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(On Sundays we’ll look at some of the key figures in Matthew and Luke’s accounts of the birth of Christ.)

Angels play a significant role in the Christmas story of both Matthew and Luke.

Belief in angels is rooted in Jewish tradition, which regarded angels as manifestations of God’s presence. (The word “angel" is a Greek translation of a Hebrew word meaning “messenger.”)

Jewish belief in angels went beyond the Scriptures and spoke of choirs or groups of angels (a concept not found in Scripture) and names of angels. In Scripture only three names are given – Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.

The Christian tradition has retained a strong belief in angels. The New Testament has over twice as many references to angels as the Old Testament. However, in the Gospels, angels appear and speak only in the Infancy Narrative and at the empty tomb.

The Church has made few pronouncements about angels. It teaches that angels are created beings (not mini gods)…that they are personal (not simply “forces”)…and that they don't have a material body (though when necessary, they can appear in a human form).

People find comfort in created beings who can use their power to help them, and although the Church has no official teaching about them, in thinking about “guardian angels" who watch their every step.

December 8, 2003, Monday, Second Week of Advent

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Today is the feast of the Immaculate Conception, often mistakenly thought to refer to the way Mary was conceived, or to the way she conceived Jesus in her womb.

The phrase “immaculate conception” means that what a person receives at Baptism, Mary received at her conception. From the first moment of her conception, she was free from sin – immaculate.

This feast was celebrated in England as early as the 12th century, and in the 18th century was made a feast of the whole Church. In 1846, the Sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore made this the patronal feast of the Church in the United States. In 1854, after consultation with the bishops of the world and with theologians, Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception to be a doctrine of the Church.

Reading Scripture is not simply information, it is formation – God is shaping our thoughts and feelings through these words. Read the Gospel text in the next post slowly.