In recent years, the relationship I have with my Guardian Angel has grown and developed into a more intimate friendship. I will often ask for my Guardian Angel’s assistance, not nearly as much as I should, but I do ask him to protect me more than I did when I was a child or even as a young adult. Each of us has a spiritual protector that follows us throughout our entire life from the moment we are conceived till the day we pass into eternity (Ps 34:7, Mt 18:10, Acts 12:15). Our Guardian Angels are there to assist us, but they will never interfere with our free will. It is important to get to know your Guardian angel, but we should never ask for their name.
In regards to the Angels, I would like to share a story with you I once heard – A young woman was walking home alone from her friend’s house one night. During the day, a prisoner had escaped from jail and was on the loose, but the girl felt that she would be safe since her house was only one block away. As she was walking home, someone began to follow her. She turned around quickly to see who it was and it happened to be the man that had escaped. As she started to walk faster, he also picked up his pace. But all of sudden, she turned around and man was running in the opposite direction.
In the morning, she found out that the man had been caught and wanted to notify the police that he was following her too. She made her way to the police station. As the man was being brought out for transfer to another location, she caught sight of him. She said to him, why did run from me last night? He responded, I wasn’t going to come any closer to you, not with those two huge guys walking beside you. She asked what two guys. The man replied – the two guys dressed in white and glowing. The “two huge guys dressed in white and glowing” were more than likely Guardian Angels because the girl was all by herself, at least to the visible world.
This story might not be a common occurrence in daily life and the angels don’t interfere with God’s plans for our lives, however, this story simply states that although we do not see these invisible creatures in the visible world, it doesn’t take away from the fact that they are there.
The Guardian Angel by Pietro da Cortona
Now let’s turn our attention to the 7 quotes from St. John Vianney for the Feast of the Guardian Angels –
1. “Our Guardian Angels are our most faithful friends, because they are with us day and night, always and everywhere. We ought often to invoke them.”
2. “The Angels take great pleasure in helping us with our enterprises, when they are in accordance with God’s will.”
3. “That which above all should inspire us with veneration for the holy Angels is their unswerving loyalty to God.”
4. “What joy it is to know that when we go out of the house, we are never alone en route.”
5. “The first thing about the Angels that we ought to imitate, is their consciousness of the Presence of God.”
6. “It is our Angels who ask God to grant us a deep sorrow for our sins.”
7. “With what humility should we assist at Mass, if we realized that our Guardian Angel was kneeling beside us, prostrate before the Majesty of God! With what eagerness should we not ask him to offer our prayers to Jesus Christ!”
If you don’t know what the Catholic Church teaches on the Theology of Angels, I would suggest you read last year’s post from my Quick Lessons from the Catechism Series.
On a more personal note, this day has a significant meaning for my writing. It was on this day three years ago that Kevin Knight first posted a blog post I wrote about the Angels on New Advent. The title of that post is – The Angels Were Not Invented by Hallmark Cards & Gifts.
