Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels. Custodian and Protector Angels

The Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels, or Feast of the Guardian Angels, is a memorial of the Catholic Church, officially observed on October 2. A guardian angel is an angel who is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group, kingdom or nation. The belief in guardian angels can be traced throughout antiquity.

Feast: October 2.

Roman Martyrology: Memorial of the holy Guardian Angels, (known as Guardian Angels), who, called in the first place to behold the face of God in all its splendor, were also sent by the Lord to men, to accompany and assist them with their invisible but quite attentive presence.

Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels.

In the Holy Scriptures, the word Angel means "Messenger". A most pure spirit that is close to God to worship Him, to fulfill His orders and to carry His messages to human beings.

From childhood until our last breath of life, our life is enveloped by the marvelous figure of these guardian beings or guardian angels. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us: "Each of the faithful has at his side an angel as protector and shepherd to lead him to life". From this earth, the Christian life participates, through faith, in the blessed society of angels and men, united in God. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 336)

The Guardian Angels in the Scriptures.

Already in the second century, the great sage Origen said: "We Christians believe that God appoints an angel to each of us to guide and protect us". And this belief is based on the phrase of Psalm 90: "God has appointed his angels to guard you in your ways".

And in that other so famous phrase of Jesus: "Be careful not to scandalize any of these little ones because their angels are always beholding the face of my Heavenly Father". And Judith in the Bible, when she was received as the deliverer of Bethulia, exclaimed: "The angel of the Lord accompanied me on my outward journey, on my stay there, and on my return journey".

In the New Testament the belief that everyone has a guardian angel is so vivid that when the Apostle Peter, after being released from prison, comes to knock at the door of the house where the disciples of Jesus are gathered, they believe at first that it is not Peter himself and exclaim: "It will be his angel" (Acts 12:15).

Already in the year 800 a feast to the Guardian Angels was celebrated in England, and since the year 1111 there is a very famous prayer to the Guardian Angel. It says: "Angel of the Lord, who by order of his merciful providence are my guardian, guard me this day (or this night) enlighten my understanding, direct my affections, govern my feelings so that I may never offend the Lord God. Amen."

In 1608, the Supreme Pontiff extended the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels (Guardian Angels) to the whole universal Church and placed it on October 2.

Mission of the Guardian Angels.

The Greek word ἄγγελος or "angelos" means messenger or angel. Angels are purely and spiritually created beings who carry out God´s will (Psalm 103.20).

From the beginning of the Bible, with Genesis, to the last Book of Revelation, we can find the presence of Guardian Angels.

• God placed cherubim to protect the entrance to the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were expelled. (Cfr. Genesis 3,24).
• An angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the midst of the burning bush (Cfr. Exodus 3,2).
• God sent an angel to punish King David and the Israelites, but then repented and prevented the angel from destroying Jerusalem, after he saw that King David repented and asked that he be punished instead of his people (cf. 2 Samuel 24:16-17).
• When the prophet Elijah fled from Jezebel after his triumph on Mount Carmel, an angel brought him food, giving him strength to meet the Lord on Mount Horeb. This happened not only once, but twice. (Cf. 1 Kings 19:5-8).
• An angel restored strength and dressed Joshua the high priest for a feast (Cfr. Zechariah 3).
• On some other occasions, we can see angels taking human form. This can be seen in those men who appeared to Abraham and Lot. (Cfr. Genesis 18-19)
• St. Raphael the Archangel himself, one of the seven angels with permanent access to the Throne of God, appeared in human form to Tobiah to accompany him on his journey and give healing to his blind father. (Cf. Tobit 12:11-15).
• Daniel, while he was in the Lion´s den, was accompanied by the Presence of an Angel that God sent him so that the lions would not touch a single one of his hair. (Cfr. Daniel 19,23)
• St. Gabriel the Archangel was sent to the beautiful maiden, the Virgin Mary, to announce Salvation to her (Cfr. Luke 1,26-28).

The mission of the Guardian Angels is to accompany every man on his journey through life, to guard him on earth from the dangers of soul and body, to protect him from evil and to guide him on the difficult path to Heaven.

It can be said that the Guardian Angel is a traveling companion who is always aside every man, in good times and in bad. He does not separate from him even for a single moment. He is with him when he works, when he rests, when he has fun, when he prays, when he asks for help and when he does not ask for it.

When we speak of the Holy Guardian Angels, we can be sure that the Guardian Angel assigned to him does not depart from the person for whom he cares, even when he loses the grace of God through sin. On the contrary, he will help him to face with better courage the difficulties of daily life and the temptations that arise in life.

