Memorial of the Guardian Angels
Today’s feast of the Guardian Angles places us somewhere between memories of childhood and the harsh realities of adulthood. As children we viewed the world as a safe and protected place guarded by God’s Angels. As adults we realize that the providence of God and his actions play out on a far more complex field of human relations and natural occurrences. Any discussion of angels is ultimately about God’s action in the world and our faith in that action. Trying to interpret and act on the action of God in our hearts is difficult business but like the image of the guardian angels we hold from childhood that presence is always there.
The great saints always had a devotion to the angels, seeing in them an understanding of the constant presence of God. Ignatius was no different and his devotion to the Angels was rooted in his constant desire to see God in all things and to be in the presence of God at all times.