15 Things You Didn't Know About Your Guardian Angel

If we’re going to go all-in on following Christ, then we have to believe everything that Jesus tells us. One of the things that He tells us about (that we always seem to forget) is that angels are real! Not only are they real, but we each have one guarding us against this and every moment. How well do we actually know these invisible guardians, though?

One of the things in the Bible that seem so commonplace is the presence of angels. I look at my own life and I don’t see angels like they did in the Bible. In fact, I don’t ever think about angels. Every time I stop and think about them, I find myself fascinated by the fact that I have a guardian angel. But then I find myself asking, “What are angels?”

I did some research, and here are some interesting things that I found out:

1. Angels like to get dressed-up (kind of).
If you’re like me, then you may think that angels have halos and wings, or are (creepy) little babies. Both cases are incorrect. Angels are pure spirits, so they don’t actually have bodies at all. However, angels will assume a human body when the need arises (it’s pretty rare). This assumption of a body is sort of like how we dress up for Halloween; except their costume is perfect (I can never get my costumes the way that I imagined them).

2. They are super-geniuses (smarter than Tony Stark).
Angels don’t think like humans do. We use logic to get from one thought to the next, like so:

We are human.

God loves every human unconditionally.

Therefore, God loves all of us.

For angels, they just know that God loves everyone instantaneously. They don’t take any intermediate steps, they just reach the conclusion. They have insights constantly. Because of this, they are constantly contemplating things such as humans, other angels, and God.

3. They’re probably laughing at you right now.
Because angels are so smart, they find things very humorous. The more knowledge you know, the more puns you can make, the more things are ironic, and you are amused by more things. Angels aren’t laughing at us to be mean; they’re just amused by all of the weird things that we do. I assume that my guardian angel can never stop laughing because I’m so weird.

4. Angels are snowflakes.
As in each and every single angel is unique and different from any other angel, so much so that each angel could be considered a different species. This means that every angel has their very own, very different personality.

5. Angels can’t get bored.
Because they are outside of our space-time, angels have no chronological time, which means that they never wait, and they can’t get bored because they are part of the immaterial world. Not only that, but guardian angels are never bored because humans are the subject of their attention, and humans don’t end, they just keep going.

6. They love us.
It naturally follows that love follows knowledge. Because angels have the power to think (they are conscious) and the power to choose (they have free will); angels will the good of us, which is the precise definition of love. They have no other motive except to see us in heaven, where we belong.

7. Angels are telepaths.
Since they don’t have a body to speak with, they just communicate with one another by instantly sending their thoughts.

8. Angels are always in contact with God.
Even when they are paying attention to us, they are glorifying God and receiving whatever God wants them to know. Since they are beings outside of space, they can be present to more than one thing at any moment. This means that they operate on earth without ever leaving heaven.

9. They contain the space in which they operate.
I always imagined that my guardian angel would hover above me and to one side, but since they don’t have a body, it makes sense that they surround us at all times.

10. Angels are more beautiful than we can possibly imagine.
Because they are more like God than we are, they are more beautiful, because God is Beauty. Artists try and capture the beauty of angels, but they will always fall drastically short because there is nothing in this world that can describe or show such beauty.

11. They respect hospitality.
An ancient Jewish tradition to see if an angel visited would be to have some sort of food around and to offer it to the angel. Count the cookies or candies, or bananas (I don’t know what you have handy in your house), and offer one to it. Count again after the angel leaves, and if there is one less than what you started with, the angel assumed a body.

12. Angels don’t have a gender.
Gender is biological; it has nothing to do with the personality or spirit. Masculinity and femininity, on the other hand, transcend biology. This means that some angels may have more feminine personalities or more masculine personalities, but that doesn’t mean that they are male or female (again, that only has to do with biology). All angels that appear in the Bible appear masculine, most likely because, in the culture back then, males were the authoritative figures. The tasks that the angels performed (guarding and delivering messages) were those of the male back then as well.

13. They appear to women more than men.
Women seem to be more intuitive and receptive, which may be the reason behind this. Angels are solely intuitive beings, they might be on the same sort of mental wavelength as the female populace.

