In my old office, directly across from my desk, was a sign that read “Vocatus atque non vocatus deus aderit.”
It’s Latin for “Bidden or unbidden God is present.”
I put it there in hope that whenever I looked up from what I was doing, I would be reminded of the big picture. And that I didn’t have to go it alone.
Sometimes it even worked. But sometimes it didn’t.
Because it’s easy to get tunnel vision. To let your day become little more than all the things that constantly clamor for your attention. To get lost in all of the “should’s” and “have-to’s” that create the stress and busyness of daily life.
To lose sight of the big picture.
Today is the feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the archangels. The Church makes a big deal about them because the archangels (and all the angels) are agents of God’s grace and power in our lives.
Because that’s the thing about God – God is always present.
Not just when we’re going to Church, praying, and trying to do our best to live in God’s will. But also when we’re not. When we’re drifting, lost in the busyness of daily life. And even when we think we’ve done too much and strayed too far from God. That changes nothing.
Bidden or unbidden God is present.
The point of the archangels (and all the angels) is that God isn’t present as a spectator.
Because you and I were never meant to do this alone. And we don’t have to.
God will never abandon us. God is present in our lives in grace and in power, waiting only to be asked to help His creation.
Waiting only to be asked – to help you.
So what are you waiting for?
