Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 10-02-03, Memorial, Guardian Angels

Reading I
Neh 8:1-4a, 5-6, 7b-12

The whole people gathered as one in the open space before the Water Gate,
and they called upon Ezra the scribe
to bring forth the book of the law of Moses
which the LORD prescribed for Israel.
On the first day of the seventh month, therefore,
Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly,
which consisted of men, women,
and those children old enough to understand.
Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate,
he read out of the book from daybreak until midday,
in the presence of the men, the women,
and those children old enough to understand;
and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law.
Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform
that had been made for the occasion.
He opened the scroll
so that all the people might see it
(for he was standing higher up than any of the people);
and, as he opened it, all the people rose.
Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God,
and all the people, their hands raised high, answered,
"Amen, amen!"
Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves before the LORD,
their faces to the ground.
As the people remained in their places,
Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God,
interpreting it so that all could understand what was read.
Then Nehemiah, that is, His Excellency, and Ezra the priest-scribe
and the Levites who were instructing the people
said to all the people:
"Today is holy to the LORD your God.
Do not be sad, and do not weep"–
for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.
He said further: "Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks,
and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared;
for today is holy to our LORD.
Do not be saddened this day,
for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!"
And the Levites quieted all the people, saying,
"Hush, for today is holy, and you must not be saddened."
Then all the people went to eat and drink,
to distribute portions, and to celebrate with great joy,
for they understood the words that had been expounded to them.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11

R (9ab) The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye;
R The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

Gospel
Mt 18:1-5, 10

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"
He 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.

"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."

From: Matthew 18:1-5, 10

The "Little Ones" and the Kingdom. The Lost Sheep

[1] At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the
greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" [2] And calling to Him a child, He
put him in the midst of them, [3] and said, "Truly, I say to you,
unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the
Kingdom of Heaven. [4] Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is
the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

[5] "Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me.

[10] "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell
you that in Heaven their angels always behold the face of My Father who
is in Heaven.

Commentary:

1-35. The teachings of Jesus recorded in chapter 18 of St. Matthew are
often called the "discourse on the Church" or "ecclesiastical
discourse" because they are a series of instructions on the way in
which His Church is to be administered.

The first passage (Matthew 18:1-5), addressed to leaders, that is, the
future hierarchy of the Church, warns them against natural tendencies
to pride and ambition: even though they have positions of government,
they must act with humility. In verses 6-10 Jesus emphasizes the
fatherly care which pastors of the Church should have for the "little
ones"--a term which covers everyone in need of special care for
whatever reason (because they are recent converts, or are not well
grounded in Church teaching, or are not yet adults, etc.)... God takes
special care of the weak and will punish those who harm them.

Our Lord shows similar concern for those who are experiencing spiritual
difficulties. Every effort, even an heroic effort, must be made to
seek out the "lost sheep" (verses 12-14). If the Church in general and
each Christian in particular should be concerned to spread the Gospel,
all the more reason for them to try and see that those who already
embraced the faith do not go astray...

Thus, the whole of Chapter 18, the "discourse of the Church", is a
survey of the future history of the Church during its earthly stage,
and a series of practical rules for conduct for Christians--a kind of
complement to the Sermon on the Mount, (Chapters 5-7), which is a
"magna carta" for the new Kingdom established by Christ.

1-6. Clearly the disciples still suffer from human ambition: they want
to occupy key positions when Jesus comes to establish the Kingdom on
earth (cf. Acts 1:6). To correct their pride, our Lord shows them a
child and tells them that if they want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
they must decide to be like children: children are incapable of hating
anyone and are totally innocent of vice, particularly of pride, the
worst vice of all. They are simple and full of trust.

Humility is one of the main pillars of the Christian life. "If you ask
me", St. Augustine says, "what is the essential thing in the religion
and discipline of Jesus Christ, I shall reply: first humility, second
humility and third humility" ("Letter 118").

