Christ’s Priests united with the Holy Angels in the Church

Christ’s Priests united with the Holy Angels in the Church

Christ’s Priests united with the Holy Angels in the Church

On September 7^th, Pope Leo XIV canonized two young Italian laymen, both co-patrons of youth, St. Pier Giorgio Frassati who died in 1925 at the age of 24, and St. Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006 at the age of only 15 years old. St. Pier Giorgio was from a noble and well-known family; his father was a senator, ambassador and founder of the newspaper, La Stampa, which still exists today. Pier Giorgio, however, had other interests. He was involved in Catholic Action and the St. Vincent’s de Paul Society, serving the poor and advocating especially for the rights of miners. He encouraged his friends and classmates to live the faith and openly witness to it without fear, at a time when fascism under Mussolini was becoming popular and violent in Italy. He passionately loved horseback riding, rock climbing, skiing and mountaineering, but always in a spirit of faith and charity, cheerfully bearing the heaviest burdens of the trip and inviting his companions to prayer. Further, St. Pier Giorgio Frassati was a daily communicant, prayed the Rosary without fail even late into the night, made frequent and prolonged Eucharistic adoration and spent his free time and monetary resources helping in the poor quarter of the city, unbeknownst to his family. It was there that he probably contracted polio, from which he died a painful and lonely death.

Among his many friends was even the Cardinal Archbishop, who had learned to esteem his faith and courage, and wanted to come to anoint him, but his family prevented it for fear of contagion. At his funeral, 10,000 people from far and wide filled the streets to venerate his remains and pay their respects, so broadly had the fame of his charity spread. Only then did his family learn of his charitable works. His last note was to the pharmacy, asking them to fulfill a subscription for a poor invalid, which he had forgotten, and to put it to his account. Pope St. John Paul II called him a “man of the Beatitudes” because he lived not the values of this world, but the contradiction of the Cross, where the poor and the persecuted gain the Kingdom, those who mourn are comforted, and the meek inherit the earth (cf. Mt 5:3-12).

St. Carlo Acutis was also from a wealthy, non-practicing family, and found his way to the faith and a great love for God through Catholic schools and his grandparents. At the age of four, he had his first deep encounter with the Eucharist and, as he himself said, his Guardian Angel inspired him with a great desire to receive First Holy Communion, which he did at the age of 7 (early, by Italian standards). He was always open and ready to share his faith in a non-judgmental way, converting or “reverting” a significant number, including his parents and housekeeper. He was generous with the poor and homeless, living in simplicity and a spirit of poverty, so as to be able to give more, even to the point of giving away the shoes from his feet. He was known for his gentleness and considerate solicitude for his friends and schoolmates, and also for gently correcting those who were walking a dangerous path. He had a great love for Jesus in the most Holy Eucharist and for Eucharistic Adoration, which he called “his highway to heaven!” This love inspired him to design a website and placard-exhibition on Eucharistic Miracles from all over the world, completed already at the age of 14. At that time, he contracted Leukemia, from which he died in the hospital shortly thereafter, having prophesied his death beforehand to his mother. He said, “I am happy to die because I lived my life without wasting even a minute of it on anything unpleasing to God.”

The desire for holiness

How is it that these young men reached such great sanctity at such an early age? Undoubtedly, in the plan and Providence of God, they had a special call and grace, and also a mission for our times. Yet God does not work alone. These young men cooperated with the call and grace of God with determination and constancy, and above all, with love. God also has a plan for each of us, a beautiful, merciful and wonderful plan. Do we want to fulfill it, or do we have our own plans, our own priorities? (A good career, a nice house, a comfortable life?) At Baptism we received the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity along with the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. We received an initial holiness as the seed for our growth in supernatural love. But while God initially sanctified us without our cooperation, He wills that we collaborate (work, together with Him!) toward our perfection in charity and in His work of Redemption, saving as many souls as we can! (cf. St. Augustine in CCC 1847).

This pertains to our dignity as persons, free and intelligent beings, who are capable of choosing and loving whom we will. Thus, God wants us to freely choose to serve and love Him, to seek Him and His glory – for His sake! On the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus asked Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (Jn 21:15). This is His question to each of us, Do you love Me? Do you choose Me over all created things, over yourself, your ego, your reputation, your desires? As St. John warns us, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols!” (1 Jn 5:21), from letting anything take the place of God in our lives. Similarly, we read in the Catechism,

The Beatitude we are promised confronts us with decisive moral choices. It invites us to purify our hearts of bad instincts and to seek the love of God above all else. It teaches us that true happiness is not found in riches or well-being, in human fame or power, or in any human achievement – however beneficial it may be – such as science, technology, and art, or indeed in any creature, but in God alone, the source of every good and of all love. (CCC 1723)

Jesus taught us to pray the Our Father as a lesson on what we are to ask of God as well as on the order of the goods we are to ask (cf. St. Thomas, Sum.Th. II-II, 83, 9). The first petition is, “…hallowed be Thy Name”, that is, may You be glorified Lord, in all that I am and do! Beyond doubt, we will certainly only gain from seeking first God and His glory (cf. Lk 12:31) – great peace, happiness, joy, love – for there is no greater joy than to love and be loved by God. But true and perfect love for God seeks first and foremost to give Him glory, to please Him, not one’s own advantage. God has loved us with this selfless love first; we need only to look upon Christ Crucified (cf. 1 Jn 4:9-10)! Do we not want to love God in this way in return, that is, for His sake? Do we not want to correspond to all the love He has showered upon us from our birth? Do we not want to fulfill His plan for our lives, to renounce our own plan if it is not according to His will – out of love for Him? All this lies behind the question, do we want to become holy?

God calls and desires each of us to reach holiness, to become Saints, and He gives us all the graces needed to do so. “By the working of grace, the Holy Spirit educates us in spiritual freedom in order to make us free collaborators in His work in the Church and in the world” (CCC 1742). By faith we are united with Christ, and He calls us to follow Him. He walks with us and gives us the light and strength through His Spirit.

He who believes in Christ becomes a son of God. This filial adoption transforms him by giving him the ability to follow the example of Christ. It makes him capable of acting rightly and of doing good. In union with his Savior, the disciple attains the perfection of charity which is holiness… (CCC 1709)

Mother Gabriele Bitterlich, a spiritual master who received the charism of Opus Angelorum, has many teachings on the spiritual life and the path to holiness, her little way of love. Pondering a few of her simple counsels for a soul whom she guided, we want to let ourselves be inspired, guided and inflamed in our zeal for God and our determination to strive for holiness.

Joy in God and thanksgiving!

When we awake in the morning, we want to begin our day with joy in God! “May the first praise of the day be dedicated to You, O Most Holy Trinity!… I wish to give YOU thanks for having given me this earthly life and for the call and capacity to serve You” (99 Prayers). Even under the weight of the Cross, we want to learn to “smile through our tears” in the certitude that “for those who love God, everything works out for the good” (Rom 8:28). Thus, with this supernatural hope we want to love and thank God for His solicitous love at every moment of our lives! Mother Gabriele writes,

God teaches us to be thankful through the light of little everyday things. Should we not be thankful when the first ray of sunshine gilds the clouds and makes us bright and cheerful? Should we not be thankful for the light of certainty that our good Angel kneels with us to adore God? Should we not let our thanks accompany us the whole day as our good companion? If only we always had clear and open eyes, how much we would have to thank GOD every day, even in the gray, difficult everyday life – and then immediately this everyday life would no longer be gray, but golden in the certainty of intimate contact with the Lord, His Mother, His Angels! (The Support, Aug. 9, 1956)

Giving thanks, we will grow in love, and through love, we will come to joy!

The most beautiful light of the Holy Spirit is love, and the most beautiful and delicate radiance around it is joy. Those who love must also be able to be joyful, for love is not only the strength to overcome all things, but also the strength to rejoice in all sincerity and simplicity over everything, even the smallest things that God gives or shows to us.

This joy in the Holy Spirit must be like a little bell before the Lord on the steps of the altar of our heart, which with every movement of love or thanks right away rings joyfully. Remember, dear, dear soul, a holy person is always loving in God, always calm in God, always joyful in God. From these three windows, he looks into the world. (Dec. 11, 1955)

Discipline and continual prayer:

If we are to become Saints, we have to work at it! St. Teresa of Avila speaks again and again of the “firm determination” necessary to grow in the life prayer and holiness. St. Paul lived in a culture like our own, where athletic competition was highly regarded. Thus, he uses this theme to motivate the young Church to self-discipline. “Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we, an imperishable one. Thus…I drive my body and train it” (1 Cor 9:24-27). Mother Gabriele builds on this theme, pointing to the need for continual prayer:

Whoever enters into a competition, must train hard beforehand; he must bring his spirit as well as his body to ever stricter discipline and submission, so that they both obey the will ever more quickly and unresistingly. Are we not, at the hand of our Angels, engaged in a competition far greater than any chess or sports championship? And how lightheartedly we take this training – how quickly we are satisfied with a small partial success – and yet, we should actually be training, practicing and improving our agility in the battle against ourselves and the snares of the evil one more and more. Why don’t we do it? Because we don’t think about it, because we are always distracted by everyday life. How can we counteract this? By walking in the presence of GOD, by fixing our face on the Face of GOD. How will we be reminded of this? By really trying to practice continual prayer. Let us resolve to say calmly one little prayer over and over again, a hundred times, a thousand times, e.g., “My GOD and my All!” – or: “My JESUS, mercy!” …Ever more from day to day, we will feel the blessing resulting from this, how our soul finds GOD ever more agilely, right away! (Dec. 17, 1955)

Suffering and sacrificing generously

When St. Therese of Lisieux was a child, her elder sister one day came with a basket of doll clothes and other items to give away. After Celine picked out a woolen ball, Therese simply said, “I choose all!” and took the whole basket. She drew a lesson from this regarding the generosity of love.

Later on, when the way of perfection was opened out before me, I realized that in order to become a Saint one must suffer much, always seek the most perfect path, and forget oneself. I also understood that there are many degrees of holiness, that each soul is free to respond to the calls of Our Lord, to do much or little for His Love – in a word, to choose amongst the sacrifices He asks. And then also, as in the days of my childhood, I cried out, “My God, I choose everything, I will not be a Saint by halves, I am not afraid of suffering for You, I only fear one thing, and that is to do my own will. Accept the offering of my will, for I choose all that You will.” (Story of a Soul, A 23)

If we want to grow in love, to be a Saint, we too must gear ourselves for suffering, without fear, but with great trust and generosity. In this life, before we get to heaven:

Love and suffering belong together as intimately as the two edges of a sword, as the two hands of a body, as day and night. If a person only wants to experience the light of the sun and nothing else, then he must die at nightfall. And if a person wants to experience only love and nothing else, then this love is like a mayfly that soon disappears. Who can speak of love if he has never suffered? But if in suffering we let ourselves be filled with love, then we already bear Easter morning within. (The Support, Dec. 19, 1955)

Jesus walks before us on the way of the Cross: “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as expiation for our sins” (1 Jn 4:9-10). He gives redemptive meaning to all our suffering, when united with His own.

When, O Lord, did You not suffer during Your life on earth? …You have taught us to be happy in suffering in view of its power of expiation and redemption. You have taught us to say “yes” to the Cross, to the will to sacrifice out of love, in conformity to the will of the Father, who requires the sacrifice. You have taught us the ultimate, most holy love, exemplified it and redeemed us through it. You always go before us, You always have patience with us, You wait for us. You say with such infinite love, “Come!” (March 30, 1956)

Thus, Mother Gabriele taught that making expiation is not beyond our strength, we need only to pray more, to seek union with Jesus. In the face of suffering and the Cross, the Mother repeatedly advised not to ask why, but to respond yes, Lord.

How many “why’s” are there in our lives, great and small? And how many will never be answered here on earth. God always leaves one last thing unanswered in our lives and along our way of the Cross. For here lies the mystery. Holy faith is not only a grace, rather indeed a mystery. No psychiatrist can unravel the causes and effects of grace and scientifically incorporate it into the course of life as a human process. The same can be said of love. We will never fathom the mystery of why God loves us so much that He became Man, that He shed His last drop of Blood for us, that for our sake He subjects Himself as BREAD to so many blasphemies until the end of time. And this is such a wonderful thing, that God draws us into this mystery. Everything counts before God, every silent sigh touches this ultimate mystery of love: YOU and me! (Aug. 21, 1956)

Not to ask why is not the same as to suppress our suffering, so that later it comes up again and again as an open wound festering in our soul. Rather, through love we can learn to transform our suffering into a gift, a gift of love: “…for love of You, Lord!”

The Angel points to a tall figure. This one simply swallowed her Cross – so that it cannot be seen from without. “No one needs to know about it.” But the Lord again shakes His head lovingly and says, “This is not yet the right way.”

If you swallow a hard piece of food that remains hard inside of you, then it injures you and you will die from it. Your soul is also very soft inside. If you swallow your Cross before having softened it, you will bleed to death interiorly from it. Let your Angel counsel you!

Then, having been called by the Lord, the good Angel kneels down and says, “The good God gives the oil of healing to everyone who asks for it. The oil of healing is called: FOR LOVE OF YOU, MY LORD! First anoint your Cross five times a day in honor of the five Holy Wounds with this oil, “For love of You, Lord!”, and make sure that you do not leave a single spot on the Cross without oil. In this way, the cross will become every day softer and every day smaller. And finally, you can peacefully entrust it to your soul, for love will eventually resolve it completely. (March 7, 1956)

The Holy Angel, our Guide to Holiness

Mother Gabriele shows again and again how the Angel leads and guides us on the path to holiness. He is given to us by the immense love of God as our “bridge” to the supernatural, to eternal values. “The bridge that the Angel builds for us is a bridge of light. Indeed, he himself is light. God created him as a spirit, as a light figure, therefore light is the image and distinctive mark of his being” (Jan. 3, 1956). Above all, it is our Guardian Angel who is given to us as our guide to heaven.

The first time the Angels draw near to us is through our Guardian Angel. His light awakens in us the striving for the good, for God, the longing for love for God. Knowing that he is near brings us comfort and security. Of course, we often fail to hear his admonitions. But if we train ourselves to listen for his voice, then he will first of all teach us is reverence for God, then obedience to God and His Church, and finally, merciful love for our neighbor. Only then does he teach us the active battle against the evil one, for which we must first be armed. (Jan. 9, 1956)

Childlike Trust, Silence and Peace of Heart

In order to follow the Angel, we must have the heart of a child, believing and trusting. “Unless you turn and become like this child, you shall not enter the Kingdom of God” (Mt 18:3). A child is not afraid, because he relies not on himself, but on the wisdom, strength and love of his Father.