14. Angels are fearsome.
All angels are good, and that is all they can do to us. However, good does not mean comfortable. There is a reason that in the Bible, almost all the angels have to tell the people “Do not be afraid.”

15. They inspire us.
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and an idea popped into your head that you just had to write down so you wouldn’t forget it in the morning? Have you just been inspired to do something out of the ordinary, and it turned out to be extremely fruitful? Angels are always trying to inspire us with things that will lead us to heaven.

Angels are real and there is one that is protecting, guarding, guiding, enlightening, and loving you at this very moment. Make it a habit to acknowledge and thank your guardian angel more. 

Convert to be a Catholic

One should never leave the religion in which one was born or raised for anything but the most serious of reasons. Warm feelings, family, friends, a social ethos, should never be the reason for joining or leaving a religion. The fact that you do not like the priest, pastor or parishioners should never be a reason for staying or leaving. Anyone who knows me well knows that I have never been a person to "go with the flow" or seek popularity.

Though I grew up in a "Catholic" household my family was not the typical Catholic family. My mother was a member who was non-active. My step-father was not a member until late in life. Neither my brothers. I went onto religion to religion, just wanted to find answers to life's questions in my mind. Just wanted to find answers to why things happened to me and my brother due to our mother's rage and neglect.

Our mother was not a kind and friendly person in the home. Outside she make everyone think she was loving, caring and a good Catholic. on the inside she was not that sort. Me and my brother escaped her wrath. We fled England, our home to live in Southern Ireland for a few years. We then traveled through Europe, living in many different countries. We lived in Holland, Russia, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Western Australia Belgium and Germany over a many years.

Now I live in Indiana, America. My brother was sent to prison, where he shortly killed himself. I still miss him to this day. I did become a Catholic officially here. I've found that God works in marvelous ways. God has made me a messenger to spread his word to others. We are all called to be God's Messenger if we accept that duty we will be fully blessed. I know when I write my stories I know God is guiding my words as I tell a story. He is letting me spread the word of his wisdom and guidance to the young adults and children in this forgotten world.

REMEMBER: God is in you. You just have to accept him and his Holy Spirit in your life. Letting the Holy Ghost guide you in all ways.

Don't Let Your Heart be Trouble

In John of the gospels tells us not to be troubled. He talked about Trusting in God and Jesus. He came to earth and to give us the Holy Spirit to guide our hearts. It means that God gave us free will. This is what the Holy Spirit does. He shows us what our choices are, just we have to make the choice whether or not we make the right choice. If we make wrong choices, we can ask for forgiveness. If our heart is not a a contrite heart, and filled with grace and faith. It means that God will listen to our prayers, it doesn't mean he will answer our prayers when we want them answered. He'll answer them in his good time.

To every trouble you have troubling your heart, like you have sinned a lot in your young or old life. You need to welcome God into your heart, and let him take your pain, your troubles you hold inside your heart. God gave you your life, only he can take it from you. If you commit suicide or give abortion to an unborn child. You are classed with murder in God's eyes. He gave life to you, only he can take it from you if you wish to go up to heaven.

Sacrement: Catholic Marriage

A Union Sealed by the
Sacrament of Matrimony

To understand Catholic marriage in the sacrament of Matrimony, it's best to begin...

...in the beginning.

God didn't have to make the human race male and female as he did. God didn't have to share his creative power with his own creatures and make the beginning of a new human life depend upon the free cooperation of a man and a woman with himself. There is a limitless number of other ways in which God could have arranged for the multiplication of human beings, had he chosen to do so.

But God didn't do it any other way.

He chose to make man male and female, and to give him the power, in partnership with himself, to produce new human life. By the act of intimate union which we call sexual intercourse, man and woman would fashion a physical image of themselves; and into this new body so wondrously begun God would infuse a spiritual and immortal soul.

It is God, then, who bestowed upon humans the power of procreation—as the sexual faculty is called. It is God who planned and who gave to men and women their genital organs. It is God who (to guarantee the perpetuation of the human race) attached to the use of those organs a high degree of physical pleasure.