3-4. Applying these words to our Lord's virtues, Fray Luis de Granada
makes the point that humility is superior to virginity: "If you cannot
imitate the virginity of the humble, then imitate the humility of the
virgin. Virginity is praiseworthy, but humility is more necessary.
The former is recommended to us, the latter is an obligation for us; to
the former we are invited, to the latter we are obliged [...]. And so
we see that the former is celebrated as voluntary sacrifice, the latter
required as an obligatory sacrifice. Lastly, you can be saved without
virginity, but not without humility" ("Summa De La Vida Cristiana",
Book 3, Part 2, Chapter 10).

5. Receiving a child in Jesus' name is the same as receiving Jesus
Himself. Because children reflect the innocence, purity, simplicity
and tenderness of our Lord, "In children and in the sick a soul in love
sees Him" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 419).

10. Jesus warns that giving scandal to little children is a very
serious matter, for they have angels who guard them, who will plead a
case before God against those who led them to commit sin.

In this context He speaks of children having guardian angels. However,
everyone, adult or child, has a guardian angel. "By God's providence
angels have been entrusted with the office of guarding the human race
and of accompanying every human being so as to preserve him from any
serious dangers [...]. Our Heavenly Father has placed over each of us
an angel under whose protection and vigilance we are" ("St. Pius V
Catechism", IV, 9, 4).

This means that we should have a trusting relationship with our
guardian angel. "Have confidence in your guardian Angel. Treat him as
a lifelong friend--that is what he is--and he will render you a
thousand services in the ordinary affairs of each day" ([St] J. Escriva,
"The Way", 562).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

FEAST OF THE DAY

The Guardian Angels are our protectors and intercede on our behalf
to God. Devotion to angels became more wide spread with the
spread of Western Monasticism. Both St. Benedict, the father of
Western Monasticism, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a major
monastic reformer, comment on angels and encouraged angelic
devotion.

Some biblical basis of the Guardian Angels can be found in the
eighteenth chapter of Matthew where Jesus says, "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."

Regular devotion to angels by the faithful became a common
practice during the sixteenth century, and this feast day was added
to the Roman calendar by Pope Paul V in 1615. In 1670 Pope
Clement X assigned this feast to the first free day following the feast
of St. Michael. Some scholars believe that one of the more
comforting aspects of the Catholic faith is that we believe that each
one of us has an angel to watch over our well being.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

May the angels lead you into paradise:
may the martyrs come to welcome you
and take you to the holy city
the new and eternal Jerusalem."
-Taken from the Rite for Christian Burial

TODAY IN HISTORY

1264 Death of Pope Urban IV who reigned from 1261 to 1964
1931 Pope Pius XI encyclical "On the economic crisis" is issued

TODAY'S TIDBIT

Angels are purely spiritual beings with intelligence and free will. They
are ministers of God and minister to the spirits of mankind. Angels
were created by God before He created the visible universe.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me
here, ever this day be at my side to light and guard, to rule and
guide. Amen

The Word Among Us

Thursday, October 02, 2003

Meditation
Matthew 18:1-5,10

Have you ever seen a child jump fearlessly into water toward the outstretched arms of her father or mother? Blissfully trusting in her parent’s protection, she knows no fear! This image of happiness and freedom can help give us a new perspective on what we can experience as children of God—a sense of peace and security in the protection of One far stronger than us.

When Jesus called us to become like little children, he was expressing a desire that we regain a kind of childhood innocence. When we are very young, we find it easy to believe in a good God who watches over us and sends angels to protect us. As we grow older, however, we tend to lose our sense of wonder over such comforting images. Life tends to wear us down and make us cynical about the closeness of God and the reality of our guardian angels. Faced with the inevitable pressures of life, we may begin to believe—or resign ourselves to the belief—that we are the masters of our fate and have no one to help us but ourselves.

Jesus wants to free us from this sense of isolation or self-sufficiency. He wants to awaken in us that joy and innocence we knew when we first experienced his personal, abiding love. True Christian maturity is not a matter of increased independence from God, but a deeper dependence on him! Even as adults, we are incapable of one day’s existence apart from his mercy and grace. From our first breath to our last, it is God who provides for our health, our relationships, our finances, and our very lives!

Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to do a special work in us today. Let us ask him to help us view all the events of our day with the eyes of a child who knows the Father’s intimate love. If you find this a difficult request, ask the Lord for more healing. Your heavenly Father wants you to come to him with every concern—no matter how small—and trust that his angels are watching over you. Let him reassure you with his love and support.

“Holy Spirit, deliver me from self-sufficiency. Help me become more like a child as I look to the Father for my strength and my needs. Open my heart to trust in your provision and heavenly protection.”

One Bread, One Body

<< Thursday, October 2, 2003 >>

Guardian Angels

Exodus 23:20-23

Psalm 91

Matthew 18:1-5, 10

View Readings

ON GUARD!

“For to His angels He has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways.” —Psalm 91:11

When thousands of people are killed in a tragedy, the question arises: “What happened to their guardian angels? They didn’t seem to do such a good job of guarding their charges.” The response to this question is wrapped in another question: “Why did Jesus’ guardian angels let Him be crucified?” Jesus stopped the angels from protecting Him. He said: “Do you not suppose I can call on My Father to provide at a moment’s notice more than twelve legions of angels?” (Mt 26:53) Jesus might also choose to stop angels from protecting others, especially those baptized into Him. He wants to include us in the Paschal mystery of His death and resurrection. Guarding us from natural evils is insufficient. The Lord wants to guard us from the worst evils: sin and damnation. To do this, He lets us share through suffering in His Paschal mystery.

Although the guardian angels primarily guard us from the worst evils, that is, spiritual evils, they also guard us from natural evils. It may well be that many of us would have died several times but for God’s protection through our guardian angels.

Guardian angels are very active for those living in the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, they don’t have much to do, for their job is not to guard “couch potato Christians” but to mow down the enemies of those moving in the Holy Spirit (see Ex 23:20ff). If we are what we are called to be, the guardian angels will be able to do what they are called to do.

Prayer: Father, may I live a life conducive to full angelic activity.

Promise: “See that you never despise one of these little ones. I assure you, their angels in heaven constantly behold My heavenly Father’s face.” —Mt 18:10

Praise: Jana has learned that praying more frequently to her guardian angel has resulted in a greater number of opportunities for her to be a sign of God’s love to others.

Today's Saint Title: Guardian Angels Date: Thursday, October 2, 2003

"God planted the vineyard," [the shepherd] said. "That is, He created the people, and gave them over to His Son. And the Son appointed the angels to guard over them; and He Himself cleansed them of their sins, laboring much and undergoing much toil." ~Hermas, "The Shepherd" [ca A.D. 140/155]

"For they are ministering spirits, sent for service, for the sake of those who will inherit salvation." ~Hebrews 1:14

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, 2 will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust." 3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; 4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. 8 You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. 9 Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your habitation, 10 no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. 11 For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. 12 On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. 14 Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. 15 When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

Guardian Angels Prayers

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love entrusts me here, Ever this day be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule and guide. Amen

Heavenly Father, in Your infinite love for us, You have chosen a blessed angel in heaven and appointed him our guide during this earthly pilgrimage. Accept our thanks for so great ablessing. Grant that we may experience the assistance of our holy protector in all our necessities.

And you, holy, loving angel and guide, watch over us with all the tenderness of your angelic heart. Keep us always on the way that leads to heaven, and cease not to pray for us until we have attained our final destiny, eternal salvation. Then we shall love you for all eternity.We shall praise and glorify you unceasingly for all the good you have done for us while here on earth. Especially be a faithful and watchful protector of our children. Take our place, and supply what may be wanting to us through human frailty, short-sightedness, or sinful neglect. Lighten, O you perfect servants of God, our heavy task. Guide our children, that they may become like unto Jesus, may imitate Him faithfully, and persevere till they attain eternal life.