For there are often stones on [the soul’s] path that loom menacingly from afar, as if to say: “You will not get over us! That is beyond your strength. We will fall on you and destroy you!” But the Angel of courage only smiles and says to the soul, “Just look through me!” And through the Angel, the soul looks at God, and there God is, so great and these stones become so small, that she says to herself, “What can keep me from running to meet God like a child? These little stones? What are they compared to You? And she runs and looks to God and – the stones are already lying behind her; she has neither fallen nor been crushed. Rather, she is happy. (May 13, 1956)

Thus, while the enemy tries to agitate and fill us with fear on our path to God, the Angel teaches us silence, trust and peace of heart.

Let us consider the Seraphim with their eyes turned outward and inward, that is, they see God around them and within them; this is an example for us. Do not look inward at your own self; rather, look inward at God, the Prisoner of our love, who is waiting for us to speak with Him about everything, to ask Him for advice, to nourish Him, so to speak, with our love and let Him become ever more powerful – in the silence of our secret love, our dearest secret. (July 29, 1956)

Thus, at the essence of genuine silence is the secret of learning to “rest in God”, to speak with Him in all faith and trust.

Holiness in Everyday Life

Holiness is not accomplishing great and wonderful things, it is a state of being, and for most of us, it is gained in everyday life, in the little victories over self which escape the notice of our surroundings. The trick is to learn to recognize and gain from all these little occasions, which are worth their weight in gold.

My God! Let me see the little things of everyday life that show me the way to You, that speak of Your wonderful love for me, that make me holy in the midst of everyday life! Let me go out of myself every day and through these little lights which You have placed for me along my path to You, become interiorly silent, wide and full of longing, desiring to prove to You my love in everything, not wanting to push anything aside because it is unpleasant to me. For precisely when we say to ourselves, “This is insignificant, it’s not that important, he or she just takes him or herself too seriously…”, precisely here is a lightless space where we, yes, we should set up a light of love, help, prayer, kindness, forgiveness and taking the needs of others seriously. …We need to shut out the whisperings of the evil “counsellor” and listen to what the Cross, what the Blood of Christ, what the hands of Mary have to say to us! Your Blood, O Lord, speaks to us; we want to be fixed on Your Eyes. (Aug. 13, 1956)

And so with renewed courage and determination, let us walk this little way of love at the hand of our holy Angel, under the protection of Mary and with Jesus in our hearts. He will make Saints of us, if only we truly and actively want it, in His time, according to His will, and in His love.

Sr. Maria Basilea

Christ’s Priests united with the Holy Angels in the Church

Christ’s Priests united with the Holy Angels in the Church

A few weeks after the Resurrection, St. Peter and six other disciples were on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, perhaps a bit restless and not knowing what to do with themselves. They had seen Jesus alive again, but now, He was nowhere to be seen. Peter announces, “I’m going fishing!”, and the others join in, “We will go with you!” (Jn 21:3) – as if nothing had happened, as if they could simply go “back to normal”! It is only at Pentecost that the Apostles are filled with the Holy Spirit in order to be strengthened and confirmed in their mission. They were suddenly transformed from weak and timid disciples into bold and fearless Apostles of the new life of love in Christ Jesus. From that moment onward, they lived no longer by their own human wisdom and strength, but by the Spirit of Christ.

By grace and in the power of the Holy Spirit, all the members of Christ’s Body, the Church, are transformed and conformed to Him, and called to continue His mission in the world – that is, to be Christ in the midst of men. “The Holy Spirit forms the human spirit from within according to the Divine exemplar which is Christ.… In thinking, loving, judging, acting and even in feeling, man is conformed to Christ, and becomes “Christ-like.” From then onward Christ is with us and works in us through the Holy Spirit” (John Paul II, Gen. Aud. = GA, July 26, 1989) The renewal in the Holy Spirit is a participation in His grace and power; still, this must be accepted and lived. “We have not received a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim 3:7). After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we should not want to go “back to normal”, to begin again with “ordinary time”; rather, we want to strive to live our spiritual renewal and mission as members of Christ’s Body with extraordinary love and joy, with the supernatural love and joy of Christ in and through His Holy Spirit.

The seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit received at Baptism and deepened by the Sacrament of Confirmation “are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit. …They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying Divine inspirations” (CCC 1830-31). Let us therefore look at each of these seven Gifts, in order to learn how we can better cooperate with them.

The Gift of Wisdom

Wisdom, as the highest of the Gifts of the Spirit: it is a participation in the highest knowledge, the knowledge of God Himself, for “the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Cor 2:10). But this Gift, deriving from our union with God in supernatural faith and charity, is more than just an intellectual apprehension. As the root of the Latin word for wisdom, sapientia, sapere = to taste, suggests, wisdom as a Gift of the Spirit is a certain taste or experience of God, of His goodness and love. Through charity, we are united with God, we have a certain connaturality (similarity in nature) with Him as St. Paul writes, “He who is joined to the Lord, is one Spirit with Him” (1 Cor 6:17). And from this union, the gift of Wisdom is derived, which deepens our experiential knowledge of God and makes us like Him whom we contemplate, as adopted sons in the One Son, Jesus Christ.

Further, since Wisdom “attains to God more intimately by a kind of union of the soul with Him, it is able to direct us not only in contemplation but also in action” (St. Thomas Aq. Summa Theol.= ST, II-II, 45, a. 3). Thus, wisdom is not only a contemplative Gift, but also active, changing how we live. It so interiorly transforms us that we see the world from God’s perspective and measure all things from eternal values and God’s law. “By means of His Holy Spirit, God makes known His own will, His plan for human life, much more deeply and surely than with a mere promulgation of a law in formulas of human language” (GA, March 14, 1990). Thus, through the Gift of Wisdom our actions arise from a renewed interior being, renewed in the likeness of Christ through His Spirit.

Wisdom makes us open for the grace of the Spirit and obedient to the precepts and wise plans of God for our lives; it brings to silence our disordered plans, desires and goals, which keep us from following the will of God. “I preferred her [wisdom] to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her” (Wis 7:8). It makes our service of God easy and pleasant, because our actions will arise quasi naturally from our deepened union with Him in charity, as St. Thomas writes: “The result of wisdom is to make the bitter sweet, and labor a rest” (ST, ibid.). Thus, St. Lawrence could joyfully joke with his tormentors about flipping him on the grill, and St. Thomas More could playfully ask his executioner to spare his handsome beard, which had committed no crime. Having “tasted” God deeply, nothing in this world could seduce them from serving Him, not even the greatest torments, and that, with gladness of heart. More than any other creature, Mary, the Seat of Wisdom, was open in humility for the working of the Spirit of Wisdom in her life, opening her heart, mind and womb to the Eternal Wisdom, Jesus.

The Gift of Understanding

The Gift of Understanding is based on the theological virtue of faith, and helps us to penetrate the truths of our faith more profoundly and with greater certitude. St. Thomas writes of this Gift, “Understanding implies an intimate knowledge, for ‘intelligere’ [to understand] is the same as ‘intus legere’ [to read inwardly]” (ST, II-II, 8, art. 1). Thus, through the working of the Spirit, we are able to “penetrate into the heart of things” (ibid.), to see beyond what is accessible to natural reason alone. In this way, for example, Our Lord opened the minds of the disciples on the way to Emmaus to understand all that was said of Him in the Scriptures, that the Christ was to suffer and only so enter His glory (cf. Lk 24:27, 32). It is also thanks to this Gift that the faithful have a certain intuition of divine things, a “sense of the faith’’ (sensus fidei), which preserves the body of the faithful as a whole from falling into error (though individual members can certainly fall into error). And our Pastors, the Pope and Bishops, are promised the divine light in teaching the faith: “The Advocate…will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” (Jn 14:26). Thus is the Catholic Church guaranteed the certitude of faith, as the “Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth” (1 Tim 3:13).

Through this Gift, we understand not only the truths of divine things better, but are also enabled to penetrate more deeply into human events and the workings of Divine Providence in our own lives and in the world around us, seeing all as coming from and guided by the loving hand of God. Pope St. John Paul II writes, “Thanks to it one sees better the many signs of God which are written in creation. Thus is discovered the not merely earthly dimension of events of which human history is woven. One can even arrive at prophetically interpreting the present and the future: signs of the times, signs of God!” (GA, April 16, 1989).

Understanding helps us to walk ever more surely and faithfully in the light of faith, accepting the dark and mysterious ways of God in our lives by the Gift of His Spirit. We will understand the great grace of our own personal way of the Cross and grow in trust of Him, who “works all things for the good of those who love Him” (Rom 8:28). The Saints enjoyed this special light of Understanding, and walked confidently against the tide of the times, seeing all things in the light of God and eternity.

The Gift of Knowledge

By the Gift of Knowledge, we know and judge the true value of creatures in relation to the Creator. In contrast with Wisdom, whereby we see all things by the light of God, by Knowledge we see God through His creation. Creation is good, and God created the universe for man, in order to help him to see and recognize the goodness of God in it. One of the main sources of temptation is to turn from the Creator to created goods, absolutizing them as the final end (cf. Summa Theol. II-II, 9, a. 4). Thus, the godless man lives for pleasure, power and wealth, forgetting to give God the glory for the wonderful works of creation. Pope St. John Paul II writes, “Man discovers the infinite distance which separates things from the Creator, their intrinsic limitation, the danger that they can present, when, through sin, he makes improper use of them. It is a discovery which leads him to realize with remorse his misery and impels him to turn with greater drive and confidence to God, who alone can fully satisfy” (GA, April 9, 1989).

The Saints, like St. Francis, loved God in creation and made use of the consolation of creatures only in so far as they led to God. We see this especially in his “Canticle of the Sun”: “Be praised, my Lord, through all Your creatures, especially through Brother Sun, who brings the day; and You give light through him!” Thus, created goods should be loved, but for God’s sake, leading us to give thanks and praise to God, as it is written in the Psalms: “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims His handiwork” (Ps 19:2). “Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights…. Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all you shining stars!” (Ps 148:1, 3). How often we feel the presence and majesty of God in a beautiful sunset, in an ocean view or from the heights of the mountains!

The light of Knowledge can illumine us regarding the words of Sacred Scripture, especially regarding the Gospels, where Jesus teaches us the true values on our way to God and the proper filial relationship to the Father. By the Gift of Knowledge, we “judge aright about matters of faith and action, through the grace bestowed on us, so as never to wander from the straight path of justice” (ST, II-II, 9, art. 3). Jesus came as Light into the world and by following Him and His word, we can also become light for others who lie in darkness, blinded by sin. Asking for this Gift, we too want to become bold defenders of Christian values and witnesses to God in a godless world.

The Gift of Counsel

While by the Gift of Knowledge we are aided also in making judgments about the actions to take, it is the Spirit’s Gift of Counsel which, corresponding to prudence on the natural level, aids our conscience in making concrete moral choices. Counsel, accompanied by the virtue of patience, aids us in discerning what leads to God’s glorification and our own salvation. As Pope St. John Paul II writes, the Gift of Counsel “guides the soul from within, enlightening it about what to do, especially when it is a matter of important choices (for example, of responding to a vocation), or about a path to be followed among difficulties and obstacles” (GA, May 7, 1989). We can exercise the gift of Counsel both by receiving and giving good counsel. Receiving it requires openness and humility, while giving counsel is aided by kindness and meekness.

The Angels in particular, as messengers of the Spirit, cooperate with and mediate the Gift of Counsel, as we see by the example of St. Joseph. Four times in the Gospel of Matthew we read that Joseph accepted the counsel and warning of an Angel in a dream regarding how he was to lead and protect the Holy Family (see Mt 1). Certainly there were many additional instances over the years, which were not recorded. St. Joseph had the readiness and docility of spirit to listen to the counsel of the Angel and act upon it immediately. He did not question or doubt, but in purity of heart, was able to discern the will of God in the voice of the Angel. In these dark and difficult times, let us ask Mary, Mother of Good Counsel, to implore this Gift for us and the Church, for our new Holy Father, Pope Leo, and for all the Bishops and leaders of the Church.

The Gift of Fortitude

There are many influences, both from within and without, which “war against the spirit”, attempting to force or entice us to abandon our commitment to God and the following of Christ. To resist temptations from within or unjust opposition from without, both in the little and great occasions of life, requires a firmness of spirit which often surpasses human strength. The upright life requires a “firmness of mind…both in doing good and in enduring evil, especially with regard to goods or evils that are difficult” (ST, II-II, 39, art. 1). In these situations, we must rely on the aid of the Holy Spirit’s Gift of Fortitude. The Holy Spirit instills a certain confidence in the mind of man, that he may not turn out of fear from doing good or suffering evil for God’s sake. Pope St. John Paul II writes, “The gift of Fortitude is a supernatural impulse which gives strength to the soul…in the struggle to remain consistent with one’s principles; in putting up with insults and unjust attacks; in courageous perseverance on the path of truth and uprightness, in spite of lack of understanding and hostility. (GA, May 14, 1989)

Fortitude is needed not only in suffering evil, but also in resisting our own temptation to oppress the weak. It is much easier to yell at a colleague or child, for example, than to control and discipline oneself, in order to correct or counsel with meekness. In the same sense, it is easier to make war than to make peace. Also in doing good, in following Jesus on the way of expiation and sacrifice for the salvation of souls, Fortitude is necessary to remain consistently firm in our purpose, even in the least situations of life. The sister of St. Therese of Lisieux testified in the beatification process that the most pronounced virtue she witnessed in her sister was fortitude, and this to a heroic degree. How many hidden, heroic “little” sacrifices of self-renunciation she exercised for the conversion of sinners and the sanctification of priests!

In the exercise of every virtue, fortitude as a cardinal virtue is necessary in order to remain on the path of goodness and love. But in trying situations which require the heroic virtue of the Saints, not just the virtue, but also the Gift of Fortitude is needed to give strength and firmness to our commitment to Christ and to the path of goodness and truth in daily life. After the example of Mary, the “strong Woman” beneath the Cross, we want to implore this Gift that we, too, may remain faithful to God on the little way of love with a willing and even joyful heart unto the end.

The Gift of Piety

The Gift of Piety, also called Godliness, aids us in living a loving, trusting relationship to God as our Father. St. Thomas states that by Piety we are moved by the Holy Spirit to have “a filial affection towards God, according to Romans 8:15, ‘You have received the Spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba (Father)!’” (ST, II-II, 121, art. 1). Jesus Himself has taught us to call God “Our Father”, to turn to Him with confidence in all our needs, to trust in His merciful forgiveness and His paternal, loving watchfulness over us. “Be not anxious of mind…for your Father knows what you need” (cf. Lk 12:29-30).