Since God is the author of sex and since all that God does is good, it follows then that sex in itself is something good.

The sanctity of sex

Indeed, because of its close relationship with God who is a partner to the reproductive act, sex is not merely something good—it is something sacred and holy.

This is a point that needs emphasizing, this basic sanctity of sex.

When the sense of the sacredness of sex is lost, the sanctity of marriage also is forgotten. Sex becomes a plaything, an exciting tool for pleasure rather than an instrument of God. Easy divorce and casual remarriages; prostitution and marital infidelity: these are some of the evils which follow when sex is twisted from its context in the divine scheme of things.

The union of marriage

To ensure the right use of the procreative power God founded the institution of marriage: the lifelong and irrevocable union of one man and one woman.

The necessity of such a union is apparent, since it is essential not only that children be born but that they be lovingly reared and cared for by the father and mother who bring them into the world. Our juvenile courts and mental hospitals bear daily witness to the evils that follow when the unity and permanence of marriage are forgotten.

But it was not merely for the purpose of peopling the earth that God instituted marriage. "It is not good that the man is alone," said God as Adam slept in Eden. "I will make him a helper like himself." It is God's design that man and woman should complete each other, draw strength from each other, contribute to one another's spiritual growth.

It is in the lifelong espousal of one man and one woman, wherein minds and hearts as well as bodies are fused into a new and richer unity, that this purpose of God is achieved.

Jesus explicitly affirmed the permanence of marriage: "What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder" (Matthew 19:7).

A new sacrament

Up to the time of Christ, marriage, although a sacred union, was still only a civil contract between a man and a woman.

Jesus, however, took this contract, this exchange of marital consent between man and woman, and made the contract a conveyor of grace. He made marriage a sacrament, the sacrament of Matrimony among Christians.

Matrimony is defined as "the sacrament by which a baptized man and a baptized woman bind themselves for life in a lawful marriage and receive the grace to discharge their duties."

It is not hard to understand why Jesus made marriage a sacrament—the sacrament of Matrimony.

Grace supports a natural union

From man's beginning, marriage was a sacred union.

It was God's instrument for the begetting, the rearing, the education, and the moral training of successive generations of human beings. Marriage was a "natural," we might say, for elevation to the holy rank of a sacrament. Besides the priesthood, there is no state in life that pleads for grace as demandingly as does marriage.

No matter how well matched they may be, it is not easy for any two people to live together day in and day out, year after year, with their inescapable faults and personality defects grating upon each other. It's not easy to help one another grow in goodness and nobility in spite of those faults—little by little adjusting to one another so that the faults of one "fit in" to the perfections of the other and unity arises from the very differences of the two persons. This is a beautiful evolution, like the emergence of the butterfly from its chrysalis; but it is not easy.

No matter how selfless a couple may be, it is not easy for them to face the prospect of responsible parenthood, with all the sacrifices that entails. Especially it is not easy to face the prospect of an ultimate judgment, in which they will have to answer to God for the souls of the children who have been entrusted to them.

If ever there was a state of life which called for grace, marriage is it.

A higher calling in the New Covenant

And, in Christ's new plan for mankind, there was a further need for grace in marriage.

It would be upon parents that Jesus must depend for the continual replenishment of his Mystical Body: that union-in-grace whereby all baptized Catholics are one in Christ. From now on, for Christian parents it would not be enough to beget, rear, educate, and train offspring.

From now on Jesus would expect parents to form and nurture the souls of their children in the pattern of sainthood.

Without guiding grace and strengthening grace, this would be a hopeless task.

Unbroken tradition testifies to this sacrament

It is no wonder, then, that Christ made marriage a sacrament.

Just when he did so, during his public life, we do not know. Some think that it may have been at the marriage feast at Cana. Others think it may have been at the time he instructed the Pharisees: "Have you not read that the Creator, from the beginning, made them male and female, and said, 'For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? Therefore now they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder" (Matthew 19:4-7).

