Spiritual Quote of the Day (St. Anselm of Canterbury, on Justice and Angels)

“The angels are separated between those who adhering to justice enjoy all the goods they wish and those who having abandoned justice lack any good they desire.”—“Doctor of the Church” and “Father of Scholasticism” St. Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033–1109), Three Philosophical Dialogues: On Truth/On Freedom of Choice/On the Fall of the Devil, translated by Thomas Williams (2002)

Spiritual Quote of the Day (St. Robert Bellarmine, on the Seraphim as ‘The Fiery Ones’)

“Those closest to God in Heaven, the Seraphim, are called the fiery ones because more than the other angels they take their fervor and ardor from the intense fire of God.”—Italian Jesuit, Cardinal and Doctor of the Church St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621), “The Mind’s Ascent to God,” in Spiritual Writings, translated and edited by John Patrick Donnelly, S.J., and Roland J. Teske, S.J. (1989)

The image accompanying this post is Seraphim, Cherubim and Angels, by Italian Gothic period painter Jacopo di Cione (c. 1325–c. 1399) and his workshop.

Quote of the Day (Emanuel Swedenborg, on Angels Near Us ‘Every Moment’)

“Especially do the angels call forth the goods and truths that are with a man, and set them in opposition to the evils and falsities which the evil spirits excite. Thus the man is in the midst, and does not perceive either the evil or the good; and being in the midst, he is in freedom to turn himself either to the one or to the other. By such means do angels from the Lord lead and protect a man, and this every moment, and every moment of a moment; for if the angels were to intermit their care for a single moment, the man would be precipitated into evil from which he could never afterward be brought out. These things the angels do from the love they have from the Lord, for they perceive nothing more delightful and happy than to remove evils from a man, and lead him to heaven.”— Swedish philosopher, mystic, and scientist Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), Arcana Coelestia, Volume 8, translated by John Clowes, revised and edited by John Faulkner Potts (1749-1756)

Angels are indeed with us every moment, but they’re not just the winged messengers so familiar from religious readings or artistic depictions (such as this one from Rembrandt, of an angel appearing to the shepherds). Nor are they unfamiliar beings who appear in our lives suddenly and disappear just as quickly. 

No, angels are the friends and family, living and dead, who constantly lead us, by word and deed, now or remembered, to our better selves. We just have to be awake to their call.

Quote of the Day (Book of Isaiah, With the Prophet’s Temple Experience of Live Coal and God)

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;

    the whole earth is full of his glory.’

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

‘Woe to me!’ I cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’

And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”—Isaiah 6: 1-8 (New International Version)

This, the first reading at this morning’s Mass, was so extraordinary in the scene it depicted that I knew I had to use it right away for this blog post.

(This detail of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel shows the prophet Isaiah.)

Quote of the Day (St. Francis de Sales, on Angels)

“Make yourself familiar with the angels and behold them frequently in spirit; for without being seen, they are present with you.” — Bishop of Geneva St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622), “On the Honor and Invocation of Saints,” in The Saint Francis de Sales Collection (2016)

Quote of the Day (Gospel of St. Luke, on the Shepherds and Angel at the First Christmas)

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,

    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’”—Luke 2: 9-14 (New International Version)

(The image accompanying this post is Rembrandt van Rijn’s- The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds (1634)