On the Feast of Our Holy Guardian Angels, October 2, 2024

Each of us is given a Guardian Angel to guide us home safely to Heaven.

Do we make use of him, putting him to work at all times?

Although our Guardian Angels have a purer intelligence than we possess, they cannot read our minds. We need to give our Guardian Angels permission to read our minds and to know our thoughts so that they can better assist us during the course of a day. "Dear Guardian Angel, I give you permission this day and every day to read my mind and to know my thoughts. Help me to say my prayers well." A simple prayer such as this at the beginning of each day is, in addition to the Guardian Angel Prayer ("Angel of God my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my sight, to light and to guard, to rule and to guide") a way to begin a running conversation with our Guardian Angel during the course of a day. "Dear Guardian Angel, help me at this moment." "Dear Guardian Angel, be the instrument by which God the Holy Ghost can better enlighten my mind and to strengthen my will as I strive to love God more and to despise all things that displease Him, starting with my own sins." Little prayers such as these will keep us close to the angelic being who beholds the very face of the glory of God: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as he assists us here as members of the Church Militant on the face of the earth.

Our Guardian Angels want us to use them at every moment of our lives. Do we ever think of asking our Guardian Angel to greet the Guardian Angels of everyone we encounter, including those we see ever so fleetingly, such as our fellow drivers on the highways, so that we might see the image of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in all others and thus stand ready to be Christ-like for all others? Do we ever think of asking our Guardian Angel to help us to remember the fact of our Total Consecration to Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ through Our Lady's Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, thus inclining us to promptly offer up to God through that same Immaculate Heart all of the events of our day, including whatever merits we might earn as a result of the completion of indulgenced prayers and acts? Do we every think of asking our Guardian Angel to help us to remember the Poor Souls in Purgatory, especially those for whom we are bound to pray for as a result of filial piety, by name and to remember those who have no one to pray for them? Our Guardian Angels can help us in these important aspects of our interior lives. Do we realize how useful that they want to make ourselves in order to help us grow closer to God as He has revealed Himself exclusively through the Catholic Church?

Our Guardian Angels can help to remind us to get up in the morning. They, along with the Poor Souls, are better than alarm clocks. They can help us to cooperate with the Actual Graces sent to us by the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, God the Holy Ghost, through the loving hands of Our Lady, the Mediatrix of all Graces, so that we can get ourselves to the daily offering of the Immemorial Mass of Tradition and to say our Rosaries without delay as soon as time permits at the beginning and the close of each day. They can visit the Blessed Sacrament for us if we are unable to make a visit ourselves, outside of the Holy Mass, that is, during the course of a particular day. Capable of bilocation, our Guardian Angels can be sent to assist others in need. They can even be sent to deliver messages to others, being more efficient in doing so than the use of a telephone or e-mail. And, most importantly, they are an instruments of God the Holy Ghost to prompt us to get ourselves to the Confessional on a regular basis, if not weekly, even more urgently if, God forbid, we should fall into the ravages of Mortal Sin.

It is not uncommon for people to meet their Guardian Angels during the course of their lifetimes. Some saints have been given the privilege of seeing their Guardian Angels in all of their Heavenly splendor. Other people have encountered their Guardian Angels in human forms, that is, when their angels had manifested themselves in an apparent human form to assist them in a concrete way. Most of us, however, will not see our Guardian Angels in our own lifetimes. We must, though, be conscious of their presence in our own lives, eager to employ their assistance to help us to scale the heights of sanctity as we attempt to cooperate with the graces won for us by the shedding of every single drop of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's Most Precious Blood on the wood of the Holy Cross to walk the rocky road that leads to the narrow Gate of Life Himself.

Dom Prosper Gueranger's reflection on the nature and the mission of the orders of the heavenly spirits, written for the Feast of the Dedication of the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel, has relevance to this feast day today:

The glorious Archangel appears to-day at the head of the heavenly army: There was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels and fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels. In the sixth century, the dedication of the churches of St. Michael on Mount Gargano and in the Roman circus increased the celebrity of this day, which had however have been long before consecrated by Rome to the memory of the heavenly Virtues.

