Categories: orthodox-life
Date: 19 October 2004 11:56:57
"Imagine how numerous is the Roman population; imagine how numerous are other barbarian tribes existing today, and how many of them have died during one hundred years; imagine how many have been buried during a thousand years; imagine all the people, beginning with Adam, to the present day; there is a great multitude of them. But it is yet small in comparison with the angels, of which there are many more! They are the ninety and nine sheep of the parable, but mankind is only one sheep. For according to the extent of universal space, we must reckon the number of its inhabitants. The whole earth inhabited by us is like a point in the midst of heaven and yet contains so great a multitude; what a multitude must the heaven which encircles it contain! And must not the heaven of heavens contain unimaginable numbers? If it is written that `a thousand thousands ministered to Him; and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him,' it is only because the prophet could not express a greater number."
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
How wondrous is God's creation, and how very Good it is! We are indeed surrounded, not only be a huge material universe, but spiritual worlds of which we only have glimpses. This truly boggles my mind: I can hardly comprehend the known universe, let alone the unseen powers in the spiritual world.
And to add to this, not only the great mystery of God condescending to our world, but the great blessings we have in angels protecting and helping us. The Holy Scriptures are full of such descriptions: the two angels saving Lot and his family; Jacob's vision of the angels; the angel who saved the three children from the furnace; the angels telling the women at the empty tomb that Jesus was risen; the angels freeing the Apostles from prison; and many, many more instances...
And finally, as Jesus said, "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels see the face of my Father who is heaven" [Matthew 18:10]. We have a guardian angel, who all our life is concerned with us, and rejoices in our achievements and grieves with us in our downfalls.
Thanks be to God.