Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
Guardian Angels - our educators, guardians and guides
The Catholic Church, based on God's revelation, teaches that every human being has a Guardian Angel, God's guide, protector, and educator who helps us achieve salvation (see Mt 18:10; Heb 1:14; Acts 12:15; 1Cor 4: 9; Ps 34: 8; 91: 11-13).
"It is a significant honor that God shows towards us by giving them to us, his friends, Angels, that they may serve us," says St. Jerome († 420; Hom. III. Ad Hebr.). Commenting on the words of Christ from the Gospel of St. Matthew 18:10, writes: "How great is the dignity of the soul, since each one has an Angel destined to protect her". The Eastern Orthodox Church prays in the liturgy: "May the Angel of Peace, faithful guide, guardian of our souls and bodies, intercede with the Lord for us."
"Each believer has an Angel by his side as protector and guardian, so that he can lead him to life" - says St. Basil the Great († 379; Adv. Eunom. 3.1). Not only individual people, but also institutions (family, nation, churches, orders) have their Guardian Angels. Saint Michael is the Guardian Angel of the Church. "Our Guardian Angels watch over the sanctity of our souls, that is, over the presence of God in them" (F. Varillon, Outline of Catholic Doctrine, Pax 1972, p. 302). The Church has always believed in the mediation of angels.
Saint Ambrose († 397) used the prayer contained in the First Eucharistic Prayer: " In humble prayer we ask you, almighty God: command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high in the sight of your divine majesty..." The vision of the patriarch Jacob tells us about this servant attitude of the angels (cf. Gen 28: 12-13). While fleeing the vengeance of his brother Esau, Jacob sees a ladder in his sleep, reaching its top to heaven. God was standing at the top of the ladder. Angels going up and down. They went up introducing God to the needs of Jacob and other people and interceding for them, glorifying God and giving Him homage and thanksgiving. Having received God's light and power, they descended to give people inspiration and enlightenment, helping them to dedicate themselves to God and to fulfill His holy will.
Holy Scripture tells of the angels that, being faithful servants and messengers of God, they are:
- good (1 Sm 29:9; 2 Mc 15:23),
- saints (Mk 8:38; Lk 9:26; Dn 4:10, 20),
- wise (2 Sm 14:20),
- the mighty (2 Kgs 19:35; 2 Chr 32:21; Rev 5: 2; 10:1; 18:21; 20: 1-3),
- caring (Ps 91:11-13; 1 Kgs 19:4-8; Acts 12:8; 27:22-24),
- knowing the truth (Mt 13: 41-42; 25: 31-33, 2 Sm 14:17, 20; 19:28),
- heroes full of power (Ps 103:20; Mt 28: 2, Dn 3:49-50; 6:23; 14:33-39),
- endowed with the power to heal diseases (Jn 5:4),
- full of joy at the sinner's conversion (Lk 15:10),
- comforters of people (1 Kgs 19:3-8; Mt 4:11; Lk 22:43; Acts 5:19-20),
- having power over the nature (Ex 3:2; 14:19-20; Rev 6:9; 7:1; 8:3-5; 16:5),
- translators of visions (Ez 40:4; Rev 1:1; 22: 9-16),
- a manifestation of God's glory (Rev 8: 6; 10:1; 18:1; Dn 10: 6; 2 Thess 1: 7),
- the watchful (Dn 4:10.14.20).
St. Augustine († 430) says: “They declare what God wills; they are sent to whom God wills, receiving everything from God through His word, that is, finding in God's truth what they must do and everything to whom and when they must do ”(On the Holy Trinity, Book XV, 22).
Saint John Paul II said to the Slovak pilgrims (October 2, 1991): “Today we celebrate the memory of the holy Guardian Angels. God's providence sends us these spiritual beings to help us achieve holiness in life. Angels have a mission in the history of salvation. The angels also fulfill an important mission in our lives. Faith in the existence of angels lifts us to supernatural realities and praying to them helps us on the way of salvation.
