Frederic Flach - The Secret Strength of Angels: 7 Virtues to Live By

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The Secret Strength of Angels
Text copyright 2014 Hatherleigh Press

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN: 978-1-57826-543-5
eBook ISBN 978-1-57826-544-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

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To my guardian angel, who, I am sure, has frequently had to work overtime on my behalf

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

Psalms 91:11

Every man hath a good and a bad angel attending on him in particular all his life long.

The Anatomy of Melancholy
R OBERT B URTON

The late Frederic Flach, an imminent physician, well-known psychiatrist, and dedicated Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, had a lifelong relationship with his guardian angel. In this book, he examines seven known qualities all angels share and suggests ways for humans to develop their own capacities by emulating the angels.

Having studied and written extensively about angels myself, I find Dr. Flachs insights helpful and challenging. In the dawn of the era of global communication, what messages could be more valuable than those received directly from angels?

Dr. Flach combines his extensive medical and psychiatric knowledge with theology to present a unique approach to accessing the power of the angels.

Janice T. Connell, J.D., D.M.

Author of Angel Power and Meetings with Mary

Dear Reader,

My father believed in angels, and his favorite movie was the classic Its a Wonderful Life. For those of you who may not know it, the film tells the story of a man named George Bailey. He faces a major life crisis that causes him to wish he had never been born. His Guardian Angel, Clarence, is sent down from Heaven to help George and in turn earn his wings.

The script features the line: Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.

This is true: When my father died almost two years ago, it was my responsibility to see that he was honored in death as the good man he was: a knight, a healer, a philosopher, a man ahead of his timean angel.

At the funeral home on the day of the service, my sister and I said a prayer and a goodbye. I chose to personally close the casket. Gently and evenly I lowered the casket lid. Precisely at the moment I secured the latch on my fathers coffin, a bell rang.

Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.

The bell kept ringing. Loudly. Again and again. It was the stately clock that stood in the corner. My sister and I were astonished, but not surprised.

Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.

Dad, you have indeed earned your wings.

For those of you who read this book, I do hope you believe in angels. If not yet, maybe this book will shed light on those unexplainable moments in your life where perhaps your angel intervened. If you flatly deny angels, well, you can still learn a lot from the wisdom in this book. Keep an open mind. There is more that we dont know than we do know. Perhaps your angel has worked silently at your side throughout your life. I believe so.

Andrew Flach, Publisher

Why
Angels?

In which you will learn why I take angels seriously

I HAVEN T THOUGHT much about angels during my lifetimenot until recently, that is. My mothers middle name was Angela, and she was in many ways like an angel. Ive thought about God, yes. And saints, and prayer, and Jesus Christ. But not angels, except humorously, as when early on in my medical career I used to give angels credit for my remarkable luck at finding places to park in New York City.

Looking back, I realize that I may owe my life to angels. When I was twenty-three, I was sailing in the Caribbean, off the coast of Cuba, when my small boat capsized. A friend and I had taken it from the Havana Yacht Club and foolishly went out too far, without having the sense to wear life jackets. Sail and rudder were gone. With great effort we hauled ourselves inside and sat there, water up to our waists, helpless. A burst of wind came up, and the next thing we knew we were clinging to the gunnels of the submerged boat. It was too far to swim ashore. Besides, the waters were full of sharks. Night was coming on fast. We were drifting in a swift current, southeastwardly, along the coast. Before long it was pitch black. I was shaking inside with fear, not knowing how we would ever be found in the darkness, not being sure how long the boat would stay afloat. My hopelessness only intensified when a brightly lit dance boat passed only a few hundred feet from us, the mambo drums drowning out our cries for help, and then disappeared from sight. I prayed, harder and more persistently than I had ever prayed. I thought, Please, God, let us live and I will do my best to serve you well. Hour after hour passed. I dont know how much time had gone by when my companion screamed in pain. An aqua mala, a Portuguese man-of-war, had brushed across his belly, its poison leaving a wake of angry welts. He kept talking about jumping overboard and, as I recall, my attention was diverted from my own desperation to talking to him about anything I could think of to try to get his mind off his anguish. But I felt it was hopeless. In the morning, if we lasted until then, the powerful sun would come out and within a few hours burn us to a crisp.

The sun rose innocently enough, golden over green hills that reminded me of Vermont. We were still about a mile from shore, and still afloat. In the distance I could see a large ship lumbering in our direction. I felt excited. Had they seen us? Yes. They had. The ship was moving unwaveringly toward us, and as it grew closer I could read the large letters painted on its side: Lehigh Portland Cement. The sailors threw a ladder over the side, and one of them climbed down to help us up to the deck. They gave us hardtack and coffee, as the ship turned and headed back to harbor. We were safe, and already the nightmare began to assume the vague unreality of a dream. I said a prayer of thanks, reminding myself of my promises and determined to do my best to be faithful to them.