In today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 34, we pray: "Let my soul glory in the Lord; the lowly will hear me and be glad. Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name. I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the poor one called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Taste and see how good the Lord is; blessed the man who takes refuge in him."
We witness the truth spoken in that psalm in today's first reading, Acts 5: 17-26. The Apostles were in prison for preaching about the resurrection of the Christ. "[D]uring the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, led them out, and said, 'Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life.'" And so, early in the morning, the Apostles, who are supposed to be in jail, are out in the temple area teaching about "this life," as instructed by the angel of the Lord.
Like the Apostles, we, too, are protected by angels and, many times, are led out of the prison of our fears, prejudices, anxieties, and despair to talk about the faith, to share our hope and to show love to persons scorned, rejected, or spoken ill of by others, as Jesus, the Risen Christ, was by so many unbelievers!
And, sometimes, God uses us to be an "angel" to others, opening doors that otherwise would remain closed to them or encouraging them to take their rightful place and share their life stories!
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