Origen: On Prayer ( Chap. XX. FORMALITIES OF PRAYER: CONCLUSION)
……………..Yet there is a certain helpful charm in a place of prayer being the spot in which believers meet together. Also it may well be that the assemblies of believers also are attended by angelic powers, by the powers of our Lord and Saviour himself, and indeed by the spirits of saints, including those already fallen asleep, certainly of those still in life, though just how is not easy to say. In reference to angels we may reason thus: If an angel of the Lord shall encamp round about those that fear Him and shall deliver them, and if Jacob’s words are true, not only of himself but to all who have devoted themselves to God, when we understand him to say the angel who delivers me from all evil . . . it is natural to infer that, when a number of men are genuinely met for Christ’s glory, that angel of each man—who is round about each of those that fear—will encamp with the man with whose guardianship and stewardship he has been entrusted, so that when saints assemble together there is a twofold church, the one of men the other of angels.
History note: Origen ( approx. 185-253 A.D.) Through, Eusebius, the great Historian, we know a great deal about Origen. Eusebius tells us that Origen had written 6000 books (titles). He was born in Alexandria, Egypt about 185 A.D. in a Christian home. His father, St. Leonidas died in martyrdom under Emperor Septimius Severus in 202 A.D. Origen was the successor of Clement and became the head of the great Catechetical School in Alexandria. In 212 AD he traveled to Rome and met St. Hippolytus. Origen, was invited to preach as a layman in Caesarea, by the Bishops of Caesarea and Jerusalem. These Bishops mentioned above, ordained him to the priesthood in 230A.D.
He was tortured and imprisoned during the Decian persecution, and died later as a result probably around the year 253 or 254 A.D.
Reflection: It is so consoling to interpret the message of Origen who explains what happens beyond human senses when the Church is gathered together for prayer. “the Holy City in Heaven is united with the Holy city on Earth” (cfr. Easter Vigil, Exultet.) We are enriched in our lives through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour and Redeemer. In the Holy Land, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI said thus at the Cenacolo – 12th May 2009: ……..The Upper Room recalls the last supper of our Lord with Peter and the other apostles and invites the Church to prayerful contemplation. In this vein we gather together, the Successor of Peter with successors of the apostles, in this same place where Jesus revealed in the offering of his own body and blood, the new depths of the covenant of love established between God and his people. In the Upper Room the mystery of grace and salvation, of which we are recipients and also heralds and ministers, can be expressed only in terms of love. Let us recall to our mind the miracle that happens in the Eucharist. Let us, with faith and with true devotion, try our best to meditate on the sacred mysteries of Love.
The Creed : We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.( Nicene-Constantinople Creed)
Franciscan Prayer : O Sacred Banquet in which Christ is received, the memory of His Passion is renewed, our souls are filled with grace and a pledge of future glory is given to us!
fr. sandro