The following meditation was originally posted by Teresa Berger on 2 October 2017 on Pray Tell: Worship, Wit & Wisdom (a blog maintained by Liturgical Press, the School of Theology, St. John’s in Collegeville, MN, and the St. John’s Seminary). It was posted on the morning of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, NV and the observance of the Feast of Guardian Angels by the Roman Catholic Church.
Like many of you, I woke up this morning having Guardian Angels on my mind, whose memorial the church sets before us today. Like most of you, I woke up this morning to news of the carnage in Las Vegas. It seems almost impossible to hold the two together – until, that is, I remembered the startling painting by Hugo Simberg, “The Wounded Angel” (1903), which I saw in the Finnish National Gallery a couple of years ago. The painting shows an angel on a stretcher carried by two boys. The angel’s wing is torn, the eyes are covered by a bandage, and the figure leans heavily on the stretcher.
This morning, I see many Guardian Angels like that, being carried away, wounded and exhausted, in Las Vegas.
Be well. Do good. Pay attention. Keep learning
- The Wounded Angel (The Other World of Hugo Simberg, a website)
- Guardian Angels (BBC Archived Religion Post)
- Guardian Angels (Franciscan Media)
Hear what the Spirit is saying 