Piety also moves us to charity toward our neighbor for God’s sake, because we are all His beloved children. “With the Gift of Piety the Spirit infuses into the believer a new capacity for love of the brethren, making his heart participate in some manner in the very meekness of the Heart of Christ. The ‘pious’ Christian always sees others as children of the same Father, called to be part of the family of God which is the Church” (JPII, GA May 28, 1989).  Thus this Gift, united with the Gift of Fortitude, can also move us to heroic acts of mercy for God’s sake, like those carried out by St. Teresa of Calcutta. While secular humanism always runs the risk of self-satisfaction, condescension and pride, mercy practiced for love of God makes us humble, tender and cheerful in being allowed to serve others, knowing that it is not by our own strength or goodness that we serve, but by God’s Gift. Pope St. John Paul II describes Piety by the word “tenderness”: “With it, the Spirit heals our hearts of every form of hardness, and opens them to tenderness towards God and our brothers and sisters…. The Gift of Piety further extinguishes in the heart those fires of tension and division which are bitterness, anger and impatience, and nourishes feelings of understanding, tolerance, and pardon. Such a Gift is, therefore, at the root of that new human community which is based on the civilization of love” (ibid.).

Fear of the Lord

The last of the Gifts in the traditional ordering, the Fear of the Lord, is the first on the path to wisdom and the perfection of charity, as the Scripture says, “The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps 111:10; Prov 1:7). St. Thomas distinguishes different types of fear. One is servile fear of punishment, which often serves as the starting point of a man’s conversion to God. Out of this fear, Adam and Eve “hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Gen 3:8). Much more noble and precious is that filial fear, by which one submits to God out of reverence and fears offending or to be separated from Him, just as a son fears to offend the father whom he loves. Pope John Paul II comments, “The Fear of the Lord certainly does not exclude the trepidation that arises from an awareness of the faults committed and the prospect of divine chastisement, but mitigates it with faith in the divine mercy and with the certitude of the fatherly concern of God who wills the eternal salvation of each one” (GA June 11, 1989).

The second kind of fear named by Thomas is the filial fear of reverent submission to God as our Father. This latter is the Gift of the Holy Spirit. This holy, reverential, loving Fear keeps us from sinning and transgressing God’s law from the motive of love. Not to submit to God, by presumptuously revolting against Him or contemning Him, is at the heart of pride, which was the cause of the fall of the demons. Isaiah records the prideful boasting and resulting punishment of Lucifer: “And you [Lucifer] said in your heart, ‘I will ascend into heaven…I will be like the Most High!’ But yet you shall be brought down to hell, into the depth of the pit!” (Is 14:13-15). As a remedy and safeguard against this spiritual pride, Jesus merited for us by the humiliation of His Passion the Spirit’s Gift of the holy Fear of the Lord. This Gift is at the origin of poverty of spirit, whereby we avoid prideful presumption and seek to serve God in humility, as our good and solicitous Father. Holy Fear is also at the origin of the virtues of temperance, chastity and the mortification of the senses. For by reverential Fear of offending, we “seek rather the things that are above” (cf. Col 3:3), and therefore shun the sins of the flesh. St. Paul writes, “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, making holiness perfect in the Fear of God!” (2 Cor 7:11). Let us pray especially to Mary, the Immaculate Bride of the Spirit, that she intercede for us this Gift of holy Fear.

The Spirit of Holiness and Love and the Holy Angels

Having meditated on all these beautiful Gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit which bring us to holiness, we naturally come to ask, how can we receive these Gifts, how can we dispose ourselves for them?! The first and simplest answer is prayer. By prayer we open our hearts and spirits for the working of God (and the Angels!) in our lives, consecrate ourselves to His service and grow in His love. To be able to pray, however, we also need a “clean heart”, loving contrition for our faults and the desire to detach ourselves from all that draws us away from God and His plan for us, principally from our own self: self-will, self-seeking, self-aggrandizement. Therefore, docility and humility also contribute greatly to being open for the lead of the Holy Spirit, to being ready and willing for His will, for working to His glory and the consolidation of His Kingdom on earth.

While by the Gifts, the Holy Spirit works directly in our will and intellect as “the Self-Gift” of God to men, the Holy Angels play an important role in that they both mediate the Gifts (see John of the Cross, Dark Night, Bk II, ch. 12) and help to dispose us to receive and work with them. For the Gifts come into play precisely in difficult situations, when we are called to practice heroic virtue. And especially in these moments, the Angels stand by us and aid us with their light, strength and encouragement, so that we may have the courage to say yes to the Cross, to accept and offer a sacrifice demanded of us out of love for God, to bear with generosity and surrender our share of the burden of Christ’s sufferings for the Church (cf. Col 1:24). “Rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ…blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Pet 4:13-14).

“The harder and the more impassable your path becomes, the more ardently you should love, praise and trust GOD, for you are on the way of the Cross, the right way to heaven” (Mother Gabriele, Maxims). Our trust and hope, even in the face suffering, “does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:5). Being faithful to the little way of love in every situation of daily life, especially when we are challenged to the utmost, we allow the Spirit of love to work in and through us. In this way we contribute the most toward the consolidation of His Kingdom here on earth, the Kingdom of love.

Sr. Maria Basilea

“Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5). With these words from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Pope Francis opened the Jubilee Year of Hope, inviting the Church and the world to embark on a spiritual journey grounded in trust. He explains, “In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring” (Bull of Indiction, Spes Non Confundit [=SNC], 1).

At the same time, he acknowledges, “uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to conflicting feelings, ranging from confident trust to apprehensiveness, from serenity to anxiety, from firm conviction to hesitation and doubt” (ibid.). Yet, he emphasizes that “in addition to finding hope in God’s grace, we are also called to discover hope in the signs of the time that the Lord gives us” (ibid.)  He urges us, “to recognize the immense goodness present in our world, lest we be tempted to think ourselves overwhelmed by evil and violence” (ibid., 7).

It is no coincidence, then, that the Christian symbol of hope is the anchor. As the Pope points out, the anchor “helps us to recognize the stability and security that is ours amid the troubled waters of this life” (ibid., 25). This is the kind of hope that “makes us rise above our trials and difficulties, and inspires us to keep pressing forward, never losing sight of the grandeur of the heavenly goal to which we are called” (ibid.).

Discovering the signs of Hope

Above all, we are reminded that true hope is born of love—rooted in the love that flows from the pierced Heart of Jesus on the Cross (ibid., 3). As members of the Crusade for Priests we are being called to discover new “signs of hope” in the times in which we are living. These signs can renew and deepen the fervor with which we pray and offer sacrifices for the sanctification of priests.

The opening of the Holy Door by Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve 2024, marking the official beginning of the Jubilee Year of Hope, stands as a powerful sign of hope. An estimated thirty-two million pilgrims are expected to journey to Rome during this Holy Year—an extraordinary testament to the enduring faith and hope of Catholics around the world. Their willingness to invest time, effort, and resources—often traveling thousands of miles—to receive the Jubilee Indulgence speaks volumes. It reflects not only their personal devotion, but also a broader spiritual commitment: a desire to pray, to make sacrifices, and to contribute to the sanctification of the world, including the priesthood.

The second sign of hope can be seen in the growing zeal and dedication of newly ordained priests in our country. A closer look at the largest survey of American Catholic priests in the past fifty years reveals a significant and encouraging shift in how priests understand their vocation. Compared to many older clergy, younger priests are far more likely to describe themselves as theologically orthodox or conservative. In fact, more than half of the priests ordained since 2020 identify as traditional or conservative. Most notably, none of the priests ordained after 2020 described themselves as “very progressive.”