However, such speculations as to the exact time at which Jesus made marriage a sacrament are rather fruitless. It is enough for us to know, by the constant and unbroken tradition of the Church, that Jesus did so transform the marriage bond.

Who administers this sacrament?

A sacrament, as we know, is an outward sign that confers an inner grace.

In the sacrament of Matrimony, the outward sign is the exchange of marital consent on the part of a baptized man and a baptized woman. In other words the couple who are getting married administer the sacrament of Matrimony to each other.

It is not correct to say (although we often do) that "John and Mary were married by the priest." More correctly we should say, "John and Mary married each other in the presence of the priest."

The priest cannot administer the sacrament of Matrimony; only the contracting couple can do that. The priest (or deacon) is simply the official witness, representing Christ and Christ's Church. The priest's presence is normally essential; without him there is no sacrament and no marriage. But he does not confer the sacrament.

Catholic marriage requires
sacramental Matrimony

Aside from exceptional cases, a Catholic cannot validly contract marriage except in the presence of a priest.

A Catholic who attempts to enter into marriage before a minister or a civil magistrate (such as a judge or a justice of the peace) is not really married at all. He commits a grave sin by going through such a ceremony; and the couple will be living in habitual mortal sin as long as they continue to cohabit.

Two non-Catholics who are married by a minister or a civil magistrate are genuinely married. If the two are unbaptized, theirs is a "natural" marriage, such as was marriage before Jesus instituted the sacrament of Matrimony. If both non-Catholics are baptized, however, their marriage is a sacrament.

But for a Catholic, there just isn't any other way to marry validly except to receive the sacrament of Matrimony. When Jesus institutes a sacrament, he requires that his followers use it.

The promise of grace

If a husband (or a wife) is having a bad day, perhaps discouraged under the pressure of an acute domestic problem, tempted to self-pity, with the awful feeling that it was a mistake ever to get married—that is one good time to remember that Matrimony is a sacrament.

It is a good time to remember that each spouse has an absolute right to whatever grace may be needed in this emergency; whatever grace may be needed to strengthen human weakness and to guide to a solution of the problem.

To Christian spouses who do their human best to make theirs a truly Christian marriage, God has pledged his grace, when needed and as needed.

God will not default on his pledge.

Two kinds of grace

Since Matrimony is a sacrament, we know that it gives grace.

Like every sacrament, it gives two kinds of grace. First of all there is the increase in sanctifying grace, imparted at the very moment that the sacrament is received.

As the just-wed couple turn away from the altar, their souls are spiritually stronger, spiritually more beautiful than when they came to the altar a few moments earlier.

It is essential, of course, that they present themselves to receive this sacrament with souls which already are in the state of sanctifying grace. For a person to receive this sacrament with a mortal sin upon his soul would be a sacrilege, a grave sin. The marriage still would be a true and valid marriage; but it would be a most unhappy beginning for what is designed to be a partnership with God.

Matrimony's sacramental grace

Besides this increase in sanctifying grace—which all "the sacraments of the living" confer—Matrimony gives its own special grace, its sacramental grace.

This consists in a claim upon God for whatever actual graces the couple may need, through the years, to make a happy and successful marriage.

For its full effectiveness this grace needs the cooperation of both partners to the marriage. The grace is intended for that single entity, that "one-from-two," which a married couple have become. But if one partner should prove derelict to Christian duty, the other spouse still can count on exceptional graces of strength and wisdom.

To be more specific, the sacramental grace of Matrimony:

• Perfects the natural love of husband and wife;
• Elevates this love to a supernatural level which far surpasses mere mental and physical compatibility;
• Gives to marital love a sanctifying quality, making it an instrument for growth in holiness and marriage a path to sainthood;
• Imparts conscientiousness in the begetting and rearing of children;
• Gives prudence in the innumerable problems consequent upon family life;
• Enables husband and wife to adjust to one another's shortcomings and to bear with one another's faults.

This is only a little of what the grace of Matrimony will accomplish for those who, by their cooperation, give God a chance to show what he can do.

