2 October: Holy Guardian Angels
Messengers at the Service of God
The Bible is filled with the constant presence of angels, passing through the history of salvation. It contains many episodes that refer to their action and to their role as instruments and messengers of God. Suffice it to remember the Old Testament’s account of Jacob wrestling with the angel from whom he receives the name, Israel; (Gen. 32:25-29) the ladder from earth to heaven, from which a multitude of angels ascend and descend (Gen. 28:12); the angel who meets the slave, Hagar, and announces that she will give birth to Ishmael (Gen. 16:7); the angel that goes before the people of Israel as they wandered in the desert (Ex 14:19); the two angels that lead Lot and his family out of Sodom (Gen 19:1); the intervention of the angel who stops Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac (Gen 22:11-13); Daniel who was saved from the fiery furnace by an angel (Dan. 3:17); and the angel that brings food to the prophet Elijah in the desert (1Kings 19:5-10).
In the New Testament, the presence of angels begins with the announcement to Mary of the Incarnation of the Son of God, by the Archangel Gabriel (Lk. 1:26). The multitude of angels who announce the birth of Christ to the shepherds (Lk. 2:8) are not named, nor is the angel who appears in a dream to Joseph, telling him to flee from Egypt with Mary and the Child (Matt. 2:13) and the angel who tells him to return once the danger has been lifted (Matt 2:19). Moreover, there are the angels who serve Jesus after his temptation in the desert (Matt 4:1-11), and at the time of his arrest, Jesus refers to “more than twelve legions of angels” who could come to his aid (Matt 26:53).
In the dramatic moments of the Passion, in the Mount of Olives, an angel comforts Jesus (Lk 22:43). At the Resurrection, the presence of angels is significant. As Mary Magdalen, Joanna and Mary, mother of James, go to the tomb, they are met by two men who “stood by them in dazzling apparel” (Lk. 24:4). There is the “vision of angels” witnessed in the words of the disciples of Emmaus (Lk. 24:23), the episode of the angel of the Lord who “rolled back the stone, and sat upon it” (Matt 28:2), and the episode of Mary Magdalen who sat weeping near the tomb, and “stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet” (John 20:11-12). The Acts of the Apostles, mention that “two men stood by them in white robes” (1:10-11) and explained to the disciples that Jesus had ascended into Heaven and that he would return in the same way they had seen him ascend into Heaven. It also includes a description of the intervention of an angel who frees Peter from prison (12:1-11). The Apocalypse also mentions seven angels in the presence of God (8:1-13). Thus, in the Bible, angels transmit the Lord’s message in three ways: as manifestations of God and his effective presence, as adorers of the Lord and intercessors in favour of mankind and as interpreters who announce and explain divine action.
Jesus speaks to angels several times. He speaks to them when he reveals the existence of guardian angels saying, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 18:10). In various occasions, he casts out demons and frees people from their action. When Jesus refers to his definitive return, he affirms that the Son of Man “will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matt 24:31).
The Church celebrates the liturgical memory of the Holy Guardian Angels on 2 October. In the Collect we pray, “O God, who in your unfathomable providence are pleased to send your holy Angels to guard us, hear our supplication as we cry to you, that we may always be defended by their protection and rejoice eternally in their company”.
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, numbers 334-335 highlight: “the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels. In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance in the funeral liturgy's In Paradisum deducant te angeli. . . [May the angels lead you into Paradise]). Moreover, in the "Cherubic Hymn" of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the guardian angels)”.
With regards to the role of angels, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that: “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession” (No. 336). As Saint Basil the Great said, “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life”.
Guardian Angels are thus constantly with God, as executors of his will, presenting the good actions of men and women and their requests, interceding for their tribulations and necessities. They protect those who are entrusted to them and inspire them, leading to the good with their advice and warnings. Angels are creatures that Divine Providence entrusted to mankind. The certainty of having an angel beside us is a source of security and protection and spurs us to love God and our brothers and sisters.