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5 November 2011
Tobias & Sarah prayed to God for protection- Extracted from Tobit, Chapter 8:
1 When they had finished eating and drinking and it seemed time to go to bed, the young man was taken from the dining room to the bedroom.
2 Tobias remembered Raphael's advice; he went to his bag, took the fish's heart and liver out of it and put some on the burning incense.
3 The reek of the fish distressed the demon, who fled through the air to Egypt. Raphael pursued him there, shackled him and strangled him forthwith.
4 The parents meanwhile had gone out and shut the door behind them. Tobias rose from the bed, and said to Sarah, 'Get up, my sister! You and I must pray and petition our Lord to win his grace and his protection.'
5 She stood up, and they began praying for protection, and this was how he began: You are blessed, O God of our fathers; blessed too is your name for ever and ever. Let the heavens bless you and all things you have made for evermore.
6 You it was who created Adam, you who created Eve his wife to be his help and support; and from these two the human race was born. You it was who said, 'It is not right that the man should be alone; let us make him a helper like him.'
7 And so I take my sister not for any lustful motive, but I do it in singleness of heart. Be kind enough to have pity on her and on me and bring us to old age together.
8 And together they said, 'Amen, Amen,'
9a and lay down for the night.
Tobit’s Sight Restored – Extracted from Tobit, Chapter 11:
1 They were nearly at Kaserin, opposite Nineveh,
2 when Raphael said, 'You know the plight in which we left your father;
3 let us go on ahead of your wife and prepare the house ourselves while she travels behind with the others.'
4 They went on together (Raphael warned Tobias to take the gall with him) and the dog followed them.
5 Anna was sitting, watching the road by which her son would come.
6 She was sure at once it must be he and said to the father, 'Here comes your son, with his companion.'
7 Raphael said to Tobias before he reached his father, 'I give you my word that your father's eyes will open.
8 You must put the fish's gall to his eyes; the medicine will smart and will draw a filmy white skin off his eyes. And your father will no more be blind but will be able to see the light.'
9 The mother ran forward and threw her arms round her son's neck. 'Now I can die,' she said, 'I have seen you again.' And she wept.
10 Tobit rose to his feet and stumbled across the courtyard through the door. Tobias came on towards him
11 (he had the fish's gall in his hand). He blew into his eyes and said, steadying him, 'Take courage, father!' With this he applied the medicine, left it there a while,
12 then with both hands peeled away a filmy skin from the corners of his eyes.
13 Then his father fell on his neck
14 and wept. He exclaimed, 'I can see you, my son, the light of my eyes!' And he said: Blessed be God! Blessed be his great name! Blessed be all his holy angels! Blessed be his great name for evermore!
15 For, having afflicted me, he has had pity on me and now I see my son Tobias! Tobias went indoors, joyfully blessing God at the top of his voice. Then he told his father everything; how his journey had been successful and he had brought the silver back; how his journey had been successful and he had brought the silver back; how he had married Sarah the daughter of Raguel; how she was following him now, close behind, and could not be far from the gates of Nineveh.
16 Tobit set off to the gates of Nineveh to meet his daughter-in-law, giving joyful praise to God as he went. When the people of Nineveh saw him walking without a guide and stepping forward as briskly as of old, they were astonished.
17 Tobit described to them how God had taken pity on him and had opened his eyes. Then Tobit met Sarah the bride of his son Tobias, and blessed her in these words. 'Welcome, daughter! Blessed be your God for sending you to us, my daughter. Blessings on your father, blessings on my son Tobias, blessings on yourself, my daughter. Welcome now to your own house in joyfulness and in blessedness. Come in, my daughter.' That day brought joy to the Jews of Nineveh,
18 and his cousins Ahikar and Nadab came to share in Tobit's happiness.
Raphael’s identity revealed – Extracted from Tobit, Chapter 12:
1 When the wedding feast was over, Tobit called his son Tobias and said, 'My son, you ought to think about paying the amount due to your fellow traveler; give him more than the figure agreed on.'
2 'Father,' he replied, 'how much am I to give him for his help? Even if I give him half the goods he brought back with me, I shall not be the loser.
3 He has brought me back safe and sound, he has cured my wife, he has brought the money back too, and now he has cured you as well. How much am I to give him for all this?'
4 Tobit said, 'He has richly earned half what he brought back'.
5 So Tobias called his companion and said, 'Take half of what you brought back, in payment for all you have done, and go in peace.'
6 Then Raphael took them both aside and said, 'Bless God, utter his praise before all the living for the favour he has shown you. Bless and extol his name. Proclaim before all people the deeds of God as they deserve, and never tire of giving him thanks.
7 It is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right to reveal and publish the works of God as they deserve. Do what is good, and no evil can befall you.
