May 17, 2026

Dear Parishioners,

The scene of the Ascension as recounted in Acts of the Apostles (our first reading) has a few interesting details. We hear that, among the group of apostles looking up at the sky, “suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.” These two men are presumably angels–the same two inside the empty tomb on Easter Sunday. But Luke doesn’t call them angels. He calls them “men.” Likewise, Mark’s Gospel refers to a “young man” inside the tomb after the resurrection.

The details of the angels are kind of funny. At the Ascension, it’s like the two angels sneak up upon the apostles and say “boo!” In John’s Gospel, we hear that when Mary goes into the empty tomb she sees one angel sitting at the head and the other at the feet of where Jesus lay. Hmm, that’s odd. Are they playing cards or something? And then Matthew says on Easter Sunday there was only one angel outside the tomb, but that he is sitting on the stone. It’s like that angel is swinging his legs, spitting sunflower seeds on a nice morning. Angels are supposed to be dramatic, and yet their appearances in these monumental scenes are nondescript.

At any rate, tradition has held that these figures at the resurrection and ascension were indeed angels. You would assume this would be the case, but remember the Transfiguration? It wasn’t two angels floating alongside Jesus, but Moses and Elijah, who wore white as well. So, it’s not a given that two supernatural figures in white are necessarily angels.

Why is any of this significant? Angels, as you know, are messengers. They communicate God’s message to mankind. We hear several of the messages from angels throughout the scriptures, including in the Old Testament. Think of the angel Gabriel speaking to Mary at the Annunciation. We never hear what Moses and Elijah said at the Transfiguration. They weren’t angels. Angels appear not to impress us, but to say something to us. Back to the resurrection, the angels ask the women outside the empty tomb, “Woman, why are you weeping? Why do you seek the living among the dead?” Just like the two angels asked the disciples at the Ascension why they were looking up at the sky.

Jesus spoke throughout the Gospels and he speaks to us today. But there are times he does not speak to us. Instead, angels speak to us. Now, I often don’t hear or imagine an angel speaking to me during my prayer and throughout my day (I do hear and imagine Jesus speaking to me). But here is where I go back to Luke not specifically calling them angels but instead calling them “men.” It’s not necessarily an actual angel who speaks to me when I don’t hear Jesus’s voice. It’s instead the various “men” and “women” in my life who are communicating God’s message to me. (Just a quick note, by this I’m not intending to say angels don’t exist or can’t communicate to us.)

There are points throughout my day and week when I’m not specifically in prayer and am instead talking with a trusted friend or individual and I can sense God is speaking to me. In this case, these people are “angels” to me. For instance, my priest friends are often angels to me. They give me good advice, ask me penetrating questions, offer profound insights, or share their own hearts and allow me to see God’s beauty in their own personal sharing. My parents and siblings act as angels too, as do some parishioners, other friends, and the various people I encounter in a variety of forums. These people don’t know it at the time, but God is communicating through their heart to me.

You might pause and reflect on who these “angels” are in your life. Or you might reflect on an “angelic” encounter you had recently. It might not have been a pleasing message at the time. In fact, the communication might have angered or hurt you. Remember, the angels in the scriptures are at times frightening and give challenging messages. But sometimes those challenging communications are exactly what our hearts need to hear. That is God speaking through that person.

You might pray that the Holy Spirit send you more “angels” to speak to you outside your normal conversations with God. And perhaps pray that the Holy Spirit makes you open to encountering “angels.”

One final comment. The “two men” are dressed in white garments. At a teaching Mass for the second graders recently, we were talking about the priest’s garments at Mass, how he first wears a white alb and then a chasuble. I asked when else white is worn. The children raised their hands and responded: at baptisms, at weddings, at First Communions. One child raised his hand after all this was mentioned. Curious, for this was all I could think of myself for occasions with white garments, I called on the child. He said, “Karate.” Everyone laughed, myself included. I guess he was technically correct.

There is a little bit of karate involved, so to speak, when dealing with “angels.” Sometimes we need to wrestle with the message (sorry, mixed metaphor) and even fight with it for a while before we appropriate it. Hopefully in the end you’ll be able to bow to the angels in your life, say “arigato gozaimashita” (thank you very much), and glorify God.

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There will be a Family Mass this Sunday, May 17th at 10:30am in the HFC. This will be our last Family Mass of the season until September. Thank you to all who help organize the Mass, the musicians, the ushers, and all of our children for participating.

There will be an altar server training this Tuesday, May 19th at 2:15pm and 3:30pm. We have a great altar server program, thanks to Mr. Mike Marrese, who trains and schedules the servers. This is a great way to serve the Lord and be connected to our parish, so please consider signing up to be an altar server.

Our SPC School 8th graders will be celebrating their Ribbon Day at the school Mass on Tuesday, May 19th. Next week will be their Memory Day (Tuesday) and Graduation (Wednesday). Congratulations to our 8th graders and their families.

We will be holding a parish May Crowning this Wednesday, May 20th following the 8:30am Mass. All are invited to attend.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace