Mass Schedule

Weekend Mass
Saturday    4:00pm
Sunday    10:00am

Weekday Mass
Wednesday   8:00am
Thursday       8:00am

Reconciliation
Saturday   3:00pm

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This Friday, September 29, Holy Mother Church celebrates the Feasts of the Archangels. Shortly after, on Monday, October 2, is the liturgical celebration of the Holy Guardian Angels.

We do not talk about angels often enough. And there are many misunderstandings about what angels are and what their role is. The word “angel” literally means “messenger.” And we see this often in Sacred Scripture. Throughout the Old Testament, God sends angels to bring important messages to His people. The angels also have a role in bringing messages back to God.

Something to notice is that almost every time an angel appears in the Bible, the first words are “do not be afraid.” This tells us that angels aren’t cute, cuddling and harmless as they are often depicted on greeting cards and works of art. Rather, angels are mighty and fearsome.

This helps us to understand the second role of angels, and that is as heavenly protectors. The angel of the Lord was sent to protect and watch over the Hebrew people during the Exodus, and the archangel Raphael was sent to protect Tobias on his journey in the book of Tobit.

Lastly, angels offer ceaseless worship before the throne of God in heaven.

As messengers, angels should be called upon as powerful partners in prayer. We should be asking our own Guardian Angel to pray for us and to help us.

As mighty and fearsome protectors, we should be calling upon our Guardian Angels in times of danger and temptation. But it is important to realize that our Guardian Angels will respect our free will and permit us to experience the consequences of our actions. So it is not a failure of our Guardian Angel if we deliberately place ourselves in the occasion of sin, and act surprised when our Guardian Angel does not prevent us from sinning.

Our angels are also primarily concerned about spiritual dangers, rather than physical dangers. Although they are powerful protectors from both kinds of dangers.

Lastly, angels help us to offer God fitting worship. Although we do not usually see them at Mass, nonetheless they gather with us. We use their songs in our worship of God such as when we sing “Glory to God in the highest,” which the angels sang at the birth of Jesus. Scripture also shows us that the angels ceaselessly sing “Alleluia, alleluia,” and “Holy, Holy, Holy…” around God’s throne in heaven. Both Eucharistic Prayers One and Four highlight the role that angels have in our own acts of worship.

May the Lord send His Holy Angels to watch over you, Fr Bill