Devotion to the Guardian Angels: they are custodians of the body and spirit

The guardian angels represent the infinite love, piety and care of God and their specific name which are created for our custody. Every angel, even in the highest choirs, wishes to lead a man once on earth, to be able to serve God in man; and it is the pride of every angel to be able to lead the protege entrusted to him to eternal perfection. A man brought to God will remain the joy and crown of his angel. And man will be able to enjoy the blessed community with his angel for all eternity. Only the combination of angels and men makes the worship of God perfect through His creation.

In Sacred Scripture the tasks of the guardian angels with respect to men are described. In many passages we talk about the protection by the angles in the dangers for the body and life.

The angels who appeared on earth after the original sin were almost all bodily help angels. They saved Abraham's nephew Lot and his family during the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah from safe death. They spared Abraham's murder of his son Isaac after he demonstrated his heroic courage to sacrifice him. To the servant Hagar who wandered with her son Ishmael in the desert they showed a sister, who saved Ishmael from death by thirst. An angel descended with Daniele and his companions into the furnace, “pushed out the flame of the lit fire, and blew into the center of the furnace like a fresh and dewy wind. The fire did not touch them at all, did no harm to them, nor caused any harassment "(Dn 3, 49-50). The second book of the Maccabees writes that General Judah Maccabeus was protected by the angels in a decisive battle: “Now, at the climax of the battle, from the sky, on horses adorned with golden bridles, five splendid men appeared to the enemies at the head of the Jews, and placed among them Maccabeus, with their weapons they covered him and made him invulnerable, while they threw darts and lightning at the enemies "(2 Mk 10, 29-30).

This visible protection by the holy angels is not limited to the Old Testament scriptures. Also in the New Testament they continue to save the body and soul of men. Joseph had the appearance of an angel in a dream and the angel told him to flee to Egypt to protect Jesus from Herod's revenge. An angel freed Peter from prison on the eve of his execution and led him freely passing four guards. Angelic guidance does not end with the New Testament, but appears in a more or less visible way up to our times. Men who rely on the protection of the holy angels will repeatedly experience that their guardian angel never leaves them alone.

In this regard, we find some examples of visible help which were understood by the protégés as assistance to the guardian angel.

Pope Pius IX always told an anecdote of his joy, which proved the miraculous help of his angel. Every day during the mass he served as a minister in his father's home chapel. One day, kneeling on the lower step of the high king, while the priest celebrated the sacrifice, he was seized with great fear. He didn't know why. Instinctively he turned his eyes to the opposite side of the altar as if seeking help and saw a handsome young man who motioned for him to come to him.

Confused by this apparition, he dared not move from his place, but the radiant figure made him a sign even more vividly. Then he got up and ran to the other side, but the figure disappeared. At the same time, however, a heavy statue fell from the altar on the spot that the little altar boy had left shortly before. The little boy often told this unforgettable anecdote, first as a priest, then as a bishop and finally also as Pope and he exalted it as a guide of his guardian angel (AM Weigl: Sc hutzengelgeschichten heute, p. 47) .

- Shortly after the end of the last World War, a mother walked with her five-year-old daughter on the streets of the city of B. The city was largely destroyed and many houses were left with a pile of rubble. Here and there a wall remained standing. The mother and the girl were going shopping. The path to the shop was long. Suddenly the child stopped and did not move more than one step. Her mother was unable to drag her and was already beginning to scold her when she heard crunches. She spun around and saw a large three-sea wall in front of her and then fell with a thunderous noise on the sidewalk and the street. At the moment the mother remained stiff, then hugged the little girl and said: “O my child, if you hadn't stopped, now we would be buried under the stone wall. But tell me, how come you didn't want to go on? " And the little girl replied: "But mother, haven't you seen it?" - "Who?" asked the mother. - "There was a handsome tall boy in front of me, he wore a white suit and he didn't let me pass." - "Lucky my child!" exclaimed the mother, “you saw your guardian angel. Never forget it in your whole life! " (AM Weigl: ibidem, pp. 13-14).

- One evening in the autumn of 1970, leaving the hall of the popular university of Augsburg in Germany after a refresher course, I had no idea that something particular could have happened that evening. After a prayer to my guardian angel I got into the car, which I had parked in a side street with little traffic. It was already past 21 and I was in a hurry to get home. I was about to take the main road, and I didn't see anyone on the road, only the weak headlights of the cars. I thought to myself that it would not take me long to cross the intersection, but suddenly a young man crossed the road in front of me and motioned for me to stop. How strange! Before, I hadn't seen anyone! Where had it come from? But I didn't want to pay attention to him. My desire was to get home as soon as possible and therefore I wanted to continue. But it was not possible. He didn't let me. "Sister," he said energetically, "stop the car immediately! You absolutely cannot go on. The machine is about to lose a wheel! " I got out of the car and saw with horror that the rear left wheel was really about to come off. With great difficulty I managed to pull the car over to the side of the road. Then I had to leave it there, call a tow truck and take it to the workshop. - What would have happened if I had continued and if I had taken the main road? - I do not know! - And who was the young man who warned me? - I could not even thank him, because he disappeared into thin air as he had appeared. I don't know who it was. But since that evening I never forget to call on the help of my guardian angel before I get behind the wheel.

