Virtual Retreat

Daily scriptural reflections by Fr. Rory Pitstick, SSL from Immaculate Heart Retreat Center in Spokane, WA
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Thursday, October 01, 2009

Daily Retreat 10/02/09

2009 Oct 2 Fri:The Guardian Angels M
Bar 1:15-22/ Ps 78(79):1b-2. 3-5. 8. 9/ Mt 18:1-5. 10

From today’s readings:  “We did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God, in all the words of the prophets whom He sent us, but each one of us went off after the devices of his own wicked heart, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God....  For the glory of Your Name, O Lord, deliver us....  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.”

Uncle Sarge and Angels

My Uncle Sarge was one of the persons I most looked forward to meeting when I was young.  For a long time, my parents had told me about him, mentioning, for instance, that he played the violin.  Since I had recently started lessons myself, I was glad to learn that we already had something in common, so I was all the more eager to meet him!

But I was even more intrigued when I found out that Uncle Sarge only had one leg!  I later learned that the other one had been lost to cancer, but at the time, all that was pretty much beyond my understanding.   At my age, I could hardly imagine how there could even be a person without such an essential part of his body - in that aspect, my uncle and I were certainly quite different!  In fact, as time past, I even started to wonder if I really had such a strange uncle, and I began to suspect that my parents perhaps had made up those stories about him.

But in due time, my Uncle Sarge did come for a visit, bringing his violin, and yes, hopping along on his one leg!  He instantly became one of my favorite relatives, so we were loyal pen pals until he died a few years later.

“That’s very interesting, ” you’re probably thinking, “but what does your Uncle Sarge have to do with today’s feast of the Guardian Angels?”  Well, aren’t our protective angels likewise relatives whom we all look forward to seeing some day?  And we already have some things in common - for instance, we’re both created by God with free will.  But in other aspects, we’re quite different:  angels have a superior intellect, and they are pure spirits, without any body at all!  Because these differences are so beyond our understanding, some people even suggest that perhaps the Bible just makes up all those stories about angels.

But in due time, God’s trusting children will have a splendid reunion with their guardian angels, and then we’ll discover how they’ve always been our most loyal soulmates!