Grace merited by Christ's Passion

Four hundred years ago the Council of Trent, in propounding the Catholic doctrine on the sacrament of Matrimony, said:

The grace which would perfect that natural love (of husband and wife) and confirm that indissoluble union and sanctify the married, Christ himself merited for us by his Passion; as the Apostle St. Paul indicates, saying, 'Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church.'

It seems to me that it should be a wonderfully inspiring thought to a Christian husband and wife to realize that Jesus was thinking of them as he suffered his Passion—to realize that one of the things for which Christ died was the graces they would need in marriage.

Equally inspiring should be the knowledge that the Holy Spirit inspired St. Paul to compare marriage to the fruitful, grace-filled union and interchange between Christ and his Spouse, the Church.

The marriage bond

In addition to the conferring of grace, another effect of the sacrament of Matrimony is the forging of the marriage bond, a moral change wrought in the souls of the married couple.

Of course, it is only the three sacraments whose fundamental objective is the worship of God—Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders—which work in the soul that physical change which we call the "character" of the sacrament. These are the three sacraments by which we share, in varying ways, in the priesthood of Christ.

However, theologians have not hesitated to compare the marriage bond to these sacramental characters and even to term it a quasi-character.

Unity

It is from this "quasi-character," this matrimonial bond, that result the two properties of marriage: unity and indissolubility (such a jaw-breaker!).

By the unity of marriage is meant that a man can have only one wife, and a woman only one husband. They are two in one flesh, not many in one flesh. The unity of marriage is opposed to polygyny (many wives) and polyandry (many husbands).

Since Christ's time, monogamy (one spouse) must be the rule without exception.

Indissolubility

By the indissolubility of marriage is meant that marriage is a permanent union.

Once a man and woman are completely united in a consummated Christian marriage, there is no power on earth, not even the Pope, who can dissolve the bond. "What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder" (Matthew 19:6).

The Church does have the power, under very special circumstances, to dissolve a marriage that was not a sacramental marriage (for example, the marriage of two unbaptized persons when one of the parties has later been baptized), and to dissolve a sacramental marriage that never has been consummated.

But even the marriage of two validly baptized Protestants is a sacramental union which, once consummated, the Church herself cannot break.

The state laws which permit divorce with remarriage are meaningless as far as God is concerned. The divorced person who remarries, and his or her new partner, are living in habitual adultery if the previous marriage was valid; legalized adultery, but adultery nonetheless.

The reality of hardship in some cases

There are times when the unbreakableness of the marriage bond seems to result in a great hardship.

We are thinking of such instances as that of a husband whose wife becomes mentally ill, or the wife who must flee from an abusive husband, or the husband or wife who is deserted by a spouse.

Each of these cases is certainly very difficult in human terms. But the permanence of marriage means there can be no remarriage so long as the deserter lives.

That is, there can be no remarriage for such persons so far as God is concerned. They can, of course, secure a civil divorce (with the consent of the bishop) if it is necessary to protect themselves against a vicious or a deserting spouse.

But the civil divorce cannot break the marriage bond.

Permanence is part of God's purpose

We feel a great pity for persons caught in such a dilemma.

We are tempted to ask, "Why is God so adamant against any breaking of the marriage bond? Why doesn't he make some provision for especially deserving cases?"

The answer is that God, once he decided to create the human race male and female and to have men and women cooperate with him in peopling the earth and heaven too, was compelled to make marriage a permanent union in order to fulfill his purposes. (When we say "decided" and "compelled," we are speaking of God in purely human terms.)

If children were to reach adulthood in the full nobility which God willed them to have—children of God and images of him—it was essential that they should have the emotional, mental, and spiritual stability which could be achieved only by growing up with their own parents. (The writer, whose principal work is with children from broken homes, can bear witness to the harmful effects of step-parentage.)

Moreover, even where there are no children to consider, the secondary purpose of marriage still demands a permanent union. The secondary purpose is the mutual completion which a man and a woman are destined to find in one another—the enrichment and growth which results from their fusion into a new unity, one from two. This is a purpose that never could be fulfilled if the marriage bond were temporary or terminable.

That is why we say that the indissolubility of the marriage bond flows from the natural law, even aside from any positive decree on the part of God. It is based on the very nature of man as he is.

