l

Glimpse of God for the week of June 7, 2026

Angels of God

This week’s Glimpse of God is about the Archangel Gabriel and how I believe that God often sends angels into our lives. Although Merriam Webster defines an angel as one who is a spiritual being serving as a divine messenger, another definition is one who is very good, kind, or beautiful. Now we probably cannot say that the Archangel Gabriel appeared to us to let us know that we are going to conceive the Messiah (Mary) or his cousin (Zechariah), or when to leave our home so that we would not be killed (Joseph), or to follow the star and be the first to behold the savior (The Shepherds). Gabriel delivered God’s message to those for whom it was intended, those that God chosen beforehand to fulfill their role in salvation history. In Sacred Scripture, God used His angels to bring His message directly to the recipient. Today, He uses us to do the same. (now you might not consider yourself or your neighbor to be an angel, but I believe that we all have been and continue to be angels of mercy, compassion, understanding, reconciliation, and peace to others. Every time that we choose to be God’s messenger of peace and proclaim love in place of hatred, pardon in the face of injury, faith in the existence of doubt, hope in the depth of despair, and understanding in the misery of judgment, we are an angel. Even though our message might not be as earth shattering as Gabriel’s was to Zechariah, Mary, or Joseph, it is none the less a message from God to a specific person for a specific reason. His message is not useless or in vain but serves a purpose in fulfilling His plan and building His kingdom here on earth.  Now we could all agree that having an angel appear to us would be an unforgettable, life changing experience, but even as they faced the real presence of God’s messenger, Gabriel had the same problem that we have today, and that is God’s message wasn’t accepted immediately, at first Zechariah doubted but came to believe in faith, Mary questioned but surrendered in love, and Joseph feared but walked in hope. The Archangel was sent to three faith-filled, faithful, pious, God loving and fearing believers, to deliver the message of God and each response to the message was received differently. God knew the heart of each person and in His great love for them and theirs for Him, chose to reveal Himself in and through Gabriel’s message and their response. Gabriel’s message and God plan for them allowed them to be open, genuine, and honest which allowed them to be their best self, the person that He created them to be so that they could live up to their potential.

God knows that even when He invites us to be proclaim His message of love, truth, peace, and compassion in a world that contradicts His message, or to act in a better way or when He calls us to our truth to turn away from our sin, we often respond out of fear, uncertainty, doubt, anger, and sometimes despair. Even in our weakest moments and bad choices, He knows our heart better than we do. He knows that our love for Him is real, deep, and undivided. He wasn’t angry, He did not turn away or change His mind then, and He won’t do that with us either now.

So as we begin a new week, remember that you are called to be God’s messenger and that He has entrusted you, a sinner striving to become a saint, with His message. Today you might be called to be an angel of mercy, tomorrow an angel of peace, only God knows what He wants you to do

and be, so be open and allow the honesty of Zechariah to fill you with hope, the YES of Mary to inspire you, and the courage of Joseph to strengthen you. Look to the  Archangel Gabriel to be your light. 

SUNDAY – “G” God centered

As I believe that you and I are very God centered in our best times and a little off center during our worse times.  I have learned that in the midst of life and the “stuff” it throws at you, being God centered is not easy, yet with God’s grace it is very possible.  Sometimes when life surrounds you with “stuff” not all good and not all bad, we can lose sight of God and get stuck in the midst of the thick, challenging, not God centered “stuff”. I believe that it is in and during those times that we are given a Glimpse of God through another, and in our self, as we recognize our ability to overcome the difficult, face the challenge and stand with our head held high knowing that we are not alone. God’s offers His glimpse through His gifts of affirmation, inner peace, a sense of joy, renewed strength, and spiritual transformation. For today, look in the mirror and seek to see how God centered you are and how God has gifted you with the grace to stay focused and centered during the “stuff” that you’ve had to cope with.

MONDAY – “A” authentic

Don’t look at others as better than you or desire to be someone else because of their wealth, power, friendships, or social status. God created you as the special person that you are. God formed you in the womb and called you by name. You are blessed with special talents and gifts that the next person may not have, and they are also blessed with talents and gifts that you may not have, but together we all create a canvas of unique, diverse, and colorful facets of God’s presence that can help us see Him more clearly in each other. 

For today, acknowledge with humility your authenticity and genuineness and thank God for them.  In a world where it seems more of a cross to be and stay God centered and authentic, God says that the cross is what draws us together, makes us stronger, gives us inner strength and conviction, makes us a better glimpse and reflection of His presence, and allows us to be true to our self, so as to be able to rest with a clear conscience. The cross comes to us in varied and many forms, but I believe that the greatest cross that we carry, that which will transfigure us so that we will become a greater reflection of God’s presence to others, is the one that calls us to be transformed from within. The cross of confession, conversion, and transformation is the one that we carry within and is only known to our God and not for others to see. Illness, physical challenges, unemployment, and other crosses can draw attention to our self, but when we truly seek to be God centered, our cross is the one that we hold within and at the core of our center; that is our heart, mind, and soul.  

