Walking With Our Guardian Angels

"The Lord has put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways."  Psalm 91:11

This was the responsorial psalm for the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels this year.  Concerning Guardian Angels, paragraph 336 of the Catechism states that “From the beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.  Beside each believer stands an angel protector and shepherd leading him to life.”

Jesus also closes Matthew 18:1-5;10 by telling us about these Guardian Angels who guide and protect us throughout our life.  In Matthew 18:10, Jesus says, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” 

The Scriptures, Sacred Tradition, and the teachings of the Church speak of angels often and assure us, as we just heard from Jesus, that angels not only exist, but that each of us has our own personal Guardian Angel.  However, since they are purely spiritual creatures and we can’t see them, it seems that we often take them for granted.  We overlook their existence and fail to call upon them for help when need their assistance.  Especially when dealing with difficult spiritual matters, we should call out to our Guardian Angels.  That’s why they’re always with us, that’s why God gave them to us, as the Catechism says, “To lead us to life.”

Jesus said that our angel is always looking upon the face of his heavenly Father.  Let’s take advantage of that.  Let’s ask our Guardian Angel to intercede for us before God the Father.  Not just when times are tough, but in good times as well. We should be pouring our hearts out to them in prayer, petitioning our Guardian Angel to carry our prayers of praise, thanksgiving, adoration, supplication, petition, and intercession directly to God the Father.

The best time and place to turn to our Guardian Angel is in Mass, the perfect prayer, where Jesus himself personally comes to us in the Eucharist.  It is believed that at each Mass, during the Prayers of the Faithful and at the Offertory, our Guardian Angel personally carries our offerings and petitions directly to the altar where Jesus will be made present.  

Why is this important?  Because the Church teaches that Christ is the center of the angelic world.  They are his angels.  They belong to him because they were created through and for him to be messengers of his saving plan.  They are all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation.  That would be us.  It’s amazing to visualize our Guardian Angel carrying all our prayers, hopes and dreams, pain and sickness, praise and thanksgiving directly to the Lord here at Mass. 

It’s a shame that we can’t at least get a glimpse of the spiritual world from time to time, because if we could, nobody would ever miss Mass or say that Mass is boring.  The Church would be standing room only for every Mass, and we would all be crying tears of joy and thanksgiving as we watched our Guardian Angel approach the altar with our prayers and petitions.  If we were given just a glimpse of the spiritual world during Mass, we would also be blessed to witness all the saints and all the choirs of angels in heaven praising God above the altar at the consecration, when Jesus comes to us in the Eucharist, and the bread and wine become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.  

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today is a good day to thank God for the gift of the angel he has given us and to spend some time reflecting on how our personal Guardian Angel has helped us grow closer to Jesus throughout our lives.  It’s also a good day to think about how, when, where, and why we should ask our Guardian Angel to intercede for us moving forward.  Just think about it, each of our Guardian Angels is here with us right now and they are also looking at the face of God the Father in heaven.  Especially at Mass, the veil between heaven and earth is very thin and although we can’t see it with our eyes, when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, the veil is totally removed as God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, enters into us.

My friends, God didn’t give us the gift of an angel for no reason.  He has given us this personal and powerful spiritual being to be at our side through all the ups and downs of life.  God wants us to use this messenger to help us stay focused on him, grow in our relationship with him, and one day stand with them in his presence and see him face to face.

Amen