Feast of the Guardian Angels: October 2

Feast Day: Guardian Angels: October 2^nd

"Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life." St. Basil the Great
"The dignity of a soul is so great that each has a guardian angel from its birth" St. Jerome
"But at (a child's) birth, when it becomes separate from the mother, an angel guardian is appointed" St. Thomas Aquinas.

I have a personal relationship with my Guardian Angel. Every day, I chat with him. In deep prayer to Christ, God revealed his name to me which I keep secret. I did not ask God for this revelation...it was a gift & quite a surprise. I know without a doubt my angel guides, protects & watches over me. Though, I have never seen him…I am confident that he exists for me alone. 

My son on the other hand has had amazing, tangible experiences with his angel. His experiences have reaffirmed my solid belief that God in His great wisdom & mercy has given each of us a spiritual companion….often, more than one angel is in our midst. Please keep in mind that, though, we often hear or say that a beloved who has died is " our angel"...this is false. Our loved ones, now in heaven, hear our prayers and intercede to God on our behalf. This makes them "angel-like" in the scope of this charitable act. Angels are neither male or female, though, I refer to my angel as "he".

Angels were created by God once and only once. At our conception, God assigns an angel to be our guardian. This heavenly host is a life-long companion, at our side at the hour of our death.  Our guardian angel accompanies our soul to purgatory or heaven, and becomes our coheir in the heavenly kingdom. They are servants and messengers from God. Their "job" is to assist us in work and study, yes, teaching angels. When we are tempted they encourage us to do what is right. They are ready to protect us at a blink of an eye.  They love us unconditionally.

Another post I'm working on shares information about Lorna Byrne, an Irish Mystic, who speaks with and sees angels every day of her life. Her story is remarkable and comforting. I believe you will find it an interesting post.

  

Excerpts of what the Catholic Church teaches about our guardian angels:

Perhaps no aspect of Catholic piety is as comforting to parents as the belief that an angel protects their little ones from dangers real and imagined. Yet guardian angels are not only for children. Their role is to represent individuals before God, to watch over them always, to aid their prayer and to present their souls to God at death.

The concept of an angel assigned to guide and nurture each human being is a development of Catholic doctrine and piety based on Scripture, but not directly drawn from it. Jesus' words in Matthew 18:10 best support the belief: "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." Other references in Holy Scripture can be found in Job 33:23-6, Daniel10:13, Acts12:12-15, Hebrews 1:14 and in Genesis and the Psalms.

Devotion to the angels began to develop with the birth of the monastic tradition. St. Benedict gave it impetus and Bernard of Clairvaux, the great 12th-century reformer, was such an eloquent spokesman for the guardian angels that angelic devotion assumed its current form in his day. A feast in honor of the guardian angels was first observed in the 16th century. In 1615, Pope Paul V added it to the Roman calendar.

Americancatholic.org

Christian mystics have at times reported ongoing interactions and conversations with their guardian angels, lasting several years. Saint Gemma Galgani, a Roman Catholic mystic, stated that she had interacted with and spoken with her guardian angel. She stated that her guardian angel had acted as her teacher and guide, at times stopping her from speaking up at inappropriate moments.  My post on St. Gemma, Passion Flower
St. Pio was known to instruct his parishioners to send him their guardian angel to communicate a trouble or issue to him when they could not travel to him or another urgency existed.

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Guardian Angels. Angels, as we know, are creatures endowed with intellect and will; they can, therefore, as personal creatures, know and love God. They already possess the Beatific Vision of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in glory and are faithful, humble servants of Christ the King and Mary the Queen…full article by Fr. Maximilian M. Dean

Finally...inasmuch as we are fascinated by the topic of angels, we are not to make it an obsession. They do God's work and He knows what is best for us. Use discernment when choosing a book on angels. Research that the author has a strong Christian foundation and is grounded in Scripture. Channeling angels, asking them to write through us, contacting them to find out our future, etc is unacceptable and an insult to whom they truly are and whom they serve...God first, then us. Our Guardian Angel hears our prayers and brings our petition to the throne of God. How He decides to answer this prayer has nothing to do with the "power" of the angel. He does God's bidding. At no time will our angel go against our free will. Even Lorna Byrne, who has direct contact with angels, states that she does NOT pray to the angels, but to God, yet she will ask the angels for help. And we have the privilege to do the same.

Prayer To Our Guardian Angel

Angel of God, my guardian dear

to whom God's love commits me here.

Ever this day/night be at my side

to light, to guard, to rule and guide.

                                                                        Amen