The Better Angels of Our Nature

Pulled From the Wreckage

Hail, Favored One!

“The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” –Abraham Lincoln

Growing up Catholic, we have a ton of saints (10,000 by some counts) and there are three archangels, Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. Hail, Favored One! .

The Catholic tradition of angels and “Guardian Angels” is derived from Judaism and began with the Franciscans. I met a Franciscan Friar years ago in Chicago and he was a cutup. He would come out of his room in his brown robe twirling his rope in circles, always with a huge, beaming smile and laughter. The three knots on the Friar’s rope represent poverty, chastity and obedience.

It is important to note that three of the major Abrahamic religions recognize angels. Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

I grew up believing in angels. Mom and the Church taught us that they are real and active in our lives. I just never believed in original sin. The idea that we come into the world flawed never registered with me and doesn’t to this day.

Angels are different story. I was “pulled from the wreckage” more than a few times. One of them with 35 broken bones!

I was “pulled from the wreckage” more than a few times.

As I grew older, I became more fascinated with what we commonly call Spirit. I never really understood the Church, but I also never stopped believing in angels (spirits). In a non-parochial public school, we were taught about Abraham Lincoln’s call to “the better angels of our nature.”

In today’s current climate, it seems we are challenged to find those angels and to call them to power. The fact that Christianity has been corrupted by Christian Nationalists is an affront to the teachings of the Church and of The Christ. I honestly did not find The Christ in church. I found my version of The Christ in poetry, primarily Sufi poetry. Hafiz and Rumi spoke more to me about The Christ than the Bible. Rumi has much to say about The Christ and Hafiz has much to say about sin.

“The Jesus of your spirit
is inside you
now.
Ask that one for help,
but don’t ask
for
body things.”
--Rumi: Mathnawi II, 3326–29

“God was full of Wine last night, so full of wine that He let a great secret slip.
He said: There is no man on earth who needs a pardon from Me -
For there is really no such thing, no such thing as sin!
That Beloved has gone completely wild. He has poured Himself into me!”
--Hafiz: The Great Secret

By Their Fruits

Some faith leaders have stood up to Christian Nationalists the past few years. NPR has an interview here. One of the best speakers on the subject is James Talarico, a Texas politician of all things. He spoke to his home group congregation, and this is the video. It’s about 19 minutes long, but I encourage you to watch it in its entirety.

Talarico reminds us of Matthew 7:20 where he says: “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

I wrote about this earlier in the month…where the Devil disguises himself as Love in an attempt to conquer the world and win the battle between Good and Evil. The Christian Nationalists that want to transform the US government to a “Biblical Nation” via Project 2025 are not acting from the Spirit of Jesus inside of them. They want power and control. The Christ was offered control over all the world, and he rejected Satan’s temptations. I began to wonder if the head of the Heritage Foundation was named Lou Siffer?

⁸“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me. ¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Matthew 4:8-10

Talarico reminds us that there are only two commandments (Matthew 22:36-40). Love God. Love your neighbor. This is the commandment of our better angels. He didn’t say, take away your neighbor’s rights, make your neighbor suffer. Own the libs. He told us to Love. That’s it. Love God. Love your neighbor. Love. Just as the angels do when they watch over us.

Like Talarico says: “…there is a cancer on our religion. Until we confess the sin that is Christian nationalism and exercise it from our churches, our religion can do a lot more damage than a six-pack of Lone Star.”

The modern GOP/MAGA cult is not about Love. It is a strange mixture of testosterone, pro wrestling and the Manosphere. The only Love they seem to have right now is for Vladimir Putin. I grew up with a GOP that rejected Putin as the sadistic mass-murderer that he is.

The American Inquisition

The Christofascist/Talibangelicals are far removed from the Bible and yet they claim the country is supposed to be Biblical? If that is the case, I don’t want any part of that Bible. I may not have gelled with everything the Church taught, but I sure as heck did not view The Christ as a burly madman set on hurting people and promoting wealth.

The country is not, nor has it ever been, Christian. It belongs to people of all faiths. Or, as Lincoln said: “This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it.”

That’s all people, all faiths. In fact, Talarico quotes Rumi when he says: “There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” He is a man after my own heart.

Flee From Idolatry

“Younger pastors are more likely than older pastors to identify several of these modern-day idols in their churches—particularly political power, money and control or security.” —Marissa Postell Sullivan

It is time to call on the angels to intervene. We need to trust that they will guide us and guide the country away from the small-minded, power hungry grifters that want to reshape it in their image. The ONLY thing The Christ warned his followers about were “Idols.” We worship God, and God alone. Today’s false Christians have shunned the historic nature of the angels, the teachings of the Teacher and supplanted their own interpretations of the Word.

These grifters have become fantastically wealthy by preaching idolatry and, as Liberace said, have laughed all the way to the bank (in their private jets).

“Angels only began shining when they achieved discipline. The sun goes out whenever the cloud of not-praising comes. The moment the foolish angel felt insolent, he heard the door close.” –Rumi

If there is anything such as sin, it is represented in the false beliefs of the Christian nationalists. To Rumi, in the Sufi tradition, all life is praise. When we are not praising, we are asleep. In Judaism, this is called Berakhot (Berachot/Birchot), Blessings. All life is prayer. All life is Praise. Every action we take is in honor of Spirit. The spiritual author, Edward Hays talks about Berakhot in his book: Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim: A Personal Manual for Prayer and Ritual

All life should be in coordination with the angels. We cannot be fools while the angels have our backs. They have, and will continue to, “pull us from the wreckage.”