{"id":30331,"date":"2017-06-07T16:40:54","date_gmt":"2017-06-07T20:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=30331"},"modified":"2017-06-07T17:34:26","modified_gmt":"2017-06-07T21:34:26","slug":"making-way-for-angels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/making-way-for-angels\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Way for Angels","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
\n for June 7th, 2017
\n Wednesday\u00a0of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time<\/p>\n

Liturgical texts here<\/i><\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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SOMETHING\u00a0<\/strong>remarkable happens when we\u00a0give praise to God: His ministering angels are released in our midst. \u00a0<\/p>\n

We see this time and again in both the Old and New Testament where God heals, intervenes, delivers, instructs, and defends through his angels<\/em>, often on the heels of when His people offer Him praise. It has nothing to do with God blessing those who, in return, “stroke\u00a0His ego”… as if God is some kind of mega-egomaniac. Rather, praise of God is an act of truth<\/em>, one that flows from the reality of who we are, but especially, of who God is\u2014<\/em>and “the truth sets us free.” \u00a0When we acknowledge the\u00a0truths about God, we are really opening ourselves up to an encounter with His grace and power.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Blessing<\/em> expresses the basic movement of Christian prayer: it is an encounter between God and man\u2026 because God blesses, the human heart can in return bless the One who is the source of every blessing\u2026 Adoration<\/em> is the first attitude of man acknowledging that he is a creature before his Creator.<\/strong><\/span> \u2014Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC),<\/em> 2626; 2628<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In today’s first reading, we see a direct relationship between praise<\/em> and encounter<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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“Blessed are you, O Lord, merciful God, and blessed is your holy and honorable name. Blessed are you in all your works for ever!” At that very time, the prayer of these two suppliants was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God. So Raphael was sent to heal them both…<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Tobit was physically healed while\u00a0Sarah\u00a0was delivered from a wicked demon.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

On another occasion, when the Israelites were surrounded by enemies, God intervened as they began to praise Him:<\/em><\/p>\n

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Do not lose heart at the sight of this vast multitude, for the battle is not yours but God\u2019s. Tomorrow go out to meet them, and the Lord will be with you. They sang: \u201cGive thanks to the Lord, for his mercy endures forever.\u201d And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon\u2026 destroying them utterly. (2 Chron 20:15-16, 21-23)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

When\u00a0the whole assembly of the people was\u00a0praying outside the temple at the hour of the incense offering, it was then that an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah to announce the unlikely conception of John the Baptist in his aged wife. [1]<\/sup><\/a>cf. Luke 1:10<\/span><\/span>