2 October 2021
Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
Our readings disclose a great mystery to us today: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” Today is the feast of the guardian angels, and our Gospel is one of the places in Scriptures that testify to the reality of these angels in the life of the Church.
The Catechism says, regarding these angels, that “besides each believer stand an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels” (CCC 336). Too often our conception of these angels can be reduced to the cute, the tame, the cuddly, and the impish. However, that is not the witness of the Scriptures. Take, for example, the gospel of Luke. Angels appear to the shepherds, hosts and hosts of them, to announce the birth of Christ. There is a military connotation to both the amount of these angels, and to how they appear in their stature. The shepherds were fearful at the site of these heavenly and powerful beings. Truly, God’s angels are powerful beings and forces for good that serve God. God has chosen to give each human being one of his heavenly hosts in an act of personal love and care for you and me. These angels both with us, hidden to our eyes yet really acting for us as our faith and Scriptures testify.
Today in prayer, let us ask for the grace for a renewed awareness, love, and gratitude for our Guardian angel and a commitment to ask for their guidance and protection in our spiritual lives as we grow in our Christian life.