The east commemorates on the sixth of September an apparition of the victorious Prince at Chone in Phrygia; while the eighth of November is their solemnity of the angels, corresponding to our feast of to-day, and bearing the title: ‘Synaxis of Saint Michael prince of the heavenly host, and of the other spiritual Powers. Although the term synaxis is usually applied only to religious assemblies here on earth, we are informed that in this instance it also signifies the gathering of the faithful angels at the cry of their chief, and their union eternally sealed by their victory.

Who, then, are these heavenly Powers, whose mysterious combat heads the first page of history? Their existence is attested by the traditions of all nations as well as by the authority of holy Scripture. If the consult the Church, she teaches that in the beginning God created and simultaneously two natures, the spiritual and the corporal, and afterwards man who is composed of both. The scale of nature descends by gradation from beings made to the likeness of God, to the very confines of nothingness; and by the same degrees the create mounts upwards to his Creator. God is infinite being, infinite intelligence, infinite love. The creature is for ever finite: but man, endowed with a reasoning intellect, and the angel, with an intuitive grasp of truth, are ever, by a continual process of purification, widening the bounds of their imperfect nature, in order to reach, by increase of light, the perfection of greater love.

God alone is simple with that unchangeable productive simplicity, which is absolute perfection excluding the possibility of progress; He is pure Act, in who substance, power, and operation are one thing. The angel, though, entirely independent of matter, is yet subject the natural weaknesses necessary to a created being; he is not absolutely simple, for him action is distinct from power, and power from essence. How much greater is the weakness of man’s composite nature, unable to carry on the operations of the intellect without the aid of the senses!

‘Compared with ours,’ says one of the most enlightened brethren of the angelic doctor, ‘how calm and how luminous is the knowledge of pure spirits! They are not doomed to the intricate discoursings of our reason, which runs after the truth, composes and analyzes, and laboriously draws conclusions from premises. They instantaneously apprehend the whole compass of primary truths. Their intuition is so prompt, so lively, so penetrating, that it is impossible for them to be surprised, as we are, into error. If they deceive themselves, it must be of their own will. The perfection of their will is equal to the perfection of their intellect. They know not what it is to be distributed by the violence and appetites. Their love is without emotion; and their hatred of evil is as calm and as wisely tempered as their love. A love so free can know no perplexity as to its aims, no inconstancy in its resolutions. Whereas with us long and anxious meditation is necessary before we make a decision, it is the property of the angels to determine by a single act the object of their choice. God proposed to them, as He does to us, infinite beatitude in the vision of His own Essence; and to fit them for so great an end, He endowed them with grace at the same time as He gave them being. In one instant they said Yes or No; in one instant they freely and deliberately decided their own fate.

Let us not be envious. By nature the angel is superior to us; but, to which of the angels hath He said at any time, ‘Thou art My Son?’ The only-begotten Son of God did not take to Himself the angelic nature. While on earth, He acknowledged the temporary subordination of humanity to those pure spirits, and deigned to receive from them, even as do His brethren in the flesh, the announcements of the divine will, and help and strength. But ‘God hath not subjected unto angels the world to come,’ says the apostle. How can we understand this attraction of God towards what is feeblest. We can only worship it in humble faith. It was Lucifer’s stumbling-block on the day of the great battle in heaven. But the faithful angels prostrated themselves in joyous adoration at the feet of the Infant-Go foreshown to them enthroned on Mary’s knee, and then rose up to sing: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.’

O Christ, my Christ as St. Denis calls Thee, the Church to-day delightedly proclaims Thee the beauty of the holy angels. Thou, the God-Man, art the lofty height whence purity, light, and love flow down upon the triple hierarchy of the nine choirs. Thou art the supreme Hierarch, the centre of worlds, controller of the deifying mysteries at the eternal feast.

Flaming Seraphim, glittering Cherubim, steadfast Thrones, court of honour to the Most High, and possessed of the nobles inheritance: according to the Areopagite, ye receive your justice, your splendor, and your burning love by direct communication from our Lord: and through you, all grace overflows from Him upon the holy city.

Dominations, Virtues, and Powers; sovereign dispensers, prime movers, and rules of the universe: in whose name do ye govern the world? Doubtless in His whose inheritance it is; in the name of the King of glory, the Man-God, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord of hosts.