God's care for us, even in difficult times

Yes, someone may say, that is all very true. But couldn't there be a dispensation in cases of exceptional hardship?

Unfortunately, there can be no exceptions if God's plan is to succeed.

When a man and a woman know that "this is for life," that they have to make a go of their marriage—then ninety-nine times out of a hundred they will. If adultery were grounds for severing the marriage bond with the right to remarry, or brutality or desertion, then how easy it would be to provide the grounds.

We have seen that very result exemplified in our own country, as our divorce-and-remarriage rate grows and swells. No, this is a case where God must hold the line firmly or God's cause is lost.

It is a case where an individual (an innocent deserted mother, for example) is sometimes called upon to suffer for the common good. Those who say that the innocent should not have to suffer are saying in effect that virtue should be practiced only when virtue is easy. By this principle it would be quite all right for a Catholic caught in a Communist land to deny his Faith if it would keep him out of prison. By this principle martyrs would be fools, and goodness would simply depend upon how low the pressure was.

As the Catechism's section on the Catholic marriage sacrament of Matrimony says:

The deepest reason is found in the fidelity of God to his covenant, in that of Christ to his Church. Through the sacrament of Matrimony the spouses are enabled to represent this fidelity and witness to it. Through the sacrament, the indissolubility of marriage receives a new and deeper meaning.(Catechism, 1647)

As for the deserted wife or lonely husband, God knows their problems better than anyone else. He can be depended upon to give the needed courage and strength and help if given the chance. The abandoned children need a father, yes; but they do not need a stepfather more than they need God. God will be doubly a Father to them.

Surely he can be given credit for caring at least as much as we.

A special blessing for
a successful marriage

Of course, marriage is so much more than just a permanent commitment. It is the place where a man and a woman seek—and find—deep union with each other. It is where spouses cooperate with God in the creation of new life. It is a channel of divine grace, and a place of life-long support and love—love which is a beacon of God's own love for us, a testament of faith to the world.

The bride and groom who are seeking all the grace they can obtain for the fulfillment of their vocation will want to exchange the vows of Matrimony within a Nuptial Mass. The Nuptial Mass is a special Mass with a very special blessing which the Church provides in her liturgy for those who are embarking upon the holy vocation of marriage.

There is a special Mass of Ordination in the liturgy for the young man who is offering himself to God in the priesthood. There is a special Mass of Consecration for the offering of a new church edifice to God. It is not surprising, then, that there is a Nuptial Mass for the couple who are dedicating themselves to God as cooperators in his work of creation and redemption, as a little "church-within-a-church" in the Mystical Body of Christ.

It is a measure of the importance which the Church attaches to the sacrament of Matrimony.

A Catholic couple, both esteeming marriage as a vocation under God, receiving the sacrament of Matrimony after a chaste courtship in which prayer and the sacraments have kept God close, kneeling together to receive Holy Communion at their Nuptial Mass—there is a marriage upon which they, and all who love them, can pin their hopes.

The Anointing of the Sick

Comfort and Healing

The Anointing of the Sick is a remarkable sign of God's great love for us. In his merciful efforts to bring us safely to himself in heaven, God seems to have gone to the very limit.

Jesus has given us the sacrament of Baptism, in which original sin and all pre-Baptismal sins are cleansed from the soul. Allowing for mankind's spiritual weakness, Jesus also gave us the sacrament of Penance, by which post-Baptismal sins could be forgiven. As though he were impatient lest a soul be delayed a single instant from its entry into heaven, Jesus gave to his Church the power to remit the temporal punishment due to sin, a power which the Church exercises in the granting of indulgences.

Finally, as though to make doubly sure that no one, except through his own deliberate fault, would lose heaven or even spend time in purgatory, Jesus instituted the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

A special sacrament for the sick & suffering

The Catechism of the Catholic Church's section on the Anointing of the Sick defines the purpose of the sacrament as "the conferral of a special grace on the Christian experiencing the difficulties inherent in the condition of grave illness or old age." (Catechism, 1527)

In his Gospel St. Mark (6:12-13) gives us an indication of this sacrament of the sick when he tells us that the apostles, going forth, "preached that men should repent, and they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many sick people, and healed them."

