Today is Oct. 2, the memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels.
In the Gospel for today’s feast, Jesus teaches, “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.”
Part of the glory of believing in angels is they help us understand who we are. In his commentary on St. Matthew’s Gospel, St. Jerome says, “The worth of souls is so great that from birth each one has an angel assigned to him for his protection.” God, our Father, loves us so much that we each have a spiritual protector to help us along our way.
We are fighting a spiritual battle in this life, and our guardian angels help us wage that war. That war is chiefly, as St. Paul says, against “principalities and powers” (Eph 6:12), meaning against spiritual beings and spiritual wickedness. They come to our aid in times of temptation. St. Bernard of Clairvaux tells us, “Whenever you encounter some great urge to temptation, or a furious tribulation threatening you, call on your guardian, your guide, your helper and consolation in tribulation and in opportunity.” They can help us to know what to say in difficult moments and guide us to make good decisions.
But most importantly, they can help us to pray. When Jesus says the angels in heaven “look upon the face of my heavenly Father,” the medievals always understood this to mean that they contemplate God. They are consumed in prayer and praise.
“God has charged the angels not to move you from your ways but to direct you in them,” says St. Bernard, “and through their own ways to guide your ways into God’s.” Today may our guardian angels guide us to travel along God’s ways.
Prayer invoking the intercession of the Guardian Angels:
O God, who in your unfathomable providence are pleased to send your holy angels to guard us, hear our supplication as we cry to you, that we may always be defended by their protection and rejoice eternally in their company. Through our lord Jesus Christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
My Daily Visitor spiritual reflections are a dose of daily Catholic inspiration from Our Sunday Visitor magazine.
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