This marks a dramatic change from the past, since between 1965 and 1969, 68% of newly ordained priests considered themselves “progressive” or “very progressive.” Today, that number has “dwindled to almost zero” (NCR Newsletter, November 9, 2023).

Spiritual renewal

The renewed zeal, devotion, and orthodoxy among newly ordained priests can be seen not only as an answer to the long-standing prayers and sacrifices of the members of the Crusade for Priests, but also as a strong sign of hope that holy, faithful priests will continue to be ordained in the years to come.

The third sign of hope is the Eucharistic Revival celebrated across the United States last year. One of the most inspiring moments was when 60,000 Catholics—many of them bishops, priests and seminarians—from across the country came together as pilgrims, filling the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. For an entire week, they participated in Masses, prayer, and adoration before the exposed Blessed Sacrament during the National Eucharistic Congress—an extraordinary expression of faith and devotion.

The Eucharistic revival in the US

To get a more complete idea of what took place last year during the Eucharistic Revival, though, we should be aware too that the Eucharistic Congress itself that was held last July, was preceded by four separate Eucharistic pilgrimages that were made on foot from four different locations in the US, namely, Minnesota in the North, Texas in the South, Maryland in the East, and California in the West. This vast pilgrimage involved sixty-eight dioceses, a hundred thousand participants, and covered sixty-five hundred miles. A Eucharistic procession of this size and scope has never been done before in the history of the Church.

To make this happen, our country was crisscrossed from four different directions with priests carrying the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance followed by several Eucharistic adorers. Many parts of the country that had never experienced the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist were exposed to the healing rays of His love shining forth from the Blessed Sacrament. This unique and magnificent procession brought—and surely will continue to bring—many graces to our nation which, hopefully, will have enduring and transformative effects on the spiritual life in the US, especially priests.

Last year’s Eucharistic pilgrimage, therefore, is doubly important. First, because it is a witness to the faith of American Catholic priests in the Blessed Sacrament to the non-Catholics that they passed by on their pilgrimage. Second, because it is a witness to the pilgrims themselves who were inspired by the faith of their fellow pilgrims. This unique pilgrimage, therefore, cannot but strengthen and deepen the faith of millions in the reality of the Blessed Sacrament, and the hope of seeing our Eucharistic Lord face-to-face in the heavenly Jerusalem.

As Bishop Cozens, the organizer of the Eucharistic Revival for the Bishop’s Conference stated, it is hoped that just like the first Pentecost led to Christianity’s spread throughout the Roman Empire, so too in a similar way, it is hoped that the Holy Spirit can act through the National Eucharistic Revival to start a fire of divine love that will engulf the nation.

The Jubilee Year of Hope, the devotion of newly ordained priests, and the Eucharistic Revival are all strong signs of hope. Signs that God is indeed working in the world and in our nation. Signs, however, that cannot continue to bear fruit without prayer and sacrifice.

The call for prayer and offering our sufferings

Pope Benedict, specifically points out in his Encyclical Letter on Hope, Saved in Hope, (Spe Salvi =SS), that the “first essential setting for learning about hope is prayer.  … When no one listens to us, God still listens to us. When we can no longer talk to anyone or call upon anyone, we can always talk to God. When there is no longer anyone to help us deal with a need or expectation that goes beyond our human capacity to hope, He can help us” (SS, 32).

To pray properly, though, does not mean that, “we have to step outside of history and withdraw into our own private corner of happiness” On the contrary, “It is important for us to know that we can always continue to hope, even if in our own life, or the historical period in which we are living, there seems to be nothing left to hope for…. It is only this kind of hope, then, that can give us the courage to act and persevere” (SS, 35).

Our sufferings and trials, then, should not be a cause for questioning the wisdom and the goodness of God, but rather of strengthening and deepening our hope. For suffering can be transformed into a powerful act of intercession for priests. The importance of offering up the little aches and pains that we experience in our daily lives for the sanctification of priests cannot be overestimated. Because if we accept them as coming from the hand of God, we can turn them into heavenly gold. For this reason, Bishop Fulton Sheen often lamented that, “the greatest tragedy in the world is wasted pain.”

The need for patience and endurance

We need to pray for the virtue of patience that we have the light and strength to act in that way. Pope Francis insisted that “we learn to pray frequently for the grace of patience, which is both the daughter of hope and at the same time its firm foundation. …  This interplay of hope and patience makes us see clearly that the Christian life is a journey calling for moments of greater intensity to encourage and sustain hope as the constant companion that guides our steps towards the goal of our encounter with the Lord Jesus” (SNC, 4-5). 

But all of this raises the question: how can we offer our pains and sufferings to the Lord for the sanctification of priests? Pope Benedict offers us a helpful explanation. He tells us that we can offer something up by “inserting the little annoyances [that we experience in daily life] into Christ’s great ‘com-passion’ so that they can become part of the treasury of the compassion needed by the human race” (SS 40). In this way ”even the small inconveniences [that occur regularly] can acquire meaning and contribute to the economy of human love” (ibid.)—and we might add—to the sanctification of the priesthood as well.

In communion with the Holy Angels

Now this is where our devotion to the Angels comes in, especially our Guardian Angel. For how can we begin to lose hope, if we believe truly that God has given—not only ourselves—but also every priest, a Guardian Angel that constantly watches over us, protects us from dangers both physical and spiritual, and above all loves and guides us all the days of our life, so that we can enter into and enjoy the happiness of Heaven for all eternity?

And so, let us ask Mary, Our Lady of Hope to deepen and strengthen our hope, and the hope of all the priests in the world, for never has it ever been known that anyone who has fled to her protection, sought her intercession, or implored her help was ever left unaided.

~Fr. Matthew Hincks, ORC

We often look to the Holy Angels for light and strength, for protection against the evil spirits, for help in the large and small trials of daily life. And rightly so. But in the Work of the Holy Angels, this is only a small part of what it means to be devoted to the Angels. People generally ask, “What can the Angel do for me?” But in the Work of the Holy Angels, we should also – and more importantly ask – what does the Holy Angel expect of me, what does he want of me? What can I do for the Angel?

The Lord established the Work of the Holy Angels to renew and deepen the covenant of cooperation between Angels and men, between both kinds of free persons made in the image of God, to work together as one, with Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and with each other, to God’s glory, the salvation of souls and the repatriation of all creation back to God. They – Angels and men – do all this by God’s grace, in union with and out of love for God, but also in union with and in a bond of love with one another. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read, “Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of Angels and men united in God” (CCC 336). This union in God is ordered to a common mission, as Mother Gabriele Bitterlich adds: “Both are to serve Him as one to His glory, according to His will and guided by His love. They are to participate equally in the great task of leading the whole of creation home” (Advent letter 1964, Task and Sacrifice). This union of love and cooperation is strengthened and intensified by the Church-approved consecrations to the Holy Angels in the Work. Thus, the essential nature of the Work is the communion, the collaboration of Angel and men in the love and service of God and the work of Redemption, for the building up and consolidation of the Kingdom of God on earth, the Holy Church.

To this end, God first makes the Angel known to us. “He has drawn His Angels near to us by giving us the grace of knowing … their nature as leaders, their discipleship in the service of Christ the King, their power over the rebellious forces of hell” (M. Gabriele, ibid.). This knowledge, this peering into the beautiful world of the heavenly hierarchies, as wonderful as it may be, is not an end in itself. Rather, it serves the specific goal of helping man to become ever more God-like through the help of the Angels, namely, by imitating their reverence, fidelity, zeal and service, and so coming to understand the goals and intent of the Angels, so that the soul may work and fight ever more efficaciously with the Angel.

