The Epic Battle between St. Michael and Lucifer that took place in Heaven is still being waged on Earth!

Today is the memorial to our Guardian Angels. Did you thank your Holy Angel for never leaving you even when he witnessed your most grievous sins. Your Holy Angel stood by your side grieivng and yes maybe even wanting to avange the honor of God but he did not he stood by waiting and praying for grace that God will open your eyes and you will repent! If you had a conversion experience this was also due to your Holy Angel who guided you to the people that would help you. Just like St Augustine who  through the prayers of his Mother St. Monica was led to St Ambrose whose homilies St. Ambrose helped awaken in St Augustine the light of faith!'  Similarly, our guardian angels  protect, defend and guides each of us through the warfare that is still taking place on Earth. 

The same war that began in Heaven at the beginning of time in the book of between St Michael and the Good Angels who cast Lucifer and the bad angels out of Heaven. Rev. chapter 12. St. John writes of the great conflict at the end of time, which reflected the battle in heaven at the beginning of time in the book of Genesis.  I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. Genesis 3:15 

 Did you thank your  Guardian Angel today? 

It is he who will lead you through this life and the epic battle still waging around us between the good and the bad angels. Man is also a participant in this epic battle still being fought in time on earth. Man has a choice in time for and against good and our holy guardian angel wants us to be with then beholding the face of the father in Heaven!  to the Judgment seat of Christ.The battle that took place in heaven at the beginning of time will wage on earth  until Christ returns and makes his enemies his footstool. Each human person will also have his choice in this same battle either for God and His will or for mans will. "O Angel of Christ, my holy Guardian and Protector of my soul and body, forgive me all my sins of today. Deliver me from all the wiles of the enemy, that I may not anger my God by any sin. Pray for me, sinful and unworthy servant, that thou mayest present me worthy of the kindness and mercy of the All-holy Trinity and the Mother of my Lord Jesus Christ, and of all the Saints. Amen".  An Eastern Orthodox prayer to the Guardian Angel

The Epic Battle between St. Michael & Lucifer that took place in Heaven still waged on Earth!

Fall of the rebel Angels by Frans Floris

⁷ And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels: ⁸ And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. ⁹ And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: Now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ: because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth, who accused them before our God day and night. ¹² Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. Rev.12:7-12

Woman of the Apocalypse Peter Paul Ruben

The Woman of Genesis 3:15 and the Woman with the Dragon in Rev.:12 can viewed as the Church founded by Christ and/or the Virgin Mary who is the Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church.

Meditations on these verses should be made with both interpretations present because both are interchangeable. For me I can see more that Our Lord is referring to the Church of God that he left behind on earth when he ascended to Heaven. Her offspring are those who are baptized that the devil is seeking. The rivers of water the devil spews from his mouth are the heresies, the lies that make good evil and evil good. The devil uses them to try to destroy the church by these deceptions. 

Pope Francis & Benedict XVI 

Entrusted the Vatican City State 

to St. Michael the Archangel last July

This was a significant action taken by the Pope and may also signify that the pope is reinforcing the words of Venerable Paul VI.  The church is in the midst of the epic Battle of Revelation Chapter 12  with the forces of evil in the world. Evil "whose smoke has entered into the very confines  of the church. As  Pope Francis entrusted the Vatican City State to St Michael the Archangel he said :"Though the devil always tries to disfigure the face of the Archangel and that of humanity, God is stronger, it is His victory and His salvation that is offered to all men. We are not alone on the journey or in the trials of life, we are accompanied and supported by the Angels of God, who offer, so to speak, their wings to help us overcome so many dangers, in order to fly high compared to those realities that can weigh down our lives or drag us down. In consecrating Vatican City State to St. Michael the Archangel, I ask him to defend us from the evil one and banish him. "  Read more....

Venerable Pope Paul VI 

and the MYSTERY OF EVIL

 

This battle and deceptions were notably assessed and written about by the Venerable Paul VI as early as 1972 in a General Audience given on November 15 of that year.