- It was in October 1975. On the occasion of the beatification of the founder of our order I was among the lucky ones who were allowed to go to Rome. From our house in via Olmata it is only a few steps to the largest Marian shrine in the world, the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. One day I went there to pray at the altar of grace of the good Mother of God. Then I left the place of worship with great joy in my heart. With a light step I went down the marble stairs at the exit at the back of the basilica and I did not imagine that by a hair I would have escaped death. It was still early in the morning and there was little traffic. Empty buses were parked in front of the stairs leading up to the basilica. I was about to pass between two parked buses and wanted to cross the street. I put my foot on the road. Then it seemed to me that someone behind me wanted to keep me. I turned around scared, but there was no one behind me. An illusion then. - I stood stiff for a second. At that moment, a machine passed a short distance from me at very high speed. If I had taken a single step forward it would have surely overwhelmed me! I hadn't seen the car approaching, because parked buses obstructed my view on that side of the road. And once again I realized that my holy angel had saved me.

- I was about nine years old and on a Sunday with my parents we took the train to go to church. Back then there were still no small compartments with doors. The wagon was full of people and I went to the window, which was also the door. After a short distance, a woman asked me to sit next to her; moving very close to the others, he created a half seat. I did what he asked me (I could very well have said no and stayed up, but I didn't). After a few seconds of sitting, the wind abruptly opened the door. If I had been still there, the air pressure would have pushed me out, because on the right there was only a smooth wall where it would not have been possible to cling.

Nobody had noticed that the door was not closed properly, not even my father who was a very cautious man by nature. Together with another passenger he managed with great difficulty to close the door. I already felt then the miracle in that event that had torn me from death or mutilation (Maria M.).

- For some years I worked in a large factory and for some time also in the technical office. I was around 35 years old. The technical office was located in the center of the factory and our working day ended with the whole company. Then everyone came out of the factory en masse and the wide path was completely congested by pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists running home, and we pedestrians would have gladly avoided that path, if only because of the loud noise. One day I decided to go home following the tracks of the railway, which was parallel to the road and was used for the transport of materials from the nearby station to the factory. I could not see the whole stretch to the station because there was a curve; so I made sure before the tracks were free and, even on the way, I turned around several times to check. Suddenly, I heard a call from afar and the screams repeated. I thought: it's none of your business, you don't have to turn around again; I wasn't going to turn around, but an invisible hand gently turned my head against my will. I could not describe the terror I felt at that moment: I could barely take a step to discard myself. * Two seconds later it would have been too late: two wagons passed immediately behind me, driven by a loco-motive outside the factory. The driver probably hadn't seen me, otherwise he would have given an alarm whistle. When I found myself safe and sound at the last second, I felt my life as a new gift. Then, my gratitude to God was immense and still is (MK).

- A teacher tells of the wonder-sa guide and protection of her holy angel: “During the war I was the director of a kindergarten and in case of early warning I had the task of immediately sending all the children home. One day it happened again. I tried to reach the nearby school, where three colleagues taught, to then go with them to the antiaircraft shelter.

Suddenly, however - I found myself on the street - an inner voice troubled me, saying repeatedly: "Go back, go home!". Eventually I really went back and took the tram to go home. After a few stops the general alarm went off. All the trams stopped and we had to flee to the nearest antiaircraft shelter. It was a terrible airstrike and many houses were set on fire; the school I wanted to go to was also affected. Just the entrance to the antiaircraft shelter where I was supposed to go had been hit hard and my colleagues were dead. And then I realized that it was the voice of my guardian angel to warn me (teacher - My daughter was not yet one year old and when I was doing the housework I always carried her with me from one room to another. One day I was in the bedroom. As usual I put the little girl on the carpet at the foot of the bed, where she was playing happily. Suddenly I heard a very clear voice inside me: "Take the little girl and put her there, in her cot! She can to stay very well even in his bed! ". The bed with wheels was in the adjacent living room. I went to the girl, but then I said to myself:" Why shouldn't she be here with me? ! "I didn't want to take her to the other room and I decided to continue the work. Again I heard the voice insist:" Take the little girl and put her from there, in her cot! "And then I obeyed. My daughter began to cry I didn't understand why I had to do it, but inside of me I felt compelled In the bedroom, the chandelier detached itself from the ceiling and fell to the floor just where the little girl was sitting earlier. The chandelier weighed about 10 kg and was of polished alabaster with a diameter of approx. 60 cm and 1 cm thick. Then I understood why my guardian angel had warned me "(Maria s Sch.).

- "Because he asked his angels to keep you in every step ...". These are the words of the psalms that come to mind when we hear experiences with the guardian angels. Instead, the guardian angels are often derided and dismissed with the argument: if an invested child comes out safely from under the machine, if a fallen climber falls into a basin without hurting himself, or if someone who is drowning is seen in time by other swimmers, then they are said to have had a `good guardian angel '. But what if the climber dies and the man really drowns? Where was his guardian angel in such cases? Being saved or not, it's just a matter of luck or bad luck! This argument seems justified, but in reality it is naive and superficial and does not consider the role and function of the guardian angels, who act within the framework of Divine Providence. Likewise, guardian angels do not act against the orders of divine majesty, wisdom and justice. If the time has come for a man, the angels do not stop the advancing hand, but they do not leave the man alone. They do not prevent pain, but they help man to endure this trial with devotion. In extreme cases they offer help for a good death, but if men agree to follow their directions. Of course they always respect the free will of each man. So let's always rely on the protection of angels! They will never disappoint us!