TUESDAY – “B” breath of life

You are the life and breath of God in and through your words, prayers, and attitudes. What does that mean to you? Are your words uplifting and encouraging or discouraging and disheartening? Do others hear God through your conversations or are your words filled with gossip and swords? Is the power of God’s word your strength and do you share your strength with others?  Your prayers, your words of consolation, encouragement, strength, are of God and given to you to speak, share and spread. For today, listen to your words; those spoken silently in prayer, those spoken silently about others, those spoken verbally for all to hear, and those you regret saying, and ask for the grace of God so that you may be His breath of life by your humility, by your personal and spiritual transformation, and in and through your words.          

WEDNESDAY – "R" Reconciling

The Church offers us the Sacrament of Reconciliation when we need to clear our heart, mind, souls and spirit of actions of omission and commission that have harmed our relationship with God and others. The gift of God’s gift of peace is available to all those who seek it. God wants all people to experience HIs healing touch, His freedom, His strength, and His peace, so that they can live in the light of His love for them and His desire for their genuine and true happiness. I believe that this is what all priests want to offer to those who approach the sacrament. Not just mere words, but through their lived experience. They desire to extend what they, as weak, sinful instruments of God, have experienced, yet we are all capable and able to extend God’s peace to others, and we do not need to be ordained to do that. Although the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the best way to experience God’s healing if you are carrying the heavy burden of wounded ness and hurt. God wants you to be healed and whole, but it is also through each other, as His followers, that we can experience God’s healing and wholeness. If you are struggling and want to grow in your faith, trust, and hope, open your hands and heart and God will fill you with what you need to be the best person that you can be, person that He has created you to be and have the potential to become. Always remember that God’s love is unconditional, His compassion is unending, our sins can never be greater than His love for us, and that we are His beloved sons and daughters, His greatest creation.

For today, try to reconcile with one person that you have been either estranged from or keep your distance from because of a past injury or deep hurt. If you find it too difficult to reach out to that person or if they are deceased, pray to God for the grace to forgive in your heart, and that grace will lead you to a profound experience of peace, reconciliation, healing, and wholeness, throughout your body, mind, soul, and spirit.  

THURSDAY – "I" Instrumental 

For today let us look at and pray with a deeper fervor the prayer of Saint Francis. Let us strive each day to be more of God’s instrument of peace and be His peacemakers in a world that does not seem to know, desire, or seek true and lasting peace, which can only be experienced in and through God, His beloved Son Jesus, His Holy Spirit, and Mary our Blessed Mother.

So where and when there is hatred may you sow love, where there is injury may you extend pardon, where there is doubt may you be a seed of faith, even when you think you have only the faith the size of a mustard seed, where there is despair, may you represent hope, where there is darkness, may you be God’s ray of light and warmth, and where there is sadness, may you bring joy. May you not seek consolation but choose to console another, may you not want so hard to be understood but may you humbly choose to understand another, and may you not look for love but offer your love to those who do not know love. God is love and when you choose to offer it to another, then you already have what you seek.

FRIDAY – “E” embracing

As we conclude the prayer of Saint Francis, embrace the final words and allow them to penetrate the very core of your being. You cannot give what you do not have. God supplies where you feel that you fall short. When you truly desire to give, God meets your desire and gives in plenty. When you offer consolation, understanding and love, it is not that God doesn’t want you to have these gifts, He is telling you that you already possess them and that with His grace and through your prayer life, they will continue to grow.

As the prayer of Saint Francis concludes, this is the promise that God made through Jesus His Son. For today, May you know, be assured that as you give from the heart, you will receive, as you pardon from your heart and not in lip service, you will be pardoned. and in your dying, as a child of God and follower of Jesus, you will receive everlasting life. 

SATURDAY - “L” = learned

Being learned as a Christian is about knowing the will of God and how we can live that out in our life. Being learned in life is not only about book knowledge, but the knowledge and language of the heart and how we can reach out to others and build them up and not tear them down.

How learned are you? Do you recognize how God has given you the desire to learn about His will for you, how you are living it out and how you are being His light to others? Do you need to have a Bachelors, Masters, or a Doctorate degree from a University to be considered learned about the will of God?

No, what you need and already have is a blank page so that God can write His plan and His will for you, where the only book you need is the Bible, the only writing tool you need is your free will, and the only test is the one where you challenge yourself to be more Christ centered today than you were yesterday.

For today, let us take an extra step in love to learn more about someone else. It takes a lot to want to become learned and to gain knowledge of a broad variety of topics and issues. When someone is learned they have taken the time to gain knowledge of a variety of topics so that they can share their knowledge with others and relate to more people. Go and be the best Scholar God knows you can be!!!