O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, and for all who do not have recourse to you, especially the enemies of the Church and those recommended to you. Amen.
The angels are creatures of God. A part of them remained and remain faithful to him, in his presence, his service, and the service of the Church; and they are united with all the saved in the glory of heaven.
As in the vision of Jacob's ladder — “God's messengers were going up and down on it” (Genesis 28:12) — the angels are energetic and tireless messengers who connect heaven to earth. Between God and mankind there is not silence or a lack of communication but a continual conversation, a ceaseless personal exchange. Men, to whom this communication is addressed, have to sharpen their spiritual ear to hear and understand this angelic language which prompts good words, holy sentiments, acts of mercy, charitable behaviour, and edifying relationships.
It is this that we ask of our guardian angel in that well-known prayer of popular Catholic devotion:
“Angel of God, my guardian dear,
To whom God's love commits me here,
Ever this day be at my side
To light, to guard, to rule, and guide. Amen.”
The image presented here portrays a group of apterous angels (without wings) who pray by singing. They are dressed in sumptuous sacred vestments to indicate that they are discharging a solemn liturgical action. Indeed the angels, besides being messengers of God who are sent to declare his sovereign will to men, perform also the service of praising the Lord in the eternal liturgy of heaven (cf. Revelation 8:2).
Jan Van Eyck, Angelic Singers, Polyptych in the Cathedral of Gand
text and Cathedral artwork found at the conclusion and completion of the Catholic Church Catechism Compendium
I would like finally to mention another key expression of the “secret” which has become justly famous: “my Immaculate Heart will triumph”. What does this mean? The Heart open to God, purified by contemplation of God, is stronger than guns and weapons of every kind. The fiat of Mary, the word of her heart, has changed the history of the world, because it brought the Saviour into the world—because, thanks to her Yes, God could become man in our world and remains so for all time. The Evil One has power in this world, as we see and experience continually; he has power because our freedom continually lets itself be led away from God. But since God himself took a human heart and has thus steered human freedom towards what is good, the freedom to choose evil no longer has the last word. From that time forth, the word that prevails is this: “In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). The message of Fatima invites us to trust in this promise.
JosephCard. Ratzinger
Prefect of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith
"Tell everyone that I grant all graces, that I have great power as the one who stands before God."
if the (audio-)video below plays with pauses on mobile, please try it on desktop; thanks; it works alright there. the video with the song "bridges", on another page, initially was like that but eventually self-corrected, to my good surprise. no problem (with audio) on firefox though, a situation similar to what the following website says