Many times we consider the Guardian Angel to be something childish, but it should not be like that because if we think that the person grows and that with this growth he will have to face a life with greater difficulties and temptations, the Guardian Angel is of great help.

St. Thomas Aquinas and the Angels.

St. Thomas Aquinas was one of the great theologians of the Church, and is known as the "Angelic Doctor" for his writings on angels in his work "Summa Theologica". Thomas Aquinas believed that angels, being spiritual beings, influence humanity by enlightening people´s thoughts with an idea.

Citing the Scriptures, St. Thomas Aquinas named 9 choirs of angels and divided them into 3 groups: the highest hierarchy that is next to God, Seraphim (Isaiah 6:2), Cherubim (Genesis 3:24, Ezekiel 10:1-22), and Thrones (Colossians 1:16); the middle hierarchy involved in government, Dominations (Colossians 1:16), Virtues (1 Peter 3:22), and Powers (Colossians 1:16); and the third hierarchy involved in work, Principalities (Colossians 1:16), Archangels (First Thessalonians 4:16), and Angels.

The Popes and the Guardian Angels.

In a general audience held on August 6, 1986, our beloved St. John Paul II spoke about the Guardian Angels, expressing the following: "As creatures of a spiritual nature, angels are endowed with intelligence and free will, like man, but to a greater degree than man, although always finite, because of the limit which is inherent in all creatures. Angels are therefore personal beings and, as such, they too are "image and likeness" of God. Sacred Scripture also refers to the angels using not only personal appellatives (such as the proper names Raphael, Gabriel, Michael), but also "collective" ones (such as the qualifications of: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Powers, Dominations, Principalities), as well as making a distinction between Angels and Archangels..."

Pope Francis, very devoted to the Guardian Angels, left some words of hope to each of us, in a homily at a Mass celebrated on October 2, 2014. There, the Holy Father said, "All of us, according to the tradition of the Church, have a Guardian Angel with us, who watches over us, makes us feel things. How many times have we heard: "But, this should do like this, this is not right, be attentive...": many times! It is the voice of our traveling companion. Be sure that the Guardian Angel will take us to the end of our life with his advice, and that is why we have to listen to his voice".

If we know the lives of many of the Saints of the Church, we realize that they had a contact of some kind to their Guardian Angels. For Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, it was very normal to converse with his Guardian Angel. In fact, he believed that everyone could see angels, since, as a very young boy, he would often converse with these spiritual beings. St. Francis of Assisi watched in amazement as a Seraphim came down from Heaven to give him the stigmata of Christ. St. Gemma Galgani affirmed that her guardian angel was like a second Jesus. She made known to him her desires and those of others. In her sufferings, she always wanted him by her side and continually said to him: "Dear Angel, I love you so much!

Prayer to the Guardian Angels.

Here are some short prayers to the Holy Guardian Angels that you can pray at any time of the day to ask for the assistance of these heavenly guardians.

1. Prayer to the Guardian Angel for immediate help.

Gracious Angel and guardian of mine, You come from the heights of Heaven, from beholding the face of God; it is He who has sent You to watch over me. I take refuge at this moment under your wings so that you may lighten my path, direct my steps and open my understanding so that I may not miss the acts of love in my life. Do not leave me, Angel of my guardian, always stay very close to me and defend me against the evil spirit. And, above all, come to my aid in the last struggle of my life. Come and deliver my soul from anguish, so that with you, it may praise, love and contemplate the goodness of God forever and ever. O mighty Holy Guardian Angels, never cease to give us your protection. Amen.

2. Traditional prayer to the Guardian Angel.

Guardian Angel of the Lord, who by order of His merciful providence, are my guardian, protect me this day, enlighten my understanding, direct my affections, govern my feelings so that I may never offend God, our Lord. Amen.

3. Prayer to the Guardian Angel to invoke his protection.

Holy Guardian Angel, companion of my life, you who never forsake me, night or day. Although your spirit is invisible, I know that you are by my side, I know that you listen to my prayers, and guide my every step. In the darkness of the night, defend me from the devil. O Angel of God, cover me under your wings that I may hear your sweet message and live it, that I may take your hand to God who sends it to me. Witness of the invisible, presence of heaven my friend, thank you for your faithful guardianship, thank you for your company. Amen.

4. Prayer of invocation to the Guardian Angel.

Guardian Angel, sweet companion, do not forsake me night and day. Do not leave me alone, for without you, I would be lost. Carry me in your arms with love and joy, until I rest in the arms of Jesus, Joseph and Mary. Amen.