Angels, Archangels, and Principalities; heaven’s messengers, ambassadors, and overseers here below: are yet not also, as the apostle says, ministers of the salvation wrought on earth by Jesus, the heavenly High-Priest?

We also, through this same Jesus, O most holy Trinity, glorify Thee, together, with the three princely hierarchies, which surround Thy Majesty with their nine immaterial rings as with a many-circled rampart. To tend to Thee, and to draw all things to Thee, is their common law. Purification, illumination, union: by these three ways in succession, or simultaneously, are these noble beings attracted to God, and by the same they attracted those who strive to emulate them. Sublime spirits, it is with your gaze ever fixed on high that ye influence those below and around you. Draw plentifully, both for yourselves and for us, from the central fires of the Divinity; purify us from more than the involuntary infirmities of nature; enlighten us; kindle us with your heavenly flames. Fr the same reason that satan hates us, ye love us: protect the race of the Word made Flesh against the common enemy. So guard us, that we may hereafter be worthy to occupy among you the places left vacant by the victims of pride. (Dom Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year.)

Guardian Angels are most prompt when we ask them for favors. I think I recounted in a travelogue about pilgrimage to Rome in 2005 as to  how I was trying to think of the name of the medical cream that a physician had recommended a year earlier, in 2004, that we used to cure a terrible rash that our daughter was experiencing. I racked my brain and just could not think of the name. As soon as I remembered to pray to my Guardian Angel, however, the name occurred to me: Lotrimin. Oh, there are so many examples like this that they are just too numerous to mention. This was one, though, that I love to recount because I did want to alleviate our daughter's intense suffering in the middle of a hot, humid Roman night.

Dom Prosper Gueranger provided the following reflection on the Guardian Angels in The Liturgical Year:

But God, magnificent as he is towards the whole human race, honours in a special manner the princes of His people, those who are most favoured by His grace, or who rule the earth in His name; the saints testify, that a supereminent perfection, or a higher mission in Church or State, ensures to the individual the assistance of a superior spirit, without the angel that was first deputed being necessarily removed from his charge. Moreover, with regard to the work of salvation, the Guardian Angel has no fear of being left alone at his post; at his request, and at God's command, the troops of his blessed companions, who fill heaven and earth, are ever ready to lend him their aid. These noble spirits, acting under the eye of God, whose love they desire to second by all possible means, have secret alliances between them, which sometimes induce between their clients, even on earth, unions the mystery whereof will be revealed in the light of eternity.

'How profound a mystery,' says Origen, 'is the apportioning of souls to the angels destined for their guardians! It is a divine secret, part of the universal economy centred in the Man-God. Nor is it without ineffable order that the ministries of earth, the many departments of nature, are allotted to the heavenly Virtues; fountains and rivers, winds and forests, plants, living creatures of land and sea, whose various functions harmonize together by the angels directing them all to a common end.'

Again, on these words of Jeremias: How long shall the land mourn? Origen, supported by the authority of his translator St. Jerome, continues: 'It is through each one of us that the earth rejoices or mourns; and not only the earth but water, fire, air, all the elements; by which name we must here understand not insensible matter, but the angels who are set over all things on earth. There is an angel of the land, who, with his companions, mourns over our crimes. There is an angel of the waters to whom are applied the words of the psalm: The waters saw Thee, and they were afraid, and the depths were troubled; great was the noise of the waters; the clouds sent out a sound, for Thy arrows pass.'

How grand is nature viewed in this light! It is thus the ancients, more truthful as well as more poetical than our generation, always considered the universe. Their error lay in adoring these mysterious powers, to the detriment of the only God, under whom they stoop that bear up the world.

'Air and earth and ocean, everything is full of angels,' says St. Ambrose. 'Eliseus besieged by a whole army, felt no fear; for he beheld invisible cohorts assisting him. May the prophet open thine eyes also; may the enemy, be he legion, not terrify thee; thou thinkest thyself hemmed in, and thou art free: there are more with us than with them.'

But let us return to our own specially-deputed angel, and meditate on this other testimony: 'The noble guardians of each one of us sleeps not, nor can he be deceived. Close thy door, and make the darkness of night; but remember, thou art never alone; he has no need of daylight in order to use thy actions. And who is it that speaks thus? Not a father of the Church, but a pagan, the slave philosopher Epictetus.

