In today’s Gospel, Jesus refers to the “angels in heaven” of the “little ones” about whom he is speaking. The Lord speak of “their angels.” The existence of angels is a truth of the faith, a matter of revelation. Angels are wholly spiritual, that is, non-corporeal beings. The Catechism neatly summarizes the Church’s teaching concerning guardian angels:
from infancy to death human life is surrounded by their [angels'] watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands 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 and men united in God1One of the first prayers most Catholic children learn is the prayer to one’s Guardian Angel:
Angel of God,It is a time-honored practice to recite this prayer twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening.
my guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side
to light to guard, to rule, and guide
These teachings can seem childish. But, taking a cue from our Gospel, it is a teaching that requires child-like faith to believe and to practice that belief. It is also important to locate the Church’s teaching on angels within the beautiful tapestry of Church doctrine. Besides, there something very natural about positing an order of beings between human beings and God.
In the Creed we profess belief in “God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.” As spiritual beings, angels belong to the invisible order of creation. Nonetheless, the relationship of angels to the world is both material and spiritual. Angels, while personal beings, are “principalities and powers” of the cosmos by virtue of their spiritual nature.
Angels do not intervene in the world by arbitrary decision or in a way contrary to their real nature. Angels remain under the authority of God almighty. There is a vast difference between angels as written about in Scripture and explained by Catholic doctrine and angels as conceived of by those who adhere “New Age metaphysical” teachings. Though the two are often mixed
A guardian angel is a spiritual being who protects you. As today's liturgical memorial attests, liturgy being prima theologia (i.e., first theology), it is safe to say that belief guardian angels is part of the Church’s doctrinal patrimony. While belief in angels is dogmatic, belief in guardian angels is not
In terms of angels at work in the world bringing about God's purpose, consider how instrumental the Archangel Gabriel was in the Incarnation of God’s only Son. Looking at both the Infancy Narratives of Saint Matthew and Saint Luke, Gabriel appears to both Mary and Joseph. Consider too how, in the wonderful deutero-canonical Book of Tobit, Tobias hires a companion to accompany him on his journey to retrieve some money of his father’s from a relative. Unaware, Tobias hires the archangel Raphael, who, while an archangel, very much acts as Tobias' guardian. In the end, Raphael brings both spiritual and physical healing, enabling Tobias not only to return safely to his father and mother, but gain him a wife and restore his father Tobit’s eyesight.
In a Catechesis for a Wednesday General Audience way back in 1986, Pope Saint John Paul II, who wrote about his devotion to his guardian angel, taught:
the angels, as pure spirits, not only participate in the holiness of God himself, in the manner proper to them, but in the key moments they surround Christ and accompany him in the fulfillment of his salvific mission in regard to mankind2To end, let us pray together in faith:
Angel of God,
my guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side
to light to guard, to rule, to guide
1 Catechism of the Catholic Church, sec. 336.↩
2 Pope John Paul II. General Audience. 30 July 1986.↩
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