The Providence of God
Almighty God, true to His identity of Love Himself, always accompanies the Church and us on our pilgrim journey through this life. The victory of His Son, Jesus Christ, has been accomplished in His Passion, His Death on the Cross and His glorious Resurrection. This tremendous victory of love is constantly shared with us, most especially in the Sacrifice of the Mass, and also in the intercession of those in heaven.
Indeed, in His Providence, Our Heavenly Father has given us sure help on our way. One such help is His hosts of Angels, whom He gives to us as guardians, helpers, protectors and intercessors. On October 3 we celebrate the Feast of Our Guardian Angels. On September 29 we commemorate the three Holy Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Most often invoked among the holy three is St. Michael, whom we ask after Mass in that beloved prayer given to us by Pope Leo XIII to defeat the devil and protect us from evil. Just as the evil we find in the world around us is real, so, too, is real the angelic help that God gives us in St. Michael the Archangel and the heavenly hosts. We hear of the role and ministry of St. Michael and his angels in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation. “War broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it” (Rev 12:7-9).
Another manifestation of God’s Providence that we celebrate during the month of October is the powerful intercession of the Virgin Mother of God through the prayer of the Rosary that she loves so much. For over 800 years the Rosary in its present form, has raised the minds and hearts of people to contemplate the mystery of Christ with the help of the intercession of Our Lady. She teaches us in the Rosary to keep her Son Jesus always in our minds and hearts.
There is a wonderful intersection between devotion to the Holy Angels and the praying of the Rosary. The Hail Mary prayed so often in the Rosary is also called “the Angelic Salutation,” because the first lines of the prayer are taken from the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel when the Archangel Gabriel addressed the Virgin Mary, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee” (Lk 1:28). This powerfully grace-filled encounter between the Archangel Gabriel and the Maiden who is full of grace resulted in the Incarnation of the Word, the Son of God Himself, who took on our human flesh to save the world.
Dear friends, as we continue to grow in holiness and seek to transform the world by our announcing the Gospel as the Second Vatican Council asks us to, we rejoice in the Providence of God, who gives us the support of His grace by the prayers and protection of Our Blessed Mother and the Holy Angels. St. Michael is most often pictured with a sword raised in his hand as he tramples upon a defeated Satan. He is the warrior of God always battling against the Evil One and his minions. The Rosary is often described as a sword. St. Padre Pio noted, “The Rosary is the weapon for our times.” The battle sword of St. Michael and the weapon of the Rosary do not kill or maim as earthly weapons do. Rather, they defeat Satan, his fallen angels and promote the Kingdom of God which is all about life, love, peace, and mercy. Pope Leo has made a plea for the faithful to pray the Rosary daily during October for peace throughout the world. He knows the power of these heavenly aids.
Make no mistake about it we are in a great cosmic battle, but we have the weapons to defeat the kingdom of sin, darkness, violence and death. Our Blessed Mother and the angels are powerful protectors for us. We are battling for a culture of life and a civilization of love. We are warriors on the front line in this war to protect the unborn, mothers everywhere, the sanctity of all human life and the sanctuary of the family. The power of prayer, the witness of our love for others, and the intercession of the Mother of God, the saints and the angels will triumph in the end. What do we have to fear? Absolutely nothing, for God is with us!
Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh
Nikki 7:30-10:00
(From Nikki) – Our 40 Days for Life family is so generous! I was very blessed to have three prayer warriors with me on the sidewalk for the morning shift today. Jill, from my parish Christian Mothers, John from St. Paul of the Cross, and David from Weirton. It was slow this morning, with only workers going in but around 9am it began to get busy, with about 5 or 6 couples entering. Some took information, one took a blessing bag (although I think I saw them throw it away)…but as far as I could tell, no one changed their minds. Although at the end of my shift one girl left PP and was waiting for her Uber, and she had tears in her eyes. Others were telling her about abortion pill reversal and encouraging her to choose life. I hope she did. David made a powerful witness by praying on his knees for quite a while.
P.S. I was able to “Fix” the security camera. The batter wouldn’t take a charge, but it turned out that the outlet in the Little Lamb that it was plugged into does not have power. I charged it in the outlet on the other side of the store, and it charged and is now working.
Peggy & Cheryl
(From Cheryl) – Busy on the street but going into PP a lot of employees going in & out.
(From Cheryl) – Our shift started out very slow, with only PP employees entering and exiting the building. We were hopeful that maybe they were not seeing clients today. That all changed about 11:30 when couples began showing up for appointments. I spoke with one man who claimed his partner needed an abortion because she had a life-threatening pregnancy. I assured him that we could link him up with a pro-life doctor specializing in high risk pregnancies, but he wouldn’t hear of it. So sad. I was grateful for at least one expression of support from a passer-by. Two other men wanted to argue with Sam about abortion, using the same tired arguments. Sam was gracious in his pro-life defense, but minds were closed. They didn’t want to discuss and learn, but rather to assert the correctness of their opinion. Thank you to Sam, Ginny, Cheryl, Bob and Ed for prayers and help on the sidewalk today.
Linda & Sam
(From Linda) – Our shift started out very slow, with only PP employees entering and exiting the building. We were hopeful that maybe they were not seeing clients today. That all changed about 11:30 when couples began showing up for appointments. I spoke with one man who claimed his partner needed an abortion because she had a life-threatening pregnancy. I assured him that we could link him up with a pro-life doctor specializing in high risk pregnancies, but he wouldn’t hear of it. So sad. I was grateful for at least one expression of support from a passer-by. Two other men wanted to argue with Sam about abortion, using the same tired arguments. Sam was gracious in his pro-life defense, but minds were closed. They didn’t want to discuss and learn, but rather to assert the correctness of their opinion. Thank you to Sam, Ginny, Cheryl, Bob and Ed for prayers and help on the sidewalk today.
Carolyn, Cil & Fr. Jim, 1-3pm
(From Cil) – Faithful Fr Jim drove Diane and I to the vigil from St Francis Parish. Our dear friends gave us a donation for gas and parking. Thanks to Diane for her commitment too. We were blessed to have Carolyn there with her daughter, Karen. Lovely ladies! Carolyn, as usual, made sure Our Lady was with us too. Two rosaries were prayed and a Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Too many coming and going from PP. Appeared to be giving out birth control and transitioning services. Several passing took brochures or cards. The “Watch me Grow” was popular. People said they’d share it with their kids… We help to educate while we are there. Thankful for the beautiful weather. Please pray for JoAnn the homeless lady. If someone can take her a can opener and plastic bowls before next Thurs, please LMK. God bless you all!
Pete & Bill, 3-5pm
(From Pete) – Bill and I had a quiet shift on this beautiful Thursday afternoon. The only traffic we saw coming out of PP seemed to be employees. Bill and I bookmarked PP, with Bill handing out materials to passersby while I prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Luminous and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. On this Feast Day of the Guardian Angels our Lord cautions us, ‘See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.’ May we continue to help protect and guard the little ones through our prayers, fasting, sacrifices, and loving witness. God Bless.