 CONFRONTING THE DEVIL'S POWER  

"What are the Church's greatest needs at the present time? Don't be surprised at Our answer and don't write it off as simplistic or even superstitious: one of the Church's greatest needs is to be defended against the evil we call the Devil.

Man's Fatal Tempter

There are many things we do know, however, about this diabolical world, things that touch on our lives and on the whole history of mankind. The Devil is at the origin of mankind's first misfortune, he was the wily, fatal tempter involved in the first sin, the original sin. That fall of Adam gave the Devil a certain dominion over man, from which only Christ's Redemption can free us. It is a history that is still going on: let us recall the exorcisms at Baptism, and the frequent references in Sacred Scripture and in the liturgy to the aggressive and oppressive "power of darkness." The Devil is the number one enemy, the preeminent tempter.

So we know that this dark disturbing being exists and that he is still at work with his treacherous cunning; he is the hidden enemy who sows errors and misfortunes in human history. It is worth recalling the revealing Gospel parable of the good seed and the cockle, for it synthesizes and explains the lack of logic that seems to preside over our contradictory experiences: "An enemy has done this."He is "a murderer from the beginning, . . . and the father of lies," as Christ defines him. He undermines man's moral equilibrium with his sophistry. He is the malign, clever seducer who knows how to make his way into us through the senses, the imagination and the libido, through utopian logic, or through disordered social contacts in the give and take of our activities, so that he can bring about in us deviations that are all the more harmful because they seem to conform to our physical or mental makeup, or to our profound, instinctive aspirations.

Venerable Paul VI with President John F. Kennedy

This matter of the Devil and of the influence he can exert on individuals as well as on communities, entire societies or events, is a very important chapter of Catholic doctrine which should be studied again, although it is given little attention today. Some think a sufficient compensation can be found in psychoanalytic and psychiatric studies or in spiritualistic experiences, which are unfortunately so widespread in some countries today. We can presume that his sinister action is at work where the denial of God becomes radical, subtle and absurd; where lies become powerful and hypocritical in the face of evident truth; where love is smothered by cold, cruel selfishness; where Christ's name is attacked with conscious, rebellious hatred,where the spirit of the Gospel is watered down and rejected where despair is affirmed as the last word; and so forth.”

This was audience given by Venerable Paul VI in 1972.  How much deeper men have fallen and embraced the darkness of sin and error! What will it take to deliver us from it? The Divine intervention foretold at Fatima during the Miracle of the Sun? A purification by fire? 

Sts. Michael, Garbriel and Raphel

September 29^th  was the Feast of Sts. Michael, Garbriel and Raphel. This years feast fell on Sunday and the Sunday Mass usually takes precedence. However, If you were fortunate enough to participate in the Extraordinary or Tridentine form of the Mass you were able to celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of St Michael the Archangel. A double First Class Feast  may take precedence over the Sunday Mass. St Michael had his day in Divine providence  this year in the Extraordinary form of the Liturgy!

Around  530 A.D., on September 29^th , Pope Boniface II dedicated a church in the great circus, at Rome, to St. Michael the Archangel.   This particular Church was named after St. Michael to show the power of martyrdom and how it converted pagan Rome to the Christian faith. Previously in Italy, In the year 492, St Michael had appeared in a cave on Mt. Gargano in the region of  Foggia in the Kingdom of Naples. St. Francis of Assisi knelt at the entrance to the cave and could not bring himself to enter because of the holiness of the site.  St Michael appeared at Mt Gargano as the head of the heavenly army to remind us of that Great epic battle that took place in heaven at the beginning of time is still being fought today on Earth! 

The Hebrew meaning of Michael is, Who is like God, denoted the combat which took place in Heaven between the archangel and Lucifer. As we have fallen through sin into the power of satan it is St Michael’s mission along with our holy guardian angels to continue the fight for our deliverance.  And since Christ's coming the Church has ever venerated St. Michael as her special patron and protector. She invokes him by name in her confession of sin, summons him to the side of her children in the agony of death, and chooses him as their escort from the chastening flames of purgatory to the realms of holy light. 

