St. Michael the Archangel

This is the allocutio I will deliver this evening at our Legion meeting. It comes from Ch. 24, part 4: St. Michael. The allocutio is a spiritual talk given by the spiritual director or, when he is not there, the president, during the Legion of Mary meeting.

Notes from the reading:

·         The prince of all the heavenly court

·         The most zealous in honoring Mary

·         The task of the good angels is the protection of people and solicitude for their salvation

·         Michael is the angel associated with covenant with the Jews – he is their special protector, as well

·         He is the loyal defender of the Church

This week we are strong on the angel theme, as our handbook study from Mary Shall Reign also covers the importance of the angels to the Legion. I read a book about angels recently that opened with this quote from Pope St. Leo: “Make friends with the angels.”

Why should we make friends with the angels, and what role do they play in our lives? Personally, I know I neglect my thought and prayer toward them, aside from maybe asking for their protection ahead of going on a trip. With all the other figures we can pray to, the angels are simply not at the top of my list – I am sad to say I forget about them.

We should make friends with the angels because they are powerful figures in our lives and the lives of all those we interact with, and their intercession is a powerful tool. If you are arguing with a friend and family member, you can ask their guardian angel to help or intercede, along with your own. If you are worried for your safety, you can ask your guardian angel to be at your side. Angels have been credited with stopping traffic incidents, shielding people from harm and even bringing couples together for marriage, as was the case with Tobia, who was led by the angel Raphael to his future wife, Sarah, as we learned in the recent readings from the Book of Tobit.

Just the idea of angels is really astonishing – beings whose whole reason for existence is to look after us. They are our best friends and allies, and they share in our joy and sadness equally with us. We must make friends of them and lean on them, because that is what God designed them and us for.

We are fortunate in the Legion to have St. Michael the Archangel watching over us. It is particularly fitting given the military lexicon in the Legion – we are Mary’s army, and he leads the army of angels. We know him as the angel who cast Satan from Heaven. He is the guardian of the church, patron of police officers, paramedics and the military. He also has a special role related to death – he carries souls as they depart, giving them a chance to come back to God and redeem themselves. He is depicted with a sword and, often, scales, where he is measuring souls with mercy. The sword is his weapon against evil, and he wields it on our behalf.

St. Michael will always come to our aid, and it is a good idea to invoke him before performing our works each week. He is, as Frank Duff noted, zealous in his willingness to render service to Mary’s servants (that’s us).

I will close with the powerful words of St. Michaels’ prayer:

St. Michael the Archangel,

Defend us in battle.

Be our defense against the wickedness and the snares of the Devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,

and do thou,

oh Prince of the heavenly hosts,

by the power of God,

thrust into hell Satan,

and all the evil spirits,

who prowl about the world

seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Mustard Seed

Sunday, June 14, 2015 had the familiar reading about the mustard seed. It goes:

“This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”

Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” (Mark 4:26-32)

I love this reading because it gives me hope. It tells me that even during the times when my faith is low - on something important, or something negligible - just having faith in God is enough. The purpose in having faith is not to create a result - the largest plant, the most gorgeous leaves, the most generous shade. The purpose of faith is to live your trust in God, through all things. 

Can you think of a time in your life when you had nothing to rely on but pure faith, and perhaps it wasn't even that much faith? 

God just wants us to show up for Him. The test that has your worried, the bill that needs paying, the stranger you want to speak to, the idea you want to pitch in the meeting - these are all opportunities to say, I don't know the outcome, but I will have faith regardless. And the beautiful thing is, when we do trust and rely on God - even this tiniest bit - His grace fills in the rest. The act of faith is enough. It shows God where our hearts are, trusting in His heart.

What a wonderfully comforting thought. You need not run a marathon for God's love. Praying, fasting and acts of service, of course, are all noble efforts, but in reality, this deep closeness we can have with God is accessible within ourselves, simply through having faith. Speak to Him, trust in Him and offer that mustard seed's worth of faith. In return, your faith will flourish and you will reap the rewards like grain at the harvest.

"This is how it is with the kingdom of God."

Corpus Christi

Every Monday night during jail ministry we have a Mass, or do a liturgical service, based on the previous day's (Sunday's) readings. Yesterday was the feast of Corpus Christi, which is of course all about the very real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. 

I don't know what it is about Mondays this summer, but if there is a torrential downpour to  be had, it happens Monday night. Tonight was no different - the little Accuweather app on my phone popped up with a tornado warning (pshaw) as I left work and while it stopped for the drive to the detention center, we sat in the multi-purpose room with the winds and rain howling around the building again. Rain is always nice, though, especially during summer, and especially when you are in a place so clinically, purposefully cold. It reminds you of what's outside - the fact that there is an outside.

There was just three of us tonight: two volunteers and one inmate. He is our regular, and we always marvel at the way these discussions help us all gain a deeper understanding of scripture. We covered a lot of ground, and I shared my own feelings on how the Eucharist is not the "easy" part of being, or becoming, Catholic. Some of the first Apostles left Jesus when he began speaking about his body and and blood because it is such a radical idea. For me, it has been much easier to think "God is love" and leave it at that, rather than get into really examining the sacrifice and the reality found in the Host. If that is how you come to the Church, that is fine, but eventually you must see Jesus there in the Communion. I say "must," because otherwise you are cheating yourself - you get this pinch of reality, when there is so much there that God is offering you.

A few weeks ago I did adoration, really and truly, for the first time. I have had other, brief experiences which were parts of some greater activity, so I don't feel they count. It was one of the nights when we arrived at the jail to learn programs were canceled for lock down, and it was of course another rainy Monday, with the rain water gushing in the streets. Cajethan had the brilliant idea to spend that hour, instead of just turning around and going home, to visit the Eucharist for perpetual adoration at St. Agnes. I was secretly thrilled at his suggestion because it had been on my heart for some time. I relished the opportunity to just sit with Christ - not even have to pray the Rosary or anything else, not attempt a grand and deep meditation practice, not read some holy person's words - just be. Look to the monstrance, feel peace and just be. 

And that's exactly what happened. There in that little chapel, with the floods soaking the earth outside, the devoted beside me adoring in their own ways - I looked at Jesus inside the monstrance and let go. How and why does that happen? Why does it work? Is it the beauty of the monstrance and the altar? The prayers of the faithful suffused into the very air of the room? Is it because there is no wrong way to adore? Of course there are appropriate and inappropriate ways, but sitting vs. kneeling vs. praying vs. reading - Jesus is just happy you're there with Him. I think that must be it. And if you are open to it and faithful, you feel it.

What a wonderful gift we have as Catholics. This is why we kneel before the pew; this is why a church without the Sacrament on Good Friday feels so horribly empty. Jesus gave us the gift of himself on the cross long ago, yet he also gave us the gift us his person in the Eucharist to be seen and met every day. If it seems too good to be true, just sit with Him for a while.  Ask to understand, and allow his Presence to enter your heart. What you feel may be impossible to explain to any other person, and that's fine. After all, that speaks to the very nature of our personal relationship with God. He is waiting for you, and He already knows you.