I love this comment by a person online whom I will never meet about his (or her) Guardian Angel. It has stayed with me since I first read it last year, and I finally remembered to track it down today.
Why was I reminded of this? Because of this news item: Ex-FBI Employee Claims She Saw Angels at Flight 93:
I don't know if Leonardi actually saw angels, maybe she did. While as the comment that I've got of a dream of an angel seems far more real to me, because it had more purpose. I don't know.
I was given the incredible gift of seeing my Dear Guardian Angel in a dream. I wish that I could put into words the whole long scene, but suffice to say:
1. He was STUNNINGLY incredibly beautiful. Very manly actually, even though clearly not "a man", but beautiful - like the perfect face. His eyes sparkled, rotating with all colors (I am color blind) in stunning magnificence. (He was 40 feet tall at one point and had transformed from a statue in a cathedral.)
2. He was ON GUARD. He was all business. Super serious and reminded me of an old Marine Corps recruiting poster, but was looking out, over my head off into the distance with a steely, penetrating gaze that - itself was awesome.
3. He looked down at me - right at my face - (AWESOME) and very clearly said something to me, but used no words at all. Straight to me heart. He told me I would be all right. (There is more) then he was gone. (I thought. OK. That's good I guess.)
4. I had NO IDEA what it all meant. 2 weeks later I had a drug reaction that caused me to attempt suicide. On my way to do it, I begged my Guardian Angel to help me. A friend suddenly appeared who stopped me, helped me and saved my life giving me another chance to walk towards real redemption.
I don't know his name. I don't need to know it! He is my GUARDIAN DEAR. I love him and he DEFINITELY loves me. He watches out for me, and he guards me. During the dream he also made it extremely, unmistakable clear that he was profoundly displeased at some of my sinful actions. He looked simultaneously devastated, broken-hearted and disappointed. Trust me - you don't want to see this look from your Guardian Angel. Oh if only we could all please God always! (Think about it - if he is looking directly at God at the same time he is watching you sin.... UGH. Please your guardian angel by doing God's will!)
Why was I reminded of this? Because of this news item: Ex-FBI Employee Claims She Saw Angels at Flight 93:
A former police officer who retired from the FBI due to post-traumatic stress disorder linked to her role in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks has written a book about seeing legions of angels guarding the Pennsylvania site where a hijacked airliner crashed.
Lillie Leonardi served as a liaison between law enforcement and the families of the passengers and crew members killed in the United Airlines Flight 93 crash. She arrived on the scene about three hours after the crash.
Although Leonardi's book, "In the Shadow of a Badge: A Spiritual Memoir," centers on her vision of angels, she argues her life has been changed more by what she didn't see that day.
"The biggest thing for me is that that there were no bodies," she said.
Leonardi, 56, remembers the burning pine and jet fuel stinging her nostrils. She said she also remembers a smoldering crater littered with debris too small to associate with the jetliner or 40 passengers and crew on board.
"I'm used to crime scenes but this one blew me out of the water. It just looked like the ground had swallowed up" the plane, Leonardi said.
"That's when I started seeing like shimmery lights ... and it was kind of misty and that's when I first saw, like, the angels there," Leonardi said. "And I didn't say anything to the guys because you can imagine if I would have said, 'I just saw angels on the crash site,' they'd have called the office and they'd have said, 'She lost her mind and tell her to go home.'"
I don't know if Leonardi actually saw angels, maybe she did. While as the comment that I've got of a dream of an angel seems far more real to me, because it had more purpose. I don't know.
Lucia, have you read St. Gemma Galgani? Most beautiful. You can download parts of her diary (and other stuff) from http://www.stgemmagalgani.com/
ReplyDeleteYes, Guardian Angels can be stern!! And why not. I encourage the youth to speak to their Guardian Angel and also to send their Guardian Angel to speak to another's esp. when they need to 'encounter' that person. My Guardian Angel saved my life on numerous occasions. Numerous!!
Mzala,
ReplyDeleteI had come across her before, but had forgotten about her. Thank you for the link!
My Guardian Angel has saved my life where I know it was him on one occasion, and that was when I was in my 20 years of darkness. I would have crossed a busy Sydney road when the light changed for pedestrians to go, but was held back by an irresistible force, and then a red car raced by. I would have been flattened, for sure, if I had stepped out.
Lucia, thanks for sharing elements of your past, online. I too was 'resurrected' from the dead though very different circumstances to yours. My Guardian Angel, Mother Mary, the Holy Name of Jesus certainly worked 'overtime'.For me, it goes back to being raised Catholic As. And then came the false allure of the world..... Satan never leaves. He knows your weakness and he attacks and attacks.
ReplyDeleteOn a slightly different though related note, I can remember speeding (after quite a few drinks) with rain falling. As I drove across a narrow bridge, the vehicle lost traction and was heading for the side when I called on "Jesus". Instantly, the wheels found traction and I was safe. A few years later, my colleague had an accident on that same bridge. Her vehicle was struck by a 'drunk driver', and she was entrapped. Her boyfriend escaped, the car burst into flames and she was burnt alive. Incidentally, this bridge was/is pretty short.
Mzala,
ReplyDeleteI was raised Catholic as well. Leaving was a gradual process from adolescent years to when I was standing in front of a mailbox in Sydney and decided that I didn't believe in God any more. It was a total act of the will, and I felt instantly free and alone in the universe. It was like I saw the stars all around me, the immensity of the world, and it was cold and empty and I was free. No more nagging guilt, it was all gone at that point.
That state of being is very alluring and dangerous, incredibly dangerous.
I think I came back to faith through blogging, understanding history, Pope John Paul II's death (massive pouring out of grace there) and through my oldest son's conscience. Just lots of things. I do have to do a conversion story at some point, but it's been too hard to date.
That's interesting Lucia. For me, a person's gotta be really and truly 'nuts' not to believe in God, or the existence of God (that's not pointing fingers at anybody btw). I still find it very hard, almost impossible to understand. I cant get my head around that. I recall meeting a kiwi and an Aussie on safari in Africa. Two really friendly, jovial, 'nice' guys. I nearly fell off my bar stool when these guys said that they did not believe in God.I was speechless! I had never met anybody who did not believe in the existence of God. Sure, there were quite a few people who never went to church but not to believe, I still shake my head.
ReplyDeleteElements of NZ scared me. Of course, I knew bad guys. Guys who murdered whether shot or stabbed others to death. Been around hundreds/thousands of dead bodies (you don't count in these situations)but I don't recall seen people with 'dead eyes'. Maybe I was not looking but I saw quite a few here. I was scared. This was deeper than the body. This was the soul.
Ah yes, the dead eyes. When my oldest son was a baby, he was incredibly interested and very friendly towards everyone he saw. This was from a very young age. Except for one person when he was two months old that we sat opposite to on a train. The man must have been a drug addict or something, because he had the dead eyes, and my son looked intently at him for a few moments before bursting into tears. I don't know what he saw exactly, but whatever it was, it disturbed him greatly.
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