Host: Philip Amerson

Theme: Experiencing Angelus Moments in Everyday Life

In this heartfelt mini-episode, Philip Amerson explores the idea of “Angelus moments”—those rare, holy instances when the world seems to pause and invite us into a state of reflection and prayer. Drawing from personal memories and reflections, Phil encourages listeners to consider where they might encounter such sacred pauses in their own lives.

Three Memorable Takeaways:

1. Angelus as a Universal Call to Prayer
2. Phil shares his experience in a Catholic monastic community, describing how the ringing of the Angelus bells serves as a collective invitation to prayer. These bells, echoing morning, noon, and night, are reminders that prayer is a continuous act—linking individuals around the globe in both solitude and community. Phil beautifully references the songwriter Carrie Newcomer, who found inspiration for her song “Singing in the Dark” at Gethsemane Monastery. The refrain, “there is someone somewhere praying through the darkness,” reinforces the idea that this spiritual practice transcends walls and time zones.
3. Personal ‘Angelus’ Moments as Everyday Acts of Compassion
4. Moving from the monastery to childhood memories, Phil recounts the small but profound sound of his father’s car keys at night. His father, a pastor, would often respond to distressed and angry men in their town—many of whom were struggling with trauma from war. Despite the fear or ugliness of the encounters, Phil’s father would climb out of bed, put on slippers and a robe, and go outside to help. The jingle of keys became, for Phil, his own Angelus—a symbol of tangible care expressed in the darkness. These moments serve as a reminder that “angels” can appear in the form of everyday people choosing kindness.
5. Invitation to Find Your Own Angelus
6. Phil closes the episode with a gentle challenge: What are the Angelus moments in your life? Where have you experienced unexpected calls to compassion, prayer, or silent reflection? Perhaps they’re found in small rituals, simple acts of kindness, or the memory of someone who showed up for others in times of need. Phil’s message encourages listeners to notice and honor these moments—and maybe, to become “angelic” messengers in someone else’s life.

Listen to this episode for a thoughtful meditation on the sacred echoes in our routines, relationships, and the songs that remind us of hope in the dark.

Phillip Amerson:

Greetings, everyone. This is Phil Amerson with a Because little episode about. Well, today we're going to talk about places in your life where you could, well, almost think that you hear the angels singing. They're called Angelus moments for me, and I want to talk about two of them. One of them is a time when I'm in a monastic community, Catholic monastic community, and I hear the bells ring morning, noon and night. It's called the Angelus. And the Angelus is a call to prayer. But really there has been prayer going on all through the night around the world in monasteries and in other places, people are praying.

Phillip Amerson:

The songwriter from here in South Central Indiana, Carrie Newcomer visited Gethsemane Seminary or Gethsemane Monastery, and she there wrote a wonderful, beautiful song called Singing in the Dark. And in it is the refrain that there is someone somewhere praying through the darkness, all through the darkness. So the Angelus are the bells that call us to continued prayer. But I had an Angelus when I was a small child that would ring often in the night. Oh, several times a year, especially in the summer. My father was a pastor in New Albany, Indiana, on Market street, second in Market Wesley Chapel United or Methodist Church at the time. And he would end the night, sometimes get up, and here's the story that goes with it. My dad would often be challenged by men who, I think today we would say they were suffering from ptsd.

Phillip Amerson:

They had been in the war, in the great Second World War, perhaps in the Korean conflict. And in the middle of the night they would come and they would swear and say ugly things. Some called my dad a draft dodger because he had been in the ministry. But I could still hear the Angelus in the night. And the angelus was my father getting up, putting on his house slippers and his. His robe. And I could hear muffled voices, but mostly I would hear the dangling of keys, car keys, as my father would go downstairs and go out on the porch and talk to the men, sometimes more than one, who were yelling ugly things in the night and were drunk, angry, struggling. And dad would take them in his car and drive them to their home, usually down further on the west side near the river in New Albany.

Phillip Amerson:

And those keys were for me, the Angelus, the angel singing. The gift of my father as he was demonstrating the care for anyone, no matter how ugly they may have been, no matter how mean spirited, no matter the fear that may have come with it. Dad would help people find their way. The Angelus. What's the Angelus in your life? Where do you have memories and a call to pray in new ways?