8 'Prayer with fasting and alms with uprightness are better than riches with iniquity. Better to practice almsgiving than to hoard up gold.
9 Almsgiving saves from death and purges every kind of sin. Those who give alms have their fill of days;
10 those who commit sin and do evil bring harm on themselves.
11 'I am going to tell you the whole truth, hiding nothing from you. I have already told you that it is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right too to reveal in a worthy way the words of God.
12 So you must know that when you and Sarah were at prayer, it was I who offered your supplications before the glory of the Lord and who read them; so too when you were burying the dead.
13 When you did not hesitate to get up and leave the table to go and bury a dead man, I was sent to test your faith,
14 and at the same time God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah.
15 I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ever ready to enter the presence of the glory of the Lord.'
16 They were both overwhelmed with awe; they fell on their faces in terror.
17 But the angel said, 'Do not be afraid; peace be with you. Bless God for ever.
18 As far as I was concerned, when I was with you, my presence was not by any decision of mine, but by the will of God; he is the one whom you must bless as long as you live, he the one that you must praise.
19 You thought you saw me eating, but that was appearance and no more.
20 Now bless the Lord on earth and give thanks to God. I am about to return to him who sent me from above. Write down all that has happened.' And he rose in the air.
21 When they stood up again, he was no longer visible. They praised God with hymns; they thanked him for having performed such wonders; had not an angel of God appeared to them?
Other records of Angels:
· An Angel appeared to Hagar and her son Ismael, who was dying of thirst in the desert, and caused water to spring up behind them (Genesis 21: 17-21),
· When Abraham charged his servant with finding a wife for Isaac, he exhorted him to rely on his angel to cope with all the difficulties this mission involved. ‘The Lord will send his angel with you and prosper your way…’ (Genesis 24: 1-40),
· The Angels appeared to Jacob on his return journey, to confirm God’s promise to help him when he met his brother Esau, whose resentment he fears (Genesis 32),
· An Angel appeared to dissuade Balaam for cursing the people of God (Numbers 22),
· The Lord sent an Angel to guide Moses (Exodus 23:20-23),
· An Angel woke up the Prophet Elijah when he was lying, totally demoralized. The Angel offered him a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. Elijah ate and drank; then his strength restored, he then walked 40 days and 40 night to Horeb, the mountain of God (1 Kings 19: 4-8),
· An Angel closed the mouths of the hungry lions when King Darius had thrown Daniel into the lion-pit: ‘My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouth, and they have not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him …’ (Daniel 6:22),
· The aid of Angels is seen in the records of the Maccabees, those Jews who rose up against the Syrian occupation and defended the cult of the true God in the face of idolatry. Beaten before by the Jews, the Syrian general Timothy, prepared for a war of vengeance, with a tremendous army of mercenaries into battle. Judas Maccabeus and his companions set to praying. They begged God to be an enemy to their enemies, an adversary to their adversaries, as He had promised (Exodus 23:22). In the thick of the battle the Syrians see 5 resplendent men appeared in the sky, riding on horses with golden bridles, coming to lead the Jews. They surrounded Maccabeus, and protecting him with their own armour and weapons, they keep him from being wounded. ‘They (the Angels) rained arrows and thunderbolts upon the enemy until, confused and blinded, they scattered in complete disorder. 20,500 infantry and 600 cavalry were slaughtered ... ’ (2 Maccabees 10: 24-38),
· Angered by the defeat of Timothy, Lysias, the chief minister of the king of Syria, gathers a new army of 80,000 and a troop of mighty elephants. The Jews began to panic: ‘all the people, with lamentations and tears, besought the Lord to send a good angel to save Israel’. Judas Maccabeus began to march into battle. ‘And to these, while they were still near Jerusalem, a horseman appeared at their head, clothed in white and brandishing weapons of gold.’ Comforted by the presence of the angel, the Jewish soldiers were filled with great courage, they were “Charging like lions on the enemy, they laid low 11,000 of the infantry and 1,600 horsemen, and routed the rest. Of those, the majority got away, wounded and weaponless, Lysias himself escaped only by ignominious flight.’(2 Maccabees 11: 1-12),
· An Angel was sent to Zechariah to report the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1: 11-22),
· Peter was miraculously rescued from the prison by the Angel of God (Acts 12: 1-19), and
· Etc… etc...
There are still massive records of Angels, practically impossible for us to extract all of them. You may continue yourselves… 8-) 5 November 2011
29 October 2011
Speed Call to your Guardian Angel is here (extracted from the PIETA):
Angel of God My guardian dear To Whom His love Commits me here Ever this day Be at my side To light and guard To rule and guide. Amen
Then say the following to your Guardian Angel 7 times:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
It has been advised traditionally to say the above greeting to your Guardian Angel daily upon rising.
29 October 2011
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