However, the classical description which the Bible gives of the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is found in the Epistle of St. James:

Is any one among you sick? Let him bring in the presbyters [priests] of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him.(James 5:14-15)

The Oil of the Sick

The oil used in administering the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is called Oil of the Sick. It is one of the three Holy oils blessed by the bishop of the diocese at his cathedral on Holy Thursday morning, the other two Holy Oils being Holy Chrism and the Oil of Catechumens, which is used in Baptism.

Oil of the Sick is pure olive oil—nothing being added except the blessing of the bishop. Its appropriateness as part of the outward sign of Anointing of the Sick is evident from the healing and strengthening effects which are characteristic of olive oil.

The essence of the sacrament lies in the actual anointing and the short prayer which accompanies the anointing.

In giving the sacrament, the priest anoints the sick person on the forehead and hands. During this anointing, the priest says: "Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up."

Counteracting undue fear

When faced with the danger of death, a person normally will experience a feeling of great anxiety.

This is to be expected. God has planted in human nature a strong attachment to life which we commonly call the instinct for self-preservation. He has done so precisely in order to assure that we take due care of our physical well-being and do not expose ourselves to unnecessary danger to our life.

We need not feel ashamed, therefore, nor convicted of lack of faith if we find ourselves apprehensive when the shadow of death looms over us.

To counteract this fear of death when it needs to be counteracted, and to remove all cause for fear, God has given us the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

Graces of the sacrament

In common with all the sacraments, Anointing of the Sick confers sanctifying grace.

It is an increase in sanctifying grace that Anointing of the Sick gives, since it presupposes that the recipient already is free from mortal sin. Thus there is intensified in the soul that supernatural life, that oneness with God, which is the source of all spiritual strength as it is also the measure of our capacity for the happiness of heaven.

Besides this increase in sanctifying grace, Anointing of the Sick gives its own special sacramental grace.

The primary purpose of the special grace of Anointing of the Sick is to comfort and to strengthen the soul of the sick person.

• This is the grace that quiets anxiety and dissipates fear.
• It is the grace which enables the sick person to embrace God's will and to face the possibility of death without apprehension.
• It is the grace which gives the soul the strength to face and conquer whatever temptations to doubt, despondency, or even despair may mark Satan's last effort to seize this soul for himself.

Doubtless some who read this have already received Anointing of the Sick, perhaps even several times. If so, they know by experience, as does the writer, what peace of mind and confidence in God this sacrament bestows.

Secondary effects

This spiritual tranquility and strength is further increased by the secondeffect of Anointing of the Sick. This is the preparation of the soul for entrance into heaven by the forgiveness of venial sins and the cleansing of the soul from the remains of sin.

If we are so blessed as to receive the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick in our last illness, we may have every confidence that we shall enter into the happiness of heaven immediately after death. We hope that our friends still will continue to pray for us after death, since we never can be sure of the adequacy of our own dispositions in receiving this sacrament; and if we do not need the prayers, someone else will profit by them.

Yet we should have a high degree of confidence, once we have received Anointing of the Sick, that we shall look upon the face of God moments after our soul leaves our body. The soul has been cleansed from all that might hold it back from God, from venial sins and from the temporal punishment due to sin.

The "remains of sin" from which Anointing of the Sick cleanses the soul include that moral weakness of soul which is the result of sin, both of original sin and our own sins. This weakness—even to the point of spiritual indifference—is likely to afflict that person especially who has been a habitual sinner.

Here again, the soul of the sick person is tempered and prepared against the possibility of any last-moment conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The Anointing of the Sick
Complements Confession

Since Penance (Confession) is the sacrament by which God intends our mortal sins to be forgiven, a sick person who has mortal sins to confess must receive the sacrament of Penance before he receives the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

However, it is a comfort to know that Anointing of the Sick does forgive mortal sin also if the critically ill person is unable to receive the sacrament of Penance. This could happen, for example, if Anointing of the Sick were administered to an unconscious person who had made an act of imperfect contrition for his mortal sins before losing consciousness.

