Author Topic: Joan Carroll Cruz' Angels & Devils (Read 2230 times)

Lorenzo · « **on:** May 01, 2013, 01:05:44 PM »

Today I purchased a book by Joan Carroll Cruz entitled Angels & Devils. I purchased this at a local catholic book store and would like to share some excerpts as i read chapter by chapter. For those who are interested in the study of the angelic spirits , this would be an interesting thread to follow.

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #1 on:** May 01, 2013, 01:07:46 PM »

Part 1
ANGELS

"The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls 'angels' is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of tradition."
-Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 328

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #2 on:** May 01, 2013, 01:15:02 PM »

What are Angels?

St. Augustine (354-430) instructs us that the word "angel" is the name of their office, not of their nature. Their nature is known as "spirit". The word "angel", as translated form the Greek, means "one going", "one sent" or "messenger." St. Augustine adds that "the spirits called angels were never, in any sense, at any time, partakers of darkness, but from the moment of their creation, they were made beings of light. They were not merely created in order to exist and to live, but they were also illumined, so that they might live in wisdom and happiness."

According to St. Bernard (1090-1153) in his De Consideratione, angels are:

"mighty, glorious, blessed, distinct personalities, of graduated rank, occupying the order given them from the beginning, perfect of their kind...endowed with immortality, passionless...being of pure mind, benignant affections, religious and devout; of unblemished morality; inseparably one in heart and mind, blessed with unbroken peace, God's edifice dedicated to the divine praises and service. All this we ascertain by reading, and hold by faith."

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #3 on:** May 01, 2013, 01:24:46 PM »

How do we know that Angels exist?

The answer can be briefly summarized in this manner: we know that angels exist from the teachings of the church, which is based both on sacred scripture -- the old and new testament-- and on tradition, from he unanimous teachings of the saints and doctors of the church, and from the innumerable well-authenticated accounts of apparitions.

That the angels were created was defined by the Fourth Lateran Council (1215). The decree "Firmiter" against the Albigensian heresy declared both the fact that they were created and that men were created after them. Given free will and high intelligence at their creation, they are often called the "sons of God."

In the Bible, angels are represented as a large gathering of spiritual beings intermediate between God and men. Angels are the servants and messengers of God, doing all as God pleases serving the accomplishments of the divine plan. As St. Paul cites in his letter to the hebrews: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14).

In addition, there are angels who minister not only to man, but principally to God Himself. In the book of Daniel, the Prophet tells of a vision of angels: "...thousands of thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before Him." (Daniel 7:10). Our Lord Himself reveals the following: "See that you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in Heaven." (Matthew 18:10).

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #4 on:** May 01, 2013, 01:43:07 PM »

What the Church Teaches about Angels

The Church continues to benefit form angelic services , since angels are recognized in her prayers and rubrics. In the funeral liturgy we pray, "May the Angels lead you into Paradise." The words of Gabriel are given in the Hail Mary, and the announcements is repeated in the Angelus, which the Church recites at 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m.

The Angels are appealed to for prayer at the beginning of Holy Mass in the words: "And I ask the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God." The Confiteor in the Traditional Roman Rite of the Mass invokes "Holy Michael the Archangel." The Preface of Holy Mass also appeals to "all the choirs of Angels in Heaven" to join with us in praising God. And after the Consecration, we pray: "Almighty God, we pray that Your angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in Heaven....."

The Church has traditionally designated September 29 as the Feast of (Dedication of the Church of) St. Michael the Archangel. This feast has now been expanded to include St. Gabriel and St. Raphael also. In the traditional Roman calendar, May 8 commemorated "The Apparition of St. Michael the Archangel" at Monte Gargano in Apulia, Italy in 492. The guardian angels are remembered on October 2. Besides these remembrances, there are also other prayers in which the Church mentions angels. In addition, there are novenas, chaplets, litanies, beloved hymns and prayers of the saints.

In an address given by Pope John Paul II on July 9, 1986, the Holy Father stated regarding angels: "All of the Church's tradition is unanimous in affirming that they do exist. One would have to alter Sacred Scripture itself if one wished to eliminate this teaching...at certain points in salvation histsory, angels have had a fundamental role to play in the unfolding of human events."

In the same year, only July 23, the Holy Father further instructed:

"The Angels are purely spiritual beings, created by God and given intelligence and free will. Through and immediate intuition of the truth, their intelligence grasps its object in a way that is much more complete than is possible for man..the world of the pure spirits is divided into good angels and bad ones. And this division has happened precisely as a result of their freedom to choose. God was present to their intelligence and free will as the Supreme Good. He also wished to give them, through grace, a share in the mystery of His Divinity. The good angels have chosen God. But the others...have turned against God and the revelation of His Grace. Their decision was inspired by a false sense of self-sufficiency, and it emerges as hatred and rebellion against God."

It is traditional Catholic teaching that each individual is given a guardian angel, who will accompany, guard and teach him throughout life. After death this angel will accompany the soul to its judgment, visit it if it is detained in Purgatory, and accompany it to the glory of Heaven.

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #5 on:** May 01, 2013, 01:48:20 PM »

A child and his guardian angel.

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #6 on:** May 01, 2013, 01:59:48 PM »

Glorious St. Michael the Archangel, Prince and General of the Army of Heaven, casting the fallen angel lucifer and the rebellious angels out of the Glory of Heaven.

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #7 on:** May 01, 2013, 02:17:02 PM »

What is the Reaction of Some Who Have Seen Angels?

When angels appear on earth to accomplish a particular assignment, they assume a bodily form and earthly garments as an accommodation to the visionary. Their heavenly splendor is then muted or hidden altogether while performing their earthly assignment given by God, until their project is accomplished. It is then that their appearance gives some hint of their heavenly citizenship, which is sometimes met with fear.

Such is the case when Tobias and his family learned that the young man who had accompanied the younger Tobias on his journey was an Angel. After Raphael introduced himself, he must have then appeared resplendent because, when they heard who he was, "they were troubled, and being seized with fear, they fell upon the ground on their face." The Angel was then "taken from their sight and they could see him no more. Then they, laying prostrate for three hours upon their face, blessed God: and rising up they told all of his wonderful works." (Tobias 12:16, 21-22).

The Prophet Daniel experienced an apparition of the Archangel Gabriel, and "when he was come, I fell on my face trembling....And when he spoke to me, I fell flat on the ground." (Daniel 8:17-18). And again, Daniel writes: "And I heard the foice of his words: and when I heard, I lay in a consternation upon my face, and my face was close to the ground." (Daniel 10:9). Daniel concludes: "...he that looked like a man touched me and strengthened me." (Daniel 10:18).

In the New Testament we learn that the angel who announced to the shepherds the birth of Jesus stood by them, "...and the brightness of God shone round about them (the shepherds); and they feared with a great fear. And the angel said to them: "Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, and that shall be to all the people.." (Luke 2:9-10). Then on Easter morning, "an angel of the Lord descended from Heaven, and coming, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. And his countenance was as lightening, and his raiment as snow. And for fear of him, the guards were struck with terror, and became as dead men." (Matthew 28: 2-4).

In the Acts of the Apostles, we learn that Cornelius, a centurion, "a religious man, and fearing God with all his house," was visited by an angel during the night hour of the day, and Cornelius was "seized with fear." (Acts 10: 1-4).

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #8 on:** May 01, 2013, 02:26:42 PM »

Tobias and the Archangel Raphael.

Archangel Gabriel protecting Daniel the Prophet from the Lions.

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #9 on:** May 01, 2013, 02:31:04 PM »

The Angel opens Christ's Tomb.

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Lorenzo · « **Reply #10 on:** May 01, 2013, 02:42:30 PM »

Angels In Unusual Aspects

"And hospitality do not forget; for by this some, being not aware of it, have entertained angels." (Hebrews 13:2).

Sometimes angels have resembled ordinary people, as beggars, the poor, as shepherds, but as soon as they disappeared, their angelic nature was realized and the recipients of such favors were filled with a joy not easily described. Such was the angelic visit to St. Zita (1218-1278), the patroness of domestic workers.

St. Zita never wore shoes and only the poorest of clothing. So it was that, on one cold Christmas Eve, she insisted on going to church in spite of the wishes of the family for whom she worked. Unable to dissuade her, the master threw his costly fur coat over her, cautioning her not to lose it. At the entrance of San Frediano Church, she saw a shabbily dressed old man suffering from the cold. Without hesitation she thew her master's fur coat over the poor man, making him promise to return it to her after the service. When the service was over, the poor man and the coat were nowhere to be found.

The saint returned home to the unhappy disposition of her master. A few hours later, when the family sat down to the Christmas dinner, a stranger appeared at the door, carrying the missing fur coat on his arm. With a gracious deportment and a Heavenly smile he thanked Zita for the use of the coat and then disappeared. All who had seen him were filled with celestial joy. Butler tells us that from that day on the people of Lucca called the entrance door, "The Angel Door" in honor of the event.

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Author Topic: Joan Carroll Cruz' Angels & Devils (Read 2230 times)

Lorenzo

Joan Carroll Cruz' Angels & Devils

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Re: Joan Carroll Cruz' Angels & Devils

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Re: Joan Carroll Cruz' Angels & Devils

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Re: Joan Carroll Cruz' Angels & Devils

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Re: Joan Carroll Cruz' Angels & Devils

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Re: Joan Carroll Cruz' Angels & Devils

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Re: Joan Carroll Cruz' Angels & Devils

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Re: Joan Carroll Cruz' Angels & Devils

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