Homily of the Day Title: Rejoicing Will Be Our Strength Author: Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D. Date: Thursday, October 2, 2003

Nehemiah 8:1-12 / Mt 18:1-5

When at last the Israelites returned to their homeland after decades in exile, they had forgotten much of their religious tradition, especially since the center of their religious life, the temple, had been destroyed so long before. So their interest was genuine when one of the priests found an ancient copy of God's law and read it to them, young and old alike. Yet, as today's Old Testament reading tells us, the whole lot of them fell to weeping as they heard God's word spelled out, page after page.

Where did those tears come from? Was it sadness at recognizing the great disparity between the way of life to which God called them and the way of life they were actually following? Undoubtedly so. But there must have been something more as well. It must have been the joy that came from seeing how faithful God had been to them from the very beginning, even when they had been utterly faithless. Their biggest tears had to be tears of joy at recognizing that God had never given up on them and never would.

Their leader Nehemiah put it simply, "...rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength." And so must it be with us. No matter what comes our way, even the immense sadness of belatedly recognizing our own sins, we must rejoice that our God will never abandon us. And that rejoicing will be our strength, for it opens the door to his grace, his strength, and his healing.

And it opens our eyes to a glimpse of the eternity that can be ours. So rejoice in the Lord, and have no fear.

Virtue of Compassion 10/02/03

Every virtue has its bogus pretenders. Foolhardiness passes for courage, timidity for prudence, apathy for patience, obsequiousness for courtesy, and credulity for faith. But there is no counterfeit that is more successful in obscuring the genuine article, especially in the present era, than false compassion.

Compassion is not a new virtue, although many employ it with the kind of wide-eyed excitement that might suggest they had discovered it. It is cited many times in Sacred Scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments. St. Augustine, in his Confessions, written in the early 5th century, discussed the fraternal compassion we owe to others and advised that we should prefer to find nothing in them that would elicit our compassion. St. Bernard, in the 12th century, said that Christ is our primary teacher of compassion because He willed His passion so that we could learn compassion. St. Thomas Aquinas, in the 13th century, wrote about how our compassion can mitigate the suffering of a friend.

History has taught us enough about the meaning of compassion so as to leave us with little excuse for confusing it with pity. Compassion, which is rooted in love, takes on the pain of the sufferer, but with the hope that some positive good will emerge from this shared suffering. Pity, on the other hand, which is more closely associated with an aesthetic sensibility than with love, is devoid of hope. This is why a sufferer welcomes compassion but despises pity. “I don’t want your pity!” is a poignant cry that implies the futility of pity. And yet, pitilessness, which is insensitivity to another’s suffering, is even more despicable.

The great Russian philosopher and Orthodox Christian, Nikolai Berdyaev, makes a valid and crucial point when he states that “in Buddhism, compassion means a desire that the sufferer should attain non-being and is a refusal to bear suffering on behalf of others as well as oneself. In Christianity, compassion means a desire for a new and better life for the sufferer and a willingness to share his pain.”

Buddhist compassion is really pity. It does not rise to the level of Christian compassion because it lacks both love in the person who has pity and hope for the other who is suffering. This is why Berdyaev goes on to say that pity may “turn into the worst possible state, into the rejection . . . both of God and man.” Pity can be a source of rebellion against God.

For the Christian, suffering is not necessarily meaningless. Indeed, it can be redemptive. For a Christian to share the suffering of another means that, by so doing, he brings a light into the pain and misery of that person’s life. He blesses the other person’s existence with a higher meaning. Christian compassion is thus bound up with the mystery of the Cross.

Humanistic compassion, another variety of false compassion, is based on the illusion that it is possible to free human beings from suffering altogether and supply them with uninterrupted happiness. This illusion is rampant in the present therapeutic culture, which believes that the road to happiness passes through pharmaceutical companies. But since humanistic compassion is neither realistic nor rooted in love, it is simply another form of pity.

