Our ability
to discern is constantly challenged. Have you had encounters with angelic
singing?
Let us know. Then there are matters like
the cloud on the left. Do angels mingle in the atmosphere?
"I was
driving from one school where I teach to another, when I looked up
and there was a strange, vertical oval cloud in an otherwise cloudless sky,"
writes Kathleen Saunders from Missouri. Except for that wisp, the sky was
even larger than portrayed here; we had to crop the photo.
"It was on the corner of West
Watson and Lindbergh Roads in Sunset Hills, a suburb of St. Louis. Before I
took the picture, it looked like Our Lady of Guadalupe, with the rays
visible to her sides, but these had dissipated by the time I took the photo.
As I watched it, it took the form of Our Lady. I had to pull over to take
this photo with my cell phone, which didn't come out very well. The image
seemed a lot larger in real life, and much more distinct. By the time I
could pull over to snap this shot, it had already lost some of its distinct
features."
Manifestations can be like that. They are in the eye (and heart) of the
beholder. Whether or not we hear or see them, angels are undoubtedly at
work, along, of course, with the saints. To be recalled especially during
these Forty Days: most powerful are direct prayers to Jesus.
"I work in
a large office building of over 500 people in Madison, Wisconsin," writes a
viewer named Steve. "Just recently I moved to a different location within
the building next to a woman who had 'tons' of pinups-photos of a
celebrity at her desk which included immodest ones. Some of the photos have
been up for about a year.
"This
person would take great pride in 'showing the pictures off ' and admitted
that she was obsessed with the celebrity. None of the co-workers or managers
ever had a problem with it. Not knowing if I should complain to
management -- or confront the person herself about the improper pictures --
I decided to pray a novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague (the same prayer
Padre Pio said daily), asking Him to come down from Heaven and remove
the photos Himself.
"I promised that I would spread the Infants
devotional prayer cards if the prayer was granted. I also prayed to Padre Pio
during the nine days. After the ninth day of the novena, when the women came
into work that day, I sat in shock and amazement in my office chair as I
watched her take all the photos down and they haven't been up since. I see
her daily but the reason for her removing them is still a mystery!
"Thanks,
Infant of Prague, and Padre Pio, for 'cleaning up' my workspace."
03/05/07
Spirit
Daily
__________________________________________
At Periphery Of Perception Are Angels Who Sometimes Show
Themselves In Song
Second story
We had realized that many
people were having experiences with angels, but we had no idea how
widespread was a specific phenomenon: the hearing of "angelic singing."
But that certainly seems to
be the case, as we learned after running a story
(above)
on such music. We were deluged. Many are those who have heard the heavenly
choirs -- allegedly; let's say allegedly; but let's appreciate how extensive
is the mystical aspect of existence!
Especially during Lent.
"I was
so moved when I saw the article concerning 'angels who sing," wrote
Sharon Wagner, of Dubois, Indiana. "I had an experience of angels singing
in the early morning hours of Good Friday last year.
"I was sleeping but woke up
to hear many voices in unison. It was a male chorus and singing the
Alleluia -- but very, very slowly, and with very deep, monotone voices,
as if they were sad.
"I knew the song from church,
where it was always sung with jubilation and joy -- but this was in a
different tone, almost as a funeral dirge, but yet with such respect.
"I cannot truly explain
it. As I listened, I thought to myself, 'Why are they singing so slowly?'
and then realized this was the time that Jesus was in prison. Then I
'heard' the words, 'Won't you spend one hour with me?'
"At that point, I got out of
bed and prayed the Rosary. I was and still am deeply moved by this
experience."
"I sat
in sheer amazement as I read the story
of the person who heard angels sing while lying in bed," added Greg West of
Overland Park, Kansas. "I had the very same experience almost ten years ago,
shortly after my conversion back to my Catholic faith, lead by Mother Mary.
"I too experienced the
Heavenly Host of angels singing in the night, the most amazing song I had
ever heard, Holy Holy Holy, Lord God Almighty -- beautiful beyond
description. I too had the tingling sensation that spread from my head to my
toes.