When Antichrist shall have set up his kingdom on earth, it is Michael who will unfurl once more the standard of the Cross, sound the last trumpet, and binding together the false prophet and the beast, hurl them for all eternity into the burning pool.

The battle that took place in heaven at the beginning of time will wage on earth  until Christ returns and makes his enemies his footstool. Each human person will also have his choice in this same battle either for God and His will or for mans will. 

Holy Michael the archangel defend us in battle that we perish not in the dreadful judgement!--Amen. Maranatha -Come Lord Jesus

 

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Pope Francis Echos Cry of Bl. John Paul II, "NO MORE WAR!"

Bl. John Paul II  was the Pope of Human Rights, in the fight against violence. After the September 11 attacks on the Twin Towers, Bl. John Paul II called for avoidance of the idea it was a war between civilizations. “Father of everyone, listen to the unanimous cries of your children. No more war, the adventure with no return. No more war, the spiral of violence and mourning.”--Bl John Paul II  Read More on Life of John Paul II

Pope Francis once again repeats the CRY FOR WORLD PEACE as he addressed tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square,“Never again war!” said Pope Francis. “We want a peaceful world,” he said, “we want to be men and women of peace.”

 The pope made a long heartfelt , impassioned appeal for peace in Syria and across the Middle East, saying God and history would be the judge of those who promoted violence or prevented peace. "There are so many conflicts in this world which cause me great suffering and worry, but in these days my heart is deeply wounded in particular by what is happening in Syria and anguished by the dramatic developments which are looming.  On 7 September, in Saint Peter’s Square, here, from 7PM TILL MIDNIGHT, we will gather in prayer and in a spirit of penance, invoking God’s great gift of peace upon the beloved nation of Syria and upon each situation of conflict and violence around the world. Humanity needs to see these gestures of peace and to hear words of hope and peace! I ask all the local churches, in addition to fasting, that they gather to pray for this intention.

I appeal strongly for peace, an appeal which arises from deep within me.  How much suffering, how much devastation, how much pain has the use of arms carried in its wake in that martyred country, especially among civilians and the unarmed! I think of many children who will not see the light of the future! With utmost firmness I condemn the use of chemical weapons: I tell you that those terrible images from recent days are burned into my mind and heart. There is a judgment of God and of history upon our actions which are inescapable! Never has the use of violence brought peace in its wake. War begets war, violence begets violence. “Never again war!” said Pope Francis. “We want a peaceful world,” he said, “we want to be men and women of peace.”

To this end, brothers and sisters, I have decided to proclaim for the whole Church on 7 September next, the vigil of the birth of Mary, Queen of Peace, a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, the Middle East, and throughout the world, and I also invite each person, including our fellow Christians, followers of other religions and all men of good will, to participate, in whatever way they can, in this initiative. May the plea for peace rise up and touch the heart of everyone so that they may lay down their weapons and let themselves be led by the desire for peace.

"Let us ask Mary to help us to respond to violence, to conflict and to war, with the power of dialogue, reconciliation and love. She is our mother: may she help us to find peace; all of us are her children! Help us, Mary, to overcome this most difficult moment and to dedicate ourselves each day to building in every situation an authentic culture of encounter and peace. Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!"Read it online

I  hear once more in the urgent plea of Pope Francis words the echo of Bl. John Paul II' heart felt cry  in his prayer to Our Lady when He consecrated the the World and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary:In entrusting to you, O Mother, the world, all individuals and peoples, we also entrust to you this very consecration of the world, placing it in your motherly Heart.

Bl. John Paul with Fatima Statue Rome 1984

Immaculate Heart! Help us to conquer the menace of evil, which so easily takes root in the hearts of the people of today, and whose immeasurable effects already weigh down upon our modern world and seem to block the paths towards the future!

From famine and war, deliver us. 