Healing the sick

It is plain that the principal purpose of the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is a spiritual one: to prepare the soul for death, if death is to eventuate.

However, there is a secondary and conditional effect of Anointing of the Sick: the recovery of bodily health by the sick or injured person. The condition under which this secondary effect can be expected to operate is stated by the Council of Trent: "When it is expedient for the soul's salvation."

In other words, if it will be spiritually good for the sick person to recover, then his recovery can with certainty be expected.

The recovery, however, will not be a sudden miraculous recovery.

God does not multiply marvels unnecessarily. Whenever possible he works through natural causes. In this instance, recovery will be the result of the powers of nature, stimulated by the graces of the sacrament.

By eliminating anxiety, abolishing fear, inspiring confidence in God with resignation to his will, Anointing of the Sick reacts upon the bodily processes for the physical betterment of the patient. It is evident that we have no right to expect this physical result from Anointing of the Sick if the priest is not called until the body is hopelessly ravaged by disease.

But perhaps "hopelessly" is not a good word. Every priest who has had much experience in caring for the sick can recall some remarkable and unexpected recoveries that have followed after Anointing of the Sick.

Monday Evening

Had a major experience yesterday at church, then at my bible study group. I'm a devote catholic and study the bible each day which does help with my writing. I believe God gave me a wonderful gift. I am a writer, with the thanks of the Holy Spirit. The girls I study the bible with are like having sisters around me all the time. I love them dearly and they inspire me to become the best I can be, along with my family here in Indiana.

Yesterday at church, during MASS, I had an experience I don't understand. God sends his angels' to me. It's like this last year during LENT, now this year. I believe this is something from God to tell me to be the best I can be. I love writing and I have written one novel so far. Not published or anything. Now I feel that God wants me to continue writing and finish my second or third book.

Right now I'm writing two novels, which can be hard, but I'm finding it rather simple right now. First my second novel is about a young boy who loses his only loving guardian, his grandmother. His living aunt and uncle don't want him and he is put into the foster care system. A loving family foster him and teach him things he didn't believe were possible. He finally has a second chance at a loving home.

My third is about a young adult, aged sixteen who parents are fighting, and they decide to get a divorce and  the main character is trying to cope with his mom gone, his dad finding a new partner and getting remarried. His father's new wife has two very young children and the main character is also fighting an inner battle about being catholic and gay. 

Sunday Mass: 24th October

This morning I woke up, in such great anguish and pain. I wanted to lay there and not move, as every movement I made sent great painful pain spikes throughout my whole body. I knew we had church, but I felt I wasn't going to go and stay home and rest. I've had three restless nights. I sleep, but have constant nightmares. I can't deal with such flashback and nightmares since starting therapy with Joyce. The therapy is going alright, it's helping me understand my past and the abuse I suffered at the hands of my family.

I got my partner and husband to get me up and help me dressed. thinking about church and if I truly wanted to go. just as I was thinking about calling Suzie to say I didn't want to go, she arrived and my husband helped me get out to the car. I climbed into the front seat and buckled up. My pain spikes were intense and along with the flashback I wanted to die. knowing that I couldn't die. My new family here in Indiana would miss me and I would leave a gaping big hole in their hearts.

All during church I persevered all through the service. Every moment I got pain spikes I closed my eyes and asked God to take my pain. By the end of mass, after I partook of the Eucharist, suddenly for five minutes I was without any pain. During the minutes of being without pain, I heard a loud voice. looking around and the church but I wasn't in church, I took a second look. I was somewhere completely pure white and in a midst of glowing white and in pure health. I stood and walked towards the light. the pure whiteness of the light. I reached my hands forward like the voice told me and I walked into the arms of an angel. the person had glowing white wings, a perfect smile and in a white robe. "You will come here one day. Just not right now. You are going to be healed. Give it time. You have far to go, remember to pray and keep Christ and God on the top of your to-do-list." After this I was back in my wheelchair and church was singing the last song of the service.