francis on October 4 and we celebrate the canonization of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha on October 21.

These three saints had the same attitude toward nature: They saw God in everything: in the soil, in the rocks, in the water, in the plants, in every animal and in every person. They gave praise to God for the beauty of the earth and they call us to care for Gods’ creation. They call us to have healthy relationships with the soil, the air and the water.

Saint Francis lived 800 years ago. His attitude toward nature was simple. Simple and direct: Saint Francis saw God in everything, and he loved and praised God in all creation.

The second patron saint of ecology and the environment is Saint Therese of the Little Flower. She lived in the nineteenth century, and she said: “I don’t look through books for beautiful prayers. Instead, I look to the flowers, and they remind me of God’s love and providence, and they help me to pray.” She also said, “Jesus set us before the book of nature for our inspiration.” Saint Therese often used the imagery of nature to explain how God is everywhere and how God is holding everything in his loving arms.

Saint Kateri is a Native American saint, and she was canonized by Pope Benedict on October 21, 2012. She lived in the 17th century in the regions that would later become New York state and Canada. She often went to the woods - alone - to speak to God and to listen to God in the voice of nature. We have this quote from Pope John Paul II: “Nature must be protected because nature is a Gospel that speaks to us of God.” Pope Benedict the Sixteenth said: “Our earth speaks to us. We must listen to the earth if we want to survive.” My point is this: Our faith formation books teach our children about the angels and the saints. They also teach us to do God’s will. And that is the message of today’s Gospel. The father made a request and the first son said No to his father. But then he had a change of heart and went to work in the vineyard. In the end he did what his father wanted him to do. The father in the story represents God. Yes, God the Father wants us to do his will. And what is His will? God the Father want us to obey the Ten Commandments and eight beatitudes. The Ten Commandments are in the Old Testament and the Eight Beatitudes are in the New Testament. Our Second Reading today says that one person obeyed our Heavenly Father perfectly and that was Jesus of Nazareth. He followed the commandments and the beatitudes perfectly. I will quote from today’s Second Reading: “Jesus humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this God greatly exalted him.” (end of quote) I will close with a short summary. Today’s liturgy all about doing God’s will. His will is found in the Ten Commandments and the Eight Beatitudes. Our Faith Formation programs tell us about the angels and saints who did God’s will. And they call us to be holy like the angels and saints. And most importantly they honor Jesus who was totally obedient to His Heavenly Father.