The intercession of the saints and angels is life-changing in our work of evangelization. This time it’s just me, Dave VanVickle, and today I share how to engage these incredible groups of persons in your apostolate!
Snippet from the Show
“Connection is more important than perfection.”
Shownotes
The angels and the saints want to be involved in our work of evangelization, they are experts in loving Jesus.
Shownotes
The Angels
Our evangelization benefits greatly from the intercession of the angels because they help us communicate the glory of God to others. Throughout scripture, we see that angels are messengers of God. As evangelizers, we too are messengers of God because we preach the Good News of the Gospel. Finally, the angels protect us, guide us, and shepherd us in our evangelization efforts.
“In the meantime, the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels.”- CCC 334
“‘St. Augustine says: ‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit’, from what they do, ‘angel.’With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they ‘always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven’ they are the ‘mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word.’”- CCC 329
“As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness.”- CCC 330
How to Engage the Angels:
- Ask for their prayers, include the angels in your intercessory prayer.
- Ask for their intervention in the life of someone you are discipling, to protect them and guide them to Christ.
- Teach your disciple about the angels when you think they are ready to learn about them. Teaching them about the angels and their particular guardian angel, reminds them that they are never alone.
The Saints
The saints are cheering for us in heaven, and their intercession is powerful because they understand our human struggles.
How to Engage the Saints:
- Ask for their intercession on behalf of the people you evangelize. Find a saint who has the same name as your disciple and ask of their intercession. You can also find a saint who struggled in the same area where your disciple struggles.
- Read the lives of the saints and their example of evangelization. Become familiar with their stories and their difficulties sharing the Gospel.
- Teach your disciple about the lives of the saints and their relationship with Christ. The saints teach us how to love Jesus the way he deserves to be loved.
5 Practical Takeaways
- Say a daily prayer to your guardian angel.
- Create your own litany of saints.
- Read a thorough biography of a saint.
- Use prayer cards of saints as an evangelization tool. Order some prayer cards of one of your favorite saints and give them out as you evangelize.
- Read the story of the Annunciation and ask the angel Gabriel to teach you how to be a good bringer of Good News.
Resources
- Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com
- Text “EKSB” to 33-777 to subscribe and be added to Gomer and Dave’s email list!
- Visit Dave’s website at thesinnersguide.com
- How to Pray Like Mary By Sonja Corbett
- As parishes plan for the fall, Ascension is pleased to offer our new and improved online bible study programs and sacramental preparation programs digitally to help you minister with flexibility. Go to ascensionpress.com to view all our offerings!
Meet Your Hosts
Michael “Gomer” Gormley
Michael spent 17 years in full-time parish ministry and is now the Mission Evangelist for That Man Is You!, a men’s apostolate for Paradisus Dei. Michael is a frequent speaker at conferences, retreats, and parish missions all over the US and Canada.
He is the founder and creative director of LayEvangelist.com, and hosts two popular Catholic podcasts: Catching Foxes and Every Knee Shall Bow.
He is married to his college sweetheart, Shannon, and has four beautiful and hilarious children: Kateri, Cecilia, Noah, and Thomas.
Dave VanVickle
Dave VanVickle fell in love with the Lord at the age of fourteen and has since dedicated his life to bringing others into a radical relationship with Christ.
He is a speaker and retreat leader who focuses on proclaiming the universal call to holiness, authentic Catholic spirituality, spiritual warfare and deliverance. Additionally, Dave has over ten years of experience assisting Priests with their ministries of exorcism and deliverance.
Dave married his late wife Amber in 2010. He now resides in Pittsburgh with his five children: Sam, Max, Judah, Josie and Louisa.
Thoroughly enjoyed this post – thank you so much! God Bless!