The Angels are holy citizens of heaven, already confirmed in grace in the light of glory. We, on the other hand, remain poor sinners, stumbling our way along the path to God in the obscurity of faith.

With their whole beings the Angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they ‘always behold the face of My Father who is in Heaven’ (Mt 18:10), they are the ‘mighty ones who do His word, hearkening to the voice of His word’ (Ps 103:20) …surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness. (CCC 329-330)

How can we poor sinners work together with them? We need to remember that Christ died for us. Accordingly, every time we fall, we can – through sincere tears of contrition and compunction of heart (and also by good, regular confession for both venial and grave matters!) – be restored to grace and the path of virtue.

We often behave like the Prodigal Son of the Gospel and squander the riches [that is, the graces] of God, while the faithful Angel works restlessly for his Lord and God. But our repentance drives us again and again into the arms of God, the One Creator Father of Angel and man; and there is more joy among the Angels in Heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance. And here, in the recognition of our misery, our task begins: to work with the Angel. (Mother Gabriele, Task and Sacrifice)

Therefore, we must not despair of this great task set before us, but rather realize that the first goal of the Angels in their Work relates to us. They seek to train us, to educate and discipline us, to admonish and guide us, so that we may become more and more like them in their faithful, unconditional worship and service of God, and thus also efficacious instruments together with them in the redemptive work of Christ.

Thus, the first goal of the Angels is to lead men to a very deep union of love with Jesus, that like them, we allow Him to live and work in and through us (cf. Gal 2:20). When we go to them in the sincere and humble recognition of our weakness, in the acknowledgment of our need for God’s grace and with confidence in their help, we open ourselves in this way ever more for their influence.

The Angel is our older, wiser brother, who sees further and obeys more quickly than we do. We should learn from him: How he adores, with what reverence! [Adoration.] How steadfastly he looks at his Lord – like a faithful servant! [Contemplation.] The will of God has become his will. [Mission.] The light of God can pass through him unhindered, while our sins make us interiorly dark; how diligently we should therefore strive for a pure heart! How easily the Angel can separate the essential from the non-essential, while we allow ourselves to be fragmented and torn apart, and by trivial things rendered incapable of making decisions. How necessary it is for us to “stand above things”; this means the same as, SOLI DEO [to live and work for GOD ALONE]! To what an extent the Angel can be silent and yet speak in silence! What reverence he has for every priest, for every word of God!

This is a difficult task, if we are to do all this like the Angel. It will cost us all kinds of sacrifices. But a courageous and joyfully made sacrifice is always a proof of genuine love. If one cannot make any sacrifice, then the furnace [of love] in the chamber of his soul has gone out. But we want to burn for our Lord and GOD! We want to be there for all His wishes and plans, we want to burn for the intentions of the Holy Church! (Task and Sacrifice)

Thus, the Angel first teaches man the Adoration and Contemplation of God, rousing him to a burning love for God. He helps him to discern the essential from the unessential, to become simple and uncomplicated, open for God’s will. To lead man along this path, the Angel first fills man with light and consolation to bring him to an initial zeal and union of love with God and in order to prepare for the purifications to follow.

Through the Angels, these wonderful, glorious creatures, the soul “sees” God [with an intensified light of faith], God draws near to him; He comes ever nearer. It is as if God were to spread out His mantel full of majesty and raging fire, and the soul sees the ineffably radiant Body of the Lord; we walk, we are drawn towards Him, the Lord enters into us and we into Him, we sink into Him. (M. Gabriele, The Intent of the Angels)

This initial union can take place in a moment of deeper conversion or prayer, after a good confession, when we make certain promises or consecrations to God, or even daily in Holy Communion. We experience a particularly strong effusion of grace, and are inflamed for God!

And yet, this is but the beginning of our union with God, because we still work with our senses and feel [that is, the consolations of God are still very sensual and in need of purification]. But already, we do not want to be outside of God anymore, and we should not be either, for otherwise, we will no longer be able to bear the following [purifications] correctly. (ibid.)

Thus the Angel, as a good spiritual guide, begins to lead the soul through light and consolations; but inexorably, at the Lord’s hand and by His will, he must lead him to the Cross.

The Passio Domini

At the core and center of the Work of the Holy Angels, at its very essence, is always the Passio Domini, the weekly remembrance of the redemptive suffering of Jesus at the Last Supper, in His Agony and His death on the Cross. Here Angel and man become one with the Heart of Jesus, they contemplate and learn from His love, and from here they go out to serve God’s plan of salvation. In the Passio Domini, both Angel and man are “ever learners”; they contemplate the obedience of Jesus in His Agony (“Father, not Mine, but Your will be done!”) and the merciful love of God manifested by Christ’s total gift of Self of on the Cross. Here they can learn ever more from the thirsting Heart of Jesus opened by a lance for sinners, who gives Himself wholly every day anew in the Most Holy Eucharist. And Jesus wants to nail us with Himself to the Cross of the world’s sin (cf. Gal 2:19).

Through the Lord we see the distress of the times, the destruction of our times, and the Lord begins the way of the Cross with us. Without this previous union [of love and longing – see above], we would neither correctly understand nor correctly walk the way of the Cross which follows it, which in practice embraces the whole religious, priestly, marital and professional life. Only in God can we understand it and obey Him absolutely – just as a drop of blood is bound to the whole bloodstream. This is what it means to be a member of the Corpus Christi Mysticum. (The Intent of the Angels)

Thus, the weekly Passio Domini is not merely a commemoration of the Passion and Death of Jesus. Both man and Angel are to learn from it, to be transformed by it, to live it.

How the Angel lives the Passio Domini

Only in union with Christ and His love garnered from the Passio Domini can Angel and man set out to cooperate in the work of Redemption, each in his own way. “The Lord leads the Angel beneath the Cross, so that through men he can comprehend from within the greatness of the work of Redemption, the expiation made by Jesus Christ, the “I thirst” (Jn 19:28)” (Lent 1966, Man and Angel in the Work). Thus, seeing Jesus, the Angel learns of God’s thirst for souls, of the extent of His merciful, forgiving love for man – “to the end” (Jn 13:1). The Angel must learn this mercy and zeal for souls from His Lord, for by nature, the Angel sees and acts with pure truth and justice, zealous for the honor of God, and ready to strike any creature who offends that honor. But seeing that Christ died for our sins, how can the Angel not see sinful man, as the object of such divine love and mercy, with different eyes?

Further, by accompanying his protégé under the weight of the Cross, the Angel sees how men are transformed by bearing their own crosses with resignation and fidelity. He sees much more clearly the reality of a soul sanctified and transformed by grace, going from a dark slave of passion and of the devil to a bright, clear vessel of God and a ready instrument in His hands. And this transformation comes through the Cross: “… but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” (Jn 12:24). Thus the Angel learns from the Passio how he is to accompany man, how he is to support, enlighten and guide him in all the trials of life, so that his protégé may successfully pass through the dark nights of the soul, spiritually dying to himself, and reach the greatest possible union with God.

The soul accompanying Christ in His Passion

With the help of the light from his Angel, man too learns from the Passio Domini the great desires and plans of God for the salvation of souls and the repatriation of all creation. He learns to thirst with Christ with great longing for souls, for the needs of the Holy Church. For “through the Angel’s gift of enlightenment, the Lord allows man to comprehend the great connections in the whole of creation, which have their center in the Passion of Christ, the wonderful connections between all the words of God. The goal lies in the Lord’s desire: ‘Father, I will that they may all be one’ (cf. Jn 17:21-23)” (Man and Angel in the Work). And in seeing the goal set before him, man braces himself to set to work at the hand of the Angel, first of all on himself, that is above all, to learn to accept the Cross and every trial with a willing yes.