In conclusion, let us listen to the Abbot of Clairvaux, who here gives free rein to his eloquence: 'In every place show respect to thy angel. Let gratitude for his benefits incite thee to honour his greatness. Love this thy future coheir, the guardian appointed for thee by the Father during thy childhood. For though we are sons of God, we are as yet but children, and long and dangerous is our journey. But God that given His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they shall bear thee up, lest thou dash they foot against a stone. Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk; and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon. Yes; where the road is smooth enough for a child, they will content themselves with guiding thee, and sustaining thy footsteps, as one does for a children. But if trials threaten to surpass thy strength, they will bear thee up in their hands. Oh those hands of angels! Thanks to them, what fearful straits we have passed through, as it were without thinking, and with no other impression left upon us, than that of a nightmare suddenly dispelled.'

And in his commentary on the Canticle of canticles, St. Bernard thus describes the triumph of the angel: "One of the companions of the Spouse, sent from heaven to the chosen soul as mediator, on witnessing the mystery accomplished, how he exults, and says: "I give thee thanks, O God of majesty, for having granted the desire of her heart!" Not it was he that, as a persevering friend, had not ceased, on the way, to murmur into the soul's ear: "Delight in the Lord, and He will give thee the requests of thy heart;" and again: "Expect the Lord, and keep His way"; and then: "If He make any delay, wait for Him, for He will surely come and will not tarry." Meanwhile he represented to Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ the soul's desire, saying: "As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so this soul panteth after Thee, O God; have pity on her, hear her cries, and visit her in her desolation. And now the faithful paranymph, the confidant of ineffable secrets, is not jealous. He goes from the Spouse to the bride, offering desires, bringing back gifts; he incites the one, he appeases the other. Sometimes, even in this world, he brings them into each other's presence, either by raising up the bride in ecstasy, or by bringing down the Bridegroom; for he is one of the household, and well known in the palace; and he fears no rebuff, for every day he beholds the face of the Father.' (Dom Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year.) 

The readings for Matins in today's Divine Office provide the full version of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux's reflection on our Guardian Angels that was referenced and cited in part by Dom Prosper Gueranger above:

He hath given His Angels charge over thee. A wonderful graciousness, and a wonderful outpouring of love. For who hath given charge? And what charge? Unto whom? And over whom? Let us carefully consider, my brethren, let us carefully hold in mind this great charge. For who hath given this charge? To Whom belong the Angels? Whose commandments do they obey, and Whose will do they do? He hath given His Angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways, and that not carelessly, for they shall bear thee up in their hands. The Highest Majesty, therefore, hath given charge unto Angels, even His Angels. Unto these beings so excellently exalted, so blessed, so near to Himself, even as His own household, unto these hath He given charge over thee. Who art thou? What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitest him? Ps. viii. 5. Even as though man were not rottenness, and the son of man, a worm. Job. xxv. 6. But what charge hath He given them over thee? To keep thee in all thy ways.

That respect, what thankfulness, what trust, ought this word to work in thee! Respect for their presence, thankfulness for their kindness, trust in their safe keeping. Walk carefully, as one with whom are Angels, as hath been laid in charge upon them, in all thy ways. In every lodging, in every nook, have reverence for thine Angel. Dare not to do in his presence what thou wouldst not dare to do in mine. Or dost thou doubt whether he be indeed present, because thou seest him not? What if thou heardest him? What if thou touchedst him? What if thou smelledst him? Behold, not by sight alone is the presence of things made manifest.

Let us also, brethren, dearly love His Angels, as them with whom we are one day to be co-heirs, and who in the meanwhile are leaders and guardians set over us by the Father. With such guardians, whereof shall we be afraid? They that keep us in all our ways, can neither be conquered nor corrupted, far less can they corrupt. They are trusty, they are wary, they are mighty. Whereof shall we be afraid? Only let us follow them, only let us cleave unto them, and we shall abide under the shadow of the God of heaven. As often then as the gloom of temptation threateneth thee, or the sharpness of tribulation hangeth over thee, call upon Him That keepeth thee, thy Shepherd, thy Refuge in times of trouble, call upon Him, and say, But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us. (Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Matins, The Divine Office, Feast of Our Holy Guardian Angels.)

