FIFTIETH LESSON
On Angels.
"Behold I will send my Angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared."—Exod. XXIII.20.
My children, angels are creatures with whom God has peopled heaven, and who are its inhabitants, as we are those of earth. Angels, however, are not like us; they are pure spirits without bodies; these spirits, like our souls, are immaterial, so that we can neither see nor touch them.
God created a multitude of these angels, who were destined forever to glorify and bless him in heaven; but the chief of them, believing that he could be equal to God in power, revolted against him, and involved a great number of other Angels in his disobedience. God, who hates pride, drove from heaven all these rebels, and precipitated them into hell. There they have neither pardon nor mercy to expect: Our Lord did not die upon the Cross for their salvation. Though no doubt, on account of our weakness, our sins are treated with more indulgence, yet this example of divine justice, my children, ought to make us tremble.
The faithful Angels remained in heaven, and, as their reward, God confirmed them in grace. Do you understand, my children, what happiness there is, not only in never having the wish to disobey God, and to be confirmed in grace. This bliss will be ours if one day we have the happiness of joining the Angels in heaven.
There are, then, good and bad angels, the good, ever near celestial light, the bad doomed to everlasting darkness. Those who are called demons, on account of their wickedness, are in eternal torment, because they can never see God and can never do anything but evil. They find a cruel delight in drawing mankind into wrong actions, thus trying to make us all as miserable as they are themselves. One of these demons, you know, caused the sin of our first parent, and it is also these demons who, by their temptations, try every day to make us fail in our duty. Let us then, my children, most carefully avoid temptations, and listen to our conscience, which warns us against the suggestions of wickedness.
The good Angels are happy in heaven with God, whom they love and bless without ceasing, and whose will they accomplish. The name Angel signifies messenger, one who is sent; and in truth, Angels have often been sent on earth to be the executors of God's justice and of his mercies. You remember the Angel placed at the gate of the terrestrial paradise to defend its entrance; another who, sparing the children of Israel, put to death in one single night the eldest born of the Egyptians; the angel who arrested Abraham's arm about to sacrifice his only son; another who guided young Tobias on his pious journey; and last of all, those who, by their celestial music, made known to the shepherds of Bethlehem the birth of the Saviour of the world. In all these different circumstances, God allowed his Angels to show themselves to mankind. It is now very long since any of them have appeared on earth; but we know that they watch over us, and that there are even some who have the particular charge of protecting us. These are called by the Church our Guardian Angels.
As soon as a little child comes into the world, God appoints one of these beautiful Angels, who keeps watch over his cradle. He preserves his early years from the dangers which threaten him; he takes care of him in sickness, consoles him later in his sorrows, helps him to do what is right and to shun evil; and all that by the means of God's grace, which the Angels are ordered to instil into our hearts. Our Guardian Angel offers up our prayers to God, asks him to reward our virtues; weeps over our sins, and joins with us in imploring divine forgiveness. Finally, when the hour of death draws nigh, my children, he upholds our courage, softens our last trials, and soars away with our souls on the road to heaven.
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