Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Guardian Angels, Wednesday, 02-10-19

Exodus 23:20-23 / Matthew 18:1-5, 10

We are very familiar with the material world, the world that is experienced by our senses and comprehended by our knowledge and rationale.

Yet as Catholics, we profess in one part of the Creed the existence of the visible and invisible.

There is the existence of the invisible, the spiritual world, and it is on this spiritual world that we reflect about angels and guardian angels.

Generally, angels are understood to be messengers of God. Other roles include the protecting and guiding of human beings and carrying out God's tasks.

A guardian angel is an angel assigned to protect and guide a particular person.

The belief is that guardian angels serve to protect whichever person God assigns them to, and present prayer to God on that person's behalf.

We come to this belief from what Jesus said in the gospel that even the children have guardian angels who are always in the presence of God.

The 1st reading also affirms that God sends His angels to guard us and to bring us to the place that He has prepared for us, i.e. to be with God in heaven eternally.

May we always be aware of the existence of the spiritual world and especially our guardian angel who is always by our side.

Let us also remember the traditional Catholic prayer to one's guardian angel :
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 and guide.
Amen