great care and fidelity. But Laban tried, by various unjust means, to withhold from Jacob a part of the hire to which he was justly entitled. Nevertheless, God blessed Jacob, and he became rich in flocks, and herds, and servants.
COMMENTARY.
All good things come from God. When Jacob made his vow, he did not say: “Of all things that I shall gain I will offer tithes to Thee”, but: “of all things that Thou shalt give me”. By these words the holy servant of God expressed his conviction that any riches or possessions which he might acquire, would all be a gift from God. Every true believer in God ought to say thus: “From Thee, O God, comes every gift. I thank Thee for what I am, and what I have.”
The fourth promise of the Messias. The promise of the Redeemer was made to Jacob in these words: “In thy seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed”, i. e. by one of your descendants shall grace and blessings be brought to all mankind. This Descendant of Jacob is Jesus Christ.
Our holy Guardian Angels. What does the heavenly ladder signify? Do the holy angels require a ladder, by which to ascend into heaven and descend to the earth ? No 1 for they can pass to and from heaven with the swiftness of thought. God made this heavenly ladder to appear to Jacob so that he might understand that he was not forsaken; and that the holy angels had him in sight, took his prayers and good works to the throne of God, and returned to earth in order to stand by him and protect him. The angels help us in the same way, being, as St Paul tells us, “ministering spirits, sent to minister to them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation” (Hebr. 1, 14). “That which Almighty God showed visibly to Jacob for his comfort, takes place continually, in an invisible manner, with those whom God loves. Day and night, even when they are asleep, God looks down on them, well pleased, and has given His angels to them to be their guardians. These holy angels ascend and descend the heavenly ladder. They ascend to carry the sighs and prayers of the just, to offer them as fragrant incense before the throne of God; they descend to bring back to them help, strength and consolation from above” (Overberg). See Old Test. LXIX, where the Archangel Raphael says to Tobias: “When thou didst pray with tears, and didst bury the dead, I offered thy prayer to the Lord.” The holy angels are, therefore, ever working for our good.
Every Catholic church is a house of God and a gate of heaven. The words of Jacob: “How terrible is this place! This is no other but the house of God, and the gate of heaven!” apply to every Catholic church still more than they applied to Bethel. For every Catholic church is, in very deed, a house of God, because every day, in the holy sacrifice of the Mass, our Divine Saviour descends on the altar, is there present