From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from every kind of war,  deliver us. 

From sins against the life of man from its very beginning, deliver us. 

From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the children of God, deliver us. 

From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both national and international, deliver us. 

From readiness to trample on the commandments of God, deliver us. 

From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of God, deliver us. 

From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us. 

From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us, deliver us. 

Accept, O Mother of Christ, this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual human beings, laden with the sufferings of whole societies.  Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit to conquer all sin: individual sin and the ‘sin of the world', sin in all its manifestations. Let there be revealed, once more, in the history of the world the infinite saving power of the Redemption: the power of merciful Love! May it put a stop to evil! May it transform consciences! May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all the light of Hope!”.  Read More...

Bl. John Paul II at Fatima--1988

 

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Hope for Tomorrow! The Landfill Harmonic Orchestra ‘the world sends us garbage, we send back music’

When I was forwarded this video and story of the Landfill Harmonic Orchestra my thoughts immediately went to the Motto of the City of Detroit penned by its most illustrious missionary priest; Fr. Gabriel Richard after the fire that leveled the city in 1805.  He wrote: “Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus“; In English: “We hope for better things; and it will arise from the ashes”. The Latin word Speramus translated into English means: We Hope.  We hope, pray and work for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
  

The vast landfill site on the outskirts of Asuncion in Paraguay is said to receive 1.5 tons of rubbish each day. While most people might just see piles of plastic and aluminum, Favio Chávez combined his passion for music and his work as a technician to help children turn discarded items into musical instruments. Thus Paraguay's one and only landfill orchestra, the Cateura Orchestra of Recycled Instruments, was born

A garbage picker named Nicolás Gómez or “Cola” found a piece of trash that resembled a violin and brought it to musician Favio Chávez. Using other objects collected from the dump, they constructed a functional violin in a place where a real violin is worth more a house. Using items gleaned completely from the dump, they also built a cello, a flute, a drum, and suddenly had a wild idea: could a children’s orchestra be born in one of the most depressed areas in the world? As you can guess, the answer was yes.

All of the musicians of the Landfill Orchestra come from Cateura.  In the midst of such a bleak existence, they have created something both special and inspiring. "My life would be worthless without music." says one girl in pigtails. A young man named Juan Manuel Chavez, nicknamed Bebi, has a cello fashioned out of an oil can and old cooking tools. For the camera, he plays the Prelude to Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 — beautifully. "People realize that we shouldn't throw away trash carelessly," says Chavez at the end of the trailer. "Well, we shouldn't throw away people either!

"When I listen to the sound of a violin I feel butterflies in my stomach"

These simple children out of the garbage dumps are preaching to our modern world with their lives.  Their instruments from the garbage heaps are giving  renewed hope to a the senseless consumerism and activism of our day.  As, we live out our lives on our journey to Heaven awaiting the promised Triumph of Mary. We wait often in the midst of present apprehensions and fears of future sufferings.  Take for example the events in Syria with a threat of a 3rd World war looming on our horizon.   

Will these words of our Lady have a literal as well as spiritual implications? "If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated" Our Lady, Fatima July 13th, 1917

Even if we suffer from another war the consequences from the effects or our sins as a generation. These children from the garbage heaps are teaching us that the human spirit united to God, can and will rise above a loveless society. The ingenuity of the Human spirit will rise above the destruction  and evils around us whether its in the tragedy of poverty or the destructive forces of war men united to God can bring beauty once more to the world from the ashes.


     

 Facebook page for Landfill Harmonic and here’s the website for the upcoming documentary movie (January 2014) about the Landfill Harmonic Orchestra (“The world sends up garbage. We send back music”).

Sean McGaughey

Shared publicly  -  Sep 21, 2013

I was fortunate to see the Lanfill Harmonic Orchestra 3 times at the Canadian National Exhibition.  They are an exceptional group of young people with an inspiring story.  I wrote an article about them for the CNE blog as well.   http://www.officialcneblog.com/post/we-send-the-world-music/

                        

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