First, the internalization of our soul must take place, its purification and cleansing, so that the strength of God can dwell therein. There must be a strong, determined striving for the simple essence of God [that is, the simplicity of a child, who reflects God’s goodness by his very being], for the absolute fulfillment of the will of God, for the Omnia Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (All to the greater glory of God!) and for the love of God. (Intent of the Angels)

In this zeal for God, in our longing to help in the work of saving souls, helping priests and engaging in the battle for the Kingdom, then, we must first strive for detachment from everything dear to us, and most especially from our own ego, so that we may live only for God and place no obstacles to His plans for us in the economy of salvation. We can and must make efforts to curb our self-seeking and self-will [active purification], but more importantly, God Himself will lead us through the passive purifications, so that we become ever more docile to His working in us, until like St. Paul, we can say, “With Christ I have been nailed to the Cross, and I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:19-20). The Angel helps us to understand and accept what God is doing in our soul, he encourages and enlightens us on our way, that we learn in every sacrifice to say, “Yes, Lord, (oh how it hurts!), but yes, for love of You, my God and my All!”

We must thus be willing to be beaten and pushed without complaint. We must be willing to leave all for love of God and not to cling to what is dear to us. We must even be willing to be suspected, slandered, deceived and passed over for the sake of our way, and still along with this, to muster up the fidelity and the joy to say yes. We must be able to wait without becoming impatient or falling asleep. Interiorly, we are far from being finished and we can draw out ever more from ourselves. Thus, we come ever nearer to the goal which the Angels have placed for us and which is also the core of their intent in their Work: The union with God, being one with God! There the Angels want to lead us. For only God in us can give us the strength for victory, even over atomic mushrooms of the demons above us and the jaws of hell beneath us. And only then, when God can remain in us, can we stand in the ranks of the Angels as those capable of fighting. (Intent of the Angels)

Thus, in the Passio Domini, we accompany the Lord every week in His Passion and death. We go with Him, but He also goes with us. He accompanies us in our spiritual dying to self and this world, and one day, in our physical death and departure for eternal life. [The Angels do not use the term death, but transformation. For we do not cease to exist, but pass to our definitive and eternal state.] In this sense, our trial is much easier than the trial of the Angels.

The Lord takes us into Himself and with Himself until our death, whether it be our earthly death, or our spiritual dying with Him in the Passio Domini, our “un-coming to be”. We must somehow suffer everything with Him: the anguish of the Mount of Olives, the betrayal, being left alone in our life, scorn and mockery and being judged by our neighbor, carrying the Cross of sickness and being an outcast, of worries, age and distress. Here many turn away. They go with the Lord only as far as Tabor and very few as far as the Mount of Olives. This spiritual dying eludes external notice. It is a night of the senses, which can last hours or years, but then heaven suddenly opens and the soul stands before the Triune God! (ibid.)

If we die with Christ, we shall also rise with Him! (cf. Rom 6:5,8)

And this is one of the first objectives of the Angels in their Work, to lead us to this deeper union with God through the emptying of self in the following of Christ, who “emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, and… [having] humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a Cross” (Phil 2:7-8). But like Christ, with every spiritual dying we will also experience the Resurrection and a great spiritual renewal!

Afterwards, the soul cannot communicate anything, there are no words which could be coined for it. But now she has reached the greatest [spiritual] force of influence, above all for the spiritual growth of the Church, which is nourished more by such forces than by outward plans and scientific successes. With this, the intent of the Angels is achieved and with such souls, the Holy Church is made capable of fighting, strong and victorious. (Intent of the Angels)

Here Angel and man are to become one with God and from here they are to penetrate the Holy Church with the fiery zeal of the Good News, from here to take up the fight against everything associated with the evil spirits. (Man and Angel in the Work)

Again and again we will go through this spiritual dying and rising again, through all the spiritual nights of sense, soul and spirit, leading to an ever deeper union with God. In this way becoming ever more like the Holy Angels and ever better “fellow workers” with them.

The Consecrations

Mother Gabriele summarizes the Work in the following way:

The Work consists then: In a clear knowledge of what the Angel is and what he does and what he wills; but also what the devil is, what he does and what he wills. In a conscious and voluntary bond of man with the holy Angels for the sake of a joint, unified force of impact. In a joint engagement of Angel and man in the coming battles and raging assaults of the evil one. In leading man to a complete surrender to God, to Mary, and to a total commitment to expiation for the salvation of souls. This is the essence of the Work of the Angels. (On the Nature and Purpose of the Work)

Thus at the very center of the Work as a most efficacious means of uniting man more firmly to God, Mary and the Angel are the consecrations proper to the Work, approved by and received in the name of the Church.

This bond – the consecration to the Angels – stands at the center of the “Work of the Angels”. In accordance with God’s will, it binds Angel and man indissolubly together. From then on, the soul prays together with the Angels, sacrifices with them, fights with them, forms with them the servants and followers of Mary, the Tabernacle guard.

Then the Angel instructs the soul ever more forcefully, as to how one should walk on the little way of love, the little way of expiation, the way of everyday life. He tears open for him ever more the greatness and majesty of God and leads him to reverence, to the fear of the Lord… so that the soul finally becomes clear about his position before God and his duty and responsibility before God. The Angel becomes ever more the helper and signpost, a “fellow servant” (Rev 19:10).

…According to God’s will, [the Work] should not aim at a particular devotion in the Holy Church, but to bring about in the whole Church a new holy fire, new courage, new vigor, new love. The attacks of the evil one are shifting more and more to the realm of the spiritual and are becoming ever more unmasked; thus, the help of the Angels must also be incorporated more and more in the battle. And for this reason, the consecrations are at the center of the Work of the Angels as man’s bond to God and Mary and to the Angels. (ibid.)

Thus, through the consecrations, the Angels can influence us more efficaciously and lead us more surely through the stages of the spiritual life on the way to perfect charity, that we together with them can engage in the battle for the Kingdom of God and aid the Church in all her struggles.

Expiation for Priests

At the core of the Work of the Holy Angels is always expiation for priests. While Mary was given into the care of St. John beneath the Cross, it was first and primarily St. John who was given into the care of Mary, the priest into the care of Mary and the Church. Like Mary was sheltered in the home of John, we as “Church” and individual members of it, in an analogous way benefit from the selfless ministry of priests: in the Sacraments, in the proclamation of the word of God, in the forgiveness of sins, most especially in the ministry of the Holy Eucharist, our food and sustenance, light and strength on our path to God. But as Mary was the spiritual support for John and all the Apostles, so also we should become a support and help for our priests: above all through prayer and sacrifice, and in a special way, for those who have stumbled along the way, through expiation.

This contribution is what the Angels expect of us. As they have been Guardian Angels to us, bringing us light and strength along our path, so they await that we become Guardian Angels for those around us, a beacon of light and a tower of strength through firm faith, unwavering hope and active charity; through intercession, sacrifice and total surrender to God, to His glory and for the sanctification of souls, especially priests. Above all, we will bear fruit through our union with Christ, to which the Angels firmly lead us. “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me and I in him” (Jn 6:56). “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without Me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).

Sr. Maria Basilea

Christ’s Priests united with the Holy Angels in the Church