“One of the most salutary devotions, and one of the most neglected, is the devotion to the angels, in particular to our guardian angels. The sanctity of these heavenly spirits, and the distinction which they enjoy with God, the important service which they have rendered and still render us, all these reasons bid us to practise devotion to the holy angels. Let us, therefore, briefly recall to our minds what the angels are, what services they render us, and what our obligations are towards them.
You know that the angels are pure, created spirits. Their excellence surpasses any description that man can imagine or express. The being of the angels is something so vast and superior that man’s understanding cannot fully conceive it. Their knowledge is immense. They know all nature, all things in heaven and earth. Their power is great and their beauty surpassing anything we can imagine.
The occupation of the angels in heaven is to love God, to praise and glorify Him unceasingly. They are, as it were, attendants of the Heavenly Court, and the ministers of God. Their number is legion, some theologians are of the opinion that there are millions of them. All these spirits are filled with a love of God, the greatness of which is incomprehensible to man. They are penetrated by the spirit of God, and their thoughts and inclinations are in complete accord with His. And since they see how God has infinite love for men, and how He humbled Himself for man’s sake to crown him with blessedness, they too, burn with ardent love for men.
Although the holy angels are not alike among themselves in power and dignity, as God has divided them into different choirs and gave them various degrees of station, yet they are, according to the testimony of St Paul, ‘the ambassadors of God ordained to the service of those who await the inheritance of salvation.’ Thus some are sent by God for the protection of nations and cities, others there are for churches and altars, others for houses and families. Those who are most intimately associated with our own persons are our guardian angels, so-called because they are commissioned by divine Providence specially for our protection and defence.
That each one of us is given into the protection of an angel is a truth which is declared plainly in holy Scripture and is universally taught by theologians. This truth is calculated to show us once more the love of God, the dignity of our souls, the importance of our salvation and the respect that we owe to fellow men. God is not content with watching Himself over us unceasingly. He has even confided each of us to the protection of an angel, and commissioned him to take care of us. From the first moment of our existence this celestial guardian has been at our side, and will not forsake us as long as we live.
And in what consists this protection? It consists in those many services that these messengers from heaven can render us; they enlighten us, defend us, strengthen us and show us the way to eternal salvation. The guardian angels protect us against the many dangers to which we are exposed every day of our lives. Who, indeed, could number the perils that beset us in childhood, in youth, in middle age and old age; dangers threatened by the elements, dangers in travelling, dangers due to sickness and all kinds of untoward happenings. There is no one amongst us who has not more than once in the course of life been in danger of life and limb. Who else has saved and protected us at such times but our good guardian angel who, as the Psalmist expresses it, bears us in his hands (Ps. XC, 12).
But as the guardian angel is given the task, above all, of watching over the salvation of our souls, so is their chief care and their special vigilance directed toward this end. With loving solicitude they endeavour to divert us from evil and induce us to do good. By warnings of conscience, by pious impulses, by enlightenment and holy incentive, by favourable conditions which they arrange, they are incessantly striving to attain their end. We can do nothing for the salvation of our soul without divine assistance, and this assistance, as St Thomas says, is given us through the effort of the angel who is a mediator for us with God and the immediate dispenser of all graces. They defend us against temptations of the devil either by driving him away by virtue of the power given them, or by illuminating our souls in order to let us perceive the artful snares and cunning of the archfiend, and by inspiring our hearts with courage and strength to overcome them. And if it happens that we fall into sin, because we listened more willingly to the whisperings of the devil than to the pleadings of our guardian angel, still he does not depart from us on that account, nor leave us to our sad fate, but he turns to God in order to obtain for us time for repentance and the grace of conversion.
Yes, indeed, the guardian angel has more than once averted well-deserved punishment from us by his prayers, and has striven in manifold ways to lead us back to God and to arouse us from the sleep of death. The invisible attendance of our guardian angel is for us a source of most special blessings, blessings of all kinds for body and soul, blessings at all times, at all hours, in all places and under all conditions. Only in the light of the next life shall we be able to know their marvellous accomplishments on our behalf. With fervent love we should, therefore, cherish our guardian angel who bestows so much care upon our person and our interests. And yet, alas, I know of no benefactor who is as little remembered and held in honour. Each saint has special disciples and adherers, and this custom is very praiseworthy. But are we not worthy of censure if we forget the one who is of particular service, who in a very special manner watches over us, whose particular office is to help and assist us?
Let us then give thought to the duties which we have towards our guardian angel. They are reverence, love and confidence.
We owe him reverence, and since he is at all times by our side, there is an obligation to conduct ourselves with modesty and circumspection, to do nothing that is unseemly and offensive to him. Let us renew often within us the remembrance of his presence; let us make this a pious custom, and it will be for us a bridle upon our passions, it will protect and keep us from evil.
We owe him, furthermore, love, on account of the charity that he cherishes for us. This love and gratitude should animate us to thank him, to venerate him by our devotion and, in particular, to lend a willing ear to his instructions and admonitions and obediently to follow the same.
We owe our guardian angel, finally, our entire confidence. This protector lacks neither power nor willingness or inclination to assist us in all our needs. Therefore, we must have for him the appreciation that he deserves, must have recourse to him in dangers, doubts, in our afflictions and especially in temptations. The more lively our confidence is in him, the more perceptibly shall we experience the power of his protection.
We all desire that the important moment in which we cross over into the unchanging eternity shall be a good and happy one. Our arch-enemy will at that moment redouble his attacks upon us and we shall be in need of the most potent help against him. Let us, therefore, acquire the habit of heeding the whisperings of our guardian angel, so that in that last moment we shall be fortified by his counsel. He will stand by and support us in the struggle; he will obtain for us a good and happy death, a death that will open the door for us to eternal blessedness, in the realm of the angels and in the vision of God. Amen.”
– By Cosimo Cardinal Corsi, taken from “Little Sermons on the Catechism”, Vol.II, Joseph F. Wagner, New York, 1911.
Prayers4reparation's Blog 