The Angel That Takes Me to God!

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels

Jb 9:1-12, 14-16; Mt 18:1-5, 10

Today we celebrate the feast of the Guardian Angels. 

The Christian community believes that the guardian angels protect us as per the command of God. 

The Christian tradition has always highlighted that they are our spiritual helpers.

The traditional guardian angel prayer offers a beautiful example. ‘Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule, to guide’ Amen. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) also proclaims that ‘From infancy to death, human life is surrounded by their (guardian angels) watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd, leading him/her to life. Already here on earth, the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and humans united in God.’ 

If we wonder who the guardian angels are, then there are at least two positions regarding them. 

1.They are created; they are not gods. They are created good. It is not as though God made bad angels. The angels have the power of an intellect and a will, and when they use their will to defect from God, they are fallen angels, and they fall precisely from the goodness in which they were created.’

2. They are engaged in a great cosmic war – the heavenly angels versus the fallen angels, also known as demons. Chapter twelve of the Book of Revelation mentions this. We can also understand this in terms of the battle between the children of light and the children of darkness. 

The scriptural evidence for guardian angels is significant here too. 

The Psalmist sings, ‘For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone’  (Psalm 91: 11-12).

In the book of Tobit, archangel Raphael acts as Tobias’s guardian angel, accompanying him on his dangerous journey, healing his father Tobit from blindness, and introducing him to his wife Sarah.

In Matthew’s Gospel, we find Jesus strictly ordering his disciples, ‘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’ (Mt 18:10). 

In the Book of Acts, Peter declares, ‘The Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches’ (Acts 12:11). 

Thus, the beautiful tradition of the Guardian Angels carries a profound meaning for Christian life. 

1.Invisible Protectors: Guardian angels are invisible protectors. Unfortunately, our worship of reason commands that we can believe only what we can verify. But the tradition of the guardian angels is a powerful reminder that we have divine assistance, whether we realize it or not. 

2. Spiritual Warriors: Guardian angels help us in our spiritual battles. Their invisible presence is far more consoling that we are not fighting them alone. Because our guardian angels are our immediate spiritual resources, we will do well to draw on them to build and increase our defense. 

3. God’s Nearness: Guardian angels are a reminder that we still remain closer to God. Their accompaniment is a sign that God is not disappointed with us. This powerful realization should help us rely on the one sent by God to take us (back) to Him. 

God still counts on us by assigning each one of us a guardian angel. 

Let us pray for the grace to faithfully accompany our guardian angels who take us to God!

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar