Angels are Real!

On the whole (putting it mildly!) Catholics know very little about angels. In fact, some Catholics (including some priests!) do not believe that Angels are real beings. My own knowledge of the teaching of the Church in this area is poor (I am working on it). Since being appointed a diocesan exorcist about eleven years ago, I have had to learn about demons and also about angels. I was not told anything about angels when I was at seminary, and I suspect there are many priests, ordained after me, who know almost nothing about them.


The Fourth Lateran Council declared the existence of angels to be an article of the Faith. It is therefore not an optional belief for loyal Catholics. When I was ordained (1975) I thought I knew pretty much all there is to know about such things. I thought angels were some kind of "divine expression" or had something to do with religious experiences, but that angels were not real beings. Of course, as time went along, I learned that I knew much less than I thought (about many things). Becoming an exorcist especially meant that I had to read, and much of my information has come from Evangelical writers who are not embarrassed by some things in Sacred Scripture and who (truth be told) often present a more accurate version of the Catholic Faith in certain areas than some Catholic writers.


Archangels are not the highest angels. There are nine choirs of angels. The "New" Catechism says that angels are purely spiritual creatures with intelligence and will. They are personal and immortal creatures. The Catechism of the Council of Trent says;


"The rank of the angels is determined by the amount of the gifts that God has given them, and according to the office assigned them. Nearest to the Throne of God are the seraphim, who burn more than the rest with the love of God; next to them are the cherubim, who are distinguished by the vastness of their knowledge. We also read in Scripture of thrones, dominations, principalities, powers, and also of three archangels, St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael. There is also a corresponding division among the fallen angels".



The more I think about the richness of the Catholic Faith these days, the more I am saddened and even appalled at the impovershment of our catechesis over the last 30 or 40 years. I am thinking not only of doctrinal matters, but about our moral teaching. There are now great numbers of Catholics who live with "partners", as opposed to wives and husbands, and who see nothing wrong in this. They come to Holy Communion as and when they like (because the Sunday obligation has also "gone"). Superstition has remained in different forms, and worldy wisdom has overshadowed the wisdom of the Scriptures and Catholic Tradition. How long can this go on? I must admit that without prayer I would be tempted to despair of the Church in the West.

Our Lady of Walsingham

I found this photograph on the blog of an American Anglican priest in the Fort Worth diocese. I rather like it. I have lost the reference to his blog, but I thought of linking with it because it has a lot of interesting stuff.


On Saturday I am off to Walsingham for the Leeds Diocesan Pilgrimage. It's just a day and quite hectic, but the experience of community is worth it. I am looking forward to it. I usually see people from parishes I have served in and others who I know because of Marian devotions. I have publicized Walsingham a bit more this year with the result that some people are talking about going next year for an overnight stay.

Padre Pio in the Year for Priests

I am a spiritual son of Padre Pio (not a very good one!). I first read about him when I was a teenager, and through my interest in him, my father later developed a devotion to him which produced the usual signs (perfume etc). When my father died my mother woke up one night almost unable to breathe for the smell of roses. She had been praying to St. Therese for a sign that my dad was in heaven, but when the roses came she said, "I knew it was Padre Pio". Well it is a communion of saints isn't it?

Some people may not be aware of the fact that when Padre Pio first felt the pains of the stigmata, (as a Capuchin priest in his early thirties) he was eventually led to offer his sufferings for priests. He had an interior vision of Christ looking at priests - some of them prelates - and he saw tears on the Lord's face as he turned away saying, "Butchers!". Christ told Padre Pio that he was still suffering, and, to a great extent, this suffering was caused by lukewarm and sinful priests. Padre Pio offered himself as a victim soul. We might remember that in this special year of priesthood when we are being encouraged to pray for priests and when priests are being invited to grow in holiness. It would be a great shame if this year passed by without any real efforts being made by priests and layfolk. This is a time of grace. I'm sure Padre Pio is involved in all this, interceding for the renewal of the Priesthood.