Hoche and Binding, in The Release of the Destruction of Life Devoid of Value, a notorious work published in 1920 that paved the way for the Nazi eugenics program, wrote eloquently about “compassion.” In one passage, characteristic of their books, the authors write: “A terrible testimony of the morals of our time! We are spending lots of time, patience, and care on the survival of life devoid of value. Every reasonably thinking person would hope for its end. Our compassion is going beyond a reasonable measure until it reaches cruelty. To deny the incurable patient the peaceful death he so much desires is no longer compassion but the opposite.”

Along the spectrum of human dispositions that one can have toward his suffering neighbor, there is pitilessness or insensitivity; Buddhist, humanistic, or other forms of pity; and true compassion that is rooted in love and animated by hope.

Whereas chastity is the contemporary world’s most unpopular virtue, compassion is clearly its favorite. It has become a cultural imperative that we have compassion for others. Compassion’s popularity, unfortunately, is so great that it tends to isolate this virtue from all those other factors it needs in order to remain truly a virtue.

Consequently, compassion becomes an argument unto itself, so to speak, to justify abortion, sterilization, euthanasia, and sundry other actions that are aimed at reducing the amount of misery that currently afflicts mankind. Separated from love, light, generosity, hope, patience, courage, and determination, “compassion” becomes nothing more than a code word whose real name is expediency. It may be true that more lives are dispatched in the name of compassion than are lost in wars. When compassion becomes a principle, it ceases to be a virtue. As a principle, all it means is the easiest way out.

A person who experiences pity is in a position to feel morally superior to those who are devoid of pity. And in this case, he is right. But a little bit of rectitude can be a dangerous thing. What he may not realize is the moral superiority of loving compassion. But he very well may, filled with a sense of humanistic righteousness — Jack Kevorkian and Derek Humphry leap to mind — launch a euthanasia program that is nominally compassionate but essentially inhumane. Such is the theme of Rita Marker’s penetrating book, Deadly Compassion.

The problem with pity is not that it is inhumane. It is only too humane. Its problem is that it cannot transcend suffering, finds no meaning in it, and is, in fact, overwhelmed by it. Pity, ultimately, is so humane that it excludes God. Ivan Karamazov, in Dostoevsky’s great novel, could not believe in God as long as one child was in torment. One of Albert Camus’ heroes could not accept the divinity of Christ because of the slaughter of the innocents.

The various modes of popular pity mark our gain in sensibility, but at the cost of narrowing our vision to the point where pain is all that we can see. Christianity and the therapeutic culture are at odds with each other on the fundamental question of how we should respond to another’s pain. Christianity is by no means insensitive to pain nor to the anguish of the sufferer. But, unlike the therapeutic culture, the Christian brings to his suffering neighbor love, hope, and the light of the Cross.

Dr. DeMarco is a professor of philosophy at St. Jerome’s College in Waterloo, Ontario. He is the author of The Many Faces of Virtue and The Heart of Virtue

Guardian angel bump! Get out the tissues!

A drunk man in an Oldsmobile

They said had run the light

That caused the six-car pileup

On 109 that night.

When broken bodies lay about

And blood was everywhere,

The sirens screamed out elegies,

For death was in the air.

A mother, trapped inside her car,

Was heard above the noise;

Her plaintive plea near split the air:

"Oh, God, please spare my boys!"

She fought to loose her pinned hands;

She struggled to get free,

But mangled metal held her fast

In grim captivity.

Her frightened eyes then focused

On where the back seat once had been,

But all she saw was broken glass and

Two children's seats crushed in.

Her twins were nowhere to be seen;

She did not hear them cry,

And then she prayed they'd been thrown free,

"Oh, God, don't let them die!"

Then firemen came and cut her loose,

But when they searched the back,

They found therein no little boys,

But the seat belts were intact.

They thought the woman had gone mad

And was traveling alone,

But when they turned to question her,

They discovered she was gone.

Policemen saw her running wild

And screaming above the noise

In beseeching supplication,

"Please help me find my boys!

They're four years old and wear blue shirts;

Their jeans are blue to match."

One cop spoke up, "They're in my car,

And they don't have a scratch.

