Catholic Fire

"For he hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways.” - Psalm 90:11 "No evil shall befall you, nor shall affliction come near your tent, for to His Angels God has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways. Upon their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone" - Psalm 91: 10-12 Today is the Feast of the Guardian Angels. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession” (No. 336). St. Basil asserted, “Beside each believer stands an angel protector and shepherd leading him to life. ” The truth that each and every human soul has a Guardian Angel who protects us from spiritual and physical evil has also been shown throughout the Old Testament, and is made very clear in the New Testament. It is written that the Lord Jesus is strengthened by an angel in the Garden of Gethsemane and that an angel delivered St. Peter from pri...

It is of capital importance that you emphasize what is the basis for holiness and the foundation of goodness. I mean to talk about the virtue of which Jesus presents himself explicitly as the model: humility (cf. Mt 11,29). Inner humility; more inner than outward. Recognize who you truly are: a nothing, something quite miserable, weak, full of defects, capable of turning good into bad, to let go the good for the bad, to attribute to yourself the good, and to justify yourself in doing bad, and for love of evil, to despise the One who is the Supreme Good. Never go to bed before having first examined your conscience to consider how you spent your day. Turn all your thoughts towards the Lord and consecrate your person to him as well as all the Christians. Then offer to his glory the sleep you will get, without ever forgetting your guardian angel, who is always at your side. ~ Saint Padre Pio of Pietralcina (1887-1968), Capuchin Buona Giornata, p.81