The Calling of St. Matthew

The calling of St. Matthew is one of my favourite scenes from the Bible, and the painting above by Carravaggio is one of my favourite paintings. I can't remember when I first discovered this masterpiece, but it is surely one of the most dramatic depictions of this scene ever painted. The light comes in the room at such an angle that it helps to form a triangle or an arrow-head pointing at Matthew. The hand of Christ is the focul point of the painting and the fall of the light leads the eye to Matthew's hand which is pointing to his breast as if saying, "Me?" The hand of Christ is held out without effort and reminds us of the hand of God the Father in the other Michelangelo's painting of the creation of Adam. It is a superb painting, yet it does not entirely fit in with my own approach to the Gospel story.

Levi was an outcast. As a tax-collector he was performing a task which made him defiled in the eyes of many of his fellow Jews. It is not surprising that the guests at his house were other tax-collectors and other "public sinners", including prostitutes. The alienated often find friends amongst their own kind, and sometimes these friendships can be healing because the Mercy of God is not shut out by those who are seeking redemption and liberation.

I like to think of Matthew struggling within himself and perhaps praying for some kind of release, some kind of redemption. Perhaps it was not so much a struggle as a sense of "deadness" which wearied him and made him restless at the same time - a guilty conscience perhaps, but coupled with a temptation to despair. This is probably just me being dramatic, but whatever was going through his mind, the coming of Christ was like the breaking down of a wall. Perhaps it had already been weakened by his or others' prayers, but it was a break none the less, and a dramatic one. No wonder we are told that he got up and followed Jesus, and no wonder he rejoiced with his friends, hoping that some of them might find the same release. Being set free Mattew immediately tried to share that freedom with others.

Return from the TLIG Pilgrimage

I returned home from my pilgrimage last Saturday, and I am still recuperating! I was one of over 800 pilgrims from 17 different Christian denominations and 63 countries. The photo above is of Cardinal Toppo (on the right) and Bishop Toppo (on the left - and no relation!). They look a bit solemn, but that is my fault. Like many of the clergy, and especially the bishops (we had 13 I think) they were constantly being asked to stop and stare into a camera.

Some Catholics (including many clergy) still treat "True Life in God" with suspicion and many condemn it. The Notification issued by the Vatican did much to encourage this negativity. Yet, as Cardinal Ratzinger (as he was) said, the Notification is NOT a condemnation but a "warning". When asked by more than one bishop how they should react to Vassula's writings, the Cardinal said they could continue reading them, with care. Since then Vassula has answered ALL the problems raised by the Notification. The Cardinal called her answers, "useful clarifications", but then gave an important signal by asking that these answers be published ONLY in her books, thus suggesting that anyone who wanted to read her reply to the Congregation for The Faith should obtain or borrow one of her books. This obviously means that it is OK to read the books. Since then these answers have been published elsewhere. The Cardinal only insisted that her answers should be in the TLIG books at the outset.

There is still much misinformation and many half-truths circulating about Vassula and TLIG. One of the problems is that there is at least one very negative web site which is read by most people searching on Google, and there seems no way to dialogue with the author, since all attempts to present a positive case are immediately rebuffed. Much damage has also been done by a well-known Jesuit at EWTN. I understand why he is so negative. He had such a bad experience with New Age nonsense that ANYTHING that even remotely smacks of that (in his eyes) is suspect. I know for a fact (because I know the author) that ALL his concerns have been answered, point by point. So far he has failed to reply, in any satisfactory way, to that article (it was sent to him).

For those wishing more information about TLIG or Vassula I have various links on the right. But just to make another point about the Notification I post, once again, a video statement of a Bishop who was working in Rome at the time and who personally spoke to Cardinal Ratzinger about the writings known as "True Life in God".

On Pilgrimage

I shall be away on Pilgrimage until September 12th, and will then be taking a few days rest before returning to the Parish. I shall be with several hundred others completing a journey in the steps of St. Paul. This is a TLIG ecumenical pilgrimage. These days I am beginning to dread travelling. I can't say it is a sign of age; I have met people older than me who can't seem to stay in one place - they are always off somewhere. To be honest I have no real desire to go anywhere except into the Yorkshire Dales. Perhaps I'll organise an ecumenical pilgrimage to Wensleydale or something. This present pilgrimage promises to be hard and my feet are already killing me!