Receive a Child in My Name
October 2, 2012
Memorial of the Guardian Angels
By Beth DeCristofaro
(Jesus) called a child over, placed it in their midst, and
said, "Amen, I say to you, unless
you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is
the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And
whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. (Matthew 18:2-5)
Piety
A Blessing of Angels
May the Angels in their beauty bless
you.
May they turn toward you streams of
blessing.
May the Angel of Awakening stir your
heart
To come alive to the eternal within
you,
To all the invitations that quietly
surround you.
May the Angel of Healing turn your
wounds
Into sources of refreshment.
May the Angel of the Imagination
enable you
To stand on the true thresholds,
At ease with your ambivalence
And drawn in new direction
Through the glow of your
contradictions.
May the Angel of Compassion open your
eyes
To the unseen suffering around you.
May the Angel of Wildness disturb the
places
Where your life is domesticated and
safe,
Take you to the territories of true
otherness
Where all that is awkward in you
Can fall into its own rhythm.
May the Angel of Eros introduce you
To the beauty of your senses
To celebrate your inheritance
As a temple of the holy spirit.
May the Angel of Justice disturb you
To take the side of the poor and the
wronged.
May the Angel of Encouragement
confirm you
In worth and self-respect,
That you may live with the dignity
That presides in your soul.
May the Angel of Death arrive only
When your life is complete
And you have brought every given gift
To the threshold where its infinity
can shine.
May all the Angels be your sheltering
And joyful guardians.
Study
Reading this lovely prayer/poem by John O’Donohue is as inspiring as
the news today was disturbing. I’m
wondering what Jesus would say if he read this morning’s Washington Post with
it’s interview of Lee Boyd Malvo. He is
a man whose memories of childhood are severely disfigured by the influence of a
malevolent man. Malvo must now live with
the fact that he is a murderer.
Would Jesus cry at the recent stories of a pimp who ran a teen age
prostitution ring in Fairfax County? Do
angels weep at the stream of stories about adults who mistreat children in
their care every day? Children are
abused, scorned, neglected, bullied and humiliated every day in our own
neighborhoods and around the world. God
asked angels to look after us, His beloved children. Those of us He has set above the angels, can
we dare not do likewise?
Action
The USCCB has guidelines about human trafficking, welfare, forced
labor, and more. What can we do to “receive
our children in His name?
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