Everything you need to know about your Guardian Angel

he is man's best friend. He accompanies him without getting tired day and night, from birth until after death, until he comes to enjoy the fullness of God's joy. During Purgatory he is at his side to console him and help him in those difficult moments. However, for some, the existence of the guardian angel is only a pious tradition on the part of those who want to welcome it. They do not know that it is clearly expressed in Scripture and sanctioned in the doctrine of the Church and that all the saints speak to us of the guardian angel from their own personal experience. Some of them even saw him and had a very close personal relationship with him, as we will see.

So: how many angels do we have? At least one, and that's enough. But some people, for their role as the Pope, or for their degree of holiness, may have more. I know a nun to whom Jesus revealed that he had three, and told me their names. Santa Margherita Maria de Alacoque, when she reached an advanced stage in the path of holiness, obtained from God a new guardian angel who said to her: «I am one of the seven spirits who are closest to the throne of God and who most participate in the flames of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ and my intention is to communicate them to you as much as you are able to receive them "(Memory to M. Saumaise).

The Word of God says: «Behold, I am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and to make you enter the place I have prepared. Respect his presence, listen to his voice and do not rebel against him ... If you listen to his voice and do what I tell you, I will be the enemy of your enemies and the opponent of your opponents "(Ex 23, 2022). "But if there is an angel with him, only one protector among a thousand, to show man his duty [...] have mercy on him" (Job 33, 23). "Since my angel is with you, he will take care of you" (Bar 6, 6). "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and saves them" (Ps 33: 8). Its mission is "to guard you in all your steps" (Ps 90, 11). Jesus says that "their angels [of children] in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven" (Mt 18, 10). The guardian angel will assist you as he did with Azariah and his companions in the fiery furnace. “But the angel of the Lord, who had come down with Azariah and his companions into the furnace, turned the flame of the fire away from them and made the interior of the furnace like a place where a wind full of dew blew. So the fire did not touch them at all, it did them no harm, it did not give them any harassment "(Dn 3, 4950).

The angel will save you as he did with Saint Peter: «And behold an angel of the Lord presented himself to him and a light shone in the cell. He touched Peter's side, woke him up and said, "Get up quickly!" And the chains fell from his hands. And the angel to him: "Put your belt on and tie your sandals." And so he did. The angel said: "Wrap your cloak, and follow me!" ... The door opened by itself before them. They went out, walked a road and suddenly the angel vanished from him. Peter, then, inside himself, said: "Now I am truly certain that the Lord has sent his angel ..." "(Acts 12, 711).

In the early Church, no doubt was believed in the guardian angel, and for this reason, when Peter is freed from prison and goes to the home of Marco, the attendant named Rode, he realized that it was Peter, full of joy he runs to give the news without even opening the door. But those who heard him believed he was wrong and said: "He will be his angel" (Acts 12:15). The Church's doctrine is clear on this point: "From childhood to the hour of death human life is surrounded by their protection and their intercession. Each believer has an angel at his side as protector and shepherd, to lead him to life "(Cat 336).

Even Saint Joseph and Mary had their angel. it is probable that the angel who warned Joseph to take Mary as a bride (Mt 1:20) or to flee to Egypt (Mt 2, 13) or to return to Israel (Mt 2, 20) was his own guardian angel. What is certain is that from the first century the figure of the guardian angel already appears in the writings of the Holy Fathers. We already speak of him in the famous book of the first century The Shepherd of Ermas. Saint Eusebius of Caesarea calls them "tutors" of men; St. Basil «traveling companions»; St. Gregory Nazianzeno "protective shields". Origen says that "around every man there is always an angel of the Lord who illuminates him, guards him and protects him from all evil".

There is an ancient prayer to the guardian angel of the third century in which he is asked to enlighten, protect and guard his protégé. Even Saint Augustine often speaks of the angelic intervention in our life. St. Thomas Aquinas dedicates a passage from his Summa Theologica (Sum Theolo I, q. 113) and writes: "The custody of angels is like an expansion of Divine Providence, and then, since this does not fail for any creature, all find themselves in the custody of the angels ».

The feast of the guardian angels in Spain and France dates back to the fifth century. Perhaps already in those days they began to pray the prayer we learned as children: "My guardian angel, sweet company, do not abandon me either at night or during the day." Pope John Paul II said on August 6, 1986: "It is very significant that God entrusts his little children to the angels, who always need care and protection."

Pius XI invoked his guardian angel at the beginning and end of each day and, often, during the day, especially when things got tangled. He recommended devotion to the guardian angels and in saying goodbye he said: "May the Lord bless you and your angel accompany you." John XXIII, apostolic delegate to Turkey and Greece said: «When I have to have a difficult conversation with someone, I have the habit of asking my guardian angel to speak to the guardian angel of the person I have to meet with, so that he can help me find the solution to the problem ».

Pius XII said on 3 October 1958 to some North American pilgrims about angels: "They were in the cities you visited, and they were your traveling companions".

Another time in a radio message he said: "Be very familiar with the angels ... If God wills, you will spend all eternity in joy with the angels; get to know them now. Familiarity with angels gives us a feeling of personal security. "

John XXIII, in a confidence to a Canadian bishop, attributed the idea of ​​the convocation of Vatican Council II to his guardian angel, and recommended to parents that they inculcate devotion to the guardian angel to their children. «The guardian angel is a good adviser, he intercedes with God on our behalf; it helps us in our needs, defends us from dangers and protects us from accidents. I would like the faithful to feel all the greatness of this protection of angels "(24 October 1962).

And to the priests he said: "We ask our guardian angel to assist us in the daily recitation of the Divine Office so that we recite it with dignity, attention and devotion, to be pleasing to God, useful for us and for our brothers" (January 6, 1962) .

In the liturgy of the day of their feast (October 2) it is said that they are "heavenly companions so that we do not perish in the face of the insidious assaults of the enemies". Let's invoke them frequently and let's not forget that even in the most hidden and lonely places there is someone who accompanies us. For this reason Saint Bernard advises: "Always go with caution, as one who always has his angel present in all paths".