They said their daddy put them there

And gave them each a cone,

Then told them both to wait for Mom

To come and take them home.

I've searched the area high and low,

But I can't find their dad.

He must have fled the scene,

I guess, and that is very bad."

The mother hugged the twins and said,

While wiping at a tear,

"He could not flee the scene, you see,

For he's been dead a year."

The cop just looked confused and asked,

"Now, how can that be true?"

The boys said, "Mommy, Daddy came

And left a kiss for you.

He told us not to worry

And that you would be all right,

And then he put us in this car with

The pretty, flashing light.

We wanted him to stay with us,

Because we miss him so,

But Mommy, he just hugged us tight

And said he had to go.

He said someday we'd understand

And told us not to fuss,

And he said to tell you, Mommy,

He's watching over us."

The mother knew without a doubt

That what they spoke was true,

For she recalled their dad's last words,

"I will watch over you."

The firemen's notes could not explain

The twisted, mangled car,

And how the three of them escaped

Without a single scar.

But on the cop's report was scribed,

In print so very fine,

An angel walked the beat tonight

On Highway 109.

"He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare ."

Just repeat this prayer and see how God moves!!

" Lord, I love you and I need you. Come into my heart, and

bless my family, my home, my friends and me. In Jesus' name. Amen.

"Don't keep the blessing to yourself, pass it on!!

A Guardian Angel story:

A DAD'S STORY

On July 22nd I was in route to Washington, DC for a business trip. It was all so very ordinary, until we landed in Denver for a plane change. As I collected my belongings from the overhead bin, an announcement was made for Mr.

Lloyd Glenn to see the United Customer Service Representative immediately.

I thought nothing of it until I reached the door to leave the plane and I heard a gentleman asking every male if he were Mr. Glenn. At this point I knew something was wrong and my heart sunk.

When I got off the plane a solemn-faced young man came toward me and said, "Mr.

Glenn, there is an emergency at your home. I do not know what the emergency is, or who is involved, but I will take you to the phone so you can call the hospital."

My heart was now pounding, but the will to be calm took over. Woodenly, I followed this stranger to the distant telephone where I called the number he gave me for the Mission Hospital. My call was put through to the trauma center where I learned that my three-year-old son had been trapped underneath the automatic garage door for several minutes, and that when my wife had found him he was dead. CPR had been performed by a neighbor, who is a doctor, and the paramedics had continued the treatment as Brian was transported to the hospital.

By the time of my call, Brian was revived and they believed he would live, but they did not know how much damage had been done to his brain, nor to his heart.

They explained that the door had completely closed on his little sternum right over his heart. He had been severely crushed. After speaking with the medical staff, my wife sounded worried but not hysterical, and I took comfort in her calmness.

The return flight seemed to last forever, but finally I arrived at the hospital six hours after the garage door had come down. When I walked into the intensive care unit, nothing could have prepared me to see my little so n laying so still on a great big bed with tubes and monitors everywhere. He was on a respirator. I glanced at my wife who stood and tried to give me a reassuring smile. It all seemed like a terrible dream.... I was filled-in with the details and given a guarded prognosis. Brian was going to live, and the preliminary tests indicated that his heart was OK, two miracles in and of themselves. But only time would tell if his brain received any damage.

Throughout the seemingly endless hours, my wife was calm. She felt that Brian would eventually be all right. I hung on to her words and faith like a lifeline. All that night and the next day Brian remained unconscious. It seemed like forever since I had left for my business trip the day before.

Finally at two o'clock that afternoon, our son regained consciousness and sat up uttering the most beautiful words I have ever heard spoken. He said, "Daddy hold me" and he reached for me with his little arms.

[TEAR BREAK...smile] By the next day he was pronounced as having no neurological or physical deficits, and the story of his miraculous survival spread throughout the hospital. You cannot imagine, we took Brian home, we felt a unique reverence for the life and love of our Heavenly Father that comes to those who brush death so closely.