Yes, as noted above, our Guardian Angels behold the face of the Most Blessed Trinity as they accompany us from physical birth to the spiritual rebirth of the baptismal font to the loss of baptismal innocence as we fall into Venial Sins in childhood. Imagine how much our sins displease, indeed, sicken our Guardian Angels! Imagine this, will you?

Our Guardian Angels see God. They possess a pure intelligence and a pure will. Many spiritual writers contend that our angels shield themselves when we commit sins, seeing as they do the horror that each one of our sins imposed upon Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in His Sacred Humanity--and upon His Most Blessed Mother--during His Passion and Death. All the more reason for us to ask our Guardian Angels to help to keep us from even the smallest sins so that we can grow in holiness rather than sink into the mire of lukewarmness and the neglect of our interior lives engendered thereby.

Although the lowest of the rank of the nine choirs of angels (Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues Powers, Thrones, Principalities, Archangels, Angels), our Guardian Angels are close to the Queen of the Angels, our dear Blessed Mother, Mary. They love her and honor her, seeing reflected in her beauteous perfection what each human soul would have approximated in appearance had it not been for Adam's Fall from Grace in the Garden of Eden. They want us to have the highest possible place in Heaven next to that of Our Lady herself. They know that, as Saint Louis de Montfort noted in his works, it is impossible to be saved absent a devotion to Our Lady:

The pious and learned Jesuit, Suarez, Justus Lipsius, a devout and erudite theologian of Louvain, and many others have proved incontestably that devotion to our Blessed Lady is necessary to attain salvation. This they show from the teaching of the Fathers, notably St. Augustine, St. Ephrem, deacon of Edessa, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Germanus of Constantinople, St. John Damascene, St. Anselm, St. Bernard, St. Bernardine, St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure. Even according to Oecolampadius and other heretics, lack of esteem and love for the Virgin Mary is an infallible sign of God's disapproval. On the other hand, to be entirely and genuinely devoted to her is a sure sign of God's approval.

Our Guardian Angels want us to shower Our Lady with acts of love and devotion. They want us to say our Rosaries promptly and with fervor. They want us to make pilgrimages in honor of Our Lady. they want to see us clothed in the Brown Scapular and adorned with the Miraculous Medal, making sure to pray to Our Lady for all the graces we forget to pray for during the course of each day! They want us to salute Our Lady with pious invocations (Ave Maria, Salve Regina, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, we love you, save souls, All to you, Blessed Mother, all to your Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation, O Blessed Mother, help me, a sinner, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us now and the hour of our death, Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death) throughout the day. They do. They want us to join them in these pious invocations of filial love and trusting supplication.

Oh, yes, our Guardian Angels stand ready to help to prompt us to say our prayers. They stand ready to help us to avoid sin and to cooperate with the graces won for u by the shedding of every single drop of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's Most Precious Blood and that flow into our hearts and souls through the loving hands of Our Lady, the Mediatrix of All Graces to grow in sanctity. They stand ready to help us to view our own lives and the events of the Church and the world through the eyes of the true Faith. They stand ready to move us to go to Mass every day and to spend time with Our Beloved in His Real Presence, as noted earlier. They stand ready to help us to do our Purgatory on earth by living penitentially and seeking to pray constantly in reparation for our sins and those of the whole world. They stand ready to help us to be saints. Will we let them? Will we let our Guardian Angels know that we want to rely upon their assistance and that we want to eternal praise to the God Who created both them and us out of a free will act of love? Will we let our Guardian Angels help us to die to self as we carry the crosses that God ordains for us to carry so that we might know an unending Easter Sunday of glory in Paradise?

We are never alone. We have a Heavenly friend who is always with us and who wants us to rely upon his help. What in this world--or the next world--are we waiting for? Let us renew with fervor and attentiveness our devotion to and reliance upon our Guardian Angels, giving thanks to God for His goodness in sending us these angelic beings to help us to return to Him through His Catholic Church.

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and to guard, to rule and to guide. Amen.

Our Lady, Queen of the Angels and the Saints, pray for us.

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

Our Holy Guardian Angels, pray for us.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.

Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Gabriel the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.

Appendix

Father Francis X. Weninger on the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels

The Holy Church has instituted a special festival to recall to our mind the grace which God's infinite mercy has bestowed upon us by appointing the holy Angels for our temporal and spiritual protection. This festival should remind us to give thanks to God for this great benefit and to show our gratitude to the holy Angels for their care and solicitude. That this may be performed with due zeal and devotion, consider well the following remarks. The Almighty created a countless number of heavenly spirits, by nature immortal, and bestowed upon them especial graces. I say, a countless number; for it is said in Holy Writ: "Is there any numbering of His Soldiers!" (Job. xxv.) By "soldiers," are understood His Angels. Somewhere else it is written: "Thousands of thousands ministered to Him and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before Him." (Daniel, vii.) These Heavenly Spirits are divided into three classes, and each class into three Choirs; hence they consist of nine Choirs.

The first, and highest is composed of the Seraphim; the second, of the Cherubim; the third of the Thrones; the fourth, of the Dominations; the fifth of the Principalities, the sixth, of the Powers; the seventh, of the Virtues; the eighth, of the Archangels; and the ninth, of the Angels. All surround the throne of the most High, constantly praise His infinite Majesty, and are ever ready to execute His commands; still, each of these Choirs has its separate function, as we are taught by Theologians. From the last, or ninth Choir, God has assigned to each human being, a Guardian to protect him. Hence they are called Guardian Angels. Thus the Holy Church teaches, and it cannot be doubted that this teaching is true, as it is founded on the words of Holy Writ. To each human being is given an angel, a prince of heaven to protect him in soul and body, to cheer him in adversity, to console him in sorrow, to strengthen him in temptations, to assist him in danger, to prevent him from doing evil, to incite him to do good, and thus lead him to heaven, if he is obedient to his Guardian Angel.

Just as in former times. God gave to the Israelites a special Angel to guard them and to lead them into the promised land, according to the words: "Behold, I will send my Angel, who shall go before thee and keep thee in thy journey; and bring thee into the place that I have prepared;" (Exodus, xxiii;) so He gives to each man an Angel to protect him on the road of this life, to lead him happily to Heaven, of which the promised land was the type. Pause here, my dear reader, and consider the greatness of this mercy of God towards us. As long as the world has existed, we have never heard of a monarch, who gave one of his noble courtiers the command to be continually at the side of a common peasant, or other man of low estate, to take care of him and lead him safely to a far-off land. But what was never heard of in a temporal king, this and much more our holy faith teaches us is done for us by the great and merciful God, the King of heaven and earth. He has given to every one, even to the most wretched being, one of the Princes of heaven, to take care of him, constantly to accompany him, and to open for him the gates of the eternal world.

How priceless a grace! How infinite a goodness! Judge yourself, my dear reader, if you have not every reason to offer thanks to the great God, Who has shown such infinite kindness towards you, and who is thus solicitous for your salvation. Today especially, ought you to render thanksgivings to Him; and for this purpose the festival which we celebrate was instituted. Reflect, also, how the Angels, to whose care God has confided us, regard us. They are perfectly satisfied with those whom God has given into their charge, be they poor or rich, of high or of low standing. They perform their mission with the greatest love and solicitude. "They love us," says St. Bernard, "because Christ has loved us." They prove their love by deeds; they avert many dangers of body and soul from us, and protect us most miraculously; they prevent us from doing wrong, and animate us to do good; they fortify us to resist the temptations of satan. When we have been guilty of sin, they incite us to do penance, to appease the wrath of God, and to turn from us His well-merited punishment; they rejoice when we do penance, and convert our hearts to God; they offer our prayers, fasts, and other good works to the Almighty, and pray to Him for us. They do not leave us, asleep or awake, well or sick; they assist us in life and in death, and accompany our souls to the Judgment-seat of the Most High.