St. Jerome writes: "Angels perform various functions, especially towards those in need of purification or those who deserve to be atone for their sins through suffering" (Ep. 20 ad Damas). This is how the Angel Raphael served as a guide for the young Tobias on his long journey, guarded him from various dangers, gave him advice and, addressed him with a cordial greeting, "brother" (Book of Tobit).
"Angels should not be understood as creatures imbued with only sweetness and delicacy, but as beings who have complete self-control and enjoy the highest intensity of spiritual life in its full maturity" (Mystery of God, op. Cit., P. 405).
Angels influence matter and the creatures of the visible world. If the human soul, which is a spirit, animates the microcosm of our material body, the Angels, endowed with authority and power from God, can influence the cosmos and us humans. They can influence our body, imagination, feelings, thoughts, give advice
Our Guardian Angel connects us with other Angels and angel choirs.
The masters of the spiritual life advise each of us to devote ourselves to our Angel, that is, to submit ourselves to his education and guidance with all confidence. By devoting ourselves to the Guardian Angel, we believe that he sees in God His eternal purpose for us.
By loving God and us, he will enlighten every moment and inspire us to do what is in accordance with God's will. Following his inspirations, we will be uniting with him in praising God. The Guardian Angel helps us fulfill our baptismal covenant, through which we have become a member of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, and an adopted child of the Heavenly Father. We have also become the spiritual brother of our Guardian Angel. To submit to his spiritual direction requires faith, love, and humility. If Christ, the Lord allowed Angels to minister to Him in His earthly life; we should learn from Him.
Also, we must imitate our heavenly friend by becoming like him and trusting that God himself is leading us through him. God could guide us directly, but in His infinite wisdom He does so through His Angel. If we unite with him in prayer to glorify God, then the Lord's promise will be fulfilled: " if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father." (Mt 18:19). The Guardian Angel, united with God in a beatific vision, guarantees us that what we ask together will be in accordance with God's will. For “we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours.” (1 Jn 5: 14-15).
But how do we tell if a good or fallen Angel is talking to us?
The Good one guides us to the truth that he knows in God and communicates it to us, influencing our ideas, feelings, and inner knowledge. When it acts on us, it is as if the light rises. We feel inner clarity and confidence that a good Angel is working. Our peace and spiritual balance grow, our strength and enthusiasm to do good grow. The Guardian Angel speaks to the soul, by the way of conscience, he draws us not to himself, but to God and the fulfillment of His holy will. The Holy Spirit acts through the Angel, therefore his inspirations lead to unity, to peace and to doing good.
When Satan speaks, he most often enters the senses, acts on them, and promises us immediate pleasures and perceived goodness. It makes us believe that we are right, that we should be our own and not yield to others. His action leads us to inner tension, to conflict with others, takes away our peace and the willingness to pray. Since we are inclined to seek sense goods, insist on our own, and seek comfort, there is a danger that the action of an evil spirit may be mistaken with the action of the Holy Spirit. Our heavenly friend, Guardian Angel, will help us to recognize the truth and goodness. It is the Lord God who wants His Angel to lead us to act in accordance with His eternal intention.
The angel, seeing God, will tell us clearly: It is your duty! The evil spirit will try to raise our doubts by persuading us to make our own decisions, as he did with the first parents in Paradise. He will whisper to us to do our own thing, seeking our own comfort and pleasure. Then we will become aware of our tendency to pride and ask Christ to transform our heart according to His humble Heart. The test of the purification of your soul is to put the desires of Christ in the first place and to constantly give up our desires, contrary to the will of God (cf. Mt 16:24).
God Himself commands us to follow the voice of His Angel: “Be attentive to him and obey him. Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sin. My authority is within him.” (cf. Ex 23:21). When we consecrate ourselves to our Guardian Angel, who is already continually devoting himself to God, then he can use all his power so that we do not depart from God. Consecration is implied that we give permission to our Guardian Angel to enter our life whenever he sees the need to do so. Then he can speak to us more clearly with interior exhortation, draw our attention more clearly to the dangers that threaten us, and enlighten our mind more, so that we can discover a deeper meaning of the truths of faith, the holy sacraments, the Holy Scriptures, the community of the Church.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george