According to the teaching of the Roman catechism, we must remember how
admirable was the intention of divine Providence in entrusting to the
angels the mission of watching over all mankind, and over individual
human beings, lest they should fall victims to the grave dangers which
they encounter. In this earthly life, when children have to make their
way along a path beset with obstacles and snares, their fathers take
care to call upon the help of those who can look after them and come to
their aid in adversity. In the same way our Father in heaven has charged
his angels to come to our assistance during our earthly journey which
leads us to our blessed fatherland, so that, protected by the angels'
help and care, we may avoid the snares upon our path, subdue our
passions and, under this angelic guidance, follow always the straight
and sure road which leads to Paradise...
Everyone of us is entrusted to the care of an angel.
May we never fail in this devotion to the angels! During our earthly pilgrimage we may often run the risk of having to face the natural elements in turmoil, or the wrath of men who may seek to do us harm. But our Guardian Angel is always present. Let us never forget him and always remember to pray to him. That is why we must have a lively and profound devotion to our own Guardian Angel, and why we should often and trustfully repeat the dear prayer we were taught in the days of our childhood:
Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here,
ever this day/night, be at my side, to light and guard, to rule
and guide. Amen.
Guardian Angels
Angels are servants and messengers from God. "Angel" in Greek means messenger. In unseen ways the angels help us on our earthly pilgrimage by assisting us in work and study, helping us in temptation and protecting us from physical danger.
The
idea that each soul has assigned to it a personal guardian angel has
been long accepted by the Church and is a truth of our faith. From the
Gospel of today's liturgy we read: "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" (Matthew 18:10).The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "the existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls 'angels' is a truth of faith (328)." From our birth until our death, man is surrounded by the protection and intercession of angels, particularly our guardian angel: "Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life (336)." The Church thanks God for our helpers, the angels, particularly on this feast day and September 29 which is the feast of Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, and Saint Raphael, archangels. Today's feast appeared in Spain during the sixteenth century. It was extended to the universal Church and made obligatory in 1670.
