His Angels at Our Side: Understanding Their Power in Our Souls and the World.
Fr. John Horgan.
EWTN Publishing, Inc. 2018. Kindle Edition.
This is the first book in a while that I have been eager to recommend for the general readership. It strikes me as solid, and above all else without a contentious bone in its 304 pages. If you do not know much about angels or would like to cultivate a proper devotion to them, this book could be of service.
Three passages about prayer in the book struck me in a particular way.
The first, concerned the revival of the prayer of Pope Leo XIII to St. Michael the Archangel. Before the Second Vatican Council, it was generally recited at the end of daily low Mass. Just recently, it has begun to make a comeback in the face of the great trials the Church is enduring. "St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Hosts, by the power of God, cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."
The second was the prayer which the Angel of Peace taught to the three children of Fatima: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee! I ask pardon of Thee for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee!”
The third was new to me and concerns a prayer that comes down to us from Blessed Louis-Edouard Cestac (1801–1868), a great apostle among the poor and the cofounder, with his sister, of the Congregation of Servants of Mary. Our Lady told him that the time had come to invoke her as Queen of the Angels and to ask Her to send the holy legions to combat and to overthrow the powers of Hell. The prayer the Blessed Mother taught him is quite beautiful and enjoyed widespread popularity for over a century before falling into disuse: "August Queen of the Heavens, heavenly sovereign of the angels, thou who from the beginning received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan, we humbly beseech thee to send your holy legions, so that under thy command and through thy power, they may pursue the demons and combat them everywhere, suppress their boldness, and drive them back into the abyss. Who is like God? O good and tender Mother, thou will always be our love and hope! O divine Mother, send thy holy angels to defend me and to drive far away from me the cruel enemy. Holy angels and archangels, defend us, guard us. Amen."
I make reference to these three prayers and to the whole spirituality which would enlist the aid of the holy angels in our struggle against Satan and his minions, because we have to our own peril either neglected it or been deprived of it in our ignorance.
Read the book! Coming to know and appreciate the angels might be just what you need to escape the doldrums of a life below par.
Three passages about prayer in the book struck me in a particular way.
The first, concerned the revival of the prayer of Pope Leo XIII to St. Michael the Archangel. Before the Second Vatican Council, it was generally recited at the end of daily low Mass. Just recently, it has begun to make a comeback in the face of the great trials the Church is enduring. "St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Hosts, by the power of God, cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."
The second was the prayer which the Angel of Peace taught to the three children of Fatima: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee! I ask pardon of Thee for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee!”
The third was new to me and concerns a prayer that comes down to us from Blessed Louis-Edouard Cestac (1801–1868), a great apostle among the poor and the cofounder, with his sister, of the Congregation of Servants of Mary. Our Lady told him that the time had come to invoke her as Queen of the Angels and to ask Her to send the holy legions to combat and to overthrow the powers of Hell. The prayer the Blessed Mother taught him is quite beautiful and enjoyed widespread popularity for over a century before falling into disuse: "August Queen of the Heavens, heavenly sovereign of the angels, thou who from the beginning received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan, we humbly beseech thee to send your holy legions, so that under thy command and through thy power, they may pursue the demons and combat them everywhere, suppress their boldness, and drive them back into the abyss. Who is like God? O good and tender Mother, thou will always be our love and hope! O divine Mother, send thy holy angels to defend me and to drive far away from me the cruel enemy. Holy angels and archangels, defend us, guard us. Amen."
I make reference to these three prayers and to the whole spirituality which would enlist the aid of the holy angels in our struggle against Satan and his minions, because we have to our own peril either neglected it or been deprived of it in our ignorance.
Read the book! Coming to know and appreciate the angels might be just what you need to escape the doldrums of a life below par.
PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI
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