Holy Writ is full of examples which prove all that I have here said. Many more examples are found in the history of the church, and in the Lives of the Saints. An Angel saved the famished Ishmael from danger of death. An Angel preserved the life of the obedient Isaac, by checking the drawn sword of his father. An angel led the pious Lot out of Sodom, and thus saved him from being burned with the rest of the inhabitants. An Angel protected the Israelites against all their enemies. An Angel fed the prophet Elias in the wilderness, and strengthened him to proceed on his long journey. An Angel delivered the pious king Ezekias and the city of Jerusalem from many thousand enemies, by slaying them all in one night. An Angel preserved the prophet Daniel unharmed in the midst of the lions, and brought the prophet Habacuc to feed him. An Angel kept the three companions of the same holy prophet uninjured in the furnace of Babylon. An Angel accompanied the young Tobias as guide during his journey, and instructed him in what manner he should marry the chaste Sarah, to prevent the Evil one from harming him, as had been done to seven others, who had been slain by the devil. Besides benefiting him in various other ways, he saved him also from the danger of being devoured by a monstrous fish. It was the same Angel who had offered the prayers of the elder Tobias to the Almighty, and who afterwards, restored him to sight. An Angel shielded the chaste Judith in great dangers of soul and body. An Angel instructed the Centurion Cornelius how to save his soul. An Angel delivered St. Peter from prison and the danger of death. An Angel preserved the life of St. Paul, and of others, who were with him in the ship. Many other similar events are found in Holy Writ, and in the Lives of the Saints. And what are all these but proofs of the love and solicitude of the Angels for us?

Reflect upon your past life, and see if you yourself have not received sufficient proof of the devotion and care of your holy Guardian Angel? That you have not lost your life in many dangers which encompassed you; that you have been guarded from many sins; that you did not die in your sin, but have time to do penance; that you have received so many spiritual and temporal favors and benefits from the Almighty: all these, and many other favors, are to be ascribed to the powerful protection, the love and care of your holy Guardian Angel and to his intercession with God in your behalf.

In consideration of so many blessings, of such watchful protection, such indescribable devotion and solicitude, you must reasonably conclude that you owe especial gratitude to your holy Guardian Angel. Of course, you have first to render thanks to the Almighty, who placed you under the protection of so noble and kind a Prince of heaven. But St. Bernard exhorts us also to show ourselves grateful towards those, who, obeying the command of God, watch over us so lovingly, and assist us in all our needs. "Let us be full of devotion and gratitude towards such powerful protectors," says he; "let us return love for love, and endeavor to honor them with our whole heart." When God promised to the Israelites to send an Angel to protect them on their journey and lead them to the promised land, He added: "Take notice of him and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned; for he will not forgive when thou hast sinned, and my name is in him; " which means that he represents God. (Exod. xxiii.) These words show you how you must prove your gratitude in deeds.


"Honor him," this is the first thing which God demands. "Honor him," because he is an Angel of God, a representative of God, a great Prince of heaven. " Honor him," because God has raised him to great glory; he sees the face of the Most High, and often acts in His name. "Honor him." You honor your Guardian Angel if you call with confidence on him in all your cares, especially when your soul or your body is endangered, in great temptations, in life and death. Tobias had hardly perceived the danger of being devoured by a monstrous fish, when he called to his faithful guide, who was an Angel: "Sir, he cometh upon me!" He asked help and received it instantly. Why should you not call, with equal confidence, to your Guardian Angel, especially when the hellish monster, the roaring lion, as Holy Writ calls him, the devil, the Evil One, tempts you to sin, and thus endeavors to devour you?" As often as a great temptation or sorrow approaches you," writes St. Bernard, "call to your guide, your protector, and say: " Sir, help me, or I go to destruction!"

"Obey his voice," says the Lord. He speaks to your soul by interior movements or inspirations. For instance, if you are in danger of sin, he calls to you: "Depart from evil, avoid sin." If you are surrounded by occasions of evil, he calls to you: "Withdraw from here! Flee hastily." If you have committed sin, he exhorts you: "Do penance! Return without delay to your God!" In like manner, he admonishes you interiorly, to practice good works, to be more zealous in the service of God, more solicitous for your salvation. Obey this voice, this call of your holy Guardian Angel. If you do not, you despise him, which is contrary to the command of God, who will surely net leave it unpunished, as it is an offense done, in some respect, to His Majesty. Always obey the voice of your Guardian Angel, and offend him not by disobedience, as otherwise you will not be worthy of his protection.