In the days that followed there was a special spirit about our home. Our two older children were much closer to their little brother. My wife and I were much closer to each other, and all of us were very close as a whole family. Life took on a less stressful pace. Perspective seemed to be more focused, and balance much easier to gain and maintain. We felt deeply blessed. Our gratitude was truly profound.

The story is not over (smile)!

Almost a month later to the day of the accident, Brian awoke from his afternoon nap and said, "Sit down Mommy. I have something to tell you." At this time in his life, Brian usually spoke in small phrases, so to say a large sentence surprised my wife. She sat down with him on his bed, and he began his sacred and remarkable story.

"Do you remember when I got stuck under the garage door? Well, it was so heavy and it hurt really bad. I called to you, but you couldn't hear me. I started to cry, but then it hurt too bad. And then the 'birdies' came."

"The birdies?" my wife asked puzzled.

"Yes," he replied. "The birdies made a whooshing sound and flew into the garage. They took care of me."

"They did?"

"Yes," he said. "One of the birdies came and got you. She came to tell you "I got stuck under the door." A sweet reverent feeling filled the room. The spirit was so strong and yet lighter than air. My wife realized that a three-year-old had no concept of death and spirits, so he was referring to the beings who came to him from beyond as "birdies" because they were up in the air like birds that fly. "What did the birdies look like?" she asked.

Brian answered, "They were so beautiful. They were dressed in white, all white. Some of them had green and white. But some of them had on just white."

"Did they say anything?"

"Yes," he answered. "They told me the baby would be all right."

"The baby?" my wife asked confused.

Brian answered.... "The baby laying on the garage floor." He went on, "You came out and opened the garage door and ran to the baby. You told the baby to stay and not leave."

My wife nearly collapsed upon hearing this, for she had indeed gone and knelt beside Brian's body and seeing his crushed chest whispered, "Don't leave us Brian, please stay if you can." As she listened to Brian telling her the words she had spoken, she realized that the spirit had left His body and was looking down from above on this little lifeless form. "Then what happened?" she asked.

"We went on a trip," he said, "far, far away." He grew agitated trying to say the things he didn't seem to have the words for. My wife tried to calm and comfort him, and let him know it would be okay. He struggled with wanting to tell something that obviously was very important to him, but finding the words w as difficult.

"We flew so fast up in the air. They're so pretty Mommy," he added.

"And there are lots and lots of birdies." My wife was stunned. Into her mind the sweet comforting spirit enveloped her more soundly, but with an urgency she had never before known. Brian went on to tell her that the "birdies" had told him that he had to come back and tell everyone about the "birdies." He said they brought him back to the house and that a big fire truck, and an ambulance were there. A man was bringing the baby out on a white bed and he tried to tell the ma n that the baby would be okay. The story went on for an hour.

He taught us that "birdies" were always with us, but we don't see them because we look with our eyes and we don't hear them because we listen with our ears. But they are always there, you can only see them in here (he put his hand over his heart). They whisper the things to help us to do what is right because they love us so much. Brian continued, stating, "I have a plan, Mommy. You have a plan. Daddy has a plan. Everyone has a plan. We must all live our plan and keep our promises. The birdies help us to do that cause they love us so much."

In the weeks that followed, he often came to us and told all, or part of it, again and again. Always the story remained the same. The details were never changed or out of order. A few times he added further bits of information and clarified the message he had already delivered. It never ceased to amaze us how he could tell such detail and speak beyond his ability when he talked about his birdies.

Everywhere he went, he told strangers about the "birdies." Surprisingly, no one ever looked at him strangely when he did this. Rather, they always got a softened look on their face and smiled. Needless to say, we have not been the same ever since that day, and I pray we never will be.

You have just been sent an Angel to watch over you. Some people come into our lives and quickly go...Some people become friends and stay a while...leaving beautiful footprints on our hearts ... and we are never quite the same because we have made a good friend!!

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present! Live and savor every moment...this is not a dress rehearsal! THIS IS A SPECIAL GUARDIAN ANGEL...

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