Our readings today talk about angels on the feast of the guardian angels. In the Exodus, Moses and the Israelites are told by the Lord that he will send the Angel of the Lord before them, to lead them and guide them and show them the way. Our psalm response sends us a similar message, that the Lord has put the angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.
We in the Catholic Church believe in angels. We see angels as spiritual being who were created by God. Our English word “angel” comes from the Greek word “angelos”, which means “messenger”. God sends out angels to carry special messages for him. Today, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels. We see the role of the guardian angel as to guide us to good thoughts, in good works, and in good words, to keep us from succumbing to evil. Since the 17th century, the Church has celebrated a feast honoring the Guardian Angels in October. We talk about how our American society is becoming more secular, but I was looking at an article from Time Magazine that quoted statistics from a study on religious belief in American conducted by Baylor University, which stated that 55% of those surveyed agreed with the statement that “I was protected from harm by a guardian angel.” Very interesting.
I love the prayer to the Guardian Angels. It is a favorite prayer of many Catholic children, and many Catholic adults remember this prayer from their childhood: Angel of God, My Guardian Dear, to whom God's love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light and guard and rule and guide. Amen.
In the prayers that we say, we communicate with God and we develop and grow in our faith. May the angels and the saints hear our prayers and pray for us as members of the kingdom of God.
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