"Was I asleep or awake? I
don't remember. The last and most powerful part of the experience was as
I looked up to the sky in the night I saw a full moon that turned into
the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Surely a night I shall never forget!"
We see how the supernatural
can inflect itself upon the natural. Our perceptions can stray into other
dimensions. Hallucination? Or signs? In Atlanta, the music of the spheres
was noted in July of 1989 during the Democratic National Convention -- by
pro-lifers who went to jail in a "rescue" abortion protest.
"After being processed, I found a cot for some rest and after a
while, I started to hear singing," shared one protestor with us. "My
eyes were closed and I was listening -- thinking it was the remaining
pro-lifers who were in line to be processed.
"I listened to this
beautiful choir, singing hymns when suddenly they stopped at one of
the lines of the song and sang the same line over and over and over. I
was amazed and wondered how the 'pro-lifers' all knew to stop at that
one line and sing it over and over in unison without skipping a beat. I
raised my head from the cot to see what was going on. The singing
stopped immediately and I noticed that the dwindling line of pro-lifers
were casually talking each other in a relaxed way. They were not
singing."
We thus see which side the angels
are on! They do big things. They come at major moments. But they are also there
for the smaller chores.
"I used to
rise at six a.m. every morning to go walking with two friends," wrote
Maureen Durner of Denton, Maryland. "Going to bed very late one night and being
very tired, I didn't want to oversleep the next morning after hitting the snooze
button -- so I asked my guardian angel to make sure I woke up in time.
"This particular morning, sure
enough, I hit the snooze and fell back to sleep. But a few minutes later I was
awakened by a very pleasant male voice singing Dear Angel -- a guardian
angel song I had learned in grade school! The voice was too vivid to have been a
dream. It was a new aspect of my dear angel that I previously didn't
realize but should have known: what a wonderful voice he has!"
"I can't believe the
timeliness of this article," wrote a viewer named Jan Marie Arbogast of
Fort Wayne, Indiana. "Just two Fridays ago, I had a mystical dream, the
contents of which I won't go into detail. I have had them from time to time
since a young girl. This particular Friday was a day of fasting and
devotion to the Divine Mercy chaplet, so I've no doubt that this 'dream'
was from a Divine source. (I've had the other kind too before).
"Other
details aside, the 'music' came directly from above (the sky, the
clouds, in the context of the rest of the dream). This music was unlike
anything I had ever heard before here on earth. I distinctly recall the
constant refrain of, "sing Noel! Sing Noel!" in a slow, sweet, refined,
luscious angelic harmonies that were too rich to be of this earth.
"There were other 'sounds' as
well to this music -- but not seemingly of an earthly origin. I don't think
they were instruments, just heavenly 'sounds' that emanated from and with
the music. There was much more to this singing, yet this is the best
that 'words can do for me (and I am a music teacher!)."
There is the music of the
spheres and it tells us that angels are there and perhaps also serves in
some cases as a harbinger, a sign that God is with us, even in difficulty --
even in disaster.
"One night several years
ago, I was listening to the weather and terrible storms were moving
through the area," wrote Jo Ann Ottis of Matagorda County, Texas.
"Before I fell asleep, I asked the Sweet Lord to surround my house with
His angels and protect me from the storms.
"I went very deeply
asleep. Sometime later, I saw or dreamed a mail of amour very close to
me, a breast plate, and heard a few strains of the most beautiful
harmonic voices.
"The next instant, a
bolt of lighting hit near my house and thunder seemed to explode in
my house.
"The storm raged for a
few minutes, and quickly moved away. Although tree limbs were down in my
neighbors yards, my yard, with many trees, not a limb was down. Instead
of fear, I was filled with peace and joy. "
"I read
in a newspaper account out of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that on the
evening on the day before the great flood of May 1889, residents in the town
could hear angel choirs singing!" wrote another viewer. "Everyone thought it
was coming from the churches, but later they found that it hadn't coming
from any church! On May 31, the dam at South Fork gave way and killed 2,209
people with 967 missing."
Many are the cases in which
angels are heard in churches -- even though no one is singing.
"About 29 years ago I was walking into the foyer of our church to
make an afternoon visit when I stopped dead in my tracks as this
incredible singing came from inside," reports Helen Arata of Pacifica,
California. "The inside doors were shut so I just stood there and
pondered who was in church singing. I surmised it must be a visiting
choir that was practicing but I was stunned. I had never heard any
singing like that before.
"There were no musical
instruments; it was voices only and the range was more full than I've
ever heard -- perfectly blended.
"The voices were pure and very clear but I could not understand
the words.
"I debated whether I
should go in. I didn't want to disturb the people inside. Finally I
decided I had to find out who the 'choir' was, although as soon as I
opened the door to go inside, the singing stopped. There was only one
woman in the church and she was sitting up front quietly praying the
Rosary." We heard the same from a woman whose family was visiting a
Marian shrine in Missouri, heard beautiful singing in the church, but
entered to see that no one was there -- and no car but theirs was in the
lot! The same happened to a priest at a shrine in New Jersey.
Angels love churches,
They love shrines. They love convents and monasteries.
"I have heard angels
singing several times, most notably at funeral and Easter Masses," says
Steve Belt of Illinois. "Being a trained musician, it was easy for me to
identify these indescribably 'perfect' voices. I think it also has
something to do with the intensity of the gathering."
Noted Zelda Graham of
Tempe, Arizona, "I used to sing with a group at Mass each Sunday. There
were two men, one played piano, one guitar, two women who sang soprano,
and two of us who sang alto.
"On
one particular Sunday we were singing a song called Holy is
His Name by John Michael Talbot. The words of this song are the
words of the Magnificat. Each time we sang the refrain, which was
'And Holy, Holy Holy is His Name,' I could hear a soprano voice
singing it just behind me.
"It was at a higher pitch
than the other two sopranos in the group, the most beautiful voice I had
ever heard, clear and melodic.
"I felt a chill all over
my body when I heard it. She did not sing during the verses, just the
refrain.
"I looked around to see
if anyone else was around but there wasn’t."
"When I was on
the pilgrimage in 1992 to Russia with 960 other pilgrims, we went to
Red Square for the crowning of Mary," recalls Cheryl Kellett. "It
was raining that day. Some of us got let off our buses at one end of
the huge square, so we were not the ones to cross the square as did
those on the other side who were waiting to be let through the
barricades by the guards.
"When
the gates opened they started across the Square toward us.
The group began singing. Suddenly, however, it was not them -- nor
the song they had started singing. Instead there was a most
beautiful song coming forth and it was so strong as though from
thousands of angels. It left me shaking I was so overcome!"
"I was taking care of my dying son in
California, and it was a very emotional time for me," recalls
Mary Woods. "I was in the kitchen peeling potatoes for dinner, when
all of a sudden I heard the most beautiful singing. It was the
Gloria.
"It was absolutely
beautiful! I dropped the knife into the sink, and walked to the back
door to see if someone had a record of this song playing (silly
thought).
"Then I walked into
my son's bedroom and found him asleep! I was the only one who heard
the music, and it was not from this earth, it was heavenly! By the
time I returned to the kitchen it stopped, and I wanted to hear
more!
"It had ended, and I
felt excited yet sad that I could no longer hear the beautiful
chorus of the Gloria. This music was truly a gift, and I
shall never forget it. I sometimes get very quiet, and listen, that
maybe-just-maybe the angels will give me another chorus!"
"As a baby I was given up for adoption
and my greatest desire was to find my mother," wrote Francesca
Stavrakas of Melbourne, Australia. "After years of prayer I was
granted the grace on the morning of October 5, 1999, while staying
in a convent with the nuns in Queensland, Australia.
"I awoke to the
chanting of an angelic choir. The singing was so uplifting that
instantly I knew that it was the angels and my prayers were to
become the reality of my desires.
"Later that day I met
my mother and family for the first time and life has been one joy
after another..."
3/30/07
originally published as
angelicsingingfolo1
[see also: The 'signs' in our own lives]
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