In conclusion, I will give you a memorable admonition of St. Bernard. He urges you, constantly to call to mind the presence of your Angel, and duly to honor him everywhere. This, however, says he, should be done principally by avoiding sin. For it is contrary to all the respect you owe him, to sin in his presence. "In all places," these are the words of the holy teacher, "In all places, manifest to your Angel that honor which is due to him, and dare not commit in his presence what you would not dare to do if I were near." Elsewhere, he says: "Let us walk in such a manner before the eyes of the Angels, that we do not offend their sight." "We must guard ourselves not to offend them, and hence we must assiduously perform all those exercises which we know are agreeable to them, as temperance, chastity, voluntary poverty, devout prayers, &c." Impress these words deeply in your heart; for they contain the best advice as to the means you should employ to honor your holy Guardian Angel, and to assure yourself of his loving and powerful protection during your life, and at the hour of your death. Avoid everything that you know is displeasing to him, and practice, with great zeal, all that you are convinced will be agreeable to him.

 

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS.

I. The Almighty has placed you under the protection of an Angel. Render thanks to Him this day for so great a benefit. Give thanks also to your Guardian Angel for all the love and care which until now he has always bestowed upon you. Show him always due honor, in accordance with the admonitions of the Lord. Let no day pass on which you do not, at least morning and evening, place yourself under his powerful protection. Do the same if you are harassed by care, sorrow, sadness or temptation, and in all dangers that beset your soul or body.

Pray frequently to him to guard you especially in the dangerous combat you will have to wage with the spirit of hell in your last hour. The holy Church counsels you to do this, when in the name of all the faithful she thus invokes the holy Guardian Angels: "O, all ye holy angels, our protectors; guard us in the combat, that we may not be lost in the fearful Judgment." Remember that your Angel is always near you, especially in Church and when you are tempted to sin. Do nothing of which you would be ashamed in the presence of an upright and dignified person. Obey the voice of your Angel, as God himself commands. The Angel speaks to you deep in your heart; he admonishes you through sermons, confessors and devout books. Despise not his exhortations, but follow when he calls you.

Avoid whatever may displease him, and do all that is agreeable to him. Sin, as an offense to God, is displeasing to him, especially all sin against chastity. Avoid it. Good works, zeal in the service of God, the frequent and pious partaking of the holy Sacraments, a modest deportment in Church, are all pleasing to him; hence, practice them faithfully. In this manner, you will make yourself worthy of the powerful protection of your Guardian Angel, during your life and at the hour of your death.

II. Your holy angel is most perfectly obedient to the Almighty. Following the command of God, he has taken charge of you, and experience has convinced you that he performs his mission well. Be you also obedient to your God. He has entrusted to you a precious, immortal soul, and has commanded you to take good care of it. Take heed that it suffers nothing; this will be for your own benefit. If you have children, servants, or others under you, God has also given them into your care. Be obedient to God and do your duty. Before all things be solicitous for their salvation.

Your Guardian Angel is a pure spirit. He has the greatest horror for the least shadow of impurity. Imitate him. Detest every thing, however trifling it may appear, that is unchaste. Do not regard anything as trifling, which may injure chastity; for, nothing can be a trifle, that is displeasing to the Divine Majesty or to your Guardian Angel.

Your holy Angel accompanies you joyfully to Church. He there worships, with great veneration, in the company of many other Angels, your Savior truly present. . Imitate him. Rejoice to go to Church and there worship your God, with angelic reverence and devotion. Say your prayers in such a manner, that your holy Angel may offer them to the Almighty with pleasure. Do not profane your devotions, by unnecessary conversation, by idly gazing around, by indecent manners or other similar irreverences. God requires an unspotted sacrifice, and your holy Angel will not present any other to the Divine Majesty.

Although your Guardian Angel has charge of you, and is constantly with you, he nevertheless enjoys the divine presence and glorifies and praises God unceasingly. Imitate him, by frequently thinking of God during your day's work; by working in His presence and by praising Him, as well by those prayers which you say at stated times of the day, as also by renewing your good intentions, and by short pious ejaculations. If you follow your holy Angel on earth, you will also enjoy his society in heaven. The Venerable Bede writes; "If we desire to attain to the society of the holy Angels in heaven, we must neglect nothing to follow them on earth."