In a similar vein to my last post, our school chooses one saint and one virtue each month. This is a digital reprint of the article that appears in our newsletter. Enjoy :)
Each month at Our Lady of Sorrows is dedicated to a particular saint (generally chosen from the month) and virtue (generally taken from the fruits of the Spirit—Galatians 5:22-23, 2 Corinthians 6:6, Ephesians 5:9, and 2 Peter 1:5-7). The saint and virtue are incorporated into our morning prayer, religion bulletin boards, and religion classes. This focus on one saint and one virtue complements our Words of Wisdom, and serves as a supplement to our religion curriculum. This month we focus on the Archangels and the virtue of goodness.
According to Catholic teaching there are several choirs (ranks) of angels, divided into three hierarchies: Seraphim, Cherubim & Thrones; The Dominions, Virtues & Powers; Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. All angels are spiritual beings (they have no physical body) that have great wisdom, freedom, goodness and power. Archangels are under the guidance of St. Michael, and they are tasked with guarding over the church. Our personal guardian angels always watch over us as God commands as well.
The archangels whose names we know from Scripture (and who form the basis of the Feast day for the Archangels) are St. Gabriel (Book of Daniel, Luke’s Gospel), St. Michael (Book of Daniel and Book of Revelation), and St. Raphael (Book of Tobit). All angels are messengers of God, but these three have specific roles in Scripture: Michael protects; Gabriel announces; Raphael guides.
This month, then, can be used to remind ourselves that God’s protection, wisdom and guidance are always accessible to us in the form of angels who surround us, our world, and our entire universe. Children especially can be taught to call upon their guardian angel in times of need, and everyone can add the petition to St. Michael to their repertoire of prayers.
The virtue of goodness flows through our angelic guides—as messengers who mediate the presence of our all-good God they bring God’s goodness with them wherever they go. We are challenged to live our lives in such a way that we, too, become mirrors that reflect the goodness of God through our actions.
Blessings & Peace,
Hugo De La Rosa III
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